Unfortunately, it continues...sort of...

First of all, I must publicly state I'm impressed that my husband not only FOUND my blog, but READ it & then PROCEEDED to COMMENT on it!  Good job honey!  Not even any coercing on my part.

UNFORTUNATELY this morning Sam woke up complaining that her eyes were still hurting.  Since she had a slight (99) fever last night, I figured I'd better take her to the dr to make sure it wasn't pink eye.  Because we all know that if I didn't take her in, it would in fact turn out to be a horrific case of pink eye.  And, lets be honest, I'm still surprised it's not!

FORTUNATELY, I was able to drop Nash at school & Caleb at preschool.  I stopped at the chiropractor so Sam could get adjusted for the pounding headache she had.  What can I say?  UNFORTUNATELY, I'm a sucker on that one because I know how bad pounding headaches are.

Then, we ventured over to the pediatrician's office.  FORTUNATELY, it is just a sinus infection & she was feeling the pressure in her eyes & her head (hence the headache).  So, we got a rx and headed to Shopko.  While I was waiting for the rx to get filled, I ventured over & we picked out Valentine's Day cards for the kids (put that on tomorrow's to do list!).

FORTUNATELY, I made it back to pick Caleb up from preschool just in the nick of time.  Dropped Caleb & Brooke off at day care & headed over to Sam's school (I worked there today).  Had enough time to get my laminating done & get my prep done for my new first graders I had come today.  I was even able to carry all my stuff back out to the truck by myself!

FORTUNATELY, my mom was kind enough to keep the boys while I took Sam to dance.  Brooke slept so, UNFORTUNATELY, instead of cutting out all my laminating like I should have, I sat and read my current book The Help.  What can I say?  I'm seriously loving that book & I'm dying to see the movie!

After dance I put some fuel in dad's truck & picked up the boys.  Dad followed me home & got his truck from me.  FORTUNATELY, yes, my keys to the Expedition did arrive safely today.  (And fortunately for my husband, I can't travel to Rock Springs to kill him for taking them until Friday at the earliest.)  

Even though I made a new crock pot dinner recipe last night, it wasn't done in time for us to eat at a decent hour.  So, I put it in the fridge thinking, "I'll just warm it up tomorrow & it will be perfect."  Well, since I got paid today & had a hankering for pizza, I called the pizza man instead!  Tomorrow we shall eat what I made yesterday! :)

Now, if I could just get Nash to figure out what he wants to do for his 100 day 100 collection, I'd be set!

Fortunately, Unfortunately

I have to steal this from my cousin because, well, I loved it.  Plus, who doesn't need to hear such things?


“Give your child a compliment and a hug; say, ‘I love you’ more; always express your thanks. Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved. Friends move away, children grow up, loved ones pass on. It’s so easy to take others for granted, until that day when they’re gone from our lives and we are left with feelings of ‘what if’ and ‘if only.’ … “Let us relish life as we live it, find joy in the journey and share our love with friends and family. One day, each of us will run out of tomorrows. Let us not put off what is most important.” -President Thomas S. Monson


On to the purpose of tonight's blog.  Have you ever heard the Fortunately, Unfortunately stories?  Well, if not, prepare to laugh at my expense because I'm going to tell you one.  Yes, UNFORTUNATELY, it IS based on real life events...Mine...Today.


UNFORTUNATELY B woke up at 4 am.  FORTUNATELY that is about 6 times less in one night than she has been doing since Thursday.


UNFORTUNATELY Sam woke up with a belly ache this morning (eating a lb of grapes will do that to a child, but what do I know?  I'm just the mother.) & an eye that hurt.  FORTUNATELY her eye was & is not pink or boogery.


UNFORTUNATELY Sam decided she was needing to stay home from school today.  FORTUNATELY about 10 minutes before I walked out of the house, she decided that she was miraculously well enough to attend school.


UNFORTUNATELY I couldn't find the keys to the Expedition.  FORTUNATELY I found them.  UNFORTUNATELY they are in Rock Springs with my husband.  FORTUNATELY my dad wasn't working today & rescued me.

UNFORTUNATELY my dad needs his truck back Wednesday.  FORTUNATELY Travis overnighted my keys to me & I should have them by the end of the day tomorrow.  UNFORTUNATELY this means I need to break down & go get a spare key made.  Why haven't we before now?  It's a chipped key & costs about $80-$100.  FORTUNATELY Travis gets paid on Friday. 


UNFORTUNATELY I had to rearrange the classroom I'm in on Monday's so my students could do their research project presentations.  FORTUNATELY I made it to work with enough time to do so.


UNFORTUNATELY I had 3 kids that were not ready to present today.  FORTUNATELY the other 33 kids did.  UNFORTUNATELY we had technical difficulties all day long.  FORTUNATELY one of my fifth graders came to my rescue & we were able to work all the kinks out....eventually.


UNFORTUNATELY I was late leaving the school because I had to put the room I was in back together.  FORTUNATELY Laura, my day care person, loves me enough that she lets my big kids walk to her house after school when I can't get my butt there on time to get them.


UNFORTUNATELY I'm getting a migraine.  FORTUNATELY the kids had piano today & not dance.  UNFORTUNATELY they are still being quite loud.  FORTUNATELY I can send them downstairs to play.  


UNFORTUNATELY I didn't get dinner in the crock pot until 5:45 pm.  FORTUNATELY my crock pot is a super crock pot & dinner should still only take about 2 hours to do.  UNFORTUNATELY if they don't like it, I've already promised to make Ramen!


