Last week of Crock-tober

With Halloween rapidly approaching, the Main Man and I discovered we have one more thing in common. We hate it. 

I can't figure out why our kids like it either. The Girl hates talking to adults and we never let them eat the candy they worked so hard for. I know. We're the worst. The Boy is going as a ninja. He gets to take his sweet moves on the road. Pumped does not begin to describe his excitement.

For the record, I've loved Crock-tober. This is my busy season, and since adding tree skirts to the mix, it's even busier. The Crock Pot Life has been a lifesaver and I can only hope it's helped you out a little.

Menu

Roast Chicken

Potatoes, Green Beans and Ham

Corn, Bacon and Chicken Chowder

Honey Mustard Ham

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Recipes

Roast Chicken

Potatoes, green beans and ham

Put those items in your pot and let them cook all day. You can also sub cooked sausage link discs for the ham.

Corn, bacon and chicken chowder

Honey Mustard Ham

I'll probably use some applesauce in place of the juice. 

Chicken Tortilla Soup

What you'll need

Meat

Whole 3-4lb chicken

5-6lb bone in, fully cooked ham

1lb cooked chicken breast

Cooked kielbasa (which reminds me. Try it fried with cocktail sauce.)

The rest

8-10 potatoes

Can of Cream Corn

Chicken broth/stock/base for 8 cups

Ham

Onion

Half and half (or milk)

Apple juice

Brown sugar

Kidney beans, 2 cups

Taco seasoning

Green beans

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you'll add your email to my list so you can see all the wonders I write about. I have no great plan for November, so if you have one, let me know! Ornaments, and mini projects are coming soon! 

Crock-tober out.

Crock-tober Week 4

I plum forgot to post on Wednesday. And here we are. Whoops. The good news is because I didn't love the original plan, I was able to switch something to accommodate my Main Man.

What we're eating:

Crock Pot Honey Chicken with Cole Slaw

Cheesy Cowboy Casserole

Amish Lady (not)Noodles with Corn

Apple Cinnamon Pork Loin

Crock Pot Carmel 

The idea is to make a lot of Amish Lady without noodles, and add the noodles after you're done eating. Cook for an hour, and store for later. Ta-da! It's a twofer!

Honey Chicken:
http://www.tablefortwoblog.com/2012/02/21/crockpot-honey-bourbon-chicken/
and it's Cole Slaw:
http://www.afarmgirlsdabbles.com/2013/08/22/moms-sweet-onion-coleslaw-dressing-recipe/

Cheesy Cowboy Casserole:
http://www.familyfreshmeals.com/2013/08/cheesy-crockpot-cowboy-casserole.html

Amish Lady Noodles:
http://redesignaccessories.blogspot.com/2013/09/crocktober-week-1.html
Add everything but the noodles and serve it over mashed potatoes. No one will judge if they are from a box. After your family is full, add noodles until they are just covered in broth and cook for an hour or until they are soft. Refrigerate. 

Apple Cinnamon Pork Loin
Recipe found here.

Crock Pot Carmel:
Really simple, but oh so fun! Start it in the morning and your kids will be dipping apples when they get home and you win Awesome Mom award. She says you can add it to a mason jar to cook. Of course I am! I want to see it happen.
http://www.dessertnowdinnerlater.com/2013/08/crockpot-caramel.html

Go shopping!

Meat:

3-4 chicken breasts or 2-3 breasts and 4-5 thighs

1# ground beef
3# pork loin

Everything else:

Honey

Soy sauce

Ketchup

Vegetable oil

Garlic cloves

Onion

Red pepper flakes

Cornstarch

Sesame seeds

Mrs Dash or other favorite seasoning mix

Red potatoes

Cream of mushroom soup (or homemade chicken soup)

Cans of tomatoes, corn, red kidney beans

Cheddar cheese

Egg Noodles

Chicken Soup Base
Apples
Cinnamon

Sweetened condensed milk

Heavy Cream

This is the part of the show where I'd like to tell you I'm working on something fun and I can't wait to show you. I have some ideas. If only I didn't live in the world of retail and you wanted to hear about Christmas already. In the mean time, love this wreath a client commissioned.

