Five on Friday - Crock Pot Favorites

 With the countdown on to #babywigs I have been testing out a few freezer meals.

These have been huge hits by both big and little's alike.

You can find all of my crock pot freezer meals here.

1.

Angel Pork Chops

OH.

EM.

GEE.

SO GOOD!!!  I want to try this with chicken too.

Pro Tip - I don't put in the cream cheese when I freeze it.  I make sure to leave a note on the bag that I need to add cream cheese when I put it in the crock pot.

2.

Creamy Ranch Chicken

I've never seen my husband or son clean their plates so fast.

Next time, I'm going to add in some frozen veggies about a hour before it's ready to eat.

Pro Tip - I don't freeze the sour cream.  I add that in once I put it in the crock pot.

(Dairy just doesn't freeze/thaw very well)

3.

Lemon Dump Chicken

I love to serve this over rice with steamed broccoli on the side.

4.

Salsa Chicken

No picture - but this one is two ingredients. 

1. Chicken

2. Salsa

That's it!

It's delicious in tacos, burritos, burrito bowls, etc, etc, etc.

Serve with some shredded cheese, sour cream, quac, and beans for a full (and YUMMY!) meal.

5.

This one I modified from Christina at North Carolina Charm.  She had the best crock pot hack 

(check it out here!)

Chicken and Potatoes

I freeze two or three chicken breasts with whatever marinade sounds good.  I put the frozen chicken on one size and (not frozen) potatoes on the other.

And of course I have to give a shout out to my favorite crock pot:

Hamilton Beach Programmable 5 Quart Slow Cooker

I'll never go back to 'non programmable' crock pots again!

Easy Cinnamon Roll Waffles

 A special breakfast treat in our house is Cinnamon Roll Waffles.

I served these at my baby shower, #wiggydiggy's 1st birthday, and again on his 3rd.

All three times I had friends ask me how I did it.

It's so simple that it's self explanatory!

1. You need a waffle maker.

That's the big item :)

Oh, and some packaged cinnamon rolls!

2.

Put a roll in each section

3.

Bake

4.

Smell the deliciousness

5.

Squeeze on the icing

6.

Enjoy!

5 on Friday - Baby Food Edition

In an effort to clean up my draft posts, I accidentally deleted my Baby Food Edition Post.  

So, here is a new version!

In our house, we use a combo of Baby Led Weaning and homemade puree's.  I personally have a hard time letting #wiggydiggy  eat something that I cannot.  So I try everything I make and I eat everything I serve him (even Gerber Puffs!  Apple Cinnamon....YUM)

Step 1
The Supplies

Gather your necessary utensils:
Food Processor or Blender
Steamer/Rice Cooker or Pot with Steamer Rack
Knife
Cutting Board
Peeler
Trash Bowl
Ice Cube Trays
Spatula
Freezer Bags
Marker

Step 2
Gather up your fruits and veggies and start prepping.

Peel, slice, and dice to your hearts content.  The smaller the pieces, the faster they'll cook.  The exceptions are soft fruits (banana, plum, peach, blueberry, etc.  Just throw straight into the processor) and squash (cut length wise, place face down on a cookie sheet with some water and bake at 350 for about 60 minutes *depends on size of squash*)

I like to put my blends into bowls so I have everything portioned out and easy to see.

Step 3
Steam and Blend

If you have an electric steamer, you can use their User Guide to determine length of steam time.  Tougher fruits/veggies take longer to steam.  If you are steaming on the stove-top - just check periodically until a fork can pierce the food easily and cleanly.

I like to start steaming my toughest veggies first.  While they are steaming, I will blend up a puree of soft fruits that don't require steaming.

In the beginning I made single fruit or veggie purees.  Now I mix a variety together for fun flavors
Simple combinations:

Sweet potato, Apple and Pear
Apple, Banana, Peach and Plum
Pumpkin, Banana and Apple with Cinnamon
Strawberry, Blueberry, Banana
Sweet Potato, Pumpkin and Carrot

Step 4
Pour into Ice Cube Trays and Freeze

I'm not a stickler for the 1 oz equal size.  I buy ice cube trays from the dollar store (2 for $1!).