FORTUNATELY I survived today.  UNFORTUNATELY when my mom said "Hopefully tomorrow will be better."  I made the mistake of saying, "It can't possibly be any worse than today was!"

Crock Pot Recipe Day 15

Carolina Pulled Pork

From Hands Off Cooking

Serves 6

1 3-4 lb boneless Boston butt (pork shoulder), excess fat trimmed I bought one that had a bone in it (didn't know it) and it was roughly 6.2 lbs

Salt & freshly ground black pepper

2 cups (one 19 oz bottle) tomato based barbecue sauce I used a Kraft bbq sauce.  It said 18 oz and measured just under 1 cup.  I ended up using 2 1/2 bottles of bbq sauce

Red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper, to taste (optional) I didn't use this

1 cup apple cider vinegar I used regular white vinegar

1. Preheat oven to 400* F.  I put mine in the crock pot on high.

2. Remove any strings or net on the meat.  Sprinkle it all over with salt & pepper.  Put the pork in a large, heavy pot like a Dutch oven.  Taste the bbq sauce and add red pepper flakes if it isn't spicy enough for you.  Pour the vinegar on top of the meat, then the bbq sauce.

3. Cover the pot & braise the pork in the oven for 3 1/2-4 hours, or until the meat is falling apart and shreds very easily when pushed with a spoon.  Remove the pot and shred the meat by pushing it against the pot.  Stir it together with the sauce.

4. If you want, you can pour the meat and sauce into a colander set over a bowl to drain off any excess fat.  The meat will have absorbed most of the sauce already.

5. Serve immediately.

Ok, so like I said, I used a pork shoulder that had a bone in it & was roughly 6.2 lbs.  I did trim off the excess fat.  I put mine in my crock pot & cooked it on high.  Since I was using about double the meat, I doubled the vinegar & bbq sauce.  My suggestion is this: if you like a LOT of sauce, use what is in the recipe.  If you don't like a lot of sauce, you could likely get away with only doing about 3/4 of what it calls for.  There was TONS of extra sauce with mine.  Not sure if it's because I cooked it in the crock pot or if it is because it was doubled.  When I took mine out of the crock pot to shred it, I used a knife so I could get around the bone but was still able to use a fork for most of the shredding.  I then put the meat back in the crock pot with all the sauce and let it cook about 30 more minutes.  They turned out really good - they kids scarfed them right up.

Brookelyn

Sister finally has 2 teeth!  The 2 bottom front teeth she's been working on for the last 6 months have FINALLY come through!  Yes, I did do the happy dance when I saw them last night!

Took B to InstaCare again tonight.  Poor girl had eyes that were red, goobery, and nearly swollen shut since Thursday.  I thought she either had a cold & it had gone to her eyes or possibly had an allergic reaction to cinnamon.  Nope.  Sister has pink eye...in BOTH eyes.  Great.  Got some eye drops for that.  Twice a day for the next week.  Sister didn't care for that much.  Awesome.  Good news is her ears look great.

However, since she started back up with the diarrhea again I asked the dr. about it.  The dr. we saw tonight consulted with the dr. we saw last time we were there.  Decided we'd better put her on the rx we talked about last time.  I guess she has an infection from being on too many antibiotics for too long (four rxs in about six weeks).  So, she gets to be on this rx FOUR times a DAY for the next TEN days.  Then we have to follow up with her regular pediatrician to make sure the infection is cleared up.  Kinda weird they want to put her on a rx for diarrhea that she got from being on too many rxs for too long of a time!

She now weighs 21 lbs even and is 27 3/4 inches long.  I think it's time to take her out of the baby carrier and put her in the upright carseat facing backwards.  Not sure how she'll like it since she's still not a huge fan of being put into her carseat in the first place, but, maybe this will be better for her.

On a random side note, a piece about Caleb:
Tonight I left him with my mom & dad while I took B to InstaCare because Trav was doing homework & the older kids were with my sister in law.  When I came by to pick him up my mom told me my Grandpa Maughan had stopped by.  Grandpa was trying to talk to Caleb and get a conversation going.  When Grandpa asked "What's your name?"  Caleb answered "DON'T look at me!"  When Grandpa asked him how old he was, Caleb answered with, "I'm NOT telling you."  Grandpa kept asking him questions and finally Caleb looks at Grandpa and says "You're messing with the WRONG Boy!"  That kid apparently has waaaay too much of his mother's attitude!

I have a bunch of pictures from the concert last night that I'm going to try & download to the computer tonight so I can blog about it tomorrow.  It was most fantastic!  Three and a half hours of music & awesome special effects!

Crock Pot Recipe Day 14

Chicken Soft Tacos
From Fix It & Forget It Big Cookbook
Page 348

Makes 6 servings
Prep time 5 minutes
Cooking time 6-8 hours
Ideal slow cooker size 5-6 qt

1 - 1 1/2 lbs frozen, boneless, skinless chicken breasts
14 1/2 oz low sodium diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 envelop low sodium taco seasoning I used a chicken taco seasoning packet


1. Place chicken breasts in slow cooker.
2. Mix tomatoes and taco seasoning.  Pour over chicken.
3. Cover. Cook on low 6-8 hours.
4. Serve in soft tortillas.  Top with salsa, low fat shredded cheddar cheese, guacamole if your diet allows, and fresh tomatoes.  Travis fried some tortilla shells instead of just using them straight out of the bag.


These were awesome.  My kids inhaled them.  I worried they'd be too spicy for the kids but they apparently weren't!  Will be making these again (probably often).