Have a great week!

Pumpkin Extravaganza

If you know me, its zero secret that I love orange. Obsessed with it really. It started on a whim over 15 years ago, and hasn't stopped since. (I just realized that's a real long time.)

Couple that with a love of being snuggled in blankets, and with my Main Man, and you can see why Fall is my favorite.

Let's talk about three homemade pumpkin choices.

First, pie. 
One of the littlest love's favorite books has a line that says "Pie. That reminds me of something… PIE!" He asks me to make him pumpkin pie every year. Do you know buying a sugar or pie pumpkin is actually cheaper than buying it canned? Usually about $1.50 at a grocery store. To turn them into puree, it's as simple as one- cut it into quarters and get rid of the top, bottom and innards. Two- cut the quarters in half and microwave in groups of 4 for 5-6 minutes. It's done when you smash all the way through with a fork. Three- Let it cool for a bit, and peel the leathery rind off, and puree in your blender or food processor. You can freeze it or eat it (gross) or make your favorite recipe for pie. 




Second, lets make a pumpkin!

These might look fancy, but they're really simple. Two pieces of 2x6's. One is 10" the other is about 7". A quick coat of orange craft paint, and then orange glitter spray paint. It doesn't look pretty until the glitter paint dries. What you think it white, dries clear. The stems are pinecones, and I added a couple burlap leaves, some berries and leaves from a grouping at Hobby Lobby in the Fall section. Attached some ribbon and it's done! The longest part was holding the pinecones and waiting for the glue to dry! 

Last, some pumpkins for inside.

In two choices of classic fabrics or burlap. Even burlap coffee bags! All are finished in different ways. All are charming. In small (1/$8, 2/$14, 3/$20) and medium($14). These are for sale in my Etsy shop, or you can leave your email in the comments section with which ones you want and I can send you an invoice. 

Happy Fall Y'all!

Crock-tober Round Three

Confession:

I made apple sauce twice last week and will be making it again. The kids weren't so keen on my leaving it chunky, but who cares what they think? It was delish!

Aren't you loving that it's finally actually crisp? The first week of Crock-tober was not all that I was hoping for. Comfort food isn't as awesome in 85 degree weather. 

Menu

Baked Potato Soup

Country Ribs

French Onion Soup

Potato, Sausage and Cheese

Chicken Tacos

Baked Potato Soup

This is pretty thick, so soup is used pretty loosely. Sometimes, I like to add a favorite bbq sauce to just mine for a little extra awesome. This comes to us from 'Fix it and Forget it'

4 lg baked potatoes

2/3 c butter

2/3 c flour

6 c milk

salt and pepper

small onion, chopped

12 slices of bacon, fried and chopped (bacon can be cooked, chopped and frozen. It's wonderful)

2 c shredded cheddar cheese OR 1 c cheddar and 2 oz velveeta

1 c chicken broth/base

Cut the potatoes in half and scoop out the pulp, pop it in the crock pot. Melt butter in a medium saucepan. Add the flour. Gradually stir in the milk and broth and stir until smooth and thick. Add the sauce to your crock pot, along with everything else. Cook on low for 4-6 hours.

Country Ribs
(Erin, this one as your name all over it. Super simple)
 3-4 boneless or bone-in country ribs.
1/2 a bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce
1/2 c beef broth.
All in the CP for the day on low. The biggest problem is that you need a spoon to dig out the ribs, they are that soft and wondrous.

French Onion Soup
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/slow-cooker-french-onion-soup/detail.aspx?extkb=1

Potato Sausage and Cheese
(Mom, this is perfect for my growing brother)
http://www.food.com/recipe/joleans-cheese-potato-smoked-sausage-casserole-126623
**I forgot to add that this is originally a oven baked recipe, but I put it in my crock pot on low for about 4 hours. 

Chicken Tacos
(Mom, this is perfect for Alex AND Dad. Always thinking of you!)
Cook chicken in the crock pot mixed with 1 oz packet of ranch dressing mix, a 1 oz packet of taco seasoning and 1 1/2 c chicken broth. Cook on low for 4 hours. Shred and serve with your favorite toppings.

