Monday, May 30, 2011

This Week's Plan 5-31-11

Happy Memorial Day everyone!  I hope you enjoyed the time with your family and friends while celebrating our freedom and those who are serving, or have served our country!  We managed to see most of our family this weekend!  It was wonderful!

I hope you're liking the new look!  I'm SLOWLY working on adding tabs to the top and categorizing things a bit more.  Thanks to my friend Bob, I will also be unveiling a new logo soon as well!  It's all very exciting!  Please let me know if you have any suggestions for my blog! I can definitely use them ;)

I'm still waiting on my replacement Crock Pot to come, so not sure when or what I'll be able to make.  My 3 Quart just doesn't cut it for everything!  I hope it comes soon :)

We are less than 200 fans away from reaching 3000 on facebook!  If you haven't done so already, click on the link to the right and join us!  I would like to have all my Slow Cooker Gourmet Mixes made by then and do a giveaway!  So, suggest us to your friends and spread the love! :)

My husband has asked me not to make red meat this week, so I have a Chicken/Vegetarian week planned!

Here's what I would like to make this week:

Vegetarian Lasagna

Dawn's Cream Cheese Chicken (or some variation of)

Enchilada Casserole

A Slow Cooker Gourmet Mix....not sure which one yet....I need a bigger Slow Cooker!

Happy Crock-Potting!
Hope Print Friendly and PDF

Monday, May 23, 2011

Spinach, Feta and Green Olive Stuffed Meatloaf

WOW, just WOW!  This Meatloaf was amazing!  My husband told me tonight, "You do make a mean meatloaf!!!"  He never liked it growing up, but now he says he looks forward to it when I make it! :)  Kinda makes me a little giddy inside!

This is actually quite and impressive meatloaf!  It looks really pretty!  You will "wow" your guests....or even just your kids, with this one!  It really wasn't hard at all, I promise!

I stuffed my meatloaf with Feta, Green Olives and Spinach, but really, you could stuff this with whatever you like!  My husband and daughter LOVE green olives, so I added them!  It made them very happy!

Let's get to the good stuff!

Spinach, Feta and Green Olive Stuffed Meatloaf

Ingredients:
2  lbs. Ground Beef
2 eggs
3/4 cup of Italian Seasoned Bread Crumbs
1 pkg. Onion Soup Mix
1 1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder
1 1/2 tsp. Onion Powder
3/4 cup Feta Cheese
1 9oz. pkg Frozen Spinach, thawed and drained
1/4 cup Green Olives, sliced

Topping:
1/2 cup Ketchup
1/4 cup brown sugar

Directions:
In a bowl, mix together the first 6 Ingredients.

On wax paper, shape your meatloaf into a rectangle, about 1/2 inch thick or less.

Spread the Feta Cheese on top of your loaf, keeping it 1" from the edges.

Next, spread the Spinach on top of that.

Then, the Green Olives.

Start rolling your Loaf by lifting the edge of the wax paper and gently rolling it.

You may have to press down on your filling as you go so it doesn't "spill out."  I did and had no "spillage!"
It will look like this when completely rolled!

Seal it all up!
And place it in your non-stick sprayed Insert!

Spread the topping mixture over the top.
(There would have been a picture here had my camera battery not died!)

Cook on LOW for 6-7 hours or on HIGH for 4-5 hours
The last half hour or so, remove the lid.
(Mine busted open on top a bit, but it still held together!)
Enjoy! 
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Sunday, May 22, 2011

This Week's Plan 5-22-11

This Week's Plan is VERY similar to last week's plan! LOL  With all of the end of the  school year activities, my husband hasn't been around much in the evenings, so Ella and I have been fending for ourselves!  2 1/2 more weeks until we get a little normalcy around here!

It was a sad week here, My 7 Quart Crock Pot liner cracked! :(  This is my second one.  I filled out all the warranty info this time, so it should be replaced for free.  It may limit what I'm able to make until I get the replacement though! I have a 3 Quart, but it's pretty small for some recipes.  Grrrrrrr!

Here's my plan for this wee:

Feta and Spinach Stuffed Meatloaf.........I cannot WAIT to try this!!!!!

Slow Cooker Gourmet Memphis Blues Pork Chop Mix

Merlot Chicken 


Happy Crock-Potting!
Hope
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Thursday, May 19, 2011

Zesty Pork Burritos

Sooooooooooooooo easy and Sooooooooooooo good!!!!  4 ingredients is all this takes to put together!  It took me less than 3 minutes to assemble!  Those two things alone make this  a winner in my book....not to mention the fact this is seriously tasty!!!!!

