Saturday, July 30, 2011

Honey Chipotle Country Ribs

WOW!!  These ribs were MEANT to be cooked in the Slow Cooker!  Let me tell you, if you like ribs, you HAVE to try these!  The meat was SO tender, SO juicy and SO flavorful!  The best part about these ribs, no worries about getting meat in your teeth and your fingers all dirty!  Your meat FALLS off the bone and there is SO much meat on one rib!  OMGoodness!  I can't wait for leftovers!  LOL

This is my first time ever having Country Ribs.  I don't know exactly what I was waiting for!  I think most people shy away because the meat has a lot of marbling and without the proper amount of cook time, these can be VERY tough to chew!  Well, fellow Slow-cookers!  We don't have to worry about that, do we??????  The slow cooker cooks these PERFECTLY!!!!!!  TENDER is the word of the day here!

I made a super simple rub to put on these and then just smothered them in Sweet Baby Ray's Honey Chipotle BBQ Sauce!  Simple right?!  Even the most beginning novice cook can do this!  I promise!!!!  People will think you are a TOTAL rockstar when you make these! Don't like Honey Chipotle BBQ Sauce?  Well, choose whatever BBQ sauce you like!!!  They will still be delicious!

My rub contained Tastefully Simple's Onion Onion!  It is SOOO good!  There's so much you can do with it!  Use it in soups, to season meat, as a dip with some sour cream.....so many possibilities!  You can order it from Tina here!

We served our with a side salad and Honey Glazed Carrots.  They are sweet and delicious!  For the honey glazed carrots, it's very easy!  Melt about 2 Tbsp. butter in a pan, add about 2 Tsp. lemon juice, 1 bunch of carrots, chopped into 2" pieces, salt and pepper.  Cook them on a medium heat for about 8-10 minutes.  Voila!  Add some fresh parsley at the end if you have it!

Honey Chipotle Country Ribs

Ingredients:
4 lbs. (approx.) Country Ribs
1/2 bottle (approx.) Sweet Baby Ray's Honey Chipotle BBQ Sauce (or use whichever you like!)
Olive oil

Rub:
2 tsp. of each of the following: salt, Tastefully Simple's Onion Onion, onion powder, garlic powder, pepper

Directions:
Place your ribs on some foil and rub with olive oil on both sides.
Mix your rub
and spread it/rub it on all sides.

Open your yummy BBQ Sauce
and spread generously on one side of your ribs.

As you place them in your slow cooker insert, "sauce" the other side.

Cook on LOW for 9-10 hours or on HIGH for 5-6 hours.
Enjoy!

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Friday, July 29, 2011

Networking Squared Internet Radio Interview

This afternoon I had a fantastic interview with Al and Colin from Networking Squared on BlogTalkRadio.  I shared my perspective on Facebook and Social Media and how I've used it to my advantage to grow my business!  I hope you'll consider taking a listen!  It was a fun interview and I hope to do more in the future!  My part of the interview can be found about 62 seconds in!

Click here to hear the interview! Print Friendly and PDF

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Sour Cream and Onion Chicken

What an EASY and DELICIOUS meal!  Seriously, 3 ingredients!  That's it!  It was creamy and super yummy!  Your family will think you spent a long time preparing this!  LOL  When you get home from work, all you'll have to do is quickly cook up some rice to serve it on!  I included a salad on the side with some yummy craisins and raspberry dressing!  We all cleaned our plates here!

If you're new to the blog, this is a great dish to start with!  If you're not, it's still an easy "win!"

Thank you to Melany for providing the inspiring recipe for this!

Sour Cream and Onion Chicken

Ingredients:
2 lbs. Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
2 cans Cream of Onion Soup
16 oz. Low Fat Sour Cream
1 tsp. garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste
2 Tbsp. fresh Chives, chopped (optional)

Directions:
Mix together the sour cream, 2 cans of soup, garlic powder, salt and pepper.

