So due to the rainy yuck of seasonal change and the fact that the rain released a week's worth of sinus pressure all at once on my yesterday, I'm in a soup mood! This soup to be exact!
Loaded Baked Potato Soup
In a Crockpot cook -
4 Large Baking Potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1-2 inch pieces
3 Cups Chicken Broth (24 ounces)
1/4 of a large Sweet Yellow Onion chopped into small pieces
Garlic Powder
Salt
Black Pepper
Paprika
(season heavily)
Cook on high for 4 hours, or low for 8.
Soften (to semi melted) 6 ounces of Cream Cheese (I use the fat free and it works just fine if you want to save a few calories!).
Cook 3-4 pieces of Bacon, drain off grease. Crunch up into large "bacon bits"
Beat Cream Cheese into soup mixture in Crockpot. Fold in 1/2 of the Bacon. Re-season delicately. You add another 8 oz. Chicken Broth here if you like your soup more soupy, we tend to do ours on the "stewy" side though.
Cook on high for 30 minutes.
Serve garnished with Shredded Cheese, and remaining Bacon.
ENJOY!!
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Friday, September 28, 2012
Should I write something not about food?
Do I even know how to do that anymore? Some days I wonder if I even know how to write in the first place, but I try, and I ramble, and maybe someone will get something out of it someday, even if it's just me.
Sometimes I ramble just to sort things out in my head and delete the post without posting it. Do you eve do that? Do you ever think you're going to teach someone something and then learn more about yourself than they could possible learn?
We've been studying "grace" in our ladies Bible study. I think it's a concept I thought I fully understood. We're saved by Grace, God grants us grace, we should grant others grace, but can we really grant grace?
We're a picky, judgmental, self righteous, justifying culture, we always have been, but does that give us the right? I try so hard not to put myself up on any kind of pedestal, not to think of myself as better and in the process usually end up beating myself up psychologically.
Then I look at judge-y, condemning, nit picking people and wonder if the tearing down of myself is healthier.
Then I realize I'm judging them for judging.
Why is it also that some people can get a free pass for their mistakes no matter what? I noticed this while teaching this week, when I thought I'd be doing all the teaching, but a sweet, hard working, focused, people pleasing 9 year old gave me a lesson by apologizing for all her buzzy guitar notes and trying to correct them instantly. Why is it that as kids we can so easily apologize and forgive bet as adults we hold every little mistake over someone's heads forever? Or at least until we know they have a bigger mistake to hold over ours.
SERIOUSLY! I told you I ramble!
Anyways, what I'm saying is, I think many of us, myself included need to find the happy medium. The place where we see ourselves as worthless, but thankful and in awe of the Grace we've been given for our mistakes and short comings and because we're so filled with that Grace, we're unable to see the bad in people, even if that bad if just their judginess (I know it's not a word, it just works!).
I'm going to try to be conscious of my judging this week.
Sometimes I ramble just to sort things out in my head and delete the post without posting it. Do you eve do that? Do you ever think you're going to teach someone something and then learn more about yourself than they could possible learn?
We've been studying "grace" in our ladies Bible study. I think it's a concept I thought I fully understood. We're saved by Grace, God grants us grace, we should grant others grace, but can we really grant grace?
We're a picky, judgmental, self righteous, justifying culture, we always have been, but does that give us the right? I try so hard not to put myself up on any kind of pedestal, not to think of myself as better and in the process usually end up beating myself up psychologically.
Then I look at judge-y, condemning, nit picking people and wonder if the tearing down of myself is healthier.
Then I realize I'm judging them for judging.
Why is it also that some people can get a free pass for their mistakes no matter what? I noticed this while teaching this week, when I thought I'd be doing all the teaching, but a sweet, hard working, focused, people pleasing 9 year old gave me a lesson by apologizing for all her buzzy guitar notes and trying to correct them instantly. Why is it that as kids we can so easily apologize and forgive bet as adults we hold every little mistake over someone's heads forever? Or at least until we know they have a bigger mistake to hold over ours.
SERIOUSLY! I told you I ramble!
Anyways, what I'm saying is, I think many of us, myself included need to find the happy medium. The place where we see ourselves as worthless, but thankful and in awe of the Grace we've been given for our mistakes and short comings and because we're so filled with that Grace, we're unable to see the bad in people, even if that bad if just their judginess (I know it's not a word, it just works!).