Crock Pot Recipe Day 13

Ok.  I decided I need to explain why today is only day 13 despite being January 22nd.  With Travis being gone most of the time I end up with a lot of left overs (especially if the kids don't like what I've made).  So, we've eaten left overs on more than one occasion.  Also, we have eaten at Travis's parents house once or twice.  Only once have I ordered pizza (Sam was having a sleepover over here)!  I haven't had any recipes turn out bad enough that we had to scrap it and start over (shocker).

Ham-Broccoli Casserole
From Fix It & Forget It Big Cookbook
Page 451
Makes 4 servings
Prep time 20 minutes
Cooking time 4-5 hours
Ideal slow cooker size 4-5 qt

16 oz pkg frozen broccoli cuts, thawed & drained I used a 14 oz bag and I didn't thaw or drain it.
2-3 cups cubed, cooked ham  I had about 2 1/2 cups.  I used the left over ham from when I made Ham in Foil.
10 3/4 oz can cream of mushroom soup I used cream of chicken
4 oz of your favorite mild cheese, cubed I used mild cheddar & I grated it, not cubed it
1 cup milk
1 cup instant rice, uncooked
1 rib celery, chopped I just used celery salt because no one here likes celery
1 small onion, chopped I used about 3/4 cup white onion


1. combine broccoli and ham in slow cooker.
2. Combine soup, cheese, milk, rice, celery, and onion.  Stir into broccoli.  My cheese grater was in the dishwasher so I didn't add the cheese until it had been cooking for about an hour.
3. Cover.  Cook on low 4-5 hours.

Ramblings

I realized today that I've only done one post that wasn't recipe related since the beginning of the month.  Oops. Things have been busy around here I guess!

Nash started piano at the beginning of January.  Now I have 2 kids that have to practice!  He's doing pretty good.  Unfortunately, he wasn't born with the innate rhythm like his older sister was.  I told Travis I think it's because he didn't play his guitar much while I was pregnant with Nash or for about the first 2 years after he was born (we lived on the third floor of an apt).  He seems to be enjoying it though, which is what I was hoping for!

Samantha is getting quite good with her piano.  I'm impressed with how much she's learned in just under a year.  My thanks to her piano teacher!  I have taught her very little - what do I know?  I'm just the mom!  She's still enjoying dance too.  I did have to tell her today that if she didn't start listening better I'd tell her dance teacher she wouldn't be able to go to Disneyland.  Not sure if she believes I'll do it or not.  Hmmm...better figure something out there!

Caleb has been loving preschool.  He's not quite so clingy when I drop him off.  Don't get me wrong, he still has his days where he semi freaks out if I try to leave before he's ready.  But, for the most part, drop off isn't too bad.  I'm surprised by his growing vocabulary.  Not sure if it's from preschool or listening to his older siblings.  I realize it could be a combination of the two.  Either way, the boys is getting a very LARGE vocabulary & it generally catches me off guard when he throws a big word out and uses it in context.  Caleb is finally out of nursery and a Sunbeam.  Should be interesting to see how that works out.  He's quite particular about who he'll stay with and acknowledge!

Brookelyn is growing way too fast.  She is still toothless - although, I think I can FINALLY see one of her bottom teeth & occasionally feel it.  Perhaps before February she will have a tooth.  She is so slow to get teeth compared to the other three.  Maybe that means she will have better teeth than the older two?  I had her in the dr.'s office the day after Christmas and she had an ear infection in her left ear.  I took her back in almost 10 days ago because she had been pulling at her left ear for a week and a half.  She had also had diarrhea for two weeks and had spent part of the week throwing up.  Her left ear was infected (again or still?).  The dr. at Instacare said, "She's had four prescriptions in about six weeks.  She might end up needing tubes."  Yes, yes I laughed at him.  I then proceeded to tell him just how close of relationship I have with my favorite ENT.  The first two prescriptions she had were for sinus infections (reminiscent of Samantha) and the second two were for ears.  I think I'm seeing a familiar pattern here.  They gave her an antibiotic she hadn't tried yet.  She's quit pulling at her ear and I'm still crossing my fingers that she doesn't break out in hives any time soon.  So far so good, but, I'm not holding my breath that I'll get a kid that's not allergic to penicillin!  She is up to 20 lbs 9 oz and feels it!  I told Travis we need to take her out of the infant seat & put her into the upright rear facing.  Girlfriend is too heavy for me to pack around much longer!  She isn't full on crawling yet, but she will be any day now.  She gets up on all fours and she will move one knee forward before she plops down and army crawls.  Not sure if she doesn't trust herself (yes, she has had her face meet my wood floor) or if she knows she's faster on her belly.  We did buy another baby gate last time Travis was home and I did bust it out last night.  Won't be too much longer before it becomes a permanent fixture around here.

I am loving my job more and more every week.  The kids are fun to work with.  The schools are all really good schools.  The teachers and the principals have been really good to work with.  Next week in parent teacher conferences (at least at one school).  So, I've written up a short note for teachers to give the parents.  All but one of my schools has done their presentations for their research projects.  I can't believe the turn out we had.  Parents showed up and every 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade teacher brought their class to hear the presentations.  The SEM kids were thrilled that their classmates could come and listen to their presentations.  I was thrilled that the teachers would take the time out of their day to bring their whole class down to listen to and see what just a few kids in the class had been working on.  Just about every kid had a parent there too.  That was nice because I got parent emails so now I can email notes home.  I also finally got my uen website modified for the SEM job and emailed parents the link to it.  I think that will be very handy.  Next week I am going to the UAGC conference in SLC all day.  That should be interesting.  I've never been to one of their conferences.

