Tag-Archive for » crock-pot «

November

Some years at Thanksgiving I cook a lot some years I cook just a green bean casserole. It depends on where we are going. This year is a big cooking year. The best way to do it is to plan ahead. Cook a little bit when you can, and that way you are not overwhelmed the day of Thanksgiving.

For me the to do list is like this

Find Recipes
Make a list of Things needed
Shop for items on list
Start with the longest recipe or the most complicated.
Figure out exactly which day you will cook what, estimate the time for each task. Do not underestimate time, be realistic.

For me my list is dressing, green bean casserole and peas and carrots cupcakes. The dressing is the most involved. I will begin prepping for it today. Chopping the onions and celery really does take time. I also cook a chicken for it. The chicken is a special small bird, so I have to go to a special meat market to get it. Hubby’s family does Crock Pot Dressing. It is moist and tender. They don’t like sage so normally I take my own bottle and use it! I use Grandpa’s recipe, believe me he will taste my dressing and say exactly what he thinks.

Tomorrow I will bake the cornbread and toast the bread. I will cook the chicken. Wednesday I will I saute the vegetables. On my shopping list Saturday I included those gallon zip bags, I store everything in the frig as I complete it. It makes it easier to dump and cook in a hurry.

Wednesday I will work heavily on the cupcakes, it is a labor of love. I love to make desserts the kids enjoy. So many holidays there are tons of things for adults but few for kids. Big and small they will love it.

By Thursday early I will dump and cook the dressing, and do the green bean casserole. Now I know I don’t work, but I use time management to get it done sometimes night can be the time I have. I set aside so much time each day knowing I will work on cooking only. Nothing else can be done or I will not complete my task. The cornbread and toast can actually be done days ahead if you are using air tight bags.

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Category: Uncategorized Tags: cooking, crock-pot, Frugal Living Leave a Comment

Turkey Bean Soup

September

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Sconicle and I love soup for lunch. Here is what I use and do for lunch several days a week. I precooked a lb of white ground turkey. I also precooked a bean mixture in a big crock-pot the night before. I had gone to HEB and picked out the beans Sconicle and I like and mixed them together. Sconicle loves Turkey as well. Cooked beans have far less ingredients, and less sodium, than canned beans. You can change the flavors from Mexican to Italian. Sconicle liked the Italian flavor best.

1 can low sodium whole tomatoes, food processed to a chunky texture
1/2 can low sodium corn, Sconicle loves corn
1/2 lb cooked white ground turkey
cooked bean mixture to fill up the crock-pot
a tablespoon of beef base (makes the turkey taste beefy)
a tablespoon of salsa

I threw it all in a 1 quart Crock-pot and let it simmer till lunch time. Two days later I switched it up.

1 cup of leftover pizza sauce
1/2 lb cooked white turkey
1/2 can of low sodium corn
cooked bean mixture to fill up the pot
a tablespoon of beef base (makes turkey beef like)
salt and pepper to taste

You throw it and let it bubble and simmer.

On Friday we were out of turkey, we threw in a couple cups of rice, and leftover pinto bean juice to simmer with the cooked mixed beans.

We both have found that eating that much protein makes us awake and full. If you didn’t want mixed beans you could use just one bean. But the cost of mixed beans, and the color is eye-pleasing helps you feel like you are eating a great gourmet soup. I can detail what is in our mixture but only use it as an idea, add what you want.

1 lb northern beans
1 lb baby navy beans
1 lb kidney beans
1 lb split peas
1 lb red beans
1 lb pinto beans
1 lb black eyed peas

I got a big bowl and mixed it them all up. I cook only two cups at a time in a four quart crock-pot. The number of lbs is not as important as only cooking two cups at a time. Two cups dried beans is a lot of beans. It makes three pots of 1 quart crock pot soup.

As an added treat we ate the soup with HEB Texas White Cheddar crackers.Lunch time when you homeschool is a break, and we like it to be a fun moment for us to relax.

I did this because every recipe I found for a bean soup had canned beans. The closer to the ground I can get my food the more healthy it is.

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Category: Uncategorized, crock-pot Tags: crock-pot, homeschool, recipes 3 Comments

Crock-Pot Soup

August

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I have this little Sunbeam Crock-Pot I used yesterday for the veggie soup. Instead of adding barley, I added a potato. I was out of barley but had a potato. That is the beauty of doing this you can add carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, or whatever you happen to have.

Today I am making a potato soup in the little Sunbeam. It is perfect size for Sconicle and I to eat a hot lunch. I am going to tell you what I am going to throw into the pot.

two or three potatoes (depending on size)
chicken broth (1 or 2 cups)
I love carrots with potato soup (but I have none, so I will skip that)
Salt and pepper to taste
Turkey bacon
Chives or leeks if I had them (don’t have any but this will work)
At the last 30 minutes I will add some milk or maybe not
Serve with grated cheese and a dollop of sour cream

That is it, you can add a few ingredients in a small crock-pot and have a nice lunch. I think it is 1 quart or 1 1/2 quart size. It works great, but doesn’t make too much for the two of us. When you are doing portion control it is a nice idea to only cook enough to feed you for that day.

