It might not be the cold that we all expected, but that’s no reason you can’t enjoy a nice, warm, comfort meal in the form of slow-cookers. 

Combine the weather with the fact that somehow January—what’s supposed to be a “not so busy” month—is suddenly crammed with one zillion events and schedules are too packed to prep an elaborate meal… What now? Slow-cookers, that’s what. I’ll admit, I got my first Crock-Pot for Christmas and have been greatly enjoying finding new recipes. 

Here are five slow-cooker recipes sure to make the busy schedule a little easier, and to put smiles on your family’s faces.

Crockpot Salsa Chicken

A meal made with only three ingredients? Count that as a win. The chicken falls apart and becomes immensely tender, while chunky salsa and piquant taco seasoning deliver classic flavors. Want a final touch? Try a few bright hits of lime juice.

Ingredients: chicken breasts, taco seasoning, salsa

Directions: Place your chicken breasts on the bottom, topping with taco seasoning and half of the salsa. Cover it, and then decide how much patience you have. You can take your pick of cooking on high for 3 hours or on low for 6 to 8 hours. The choice is yours. Once ready, shred the chicken with two forks and add in the other half of the salsa. Then give everything a good toss to fully combine.

Serve it over rice, in lettuce cups, with tortilla chips, or as a filling for tacos, enchiladas, or burritos.

Chicken Pot Pie Soup

Creamy, comforting, and hands-off – just toss in simple ingredients and walk away!

Ingredients: boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, chicken stock, onion, carrot, celery, bay leaf, frozen peas, and heavy cream.

Directions: Add the onion, carrot, celery, salt and chicken stock to a slow-cooker, stirring to combine. Add the chicken and bay leaf, and stir again. Cook on high for 4-6 hours or low for 6-8 hours, or until the veggies are very tender and the chicken is cooked through. Remove the chicken and cut into pieces or shred with two forks. Add the chicken back to the cooker along with the cream and peas and keep on warm for 5 minutes for the peas to warm through.

Slow-Cooker Beef & Broccoli

You can’t beat the classic beef and broccoli. While you can always order this take-out style, there’s a way to make it in the slow cooker.

Ingredients: sirloin steak, sauce (oyster or dark soy sauce or even beef broth), garlic and green onions, cornstarch, broccoli, and jasmine rice.

Directions: Add the sirloin to the slow cooker and cover it in the sauce mixture. Set it to cook on low for about 3.5 to 4 hours, or until the beef is tender and cooked through. Then spoon out a few tablespoons of the aromatic broth into a bowl and whisk in the cornstarch. Pour in back into the slow cooker and add in your broccoli. Cook for another 20 minutes until the broccoli is cooked through and tender and the sauce has thickened.

Crockpot Lasagna

Yes, you can make lasagna in a slow cooker. It’s perfect for when the lasagna cravings hit but you don’t have time to make the classic dish.

Ingredients: Avocado oil, lean ground beef, onion, garlic, seasonings, marinara sauce, spinach, uncooked lasagna noodles, cottage cheese, shredded mozzarella, and shredded Parmesan.

Directions: Brown the beef, adding onions, garlic, and the seasonings to the beef. Add the ground beef mixture to the slow cooker and add the marinara sauce, spinach, noodles, and part of the mozzarella and stir it up. Dollop the cottage cheese over the mixture and gently fold in. Sprinkle over the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan and set it to cook on low for 2-4 hours or until the noodles are tender.

Slow-Cooker Paella

Don’t have one of those huge, intimidating paella pans? Me neither. But don’t worry, a slow-cooker is all you need for this delicious paella.

Ingredients: olive oil, chorizo, rice, diced tomatoes, onion, garlic, paprika, chicken broth, white wine, peeled and deveined shrimp, frozen peas.

Directions: Add chicken and chorizo to a large skillet over medium heat for 10 minutes. In a large slow-cooker, add browned chicken-chorizo mixture, rice, tomatoes, onion, garlic, paprika, and cayenne, and season with salt and pepper. Pour over the chicken broth and white wine, then stir. Cook on high until rice is almost tender, stirring occasionally, 1.5 to 2 hours. Remove the lid and stir in shrimp and frozen peas, then cover and cook until shrimp is pink and peas warmed through (about 10 minutes more). Ta-da!