My poor kids can't decide whether to wear shorts or sweats lately!  It has rained for days and days.  I told Travis that the field next to us had quite a bit of water in it and I was hoping it wouldn't venture over to our property.  So far, so good.  Today after it finally decided to quit raining, the snow started.  The kids were sooo excited to play in the snow.  Brooke was a good sport (kinda) and let me put her in her walker all bundled up out in the garage while I shoveled snow.  After I was done (and she had ventured out onto the wet driveway) I realized that her little shoes were getting quite small and are not the best for wet weather.  So, sister got some stylin' new sneakers when we went to Walmart tonight.  I wish they had them in my size!

Travis comes home tomorrow and we are all anxiously awaiting that.  Monday is a short day at school and there's no school Tuesday.  On Friday Travis and I are going to see (our favorite) Brad Paisley.  I'm so excited!  Sam's totally bummed we aren't taking her this time.  It just so happens that the concert is the same day that I have to be in SLC all day for the UAGC conference so Travis is going to have to meet me there.  Hope that works out ok and we don't end up late to the concert.  And on a completely random note: I've become totally addicted to the game Words With Friends!  I totally blame my husband!  Now if I could just quit getting spanked on just about every game I play, I'd be happy!  Guess I need Caleb's vocabulary!

Crock Pot Recipe Day 12

Seasoned Pork Ribs
From Fix It & Forget It Big Cookbook
Page 444

Makes 2-3 servings
Prep time 5-10 minute
Cooking time 4 hours
Ideal slow cooker size 4-5 qt

3 lbs pork shoulder ribs, cut in serving size pieces I used about 2.3 lbs country style ribs
2 tsp chipotle seasoning spice I used Southwestern Seasoning from Pampered Chef
1 tsp coarse black pepper, optional
1 TBSP prepared horseradish I used horseradish sauce
1/4 c. ketchup
1/4 c. apricot jelly

1. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium high heat.
2. Season pork with chipotle seasonings and then place in hot skillet, browning each piece on top and bottom.  Do in batches so all the pieces brown well.  I also browned the sides of the ribs.
3. As you finish browning ribs, place them in the slow cooker.
4. Cover and cook on high for 3 hours.
5. Meanwhile, mix together pepper if you wish, horseradish, ketchup, and apricot jelly in a bowl.  Spread over cooked pork.
6. Cover and cook on high 1 hour, or until the meat is tender.

These were really good.  The kids even ate them!

Crock Pot Recipe Day 11

Chicken, Broccoli and Rice Casserole

From Fix It & Forget It Big Cookbook

Page 344

Makes 8 servings

Prep time 10 minutes

Cooking time 3-7 hours

Ideal slow cooker size 6 qt

1 c. long grain rice, uncooked All I had was minute rice or Rice a Roni.  So, I found a long grain & wild rice rice a roni & used that.  It wasn't quite a full cup, so I pulled Spanish Rice Rice A Roni to fill the remainder of the cup.  I think it would have turned out better had I used either all long grain & wild rice Rice a Roni or regular long grain rice.

3 cups water I feel like this was a smidge too much.  I'd go 2 3/4 next time

2 tsp low sodium chicken boullion granules

10 3/4 oz can fat free, low sodium cream of chicken soup Pretty sure you could substitute cream of mushroom if you wanted too

2 cups chopped, cooked chicken breast I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts and it was approximately 2 medium and 1 small piece of chicken.  I cooked them and then cut them into about 1 inch pieces and threw them back in the pan until I could no longer see any pink.

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion salt I didn't have onion salt so I just threw in some dried onion flakes

1 c. shredded, fat free cheddar cheese I was worried about putting this in at the beginning like it says to.  It turned out fine.  However, if you want to know the cheese is in there and have it be cheesy, don't put it in until about the same time as the broccoli.

16 oz bag frozen broccoli, thawed I used a 12 oz bag and I threw it in frozen.  I'm pretty sure that it would be fine to substitute another vegetable if you don't like broccoli.

1. Combine all ingredients except broccoli in slow cooker.

2. One hour before end of cooking time, stir in broccoli.

3. Cook on high for a total of 3-4 hours or on low for a total of 6-7 hours.  I did low for about 3-4 hours.

The only thing I wasn't happy about is how the rice turned out.  It was cooked, it just seemed a little mushy almost.  Not sure if it's because it was too much water or from the vermacilli in the Rice a Roni.  It was edible and tasted fine, but I'd do something different with the rice next time.  This time I just used what I had on hand though.  My husband makes a dish very similar to this in the dutch oven.  What he does different however is that there is no cheese and he leaves the chicken in whole pieces (the entire breast).  He also uses cream of mushroom instead of cream of chicken.  Pretty good though and the kids DID eat it.

Crock Pot Recipe Day 10

Ham In Foil
From Fix It & Forget It Big Cookbook
P. 446

Makes 6 servings
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 7 hrs
Ideal slow cooker size: 5 qt

1/2 c. water
3-4 lb precooked ham I could only find either a 2.5 lb or a 5 lb so I went with 2.5
liquid smoke

1. Pour water into slow cooker.
2. Sprinkle ham with liquid smoke.  Wrap in foil.  Place in slow cooker.  I sat my ham on the foil and folded the sides up.  Then I sprinkled with liquid smoke.  This way I didn't get the liquid smoke all over or lose any by moving the ham after I sprinkled it with the liquid smoke.
3. Cover.  Cook on high 1 hour, then on low 6 hours.  I cooked mine on low for about 3 hours.
4. Cut into thick chunks or 1/2 inch slices and serve.