I'm going to try to be conscious of my judging this week.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Crockpot Kitchen - Volume 2
So we talked a little about chicken, now on to some beef. I'll tackle the non-meat dishes one or two at a time over the weekend maybe, they're a bit more detailed than the 3-5 ingredients leave it alone meat dishes that I live by.
A general rule of thumb with crockpotting - if you would marinade it and then cook/grill it, you can crockpot it. Simply skip the soaking in marinade process and pour the marinade directly on the raw or even frozen meat and just slow cook the day away instead of thawing, timing marinades and then still cooking.
Here are a few of our favorite beef recipes -
Whole Pot Roast -
Any size and cut of roast that will fit in your crockpot (frozen is fine)
1/2 Cup Water
2 Tablespoons butter cut into small pieces
Enough Salt, Pepper, Paprika, and Garlic Salt to generously sprinkle over entire roast.
1 Sweet Onion cut into thick slices
Put it all in the crockpot in that order, cook on high 6 hours or low for 8 hours.
BBQ Beef - (using leftover pot roast meat!)
Shredded already cooked Roast Beef
1/2 bottle BBQ or Honey BBQ Sauce
1/4 cup Water
Cook on low no more than 5 hours.
Serve with melted cheese on toasted sub or kaiser rolls.
Tangy Stew Beef -
1 1/2 to 2 pounds Stew Beef
1/2 bottle Italian Dressing
1/4 cup Teryaki Sauce
Enough Parmesan cheese to sprinkle over the pile.
Cook on low 8 hours.
Serve over Rice or Egg Noodles.
Freezer Burned of Tough Steak Fix -
Whatever piece of Beef you need to save (works best with thicker cuts, top sirloins, thick rib eyes, bone ins)
1 Packet Ranch Dressing Mix
1 Packet Italian Dressing Mix
1 Packet Brown Gravy Mix
1/2 Cut Water
Mix all the packets into the water, pour over meat.
Cook on low at least 8 hours, the longer you cook it, the more tender it will be.
Seriously, this has saved me from throwing out at least meals worth of forgotten in the back of the freezer beef!
Meatloaf -
(you can do this with any recipe, this is just mine, or rather my Grandma's that I've added to)
2 Pounds Ground Beef (I use half 90% half 80%)
2 Eggs Beaten
1/2 a Large Sweet Onion Finely Chopped
1/2 Cup Ketchup
1/2 Cup Italian Seasoned Bread Crumbs
Salt, Pepper, Garlic Salt, Paprika and Oregano "to smell"
Mix everything together, make sure all the bread crumbs are good and moistened.
Form into your crockpot. Drizzle with Ketchup and cook 6-8 hours. Thinner loaves (if it's formed too thin because of a larger crockpot) take less time.
Thick Meaty Chili -
1/2 Pound cooked ground beef (I use leftover Meatloaf whenever I can)
6 thick cut pieces of Bacon cut into one inch pieces.
1/2 Large Sweet Onion Chopped
1 Can Bush's Turkey Chili Starter with Beans
1 Can Dark Kidney Beans
1 Can Chili Beans
1 Can Tomato Soup
1 Small Can Stewed Tomatoes mashed up with a fork.
Hot Sauce
Chili Powder, Red Pepper, Black Pepper, Garlic Salt and Paprika "to smell"
Let simmer on low a minimum of 4 hours, you can't overcook this if you stir it a couple of times though.
Serve over brown rice with shredded cheese and crackers for garnish.
BBQ Ribs - (beef or pork)
2 Tablespoons Butter (in bottom of crockpot)
1/2 rack any ribs, or 1 1/2 pounds boneless ribs covered in rub -
Rub -
1/4 Cup Bread Crumbs
1 TB Salt
1 tsp Black Pepper
1 tsp Paprika
1/2 tsp Garlic Salt
1/2 tsp Onion Salt
Cook on High 4 hours.
Add 1/2 standard bottle any BBQ Sauce.
Cook on Low for 2-3 hours.
That's it off the top of my head, I'm sure I'll be adding plenty more recipes for both later this week now that I have my mind going that direction. :)
Enjoy!
A general rule of thumb with crockpotting - if you would marinade it and then cook/grill it, you can crockpot it. Simply skip the soaking in marinade process and pour the marinade directly on the raw or even frozen meat and just slow cook the day away instead of thawing, timing marinades and then still cooking.
Here are a few of our favorite beef recipes -
Whole Pot Roast -
Any size and cut of roast that will fit in your crockpot (frozen is fine)
1/2 Cup Water
2 Tablespoons butter cut into small pieces
Enough Salt, Pepper, Paprika, and Garlic Salt to generously sprinkle over entire roast.
