Variety Pack of Red Gold Tomatoes Winner Announced!

Congratulations to our Winner, Gwen Barlow!!!!
Please email me at ABusyCrockPotMom@yahoo.com to claim your prize!

Thank you to all those who participated in the Red Gold Tomatoes Giveaway!  I especially appreciate the honesty, of those of you who entered and actually did what you were supposed to do.  Unfortunately, there were a lot of disqualified applicants due to not doing what they claimed they did for the giveaway.  Please remember, honest really is the best policy!

There will be a few more giveaways coming soon, so don't forget to check back!

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Sometimes trying to be frugal backfires! A story we can all relate to!

We've all been there.  We've had a "brilliant" idea we just knew was going to work.....and then, it backfired!  Sometimes we can salvage our dignity and other times, we have to own up to our "mistake" and admit we should have maybe spent a $1 more, or done a bit more research before we made that final decision.  We live and learn, right?

This past Halloween, my darling daughter decided she wanted to dress up as Belle. She had been talking about it for months, actually.  My husband and I encouraged the heck out of this decision because she already had the costume, crown, etc!  SWEET!  We didn't have to buy a costume!  I bragged to all my friends and family about how much money were were going to save!

Then, like every 3 1/2 year old, she changed her mind.  Sad day for mommy! LOL  She decided she wanted to be Rapunzel from the movie, Tangled.  I found a super cheap costume at Target, on sale.  Yay!  Done!  We only had to spend $14.99.  Still a cheap Halloween :)  Mommy was happy!

Oh, but my daughter had other plans......"Mommy, I want you to be big Rapunzel!  Wouldn't that be coo-well!?" Ella says.

As luck would have it, I had a big fancy purple dress in my closet from my senior vocal recital, so I agreed!  I had visions of finding some cheap ribbon to made the front of my dress look kind of like a lace-up corset just like the dress in the movie.  Actually, I was totally getting into it!  This was still going to be a cheap Halloween!

You see, I'm a teacher and I had decided to bring my daughter to work with me on Halloween since it was kind of an easy day.  She was super excited, and I knew the kids would love to see us dressed in matching costumes.  "Wouldn't it be cool for us both to have a cute little stuffed Pascals (the little chameleon from the movie) on our shoulders just like Rapunzel in the movie?!" I blurted out.

"YES, Mommy!!!!"

That night, after Ella went to bed, I had grand visions of the two of us, walking through the hallways at  my school, with our "matching" dresses and little Pascals. It was going to be so cute!

I was SURE I would be able to find stuffed Pascals at the Disney Store, so I went in and looked around.  I couldn't find one.  I asked a sales clerk.  She said they were all out, but should have some next week.  Well, that was a problem because Halloween was only 4 days away. What a bummer!

That night, I decided to look on good ole' amazon.com for a Pascal. I was sure I would find some there for maybe $5 each I could order and still get with my amazon prime free shipping!  WRONG!!!!  The ONLY Pascal's I could find were $25.......EACH!  YIKES!!!!!  I decided we could do without Pascal.

The next night, my daughter happened to see the open window on my computer with the stuffed Pascal's.  "Mommy!  Those are going to be SOOOOOOO ca-ute!!!!!!!  I can't wait until we have them mommy!  They are going to be so ca-ute on our shoulders!"

Sigh.......I can't let my little girl down. She was down-right ecstatic about this whole "dressing up alike" thing.  So, what did this mommy do?  I closed my eyes, clicked "add to cart" (twice) and then "buy."  GULP!  $50.....gone!  Just like that......

So, that's how I tried to be frugal this past Halloween and it ended up TOTALLY backfiring.  (Just so you know, they now have cute little Pascal's at the Disney Store now for like $5.....just in case you want to buy one!  LOL)  We win some, we lose some.  I LOST money here, but I WON a precious memory with my daughter!