A snow fort

 Last week we managed to get five inches of snow (surprisingly, it's still here too).  When Travis went out to shovel the driveway I conned the kids into going outside to play in it.  Their dad can usually get them to build a snowman (mom's kinda lame and won't go out because she doesn't have boots or warm enough clothes).  He got them started on a snowman.  They rolled balls all over the front yard, through the driveway....

and even into the backyard.  Eventually they abandoned the idea of a snowman.  They had started to pile up their giant snowballs, but for some reason or another Sam turned them into her throne.

Next thing I know, I look out back and I see Travis shoveling the grass.  I'm thinking "What the heck?"  I figured he was building them a sledding hill.  Nope.  He showed them how to carve it out into the shape of a fort.  Before long Sam came in asking for bread pans.  Dad was showing them how to make bricks for the fort.

Even Caleb got into packing the bread pans (I mean brick pans).

I had Sam stand up inside the fort so I could see how tall it was getting.  They did a few rows of bricks around the top and then gave up (Dad had come inside).  So, every time I look out back I can see a half finished fort.  Now they need to half finish another one across the yard so they can have a snowball war!

This little girl sure loves her big brother Nash.  In fact, I'm quite certain she ADORES him.  She lights up whenever he walks into the room.  She gets the biggest grin and just loves to sit by him and hang out.  I think they are going to be the best of buddies.

I saw this one night not long after Christmas.  My mom had given Sam and my niece matching nightgowns and these fleece hats.  I told her the hats were not intended as a night cap, but rather for outside.  Apparently, she doesn't care.  She has slept with it on almost every night since she got it on Christmas Eve!

I believe I failed to mention that Nash lost a tooth on Christmas Eve.  I felt bad after I pulled it because there was actually more root to it than I had anticipated.  I felt really bad because I had to yank pretty dang hard to get it out.  He was a trooper though.  He let me yank it and didn't yell or scream nearly as much as his big sister did!  Since he was so tough he got a whole $1 from grandma.  Then, the Tooth Fairy left him another $2!  Santa AND the Tooth Fairy in the same night - what a lucky kiddo!

Welcome to Social Spark

So a few months ago, my sister told me she had signed up for this thing called Social Spark.  I decided I'd give it a try.  It's basically a way for bloggers to try and make a little money.  I figured "What the heck?"  So, I'm giving it a try.  I thought this looked like fun.  I wish they would have sent it to me a little closer to Christmas, but I think it might be a fun thing to get and mail to the house as a "Holy Cow!  Guess what Santa sent us!"







Here's another one I thought some of you might be interested in.  Those that know my family, know that my mom has unofficially published 4 family cookbooks (2 versions of 1, 1 version of another and a partial version of the 1st one as a completely different 3rd book - clear as mud, right?).  Anyway, I thought some of you might be interested in this one because if you're like us, you have lots of family recipes that you'd love to have all in one spot.  I've been trying to put one together for the Bown family, but I'm the biggest contributor of recipes and I think that just makes me look like a nerd so I haven't published it yet!  We got a recipe book that was put together with copies of hand written recipes that were Trav's great grandma's that I've been meaning to type up into another book so that it was a bit more organized (and I won't be devastated when Travis dumps a pot of coffee all over it like he did on one of my other cook books) BUT, I digress!  


  



Anyway.  I hope no one is annoyed by my periodic posting of some deals that are sent my way.  I'm posting them of FB too if you're interested.  I have pictures on my camera that I need to upload, but my computer seems to get slower and slower every day so I've been putting it off.  If I can survive until the weekend, I might just attempt it!


Happy Tuesday!

Crock Pot Recipe Day 9

Chicken Cordon Bleu Bundles
From Fix It and Forget It Big Cookbook
Page 340

Makes 6 servings
Prep time 15 minutes
Cooking time 4-5 hours
Ideal slow cooker size 4 qt

3 whole chicken breasts, split and deboned I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts
6 pieces thinly sliced ham  I used deli sliced ham and it was so thin it was kinda hard to tell it was there.  I'd suggest using a slice thickness that isn't paper thin.
6 slices Swiss cheese  All my cheese oozed out so I'd suggest putting 2 slices per piece of chicken instead of one.
 salt to taste
pepper to taste
6 slices of bacon
1/4 cup water
1 tsp chicken bouillon granules
1/2 cup white cooking wine I substituted 1/2 cup chicken broth
1 tsp. cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water

1. Flatten chicken to 1/8-1/4 inch thickness.  Place a slice of ham and a slice of cheese on top of each flattened breast.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  I'd suggest you salt and pepper the chicken and then place the ham and then the cheese.  Roll up and wrap with a strip of bacon.  Secure with toothpick.  Place in slow cooker.  If you don't have a meat tenderizer you can use a rolling pin.  However, it doesn't get your chicken as thin as a meat tenderizer would.  It can sort of mutilate your chicken too.  I would also suggest using a bacon that has some fat to it, but not a lot.

2. Combine 1/4 cup water, granules, and wine (or 1/2 cup chicken broth).  Pour into slow cooker.  You could probably use the chicken bouillon that comes in the cubes.  However, you would need to dissolve it in the water first.

3. Cover.  Cook on High 4 hours.  Ok, so I put mine in on low for 6 1/2 hours.  I figured it would be fine since my chicken wasn't completely thawed (yeah, try smashing that).  Much of my cheese oozed out of the center.  I actually think I'd recommend putting 2 slices of cheese inside instead of one. 

4. Combine cornstarch and 1/4 cup cold water.  Add to slow cooker.  Cook until sauce thickens.  Because I had my chicken in the crock pot for so long (ended up having a detour tonight before I got home), the kids were starving so I skipped this step.  Even though there was still liquid in the bottom of the crock pot (part bacon drippings, part juice I put in there) the chicken was a smidge dry and I think it probably did need this sauce.  I wouldn't recommend skipping this step.