Once you have a blend all mixed together, grab your spatula and get to pouring!

If you have a better memory than me, you may not need this next tip
I keep a sticky note on the counter with a diagram of what tray is filled with what.  That way when I pull them out of the freeze hours later, I remember what I made!

Once everything is in the freezer, I write out all the freezer bags - Puree and Date.  It helps keep Justin and I on the same page and from letting a puree get ignored for too long.

Step 5
Clean up, Bag and Tag :)

Pop those yummy purees into their freezer bag for easy access in the future!

Recipe Roundup

Yesterday I talked about a few things I had baked over the weekend.

Chocolate No Bake Cookies

Pumpkin Spice Rice Krispies

Pumpkin Spice Cake Loaf

Baked Ziti

Chocolate No Bake Cookies are a staple in my dessert snack rotation.  As is a variation of Pumpkin Spice Cake Loaf.   I've made Baked Ziti before, but this time I was short an ingredient but decided to go on ahead.  Lesson learned.  

Chocolate No Bake Cookies - you can find a million recipes for these on the internet.  My favorite:

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup cocoa

1 stick butter

1/2 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

3 cups quick-cooking oatmeal

1/2 cup peanut butter

Combine sugar, cocoa, butter and milk in saucepan.  Bring to boil and boil for ONE FULL MINUTE.  Remove from heat, stir in peanut butter and vanilla until melted.  Stir in oatmeal until blended.

Drop on wax paper and let cool (about 30 min).

I only had two cups oatmeal left in my container this weekend. The cookies are just a tad too crumbly but they still taste delicious.

Pumpkin Spice Rice Krispies - I used a Pinterest Pin that lead to this website: http://www.essentiallyeclectic.com/2013/09/pumpkin-spice-krispie-treats-festive.html

My thoughts - it's not "pumpkin spice" enough.  Really it tastes like slightly less sweet Rice Krispies, which isn't too bad.  But I think I'll add more spice if I make them again.

Pumpkin Spice Cake Loaf - I normally make muffins, not a loaf, but the process is the same.

One can Pumpkin (I scooped out a spoonful to use in the Rice Krispies)

One cake mix box.  I prefer to use Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe.

Any additional add in's.  I.E. Chocolate chips, nuts, etc

Stir together until fully blended.  Bake as directed on box.

My personal favorite combinations are: 

Plain Spice Cake

Spice Cake and White Chocolate Chips

Devils Food and Chocolate Chips

Yellow Cake and Cinnamon Chips

It's super easy, super fast and super delicious.  They also freeze really well!

Baked Ziti

Ok.  I'll be honest.  I've never really "followed" a recipe on this one.  I've just seen some pictures of the process and decided to attempt it one day willy nilly.  The first few times it turned out delicious.  This time, I was short an ingredient and really didn't feel like running to the store so I tried to make it anyways.  It's a bit dry, but still yummy.

The main ingredients:

Pasta

Alfredo Sauce

Spaghetti Sauce

Mozzarella Cheese

9x13 baking dish

I've mixed up the pasta and have used spaghetti, ziti, bowtie and penne.  Personally I like penne the best.  I also make my own spaghetti sauce with ground beef, tomato sauce and seasoning.  But canned is just fine!

Preheat oven to 350.

Cook pasta according to al dente directions.  Brown beef and make sauce while pasta is cooking.

Drain pasta and toss with alfredo sauce lightly.  You only want the pasta coated, not soaking in the sauce.

Layer pasta in baking dish and cover in spaghetti sauce.

Top layer is Mozzarella Cheese, put in oven until cheese has melted. (around 15 minutes)

I was short alfredo sauce, so it's harder to reheat the leftovers without drying it out too much.  Justin loved it so much, I'm going to have to make it again next week!