I've been making these adorable little pumpkins to get ready for a craft show at Indiana University, Kokomo.

Via

I should probably tell you about them soon. 
Have a great week!

Crock-tober Week 2

How was your first week of Crock-tober? Was it everything you hoped it would be and more? Did you love that you knew what you were having and didn't have to beg for suggestions? Great!!

Crock-tober Menu #2

Chicken Taco Chili

Cheeseburger Soup

Hawaiian Chicken

Meatball Subs

Yum-e-setti

I got to use Crock-tober to get a new, beautiful Crock Pot. For $17 whole dollars at The Target. It's 4 quarts, but that's enough for my family of 4 and for my Main Man to have leftovers for his lunch. He then found my 8 qt one and wondered why I needed a smaller one. Because the fuller it is, the longer it takes to cook. It makes things much tastier, and doesn't accidentally burn. Lets just hope he doesn't find the dip sized one. 

I have a problem. I'm okay with it.

Chicken Taco Chili

I'll confess. I haven't made this. But it's pretty straight forward. No, I will not be adding the beans. They're gross.

http://rita-may-recipes.blogspot.com/2011/11/crock-pot-cream-cheese-chicken-chile.html

Cheeseburger Soup

I've made cheeseburger soup generally this way. I tend to just add stuff until it looks/smells good. Someone, we won't name names will we Mom, doesn't trust herself to do that, so here's the recipe.

http://joyerickson.wordpress.com/2010/11/28/cheeseburger-soup/

This is also a great time to talk about the awesomeness of starting it the night before, cooling it and letting it go on warm all day the next day. The ground beef will get super soft and all the veggies will spread their love. It's worth a try if you don't want to do a lot of prep in the morning.

Hawaiian Chicken

4-6 chicken breasts, hawaiian style BBQ sauce, and a can of crushed pineapple all thrown in for 6 or so hours on low. Serve with roasted broccoli and rice.
I'll be doing a lot less chicken. 2-3 depending on the size. If you're into gluten, you could also serve it on those wonderful little Hawaiian buns. 

Meatball for Subs or Pasta

Dump a bag of frozen meatballs (Sam's has gluten free!) and a jar of your favorite pasta sauce (I'm obsessed with Prego Pesto Marinara.) in your Crock Pot. Cook on low all day, or high from lunch on. Sounds simple but it's better than you can imagine. When you make your subs, put the mozzarella cheese in your bun first. 

Yum-e-setti
This comes straight from 'Fix-it and Forget-it Cookbook'. Mom makes a similar version. It's not complicated and wonderful.
1.5 lbs Browned and drained ground beef
10 oz tomato soup
8 oz cooked noodles (I suggest egg)
1.5 cups of prepared Cream of Chicken soup
1 cup of celery, chopped and cooked to tender (this one is not a must have)
salt to taste
1 lb frozen mixed vegetables
1/2 lb Velveeta cheese, cubed (this is 1/4 of a log)

Combine ground beef and tomato soup.
Combine chicken soup, noodles and celery.
Layer beef mixture, chicken soup mixture and veggies. Lay the cheese on the top.
Cover and cook on low for 2-3 hours.


Shopping List

Meat

6+ Chicken breasts

2 lbs ground beef

Meatballs

All the rest

Rotel

Corn

Black Beans

Ranch dressing mix

Cumin

Chili powder

Onion powder

8 oz Cream cheese (one brick)

Carrots- 2

Onion

Celery

Potatoes- 5 lbs

Chicken broth (Or use the base from week 1)

Sour Cream (we got 3 lbs at Sams Club. THREE POUNDS!!)

Velveeta

Crushed Pineapple

Hawaiian BBQ sauce

Pasta Sauce (Points if it’s homemade!)

Egg noodles

Tomato soup

Frozen Veggies

Questions, comments, concerns? 

Coming soon: we hung a TV on the wall, and now I need to do something with that. Including, but not limited to, hiding some wires.