Crock Pot Recipes Days 7-8

Mexican Pork Chops

From Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Recipes for Two 

P 142

Cooker 1 1/2 - 3 qt

Setting & Cook Time High 3-4 hours

2 tsp olive oil I didn't use this

Two 1 inch thick boneless center cut pork chops I did 8 chops 

2/3 cup chunky tomato salsa, fresh or jarred I used an entire qt

1 TBSP freshly squeezed lime juice I used 3 small limes

1 TBSP freshly squeezed orange juice I used 1 medium orange

Squeeze of fresh grapefruit I used 1/2 of a grapefruit

1. In a heavy skillet over high heat, heat the olive oil and quickly sear and brown the pork chops on both sides.  Place the pork chops in the slow cooker.  I don't use the olive oil because I use a non stick pan.  I seared the pork chops until I couldn't see any pink on either side.  I could still see pink on the edges of the chops, but not the top or bottom.

2. In a small bowl, combine the salsa and juices, and pour over the pork.  Cover and cook on HIGH for 3-4 hours, until the meat is tender.  Serve immediately.

These turned out spicier than I had anticipated.  Not so spicy that we couldn't eat it, just spicy enough that the kids were a bit hesitant.  I did use homemade salsa too so you could possibly control the spice by which kind of salsa you use.  My husband didn't like the pork chops because they had a sweet taste to them.  I could taste the grapefruit stronger than I thought I would.  I would only use 1/4 of a grapefruit if I did it in this quantity again.  

Barbecue Beef on Rolls

From Fix It & Forget It Big Cookbook

P. 319

Makes 12 servings

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 6.5-8.5 hours

Ideal slow cooker size: 4 qt

3 lb boneless chuck roast

1 cup barbecue sauce

1/2 cup apricot preserves

1/2 cup chopped green peppers

1 small onion, chopped I used 1/2 cup white onion

1 TBSP Dijon mustard I used a Honey Dijon mustard

2 tsp. brown sugar

1. Cut roast into quarters.  Place in greased slow cooker.  I didn't grease my crock pot.  I also didn't cut my roast into quarters because there were bones in the way.

2. Combine barbecue sauce, preserves, green peppers, onion, mustard, and brown sugar.  Pour over roast.

3. Cover.  Cook on Low 6-8 hours.  Remove roast and slice thinly.  Return to slow cooker.  Stir gently.

4. Cover.  Cook 20-30 minutes.

5. Serve beef and sauce on rolls.

Crock Pot Recipe Day 6

Today I actually made 2 new recipes.  Only 1 was in the crock pot.  But, they both turned out really good!

The first recipe I made wasWhite Chicken Chili (pictured above)
From 175 Essential Slow Cooker Classics
Page 160
Works best in a large (minimum 5 qt) slow cooker
1 TBSP olive oil I didn't use this
2 onions, finely chopped I used 1/2 of 1 white onion
4 cloves garlic, minced I did use 4, but 2 were super tiny.  I was worried there would be a heavy garlic taste, but I couldn't taste it at all.
1 TBSP cumin seeds, toasted and ground I just used ground cumin because I figured it was tons easier and faster!
2 tsp dried oregano leaves, crumbled I just used dried oregano that was already crushed
1 cinnamon stick piece (2 inches) So, 1 bottle of cinnamon sticks costs $5.36 at WalMart.  I was worried that there would be a really strong cinnamon flavor, but it was actually quite subtle.
1 tsp cracked black peppercorns I just used black pepper
2 cups chicken stock
2 lbs skinless, boneless chicken thighs, quartered (about 12 thighs) I used boneless, skinless chicken breast.  I had 3 small and 1 large chicken breast.  I read ahead in the directions thinking at some point I'd have to take the chicken out and cut it up.  It never says to do that.  My chicken was partially frozen still when I put it in the crock pot, otherwise I would have probably cut it into pieces beforehand.  I'd suggest cutting the fat off and into pieces before it goes in the crock pot if you can.
2 cups cooked dried or canned white kidney beans, drained and rinsed I used canned white kidney beans.  They were a little tricky to find because they weren't right next to the red kidney beans.  They were actually by the great white northern beans (they're white too).  1 15 oz can is about 1 1/4 cups.  I ended up using 2 15 oz cans so it was probably closer to 2 1/2 cups than 2.
2 tsp dried ancho or New Mexico chile powder, dissolved in 1 TBSP freshly squeezed lime juice So I couldn't find either of these ingredients.  I ended up using regular chile powder, which does not dissolve.  1 small lime was a little more than 1 TBSP so I just used the juice from 1 whole lime.
2 green bell peppers, finely chopped I used about 1/2 of one
1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped I left this out because my kids don't like spicy
1 can (4 1/2 oz) diced mild green chiles, drained
1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
Finely chopped cilantro
Lime wedges (optional)