Place the chicken at the bottom of your slow cooker and sprinkle with salt and pepper, then cover with your soup/sour cream mixture.
Cook on LOW for 7-8  hours or on HIGH for 4-5.
Garnish with optional chives.
Serve over rice.
Enjoy!
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Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Honey-Mustard Red Potatoes

I made a version of these in the oven last summer and they were delicious!  Since I'm adventurous, I decided to try them in my slow cooker!  I'm so glad I did!  These potatoes were delicious and cooked perfectly!  They had the perfect amount of sweetness!  No butter needed here folks!  I served mine with my Cranberry Jalapeno Pork Roast!

Honey-Mustard Red Potatoes

Ingredients:
2 lbs. Red Potatoes, cut into halves or fourths
1 large Shallot, minced
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 Tbsp. Mustard Powder
1/2 cup honey

Directions:
Place your potatoes at the bottom of your slow cooker liner and top with all the remaining ingredients.

Cook on LOW for 6 hours or on HIGH for 3 hours.
Enjoy!
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Cranberry Jalapeno Pork Roast

YUMMMMMMMMMYYYYYYYYY!!!  Wow!  I'm so glad I had all of these ingredients in my pantry/freezer today!  What a happy accident!  I haven't been able to get to the grocery store and I had a small pork roast in my freezer, so I decided to come up with something!  I know Cranberry goes well with pork, so I took out the lonely can of Jellied Cranberry Sauce that's been sitting in my pantry!  I had half of a Jalapeno left from my Mexican Breakfast Casserole, so I decided to throw that in too!  Am I glad I did!!!!  This was FULL of wonderful flavor and had a bit of a kick to it!  (I love a good kick!) Don't worry, if you don't like a kick, you can still make this!  You just won't add the seeds from the Jalepeno!

I served my Cranberry Jalepeno Pork Roast with some Honey-Mustard Red Potatoes.  They were delicious and also made in the Slow Cooker!

I'm getting right to the good stuff today!

Cranberry Jalepeno Pork Roast

Ingredients:
2-3 lb. Pork Roast
1 14 oz. can Jelled Cranberry Sauce
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 Jalepeno, with or without seeds (leave seeds in for heat)
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

Directions:
Place your pork roast into your slow cooker insert and top with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onions and jalepeno.

Spoon the Cranberry sauce over the top.

Cook on LOW for 7-9 hours or on HIGH for 4-5 hours.
Enjoy!
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Fragrant Lemon Rosemary Chicken Leftovers

It was as good the second time around as the first! I simply added a bit of mayo, pepper and salt and make this into a delicious chicken salad!  It would have been great with a little lettuce and tomato, but hey, I was lucky to even have bread in the house!!!  LOL

Fragrant Lemon Rosemary Chicken Salad

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Sunday, July 24, 2011

Slow Cooked Baked Beans

I grew up eating my Meme's (grandma's) awesome baked beans.  (Although I just found out they actually came from her mother-in-law, my Gran Meme) I think I may have eaten more of them than anyone else in my family!  ;)  They are definitely a staple in our family!  I've been wanting to make them for a long time, and finally decided to take the plunge....and challenge.....in my slow cooker!!!!!

I was so impressed with how these turned out!  They tasted JUST like my Meme's!  My mom had them today and was also impressed with how good they were and how much they tasted like my Meme's!  They were overall, a HUGE hit at our Baptism Party today!

These don't take a lot of time to prep, but they do take a long time too cook to perfection!  Use patience and enjoy the wonderful aroma in your house while they cook!!!!!!

You will really enjoy making these for your family, family gathering or party!  They're sure to be a hit!

This makes a large batch.  I had a party of about 18 people today and have about half of them left!  I'm going to freeze mine and use them for the next party!  You will need a 6 Quart or larger Slow Cooker for this amount.

Slow Cooked Baked Beans

Ingredients:
12 or 13 oz. Salt Pork, chopped into small strips (It was one package, Hormel Salt Pork....can't remember the ounces!  Sorry!)
1 large onion, chopped
2 lbs. Michigan Navy Beans (if you can't find Michigan, just use Navy Beans!)
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup Ketchup
3 Tbsp. Mustard
7 cups Water

Directions:
Sort your beans to make sure there are no rocks/bad beans.
Soak them in water overnight, with at enough water to cover them plus 4"
In the morning, drain and rinse your beans.

