Crockpot Chicken Tinga Tostadas

It's that time of year again. The time when days grow shorter, and activities stretch out longer. School really throws a wrench in things, doesn't it? By the time you've picked up the kids from their various practices, meets, games, and clubs it feels too late...or you feel too pooped...to start thinking about dinner. Don't you love it when you actually planned ahead a wee bit? Just enough that, even as the kids are strong-arming each other to see who can get in the house first, a glorious scent fills the air in pushes back in greeting.

Yes, I'm talking about the beauty of a crockpot, people. If the welcoming blanket that envelopes the house isn't enough, the thought that dinner is basically done already will be.

I've mentioned plenty of times before that I think a keeping your slow cooker at-the-ready year-round is the way to go. It doesn't heat up the house in the summer, and it's cozy and comforting in cold weather—that's my kind of kitchen "tool" (one that doesn't gather dust). That being said, there is just something about using it when there's a chill in the air that makes using it feel right. It's probably nostalgia, and nostalgia is a powerful emotion.