This also has endless leftover possibilities! Tacos, salad and sandwhiches are the first 3 that come to my head!  I'm not going to keep rambling on about how much all 3 of us loved this so I can get you right to the good stuff!!!!

Zesty Pork Burritos


Ingredients:
3-4 lb. Pork shoulder
1 can Diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 pkg. Low sodium taco seasoning
2 tsp. honey

Burrito Fixings:
Shredded cheese, lettuce, sour cream, refried beans.....anything you want!

Directions:
Place all ingredients in the Crock Pot insert.

Cook on LOW 8-10 hours or on HIGH 6-7 hours
Shred.
Build your burritos and Enjoy!!!


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Wednesday, May 18, 2011

1700 Facebook Fan Giveaway!!!

Well, we've made it well over 1700 fans!  WOW!!!  We're on our way to 1800!  I promised I would do a giveaway if we made it to 1700 fans yesterday, which we did!  If we make it to 1800 fans by the end of the day today, I will pick 2 winners!!!!!!!!

To enter the contest, you must first be a facebook fan!  Post a comment below with your favorite ingredient to Crock Pot with!  Make sure to leave your email address so I have a way to contact you if you win!  A winner will be chosen through random.org first thing tomorrow morning! :)  The winner will have 24 hours to contact me or a new winner will be chosen.  Good luck! Print Friendly and PDF

Monday, May 16, 2011

Chicken Divan

I saw a recipe on another blog for Chicken Divan as an oven recipe.  It looked really good!  So, I thought to myself, why not make this in the Slow Cooker?!!!!  So, I did it!  It turned out really great!  We ended up having a surprise dinner guest and there was plenty for everyone (3 1/2) with another 2 servings leftover.

Once you get past cleaning and chopping up all the broccoli, this is really very easy to put together.  If you're in a time crunch, just use frozen broccoli.  I've said it before, but I strongly dislike frozen broccoli because I feel I always end up biting into "woody" stem pieces and I hate that!  So, it's fresh broccoli for me!

I hope you decide to try this!  I won't be trying it for at least another year or so since my little Gavin did not have a good reaction to his mommy eating broccoli! :(  Makes me sad!  I have a ton of leftover broccoli in my refrigerator, so if you're one of my neighbors/friends and you want to make this or Broccoli Cheese Soup, come on over and get some broccoli!!!!!!!  I probably have enough for 2 people! LOL

Chicken Divan

Ingredients:
3-4 heads broccoli, chopped
1 1/2 lb. boneless skinless chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 onion, chopped
2 Tbsp. butter, cut into several pieces
1 cup milk
1 cup water
1 chicken bouillon cube
1/4 cup dry sherry
1 tsp. garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
1/4-1/2 cup Italian Bread Crumbs
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

Directions:
Place the broccoli on the bottom of the Slow Cooker Insert

Arrange the chicken on top of the broccoli

Place the pieces of butter, garlic, salt and pepper on top of that.  Add bouillon cube too.

Add the onions.

Sprinkle 1/4 cup mozarella on top of that and add water, milk and sherry.

Sprinkle the bread crumbs on top of that.

Cook on LOW 7 hours or on HIGH for 5 hours.
The last half hour, add the remaining cheese and leave the lid off.

Enjoy!!!
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Sunday, May 15, 2011

This Week's Plan 5-15-11

You may have noticed our "name change!"  I decided it was best to change it to "Slow Cooker," even though I am a LOYAL Crock Pot Brand user just to be on the safe side!  Facebook page will stay the same since it won't allow me to change it, but no big deal!

Thank you SOOOO much for bearing with me while I get "adjusted!"  It's been a crazy couple of weeks. I've come down with an infection twice in the past 2 weeks, so I've been down for the count!  Mr. Gavin enjoys being held at ALL times, so my Sleepy Wrap has been a LIFE SAVER!!!  It's the only way I can get anything done these days!

I wanted SO badly to get to the grocery store today, but it's cold, nasty and rainy here and not ideal weather for grocery shopping with a 2 month old!!!  So, it will have to wait until tomorrow (fingers crossed!)

I'm not going to put down "days" this week for my plan because I'm very unsure of my husband's after-school events this week!  I usually make a meal on days he's HERE! :)  I eat leftovers when he's not going to be home.  So, here's my plan for the week!