Spray your Slow Cooker Liner with non-stick spray.
Place half of your salt pork at the bottom.
(Sorry for the blurry picture :( )

Add half the beans

Top that with half of the onions.

Mix together the Brown Sugar, Ketchup and Mustard.

Pour half of this over the onion layer.

Repeat this process with the remaining salt pork, beans, onions and sauce.
Pour in your 7 cups of water.

Cover and cook on LOW for 12+ hours.  (I don't know how long it would take on High)
You will know these are done when your mixture has turned nice and brown and has thickened.  If you want them thicker, turn the Slow Cooker to HIGH and leave the lid off for an hour or more.
ENJOY!!!
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Saturday, July 23, 2011

Babble.com Top Mom Food Blogger Nominee

You may have noticed a pretty button on the right side of the blog!  I've been nominated as one of Babble.com's Top Mom Food Bloggers!  How exciting!  I would LOVE to make it to the top 50!  If even 1/4 of you go to the site and click "like," I can make it in the top 10!  :)  Can we do it?  YES WE CAN!

Here's how to make it happen!  It seriously takes less than 30 seconds!

1. Click on this link.
2. Once there, click on "Alphabetical"
3. Scroll down just a little and you will see "A Busy Mom's Slow Cooker Adventures"
4. Click on the "like" next to my blog name.  That's it!! :)



Happy Slow-Cooking!
Hope Print Friendly and PDF

Friday, July 22, 2011

Fragrant Lemon Rosemary Chicken

I was in and out of the house all day and every time I came home, my mouth watered in excitement to taste this chicken!!!  I had my Girl's Night Out dinner, but I tried it as soon as I walked in the door!  WOW WOW WOW!!!!!  The lemon and rosemary infused tons of flavor all throughout the chicken!  It was heaven in my mouth!!!!!  For my girl's night out girls, this would be PERFECT with the Lemon Tangerine Wine we tasted tonight!!!  Mmm mmmm Mmmmmmmmmm!  This was better than any store bought rotisserie chicken I've ever had!  Oh, and the skin was perfect!  NOT soggy at all!

I promise even the most beginning novice can make this chicken!  I've actually never made one in the slow cooker before.....not sure why!  It's SUPER easy!  Thanks to my good friend Jolyn at Bargains To Bounty, I knew whole roaster chickens were on sale this week at Kroger for $0.69/lb!  So, I rushed out to get some!  I'm so happy I did!

It's probably best I tell you now, you need some twine to tie your bird up a bit.  I found it in the "hardware" section of our local grocery chain.  It's super cheap and you can use it for ALL sorts of things, not just cooking.  If you've never trussed a chicken before, here's a great video showing how!  You will notice only one side of my bird is trussed!  I was seriously strapped for time!

Ok, ready for a super easy and yummy chicken recipe?!!!

Fragrant Lemon Rosemary Chicken
(My hubby took this picture in my absence!)

Ingredients:
3-4 lb. Whole Roasting Chicken (Or smaller!  Whatever will fit in your slow cooker!)
1 lemon, cut into about 4 pieces
4-6 sprigs fresh rosemary
2-3 Tbsp. Olive Oil
2-3 Tbsp. Poultry Seasoning
Aluminum Foil

Directions:
Ball up 4 pieces of aluminum foil and place in the bottom of your slow cooker insert.


Take out all of the giblets and rinse your bird under the faucet.  Pat it completely dry with paper towels.

Stuff the inside of the bird with your lemon wedges and sprigs of rosemary.

Truss your bird.

Rub it down with Olive Oil and then sprinkle your poultry seasoning on top all over.
Place your bird on top of the foil in the slow cooker insert.

Cook on LOW for 8-10 hours or on HIGH for 5-6 hours.
Enjoy!
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Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Apple Pear Delight

Well, I wanted to use my homemade granola in SOMETHING I cooked in the Slow Cooker, so last night, I threw together this concoction.  I'm so glad I did!  My daughter ate this RIGHT up this morning!