If you found this story humorous, you're really going to like what is going on over at The Clorox Lounge!  The Clorox Lounge gives you a chance to get rewarded with coupons, fun anecdotes to read, and give-a-ways going on all the time.  It's a great place for mom's to escape, just like the few minutes of peace you get when you lock yourself into your bathroom!

Right now, the Clorox activities kick-off with a really funny and fun competition going on called "The Last Comic Sitting" Competition and Sweepstakes where you can vote for your favorite comic and be entered to win up to $10,000! (I know I could use that!!!!)  All you have to do is visit The Clorox Lounge to sign-up and automatically be entered to have a chance at that $10,000!

Leave me a comment below with your moment when you tried to be frugal with your kids, and it ended up backfiring!  I can't wait to laugh with you!






*I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Clorox® blogging program, to earn My SocialMoms Rewards Points. The opinions and ideas expressed here are my own. To read more posts on this topic, click here.

Win Tickets to the Tummy to Toddler Expo in Livonia!

Tummy to Toddler Expo coming to Livonia

The Tummy to Toddler Expo will be held on April 22nd from 10 am to 4pm at Laurel Manor.  This is a great opportunity for parents and parents to be to get a ton of information all in one location.  There will be a ton of great local vendors giving away prizes, information and selling products.

http://www.tummytotoddlerexpo.com

Some of the vendors that will be present include: 

Autism Speaks Baby Envision Baby Love BeautiControl – Tanya Thelan Beechnut Foods Beginners Inn Cakes by Nicole Broad Family chiropractic Children’s Hospital of Michigan Children’s Orchard of Ann Arbor Cookies by Design Correct Care Family Chiropractic Discovery Toys – Marie Gomez Door to Door Organics Dotto family Chiropractic Elephant Ears of Ann Arbor –Sponsor Ever Dry Waterproofing Great Start Program Great Wolf Lodge Greenway Carpet Cleaning Home Delivered Diapers Initials Inc. – Kimberly Liggins It Works – Linda Ellsworth Kid-Lok

Learning Care Group  Mary Kay – Alva Bergonzi Melissa Bruno Photography Metro Detroit Mommy Michigan No Circ Moon River Soap co. Mother and Earth Baby Boutique My Urban Toddler  Olga’s Kitchen Pediatric Dental Specialists Scentsy – Mary Kae Palloni Seeking Sitters Send Out Cards Shaklee – Patty Knowlton Sincere Care Suburban Moxie Photography The Dance Academy The Learning Experience Thirty One Gifts – Kristy Lach Tupperware – Debbie Etherton Usborne Books & More Visual Fantasies Young Families – Young Lives Peds Therapy Zehnders Splash Village

Admission is just $5 per adult and free for children.  You can get a discount on admission by pre-registering on the webiste: http://www.tummytotoddlerexpo.com.  Or enter below for a change to win tickets from

Kidlok

A Busy Mom's Slow Cooker Adventures 

& Metro Detroit Mommy!!

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Spaghetti Sauce with Giant Meatballs - Red Gold Tomatoes Review/Giveaway!

I've had some ground sausage in my freezer for a while now.  It was right on top, staring at me when I went into my deep freeze the other day.  So, I took that as a sign, and I put it in the fridge to defrost.  Coincidentally, a couple days letter, I got a very special delivery from Red Gold Tomatoes!  I knew the two were meant to go together!

I wanted to "beef" up my sausage, so I grabbed a small package of ground beef I had in the freezer, defrosted it and got to making meatballs!  Not just ANY meatballs mind you, GIANT meatballs!  Now, this is partially because I thought they would be cool, but also because I did not have the time to stand at the counter, roll a bunch of meatballs and then stand at the stove and brown all those meatballs.  Nope!  This was quick and easy and you don't have to worry about those meatballs being under-cooked because they will simmer away in your spaghetti sauce all day!

This was absolutely delicious!  My husband couldn't stop telling me how good it was!  That's ALWAYS a good sign!  My daughter usually picks around all the meat in her spaghetti sauce, but ate some of the meatballs with enthusiasm!!!!  SCORE!!!!