1 Sweet Onion cut into thick slices
Put it all in the crockpot in that order, cook on high 6 hours or low for 8 hours.
BBQ Beef - (using leftover pot roast meat!)
Shredded already cooked Roast Beef
1/2 bottle BBQ or Honey BBQ Sauce
1/4 cup Water
Cook on low no more than 5 hours.
Serve with melted cheese on toasted sub or kaiser rolls.
Tangy Stew Beef -
1 1/2 to 2 pounds Stew Beef
1/2 bottle Italian Dressing
1/4 cup Teryaki Sauce
Enough Parmesan cheese to sprinkle over the pile.
Cook on low 8 hours.
Serve over Rice or Egg Noodles.
Freezer Burned of Tough Steak Fix -
Whatever piece of Beef you need to save (works best with thicker cuts, top sirloins, thick rib eyes, bone ins)
1 Packet Ranch Dressing Mix
1 Packet Italian Dressing Mix
1 Packet Brown Gravy Mix
1/2 Cut Water
Mix all the packets into the water, pour over meat.
Cook on low at least 8 hours, the longer you cook it, the more tender it will be.
Seriously, this has saved me from throwing out at least meals worth of forgotten in the back of the freezer beef!
Meatloaf -
(you can do this with any recipe, this is just mine, or rather my Grandma's that I've added to)
2 Pounds Ground Beef (I use half 90% half 80%)
2 Eggs Beaten
1/2 a Large Sweet Onion Finely Chopped
1/2 Cup Ketchup
1/2 Cup Italian Seasoned Bread Crumbs
Salt, Pepper, Garlic Salt, Paprika and Oregano "to smell"
Mix everything together, make sure all the bread crumbs are good and moistened.
Form into your crockpot. Drizzle with Ketchup and cook 6-8 hours. Thinner loaves (if it's formed too thin because of a larger crockpot) take less time.
Thick Meaty Chili -
1/2 Pound cooked ground beef (I use leftover Meatloaf whenever I can)
6 thick cut pieces of Bacon cut into one inch pieces.
1/2 Large Sweet Onion Chopped
1 Can Bush's Turkey Chili Starter with Beans
1 Can Dark Kidney Beans
1 Can Chili Beans
1 Can Tomato Soup
1 Small Can Stewed Tomatoes mashed up with a fork.
Hot Sauce
Chili Powder, Red Pepper, Black Pepper, Garlic Salt and Paprika "to smell"
Let simmer on low a minimum of 4 hours, you can't overcook this if you stir it a couple of times though.
Serve over brown rice with shredded cheese and crackers for garnish.
BBQ Ribs - (beef or pork)
2 Tablespoons Butter (in bottom of crockpot)
1/2 rack any ribs, or 1 1/2 pounds boneless ribs covered in rub -
Rub -
1/4 Cup Bread Crumbs
1 TB Salt
1 tsp Black Pepper
1 tsp Paprika
1/2 tsp Garlic Salt
1/2 tsp Onion Salt
Cook on High 4 hours.
Add 1/2 standard bottle any BBQ Sauce.
Cook on Low for 2-3 hours.
That's it off the top of my head, I'm sure I'll be adding plenty more recipes for both later this week now that I have my mind going that direction. :)
Enjoy!
Crockpot Kitchen Volume 1.
So lately I've been getting alot of questions from friends about my crockpot obsession, so instead of individually typing out all of my ideas and recipes, I figured I'd make a list here and then just post a link on my facebook, rather than having to remember who asked for what, that way everyone has access to everything.
Pretty much my cooking philosophy is keep it simple and flavorful and proportioned. We pretty much eat a lean meat, carb side and steamed veggie or fresh fruit for dinner every night, except the nights I'm at church late and we eat sandwiches or breakfast with fruit. I probably use my crockpot 3-4 times a week, and it's literally the only reason we can handle eating home cooked most nights with my schedule.
Just to keep it simple today, let's start with a few chicken and then I can give you some other options later in the week.
Whole Roast Chicken -
1 Whole chicken, thawed and cleaned out
1 Can Chicken Broth
Salt, Black Pepper and Paprika sprinkled generously over chicken
Cook 6 hours on high or 8 hours on low.
Herby Whole Roast Chicken -
1 Whole chicken, thawed and cleaned out
Inside Chicken Cavity -
1/2 stick Butter cut into 4-5 pieces
1 Small Lemons cut in half horizontally
On Outside of Chicken -
1/2 stick melted Butter
Rosemary, Salt and Black Pepper sprinkled generously over chicken.