I mean, seriously, what could go wrong with Apples, Pears, Granola, brown sugar, etc.?????  Absolutely nothing!  I knew I wanted to try and cook this on "Warm" so that I didn't wake up to Apple/Pear Sauce!  For the topping, I used Bisquick, but I didn't want to mix milk or eggs with it because I was scared of giving my family food poisoning with the Slow Cooker sitting on warm and not low.  I was nervous the topping wouldn't cook as well, but it was cooked perfectly when I woke up!  Score!

I hope you try this for your family!  Mine really enjoyed it!

Apple Pear Delight

Ingredients:
3 Apples, peeled and sliced
3 Pears, peeled and sliced
1/3 cup brown sugar + about 2 Tbsp. for the topping
1 Tbsp and 1 tsp. lemon juice
3 Tbsp. Orange Juice
2 tsp. Vanilla
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup Granola
2 Cups Bisquick
1 cup water
1 tsp. vanilla
2 Tbsp. Sugar

Directions:
Spray your Slow Cooker liner with non-stick spray.
In the liner, toss together the first 8 ingredients.

In a separate bowl, mix together the final 4 ingredients.
Pour over the top of your apple/pear mixture and sprinkle with some brown sugar.

Cook on WARM for 8-10 hours.
Enjoy!

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Mexican Breakfast Casserole

I really wanted to do something with Chorizo, so this is what I came up with!  It was very good!  My husband and I ate 2 helpings each!  Ella, well, she was in a "mood," like she so often is these days! (I love my child, I love my child, I love my child....LOL Oh, how I adore the "threes!")  I must say, it doesn't look the greatest, but I promise it's packed with flavor!

This is definitely a recipe you could put in before bed and wake up to in the morning, or, you could have it for dinner like we did!  Best of all, it really is very simple to make and I promise, you'll want to do more with Chorizo after trying this!

Mexican Breakfast Casserole

Ingredients:
8 Eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Pepper
3/4 cup Picante Sauce (I used Pace Mild) - this equals about half a jar
1 small onion, chopped
2 cups shredded mexican blend cheese, separated
1/2 jalepeno pepper, seeds removed, minced
1 cup frozen corn
9 (or more) corn tortillas (I used the small ones)
7 oz. (or so) of Chorizo, removed from the casing

Directions:
Mix together the eggs, milk, salt and pepper.

Stir in the picante sauce, onions, jalepeno, corn and 1 cup shredded mexican cheese

Spray your slow cooker liner with non-stick spray.
Line the bottom with approximately 3 corn tortillas
(I used my 3 Quart Slow Cooker, but if you have a bigger one, it might take more!)

Pour half of the egg mixture over this and then crumble half of your Chorizo on top.

Repeat this process with another layer of tortillas, egg mixture and the remaining chorizo.
Top with a final layer of tortillas and the remaining cheese on top.

Cook on LOW for 7-8 hours, or on HIGH for 4-5 hours.
Enjoy!

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Granola

I have never made my own granola, but from everything I've looked at, it burn extremely quickly in the oven!  Well, thank goodness for the slow cooker!  It doesn't burn anything fast!  I overcooked my granola slightly, but that's because I've never made it before and had no idea what to expect!  However, it didn't stop it from being delicious.  It's just a little extra crunchy! :)

If you buy pre-chopped nuts, you will save yourself a lot of time here. (Almonds are not fun to chop up)  Or, if you have a food processor, throw them in there!  UGH!  It took me forever to chop up the almonds!  Never again!  I will drag out the food processor!

I added all things that sounded good to me, but you go ahead and add whatever you would like, substitute things, or add/delete things!

This granola is very versatile!  I'm using it with a Apple and Pear Breakfast Cobbler tomorrow, I had it as cereal this morning with milk, it would be great with yogurt and awesome with Ice Cream!

Notes:
I used a 3 Quart Slow Cooker, but it would have cooked better in a 5 Quart or larger Slow Cooker.  Also, you need to stir this frequently, so it's not a leave it while you're at work recipe!

Granola


Ingredients:
6 cups Old Fashioned Oats
3/4 cup almonds, chopped
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
3/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/4 cup flax seed
1 cup craisins
1 cup dehydrated apples, chopped
1 cup apple butter (you find this by the PB&J)
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup maple syrup

Directions:
Place all ingredients the dry ingredients in a bowl.
and stir.