Now, on to my Red Gold Tomatoes!!!!  I was sent a variety pack of 6 different Red Gold Tomato products.  For this recipe, I chose to use the Red Gold Tomato Sauce, Red Gold Crushed Tomatoes and Red Gold Stewed Tomatoes.  It was a trio made in heaven!  They turned into an absolutely delicious spaghetti sauce!  I've cooked with Red Gold tomatoes many times before, and I have never been disappointed.  They have always been fresh and flavorful tomato products!

On Red Gold's website, you can find recipes along with an easy meal planner.  You can also join Red Gold on Facebook by clicking here!  Now, Red Gold has agreed to give one of YOU a variety pack just like they sent me!!!!  Yay!!!  To enter, you must follow the directions below on Rafflecopter.  

Spaghetti Sauce with GIANT Meatballs

Ingredients: (Serves 6-8)

1 lb. mild sausage

3/4 lb. ground beef

1/4 cup Italian Seasoned Bread Crumbs

1 pkg. onion soup mix

1 egg

1 15oz. can Red Gold Tomato Sauce

1 14.5oz. can Red Gold Stewed Tomatoes

1 15oz. can Red Gold Crushed Tomatoes

4 cups water

4 Tbsp. Garlic Powder (oh yeah, and it's SOOOO good!)

2 Tbsp. Minced Onion (I used Tastefully Simple Onion Onion)

1.5 Tbsp. Onion Powder

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. oregano

1 tsp. basil

Directions:

In a bowl, place the ground sausauge, ground beef, Bread crumbs, onion soup mix and egg.

Mix it all together.

Form your mixture into 2-3" meatballs to make GIANT meatballs!

Place them in a frying pan.

You're going to want to brown all sides.  They do not have to be cooked all the way through.

They will look like this when browned.

While they are cooking, it's time to work on your sauce.

Get your Red Gold Tomatoes ready and pour them into your crock!

Add all the garlic powder, onion powder, pepper, salt, oregano, basil and minced onion.

Your meatballs should be about done by now, so add those on top.

Pour about 4 cups of water on top of that.

Cook on LOW for 8-10 hours or on HIGH for 4-5 hours.

Serve over your favorite pasta!

Enjoy!

*This giveaway is open to US Residents Only.  Once contacted, the winner will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.  Best of luck to you!

*All opinions expressed here are entirely my own.  I was given some Red Gold Product in exchange for my review and honest opinion.  The recipe above was created by me and is soley mine.



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Chicken Noodle Soup

This all stemmed from the worse case of the flu I've had in a VERY LONG time!!!  I knew I had to eat something with subsistence on day 2, but nothing sounded good.  Chicken noodle soup is JUST what I needed!

Obviously, I didn't leave my house for any ingredients.  I had everything here!  YAY!  I had celery pre-washed, peeled a few carrots, chopped a couple leftover onion pieces that were already peeled, grabbed frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts from my freezer, added some seasoning and that's about it!  Easy, easy, easy!!!!

Use whatever kind of noodles you like here.  I had some large shells, which were kind of fun for a change because they held in some of the chicken and veggies with each bite!  Mmmmmmm!

Ok, here's what you came for!

Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients: (Makes approx. 6 servings)

2 FROZEN large boneless skinless chicken breasts (you can use thawed and cut down cooking time)

3-4 stalks celery, chopped

3-4 carrots, chopped

1 onion, chopped

8 cups water

6 chicken bouillon cubes

1 Tbsp. Mrs. Dash original 

1 tsp. salt

2 bay leaves

1-1.5 cups uncooked pasta

Directions: (Use a 5 Quart or larger Slow Cooker for this Recipe)

Place your frozen chicken breasts in the bottom of your crock.

Add your chopped onions, celery and carrots.

Add Mrs. Dash, salt, bay leaves and chicken bouillon cubes.

Pour the water over the top.