I am still doing my Cold Process Coffee. It has taken me a bit to get the hang of it. When you make as much as you drink it is rarely cold. I prefer the type of drink called a Starbucks Frappacino, without ice. Now I make it overnight, then cool it during the day. The next day it tastes great.

Last Friday I made a decision to stay on top of my supplements, Cinnamon, Lutein and Fish Oil. The Cinnamon helps metabolism and cholesterol. I am taking Lutein in an effort to prevent that long named eye disease where you go blind slowly. I have the early stages of it, and my doctor told me there is a possibility to prevent it they think.

Still school started my routine of doing so many things early in the day is back. That is the good news, I feel great not being behind and rushed all the time. The bad news is my blogs will be posted a bit later some days. I have to work them in my hectic schedule.

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Category: Uncategorized Tags: crock-pot, homeschool, kids, recipes One Comment

School Begins

August

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Today is the first day of the rest of the year of school. Or as my kids see it today is the beginning of work, until we get a break. Why Texas starts school in August only to take off Labor Day is beyond me. You finally get the kids on schedule and in the groove, then bam they get a three day weekend.

Then we start the process all over again. Gator woke up with out a headache, but that could change later in the day.

I thought I would give some tips for those about to start school.

Recipes that may help you.

Crockpot Oatmeal

Crockpot Breakfast

Today I am throwing in one of my standard recipes in the crockpot.

I often cook what I call Beef Fiesta. I will try and detail it for you.

1 pkg ground beef (small or large) whatever you have or can afford
A handful of rice or macaroni
1 6 oz of tomato paste
1 can of whole tomatoes pureed
can of corn, or leftover corn on the cob
one onion chopped
a zip of olive oil

A can of beans, or leftover beans
Taco seasoning
Salt and pepper to taste
Garlic if you have it

I throw in whatever I have, it is an easy throw it together dinner that you can serve on bread, tostado or just by itself. Or a great pan of cornbread tastes good with it too.

What I am doing today is adding barley, beef base and water to make a healthy stew.

The idea of beef fiesta is you are using what you have on hand, can grab and get some veggies in your kids without a revolt of lack of meat.

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Crockpot breakfast

June

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I was hungry, I went browsing for a good casserole recipe. This is what I found! A really good, easy crockpot breakfast recipe for a special morning. Sunday mornings are our special breakfast day. I am trying this recipe this weekend. Here is the link.

Yes I know you are welcome!

Hubby will think this is the perfect breakfast for his day!

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Category: Uncategorized Tags: crock-pot, recipes One Comment

Dunk is home

May

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Dunk is home! I went and got him yesterday. As far as I can tell he is healthy, considering the state of his room, it is a miracle!

We got him packed up, cleaned up and good to go in a bit more time that I would have liked. Had I known he hadn’t cleaned up or had no cleaners I could have brought some windex, a mop, maybe a paper towel, and most definitely some OdorOut!

Never underestimate the power of Bounce! That is how I cleaned up the entire room, yep you heard it here! I dusted, cleaned a sink, mopped a floor and desmelled a toilet (don’t ask). Which reminds me it is time to fess up. I bought Tide, my clothes were getting dull and I wanted to see if it made a difference. It did, I am back to Tide. Now as far as toilet cleaners I bought some Surf with Lavender andVanilla. I still put it in a glass container on top of the toilet, each day I sprinkle and swish. It smells clean as a whistle. I love a good clean smell! Bounce made Dunk’s room a wonderful scent. He was given some Kaboom for the toilet, Gator installed in the boy’s bathroom toilet. I will report if it is works or not.

Last night I made the Paula Deen Cake, it smells really good. I plan to ice it on Sunday. I am cooking a huge homegrown chicken in the crockpot today, with ranch dressing powder and a can of mushrooms. I will probably serve it over cooked rice with corn, because that is what I have. Last week we got three meals out of one chicken. I plan to make chicken enchiladas for Sunday. Tomorrow it will probably be a simple chicken salad, which tastes so good when it is hot outside.

We have decided our budget cannot afford air conditioning at this juncture. The good news is I have lost weight, the bad new is I keep developing heat rash from the unGodly heat! We are in the process of putting up new screens that are deeply tinted to help with the heat factor. Hubby bought the screen some time ago, and now we are finally doing what we should have done over a year ago.

Off to start my mountain called Wash Me More! Dunk it should be noted has more clothes than I do! Plus I was already behind!

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