Mix together the apple butter, honey and maple syrup.

Spray your slow cooker insert with non-stick spray.
Pour your granola mixture in there.
Pour the apple butter mixture on top.

Mix thoroughly!

Cook on LOW with the lid vented for 4-6 hours stirring frequently until browned and slightly clumpy.
(It won't clump a whole lot)

Enjoy!

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Sunday, July 17, 2011

This Week's Plan 7-17-11

Today is the start of a very busy week!  It's all exciting and fun things, but busy!  Today and tomorrow, I will be auditioning for my first show in 2 years, (I can't believe it;s been that long!) "The Sound of Music."  I played Maria in The Sound of Music almost 8 years ago!  It was such a dream come true then and would be again now!  However, doing a show will make this busy Mama even busier! It will be well worth it though.  If I make it, the show opens in September (as I start back to work for the first time in a year!  I know, I'm crazy!).  I will keep you all posted!

Next Sunday is Gavin's Baptism, so I will be by busy preparing for that as well.  I'll be making the cake (yes, I LOVE baking and decorating cakes too!).  We are having him baptized in Justin's hometown (in the church we were married), so we have to travel a bit of a distance.  Did I mention we have to attend a class Thursday night as well for the baptism?  Ugh!  So, it will be a busy week!

My plan this week is going to be a loose one!  I'm making the Mexican Breakfast Casserole I was supposed to make earlier this week.  I will also make the Breakfast Cobbler I was supposed to make last week with my homemade granola (I promise to post that recipe soon!  I'm waiting to get a good picture of it!).  Thanks to my friend Jolyn at Bargains to Bounty, I now know Whole Chickens are on sale at Kroger this week!  So, I'm going to hop over to Kroger and get myself one or two and make one in the Slow Cooker.  I'm also going to plan on a version of the Sour Cream Chicken Melany sent me :)

So, here's this week's plan:

Sunday: Mexican Breakfast Casserole

Monday: Leftovers

Tuesday: For Breakfast - Breakfast Cobbler
               For Dinner - Whole Chicken

Wednesday: Sour Cream Chicken

Thursday : Dinner Out

Friday: Leftovers

Saturday: Leftovers


Happy Slow-Cooking!
Hope Print Friendly and PDF

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Cheesy Ranch "Tot" Bake

This was seriously, one of the most AMAZINGLY FLAVORFUL dishes I've made to date!  And you know what???  I don't even like tator tots!!!!!!  LOL  I do as long as I make them like this!  Holy cow was this good!

About now, you should be running, not walking to the store to get theses ingredients!!!!!!!!  No, seriously, run!  LOL  I ate my dinner and could have had seconds or thirds.....but, I'm trying to lose these last 10 baby pounds! ;)

The ranch seasoning fell out of the cupboard at me while gathering the rest of the ingredients I needed.....so that was a very happy mistake!  The Cheddar Cheese Soup???  Well, a certain 3 year old may have dropped that in my cart by accident one day at the grocery store!  Anothe happy accident!So, fate was responsible for making this so incredibly amazing!!!!

Ok, now head to the store!

Cheesy Ranch "Tot" Bake



Ingredients:
1 lb. ground turkey, cooked
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. onion powder
1/2 cup onion, chopped
2 cups cheese, shredded (I had mexican blend, but use whatever sounds good to you!)
32 oz. bag frozen Tator Tots
1 can Condensed Cheddar Cheese Soup
1 can Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup
1 cup milk
1 packet dry ranch dressing mix


Directions:
Spray your slow cooker insert with non-stick spray.
Line the bottom with the ground turkey, cooked with salt and pepper.

Sprinkle the onions on top of that.

Layer on your cheese.

Dump the tator tops on top of that.

Mix together the cream of chicken soup, cheddar cheese soup, onion powder, milk and ranch.

Pour that over the top of the tator tots and spread evenly.

Cook on LOW for 7-9 hours or on HIGH for 4-6 hours.
Enjoy!
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