Zesty Pork Burritos....these sound delicious right?!!!! :)

Feta and Spinach Stuffed Meatloaf.........I cannot WAIT to try this!!!!!

Slow Cooker Gourmet Memphis Blues Pork Chop Mix

Merlot Chicken

Happy Crock-Potting!!!
Hope Print Friendly and PDF

Friday, May 6, 2011

Thai Coconut Shrimp

This was seriously not good.  The rice was REALLY mushy and the shrimp just tasted disgusting.  The only saving grace here was if I added extra Chili Coconut Sauce.  That was all though.  I ate my bowl and dumped the rest of the meal in the garbage!  $10 worth of shrimp DOWN THE DRAIN so to speak!  This one hurt!  LOL

Personally, I feel this one may be better left to the stove!!!! Just sayin'!

Feel free to try this and do something different with it!  If you have success, be sure to let me know!!
Here's the original recipe I was going from.

Thai Coconut Shrimp

Ingredients:
4 cups water
4 chicken bouillon cubes
1 14oz. can Coconut Milk
1 1/2 cups brown rice
2 tsp. ginger powder
5 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbsp. Chili Coconut Sauce (in the ethnic aisle by the Thai food)
1 lb. shrimp, peeled
2 cups fresh sugar snap peas
1/2 cup green onions, sliced into 1" pieces

Directions:
Place the first 7 Ingredients into the Crock Pot and cook on LOW for 4 hours.

Next, turn the Crock Pot to high and add the remaining ingredients.
Cook on HIGH an additional half hour or so, or until the shrimp are done.
Usually this is where I say "Enjoy!," but ugh......it wasn't good!  :(


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Slow Cooker Gourmet "New York Italian Deli Bean Soup Mix"

LOTS of beans in this soup mix!  Wow!  Very tasty!  I did feel the flavor of the zucchini was totally lost in the midst of the beans, however.  I LOVE zucchini, so I was a tiny bit disappointed in that.  I chose to make this vegetarian (due to the fact I had no chicken in the house to cook with!) and I didn't miss it at all.  With all the beans, this soup is plenty filling!  If I were to make this again, I would definitely add more water than what the box calls for.  My soup didn't have any liquid by the time it was done cooking.

To order this delicious soup, follow this link.



First, you sort and rinse your beans and then place them in the bottom of the Crock Pot

Next you're supposed to crush tomatoes, etc,etc. but I don't have time for that, so I dumped in a 14.5oz. can of diced tomatoes!

You're then supposed to evenly spread the seasoning packet across the top and add the water.

You cook this on LOW for 9-10 hours or on HIGH for 4.5-5 hours.
30 mins before serving, you add some red or white wine and pasta and Parmesan cheese.  I added the Parmesan cheese later when I ate it!
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Monday, May 2, 2011

Some Thoughts

Ok, I think I've finally come to the realization I'm NOT superwoman.  I know, shocker, right?!  Humph!  Maybe I was in my last life or something because I have a strong desire to be!  There are SO many things I want to do right now; start sewing dresses and selling them, make toddler blankets and sell them, join a MOPS group, make some money off my blog, redesign my blog, have a maid come in and clean my house from top to bottom, organize all Ella's baby clothes and get ready for a Mom2Mom sale, LOSE THE BABY WEIGHT.......and the list goes on and on and on.  Phew!!!  Ambitious, yes!  Can I do it all?!!!  No, absolutely not.

This past week I've been under the weather.  I'm feeling much better, but I'm even further behind than I already was!  So, I'm not sure if there will be a "plan" for a while.  I'm going to try and use up the food I froze in while I was pregnant and post some recipes here and there for a while.  I have about 2-3 blog posts I need to catch up on as well.  So, I'll work on getting those posted and I'll make the rest of my Slow Cooker Gourmet Mix meals.  Then, I will have a Slow Cooker Gourmet Mix GIVEAWAY!!  Sound good?!

So, I will apologize in advance for lack of NEW recipes, but I'll try and post links on our facebook page of old recipes that may be new for you!

Now, I need your opinion on something!  Currently, the blog is called "A Busy Mom's Crock Pot Cooking Adventures."  I am thinking of changing the name to "A Busy Mom's Slow Cooking Adventures" just so Crock Pot doesn't sue me some day.  Make sense?!  What are your thoughts?!  My facebook pages will have to stay the same as facebook doesn't let you change the title!  Comment below or on the facebook page!  Thanks!

Keep Crock-Potting!!!!!
Hope Print Friendly and PDF