15 Minute Easy Dinner!

I'm trying to work my way through my Eat, Drink and Be Merry Pinterest Board.  Justin and I need a few more meals to add to our rotation during the week and now that I have my appetite (kinda) back, it's been fun to experiment with new dishes.

This week I made Creamy Balsamic Chicken and it was a hit!  Definitely going to add it to our keeper list.

You need:

chicken tender or chicken breasts cut up - 1 lb

Seasoning of your choice - I used salt, pepper, thyme and a dash of garlic

1 jar Alfredo sauce

1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Season the chicken and toss it in a pan to brown it.

Set the browned chicken aside and lower the heat.  Pour in the Alfredo sauce and balsamic vinegar and stir on low heat until mixed.  Then add the chicken back in and cover.

Serve with pasta, rice or steamed veggies!

Even my picky husband cleaned his plate :)

Weekend Wrap Up - Landscaping version

I have a confession to make.  Power tools and I are not the best of friends.  Then I was introduced to our electric hedger.....long story short, I have a new best friend.

Friday after work Justin pulled out the weed eater for me so I could start attacking the overgrown gardens.  Lovely lovely husband that he is, he was concerned the weed eater would vibrate too much and hurt me and the baby.  So after I attacked one small garden he offered me the option to trim the hedges.  I must admit, the hedger looked like a lot more fun.  In fact, it looked like SO MUCH FUN that I didn't take a single 'Before' Picture.  But I can assure you, it was a jungle out there.  Saturday morning I woke up at attacked our front yard.

Got to love iphone quality photos!

I cut back the short hedges under the flower boxes to the edge of the garden to make mowing easier, as well as trimmed all of the little trees to be the same height.  I like uniformity :)

The two bottom photos - in the beginning, the growth was so thick that you couldn't see the white fence and half of the bushes had grown over into the neighbors yard.  Photo one - I took a quick potty break while Justin raked out my demolition.  Photo two - all trimmed up.  Yes, I do know this isn't the BEST time of year to cut back our hedges.  With lava rock on it's way out, it was the best time for us to get some yard work done before we do more in the fall.

Sunday I nursed some sore arms/shoulders and spent the day inside baking and doing laundry.  I washed a few loads of baby clothes (!!!!) and started figuring out how I want to organize the baby's room.  I also tried a new recipe from Pinterest.

Banana Cake Recipe

It sounded simple and easy enough and I needed to use up the four small bananas that were past their prime.  When I opened the Pin on my phone, it said that I needed to choose my box flavor and modifications, but I could never find them on the mobile web version.  So I just did the basic recipe.  

One box Spice Cake mix

3 eggs

1/3 cup oil

4 small mashed bananas

So So Good!!  I love the spice flavor and it's just a little denser than regular banana bread.  It's already half gone :)

Easy Dinner Option - Porcupine Meatballs

With home projects taking up all of our time in the evenings, I'm always looking for fast and filling meals.  I'm not a fan of most fast food or pizza and I'd rather make dinner as often as I can.  I have a few staple crockpot meals, but this is one of my favorite stove top meals.  You can mix and match the seasonings to suit your side dishes or your cravings.  This recipe came to me from my bestie, the first time I had them at her house I was hooked.   You can easily double the recipe to feed more - but 1 lb makes enough to feed us dinner and give J leftovers for lunch the next day.

Porcupine Meatballs

1 lb ground beef

1 cup water - divided in half

1/2 rice

1 can tomato sauce 

any seasonings of your choice

         **my favorites - chili flakes, chili powder, garlic, black pepper and a dash of soy sauce

                          Other options: steak seasoning and a dash of marinade

                          Garlic, black pepper, dash of Worcestershire sauce, celery salt

Mix your beef, 1/2 cup water, rice and seasoning in a bowl until blended.

Form into balls and place in a deep skillet.

Brown the meatballs using two spoons to keep their shape.

Mix tomato sauce and 1/2 cup water in a bowl and pour over the meatballs.  Lower heat to a simmer and cover for approx. 45 minutes.

Serve with any side dish!

Not the best photo, but they are SO good.