Cook 6 hours on high or 8 hours on low.
Hawaiian Chicken -
1 package chicken breasts or tenderloins (frozen is fine)
1/2 of a standard 12oz. bottle of any brand Honey BBQ Sauce
1 12 oz. can pineapple chunks
Cook 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low, add an hour if frozen.
Serve over rice with a veggie or salad.
Tangy Lemon Chicken -
1 package chicken breasts or tenderloins (frozen is fine)
1 packet Italian Dressing Mix
the juice from 2 large lemons (1/3-1/2 cup lemon juice)
Cook 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low, add an hour if frozen.
Serve with potatoes or home fries and roast veggies..
Buffalo Chicken -
(Coming from a Rochester native - 90 minutes from the original Buffalo wing place!)
1 package chicken breasts or tenderloins (frozen is fine)
1 packet Ranch Dressing Mix
3/4 Cup Franks Red Hot Sauce
Cook 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low, add an hour if frozen.
Shred chicken with fork, stir back into sauce, let cook another 20-40 minutes. (the longer the hotter!)
Serve on toasted sub rolls with melted provolone cheese and a side salad.
Chicken Taco Meat -
1 package chicken breasts or tenderloins (frozen is fine)
1 packet Ranch Dressing Mix
1 packet Taco Seasoning
1 Can Chicken Broth
Cook 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low, add an hour if frozen.
Shred chicken with fork, stir back into sauce, let cook another 20-40 minutes. (the longer the hotter!)
Serve on tortillas with all the regular fixings.
Creamy Italian Chicken -
1 package chicken breasts or tenderloins (frozen is fine)
8 oz. Greek Yogurt
1/2 Cup Shredded or Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 teaspoon Garlic Salt
Mix Yogurt, Cheese and Garlic Salt together, spread over chicken breasts.
Cook 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low, add an hour if frozen.
Serve over pasta with a side salad.
Chicken and Rice Stew -
1 1/2 Cups shredded, already cooked Chicken meat (great use for leftovers from whole chickens!)
1 1/2 Cups Chopped Veggies (I use a combo of frozen or canned corn, fresh carrots, onions and green beans)
1 Cup Brown Rice
1 Chicken Boullion Cube or equivalent in powder.
36 oz. Chicken Broth
Let simmer on high for 2-3 hours or 5-6 hours on low.
There you go a few ideas to get you started, otherwise known as more than a week's worth of chicken, all incredible simple and cheap too!
Enjoy!
Pretty much my cooking philosophy is keep it simple and flavorful and proportioned. We pretty much eat a lean meat, carb side and steamed veggie or fresh fruit for dinner every night, except the nights I'm at church late and we eat sandwiches or breakfast with fruit. I probably use my crockpot 3-4 times a week, and it's literally the only reason we can handle eating home cooked most nights with my schedule.
Just to keep it simple today, let's start with a few chicken and then I can give you some other options later in the week.
Whole Roast Chicken -
1 Whole chicken, thawed and cleaned out
1 Can Chicken Broth
Salt, Black Pepper and Paprika sprinkled generously over chicken
Cook 6 hours on high or 8 hours on low.
Herby Whole Roast Chicken -
1 Whole chicken, thawed and cleaned out
Inside Chicken Cavity -
1/2 stick Butter cut into 4-5 pieces
1 Small Lemons cut in half horizontally
On Outside of Chicken -
1/2 stick melted Butter
Rosemary, Salt and Black Pepper sprinkled generously over chicken.
Cook 6 hours on high or 8 hours on low.
Hawaiian Chicken -
1 package chicken breasts or tenderloins (frozen is fine)
1/2 of a standard 12oz. bottle of any brand Honey BBQ Sauce
1 12 oz. can pineapple chunks
Cook 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low, add an hour if frozen.
Serve over rice with a veggie or salad.
Tangy Lemon Chicken -
1 package chicken breasts or tenderloins (frozen is fine)
1 packet Italian Dressing Mix
the juice from 2 large lemons (1/3-1/2 cup lemon juice)
Cook 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low, add an hour if frozen.
Serve with potatoes or home fries and roast veggies..
Buffalo Chicken -
(Coming from a Rochester native - 90 minutes from the original Buffalo wing place!)
1 package chicken breasts or tenderloins (frozen is fine)
1 packet Ranch Dressing Mix
3/4 Cup Franks Red Hot Sauce
Cook 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low, add an hour if frozen.
