I have a confession. I had never cooked a single thing in a crock pot until I was 32 years, 11 months and 13 days old. Which was last night, in case you’re wondering.

I am a lot of things, but Martha Stewart isn’t one of them.

The crock pot intimidated me. I mean, what kind of meat am I supposed to put in there? What exactly does a pot roast look like on the shelf at Target? I’m used to buying these things:

1. Chicken Breast

2. Ground Beef

3. Steak

4. Sausage

5. Bacon

If it’s not one of these five things, I don’t know what I’m doing. I guess one time I bought a pork tenderloin at Mr. Right’s request, but that was several years ago and I’m not sure I could find it again. But this weekend I put on my big girl panties and went to Target and found the pot roast along with a packet of au jus. Which I had to google – because what the heck is au jus? The name alone makes me tense up a little. Turns out they sell it in a McCormick’s packet next to the taco seasonings.

You’re officially a grown-up when you buy au jus. Not that I really understand what it is, but regardless, I have now cooked with it. Which makes me awesome.

I wish everything I cooked only required dumping meat, water, salsa, and a few packets of seasonings into a crock pot, turning it on, and walking away for 10 hours. When I got home from work last night, there was a gourmet dinner waiting for me!

Thanks Pinterest for your wonderful, easy recipe.

Being the overachiever that I am, I cooked dinner TWICE this week, and because both recipes turned out surprisingly well, I thought I’d share. (Please note – the photos are from Pinterest, not me – original sources with the recipes are available below.)

Chicken & Black Bean Casserole (click here for original source/recipe)

Mexican Corn (click here for original source/recipe) – My Target didn’t have corn on the cob, so I used the same ingredients but mixed them with canned corn instead.

Slow Cooker Pot Roast Sliders (click here for original source/recipe) – We served this with mashed sweet potatoes – so yummy!

I’m not done cooking either – I’ve got the ingredients for two more Pinterest recipes this week – and if I cook dinner four nights in one week, well, it will be a Christmas miracle.

It’s a good thing Mr. Right didn’t marry me for my cooking abilities. Or my house cleaning abilities. Or my making-the-bed abilities. But at least this week I got to pretend a little.