1. In a skillet, heat oil over medium heat for 30 seconds.  Add onions and cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes.  Add garlic, toasted cumin, oregano, cinnamon stick and peppercorns and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.  Add stock and bring to a boil.  I put the garlic in right away with the onions.  I think that's why I couldn't taste the garlic  I pulled the pan off the heat to add all the spices because I didn't want the onions to burn.  After I had added all the spices, it wasn't very easy to stir because it kinda all just stuck to the onions and turned into a glob.  So, I just added the chicken stock rather than cook for 1 min. 
2. Transfer to slow cooker stonewar.  Add chicken and beans and stir well.  Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 3 hours, until juices run clear when chicken is pierced with a fork.  I put the chicken stock mix in and then the beans.  I ended up laying the chicken on top.  My crock pot is a super crock pot because I had it on low and it only took about 2 1/2 hours before I was able to cut up my cooked chicken.  The chicken stayed really moist and tender.  I think it might be because it was still slightly frozen when I put it in the crock pot so it added a little more juice to the mixture.  You can't tell from the picture, but there isn't a ton of juice to this chile.  I ended up taking out the cinnamon stick when I cut up the chicken.  I think it would have been fine to leave it in, but I didn't want to forget about it and have it end up in one of the kids' bowls.
3. Stir in chili powder solution.  Add bell peppers, jalapeno pepper and green chiles and stir well.  Cover and cook on high for 20 - 30 minutes, until peppers are tender.  Add cheese and cook, stirring, until melted, about 1 minute.  Ladle into bowls and garnish with cilantro.  Pass lime wedges at the table, if using.  I didn't mix the cheese in and melt it in the crock pot because Sam doesn't like cheese.  So, we cheesed our own.  I also didn't put the cilantro on as a garnish.

The juice does look a bit funky and it smells rather "interesting" when you transfer it to the crock pot.  I was worried the kids would be like "EWWW" because it looked funny.  I think part of it was that I used regular chile powder.  Even with leaving out the jalapeno and only using about 1/2 of 1 green pepper, it seemed like there were a ton of peppers in here.  If you aren't a big pepper fan, I'd suggest just using the diced green chiles.  Nash ate the chicken and really liked it.  I was worried it would be quite spicey, but it really wasn't.  He wasn't a big fan of the kidney beans though.  Samantha didn't like it at all, even the chicken.  Travis and I thought it turned out good though.  Caleb still hasn't even tried his.

Make ahead:
THis dish can be partially prepared before it is cooked.  Complete step 1.  Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days.  When you're ready to cook, continue with the recipe.  I think you could also cut up your chicken ahead of time.

To go with the chili, I made Simply Corn Muffins
From The Cornbread Gospels
Page 119

Vegetable oil cooking spray
1 cup unbleached white flour
1 cup stone ground yellow cornmeal
1/2 tsp salt
1 TBSP baking powder
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
1/4 to 1/3 cup sugar, preferably unrefined I used 1/4 because I was worried that it would be too sweet if I used more.  Nope, 1/3 would have been just fine.
1/3 cup melted butter or mild vegetable oil I used butter

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Spray a 12 cup muffin tin with oil or line with muffin papers.  I ended up getting 19 muffins out of this recipe.
2. Combine the flour, cornmeal, salt, and baking powder in a large bowl, stirring well.  Set aside.
3. Whisk together the buttermilk and baking soda in a medium bowl until the baking soda is dissolved.  Whisk in the eggs, sugar, and melted butter or oil.  The batter was quite "poofy".  I think it was from the baking soda.  It reminded me of when I've made the Jiffy boxed cornbread muffins and I let the batter sit for awhile and it has risen.
4. Stir the combined wet ingredients into the dry until the mixture is just barely combined.  Spoon into prepared muffin tin.
5. Bake until golden brown, 15-20 minutes.  Serve warm.  Mine only took 12 minutes.

My kids love cornbread and this was no exception.  I didn't have regular honey and none of them wanted the creamed honey so they were a little bland with just butter on them.  But, they were still really good.

Crock Pot Recipe Day 5

Honey Barbecue Pork Ribs
From: Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Recipes for Two
Page 155

Cooker: 3 qt
Setting and cook time: Low for 7-9 hours

2 lbs pork loin back ribs, baby back ribs, or country style pork spareribs, cut into serving pieces of 3-4 ribs
I used spare ribs
1 small yellow onion, sliced I used dried onion flakes because it's what I had
1 c. store bought or homemade barbecue sauce of your choice I used Kraft Original because I had one already open
1/3 c. mild flavored honey I didn't have quite 1/3 cup so I ended up using whipped honey to make up the difference.  Might have been easier to mix it up if I had melted the whipped honey first.
A few splashes Sriracha hot sauce, or other favorite hot sauce I used a green tabasco sauce - maybe a tsp.   I couldn't really taste the hot sauce.  If you like it spicy I'd add at least 1 TBSP.


1. Arrange the rib portions in the slow cooker, layering them with the onion slices.  Because my slow cooker is bigger than 3 quarts, I didn't have layers.  I laid the ribs in the bottom of the cooker and sprinkled dried onion on top of them.
2. Combine the barbecue sauce, honey, and hot sauce in a small bowl until smooth; spoon over the ribs.  If you have a round cooker, stack the ribs with sauce in between.  Cover and cook on LOW for 7-9 hours, until the meat is tender and starts to separate from the bone.
3.  Serve immediately.  If there is extra sauce on the bottom of the cooker, transfer to a bowl and serve on the side.

These were really tasty.  There wasn't a strong honey flavor.  If you like them with a strong honey flavor, I'd suggest using a honey flavored barbecue sauce.  

New Year's Eve & WOW! My baby is HUGE

 Only in UT, on New Year's Eve can a person find her children playing in a giant pile of leaves while her husband mows the lawn.  Yep.  This is what I saw as I looked out my back window on New Year's Eve:

 To celebrate New Year's Eve we went out to Trav's parents' house.  It was just us, Trav's parents & his sister's family.  The kids had a ton of fun playing together.  We had lots of yummy food and the big boys played their guitars.  Later, we watched The Rise of the Planet of the Apes.  The movie was ok, but I'm glad I didn't pay $6 to see it!