Shred chicken with fork, stir back into sauce, let cook another 20-40 minutes. (the longer the hotter!)
Serve on toasted sub rolls with melted provolone cheese and a side salad.
Chicken Taco Meat -
1 package chicken breasts or tenderloins (frozen is fine)
1 packet Ranch Dressing Mix
1 packet Taco Seasoning
1 Can Chicken Broth
Cook 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low, add an hour if frozen.
Shred chicken with fork, stir back into sauce, let cook another 20-40 minutes. (the longer the hotter!)
Serve on tortillas with all the regular fixings.
Creamy Italian Chicken -
1 package chicken breasts or tenderloins (frozen is fine)
8 oz. Greek Yogurt
1/2 Cup Shredded or Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 teaspoon Garlic Salt
Mix Yogurt, Cheese and Garlic Salt together, spread over chicken breasts.
Cook 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low, add an hour if frozen.
Serve over pasta with a side salad.
Chicken and Rice Stew -
1 1/2 Cups shredded, already cooked Chicken meat (great use for leftovers from whole chickens!)
1 1/2 Cups Chopped Veggies (I use a combo of frozen or canned corn, fresh carrots, onions and green beans)
1 Cup Brown Rice
1 Chicken Boullion Cube or equivalent in powder.
36 oz. Chicken Broth
Let simmer on high for 2-3 hours or 5-6 hours on low.
There you go a few ideas to get you started, otherwise known as more than a week's worth of chicken, all incredible simple and cheap too!
Enjoy!
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
A weekend of "new"s
So it's been a couple of weeks, a couple of weeks full of getting projects done, starting new things and overall, just being busy.
I've stuck to my menu planning, but simplified alot of my staples or gone back to cooking bigger main dishes that can be repurposed a second night so that I only have to do a big meal every two to three days. I still feel like I'm feeding my husband home made every night, it's just home made takes 10 minutes some nights instead of an hour, which gives me alot more time to get other things done. This week's dishes include a Roast turned into BBQ Beef, Breakfast for Dinner, and Hawaiian Chicken followed by BBQ Chicken Pizza.
A couple of weekends ago, I was swamped with all things photography. I finished editing and delivered a rather large wedding and shot a friends maternity pictures and processed them all in 2 days to be able to surprise her with prints at her shower the next week.
This weekend was another one of those weekend. The new website is up and operational. I spent 7+ hours glued to a computer screen Saturday morning and then another 45 minutes to an hour editing the final result, so all in all, 8 hours to reinvent the website and add more content and space than before isn't too bad for an self taught web designer. I also redid the business cards and added a few new portfolio shots.
Check out www.adaniephotography.com to see what I'm talking about.
More "new"s included a new wreath for the front door, a new recipe that I found on Pinterest and tweaked a bit and of all things, a new iPhone. Yes people, I finally caved and went Mac, not proud to say it, but it works, I'm figuring it out and so far don't completely hate it.
Well, time to get ready for work. Home made Oreos sit on the counter for my husband to take to Bible study tonight while I try my first Zumba class. Let's hope it doesn't kill me!
I've stuck to my menu planning, but simplified alot of my staples or gone back to cooking bigger main dishes that can be repurposed a second night so that I only have to do a big meal every two to three days. I still feel like I'm feeding my husband home made every night, it's just home made takes 10 minutes some nights instead of an hour, which gives me alot more time to get other things done. This week's dishes include a Roast turned into BBQ Beef, Breakfast for Dinner, and Hawaiian Chicken followed by BBQ Chicken Pizza.
A couple of weekends ago, I was swamped with all things photography. I finished editing and delivered a rather large wedding and shot a friends maternity pictures and processed them all in 2 days to be able to surprise her with prints at her shower the next week.
This weekend was another one of those weekend. The new website is up and operational. I spent 7+ hours glued to a computer screen Saturday morning and then another 45 minutes to an hour editing the final result, so all in all, 8 hours to reinvent the website and add more content and space than before isn't too bad for an self taught web designer. I also redid the business cards and added a few new portfolio shots.
Check out www.adaniephotography.com to see what I'm talking about.
More "new"s included a new wreath for the front door, a new recipe that I found on Pinterest and tweaked a bit and of all things, a new iPhone. Yes people, I finally caved and went Mac, not proud to say it, but it works, I'm figuring it out and so far don't completely hate it.
Well, time to get ready for work. Home made Oreos sit on the counter for my husband to take to Bible study tonight while I try my first Zumba class. Let's hope it doesn't kill me!
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