I'm supposed to feed them as well?!

My husband is away this week for work. To put it bluntly, this means I am the only driver in the house, and spend much of my afternoon and early evening on the road somewhere between school, ballet, track, drum lessons, and basketball. And there is no drive-thru Starbucks for miles. Seriously. And then, as a loving parent, I'm supposed to give them a healthy, filling meal for which we can all sit down at the table together. This is me, briefly taking my eyes off the road to look at the camera and lament my fate:

Given the logistics of this gas-fuelled marathon, getting a meal on the table that does not involve tater tots and chicken nuggets, or a speedy trip to Chipotle or In'n'Out Burger is problematic. Don't get me wrong, all of those things are probably on the menu this week, but it's nice if we don't have to rely on them every night. Fortunately, I have my slow cooker and my bread maker, and a few recipes that involve just shoving everything into those machines (being just careful enough to remember which is which!) and letting them do their thing while I curse traffic lights, beg one child not to keep opening and closing the car windows, fight over which radio station to listen to, or reassure one child or another that everyone is late every once in a while, don't fret, they won't miss anything....

Some slow cooker recipes ask you to brown things, bring things to the boil, sauté etc etc before adding stuff to the machine itself. Whilst I love nothing more than stirring a bubbling pot or caramelizing the odd vegetable when I have the time, this week is not it. This recipe fortunately made no such demands upon my time. It also made quantities such that my family not only ate their fill at dinner time, but also have it for lunch today, and I have a tub in the freezer. The recipe comes from one of my new favorite books: The Great American Slow Cooker Book by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough. My only tweak was to add some more vegetables, since I needed a one-pot meal with no sides required!

Chicken Goulash Soup
Serves 10

8 cups chicken broth/stock
2 3/4lbs skinless boneless, chicken breast, chopped into 1" cubes
2 1/2 14oz cans diced tomatoes
1 1/4lbs peeled and diced baking potatoes
2 large green bell peppers, coarsely chopped
2 large onions, chopped
5 TBSP mild paprika
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 TBSP caraway seeds (optional)
1 tsp salt
3 cups chopped fresh spinach
2 cups chopped fresh kale (thick stems removed)
sour cream and chopped parsley to serve

1. Mix broth, chicken, tomatoes, potatoes, bell pepper, onion, paprika, garlic, caraway seeds (if using) and salt in the slow cooker.
2. Cover and cook on low for 5 hours (or 3 hours on high).
3. Add spinach and kale and cook for 15 minutes on high until wilted.
4. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of chopped fresh parsley.