Yesterday I went out to Paradise to visit my cousin (Ashlee).  She's visiting from Oregon with her new baby.  Her kids are super cute.  Her older one is only a month younger than Caleb and her new one was just born the day before Thanksgiving.  Ash's sister, Natalee, was there with her little boy too.  He is about 3 or 4 weeks younger than Brooke (and 6 lbs lighter).  Look at the difference!:  

Little sister looks like a small buffalo for sure now!  My mom told me to check my baby book to see how old I was when I hit 20 lbs.  I was 8 months.  Brooke was about 7 months when she hit that mile marker.  I'm curious to see how old my other kids were when they hit that pound mark.  I think Sam was about 9 months because that's when we turned her car seat around.  It's crazy to think she's only gained 10 lbs in 7 months (she eats like a starving horse).  She looks so HUGE next to the boys though!  I'm pretty sure she out weighs my niece who's 2 months older than her too!  How sad.  I can't believe how fast they grow up!

Crock Pot Recipe Day 4

Travis really liked yesterday's recipe.  The kids, however, were not such big fans.  I noticed that since it tells you to put the peppers in at the end, they stay crisp and maintain a stronger pepper smell.  I don't think that's why the kids didn't like it.  I think it was just a smidge of the fear of the new and untried.

Here is today's recipe:

Slow Cooked Pulled Barbecue Chicken
From Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Recipes for Two
page 108

Cooker size: 1 1/2-3 qt
Setting and Cooking time: Low for 7-8 hours

1 small white or yellow onion, chopped I used dried onion flakes because it's what I had
1 small clove garlic, minced I used 2 because I put them in my garlic press & increased the recipe
4 boneless, skinless chicken THIGHS I used 4 boneless, skinless breasts 
1/2 cup ketchup
2 TBSP cider vinegar I used regular white vinegar because it's what I had
2 TBSP light brown sugar
1 TBSP olive oil I used vegetable oil because it's what I had
1 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp chipotle chile powder I used a Mexican seasoning because it's what I had
1/4 tsp salt
Hamburger buns

1. Sprinkle the onion and garlic over the bottom of the crock and arrange the chicken thighs on top.  I threw in some chopped green bell peppers too.
2. In a small bowl, stir together the ketchup, cider vinegar, brown sugar, oil, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, chipotle chile powder and salt; pour over the thighs.  Cover and cook on LOW for 7-8 hours, until the chicken is fork tender and pulls apart easily.
3. Remove the chicken from the slow cooker.  With two forks, pull apart the meat into shredded chunks; return to the slow cooker and stir to combine.  Cover and leave on the KEEP WARM setting until ready to serve.  Serve spooned onto warmed hamburger buns.

Because I used chicken breasts instead of chicken thighs, I increased the garlic.  I'm thinking I should have doubled the sauce as well.  There was enough sauce to cover the chicken breasts (I spooned it on top of them).  There was also a little bit of sauce that went down under the chicken.  I'm thinking I would have liked to have put sauce on the chicken breasts, flipped them over and sauced the other side as well.
When I've done pulled pork, I've melted cheese on the hamburger buns in the oven.  That's probably how I'll toast the hamburger buns this time too.

Crock Pot Recipe Day 3

The slow cooker enchiladas I made turned out awesome.  My husband said they were good warmed up as left overs too.

This recipe comes from 175 Essential Slow Cooker Classics p. 107

My notes are in bold again.

Beef & Rigatoni Bake

2 tbsp vegetable oil, divided didn't use this

2 lbs lean ground beef

2 onions I only used about 1/4 of one because it's all I had

4 stalks celery left this out

4 cloves garlic, minced I used 2 & I put them through my garlic press

1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves I didn't have thyme so I used oregano

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cracked black peppercorns I just used regular black pepper

1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed tomato soup

1 cup tomato juice, beef stock or water I used tomato juice because I had some open from a recipe I made the other day

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

4 cups rigatoni, cooked until barely tender (about 7 minutes) and drained I used Penne Rotini because it's what I had

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 green bell pepper, finely chopped, optional I only used about 1/2 of one

1 fresh hot chile pepper, minced, optional I'm leaving this out

1. In a skillet, heat 1 tbsp of the oil over medium high heat for 30 seconds.  Add beef and cook, breaking up with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 10 minutes.  Using a slotted spoon, transfer to slow cooker stoneware.  Drain liquid from pan.  I cooked 3 lbs ground beef so I have some cooked on hand for next time.  I ended up putting all my meat in a bowl to let it cool while I got other stuff going.  So, technically, if you use a large enough pan, you'll only dirty the one pan for the meat & sauce & 1 pan for the noodles.

2. Reduce heat to medium.  Add remaining oil to pan.  Add onions and celery and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes.  Add garlic, thyme, salt and peppercorns and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.  Stir in tomato soup, juice and Worcestershire sauce.  Transfer to slow cooker stoneware.  It's kind of a "duh" thing to say, but be careful, it splatters A LOT.

3. Add cooked rigatoni and stir well.  Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 3 hours, until hot and bubbly.  Stir in cheese, green pepper and chile pepper, if using.  Coer and cook on high for 20 minutes, until cheese is melted and pepper is heated through.

Once I got going on this recipe, I started to think it would be similar to the beef and noodle casserole one I did the other day.  We'll see how it turns out though.

The book also said you can make this ahead:

This dish can be partially prepared before it is cooked.  Complete steps 1 and 2.  Cover and refrigerate meat and vegetable mixtures separately for up to 2 days.  When you're ready to cook, combine in slow cooker stoneware and continue with the recipe.