Cook on LOW for 8-10 hours or on HIGH for 4-5 hours.

Shred your chicken either by taking it out and pulling it between two forks, or like I did, by pulling it apart in the crock with tongs!

Turn your crock to warm and add your pasta about 20 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

Vidalia Onion Chicken

YUM!!!!  Honestly, this was quick, simple and delicious!  I LOVE these kinds of meals.  No muss, no fuss!

Chances are, you probably already have some chicken in your freezer.  I had this Tastefully Simple Vidalia Onion Dressing in my cupboard, and probably always will from now on!  It was seriously EXCELLENT!!!!!  Sweet, smooth, spicy.....mmmmmm!!!!!  You can order it here.  There is SOOOO much you can do with it!  Personally, I can't WAIT to use it again!

We served ours over salad, but this would also be excellent all on its own.  We were in the mood for salad.  My daughter LOVED it!  Ate it right up!

You can make this with non-frozen meat and shave off some of your cooking time.  You can also make this with bone-in chicken of any type. :)

Vidalia Onion Chicken

Ingredients:

2 lbs. FROZEN Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs

1 cup Tastefully Simple Vidalia Onion Dressing

salt and pepper

Directions:

Place the frozen chicken in the bottom of your crock and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Pour the Vidalia Dressing over the top.

Cook on LOW for 8-9 hours or on HIGH for 4-4.5 hours.

Enjoy!

Unstuffed Pepper Soup

A couple weeks ago, my friend Maria posted a recipe for Turkey Meatballs, made with rice and a pepper "infused" spaghetti sauce to go over the top.  It got me thinking.....how can I do something like this in the slow cooker?

Well, I took the SERIOUSLY easy way out of course!  Last week, Bell Peppers were on sale, so I picked up a few!  This morning, I was just about ready to get the kids in the car and it hit me......"Crap!  I have nothing ready for dinner tonight!"  (I went to bed early and didn't get anything prepped last night!)  I went to my cupboard, pulled out a can or tomato sauce, a can of diced tomatoes, grabbed an onion from my fridge and 2 bell peppers.  I chopped as quickly as I could, dumped the cans in, added some water and spices and then decided to crumble some beef in.  In 10 minutes, I had it all ready to cook all day!  Phew!  Crisis averted!

When I got home from work today, my house smelled amazing!!!!  I quickly added my rice and then took the kids out to play.  When we were done playing, dinner was ready to go!

This soup tasted great!  It was very much like eating a stuffed pepper, just in soup form, LOL!  The flavor was not overpowering.  It was very light and clean.  My husband and I both agreed that fresh garlic would have been great in this, but I didn't have any (or the time to chop it up the morning anyway!)

If you don't have time to wait for the rice to cook when you get home, make your rice the night before you plan to serve this for dinner.  When you serve your soup, scoop a serving of rice in each bowl and pour the soup over the top!  Problem solved!

I can't wait for you to try this!

Unstuffed Pepper Soup

Ingredients: (This makes 6-8 servings) 

1 Yellow Bell Pepper, chopped

1 Red Bell Pepper, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

1 15oz. can Tomato Sauce

1 14.5oz. can Petite Diced Tomatoes

3/4 lb. ground beef (uncooked)

4 cups water

2 Tbsp. Garlic Powder (although a 2-3 cloves of minced fresh garlic would be better)

1 tsp. basil

1 tsp. oregano

1-2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/2 cup arborio rice, uncooked

Directions: (I used my 3 Quart Slow Cooker for this)

Place your onions, yellow and red peppers in the bottom of your crock.

(pretty isn't it?!)

Add the garlic powder, basil, oregano, salt and pepper.

Add the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and water.

Crumble the raw beef into the soup.

Cook on LOW for 7-9 hours or on HIGH for 3.5-4.5 hours

45minutes before serving, add the arborio rice and give it a stir.

Serve and ENJOY!

BBQ Ranch Shredded Beef Nachos - Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce

I am SO happy I accidentally came across the Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce facebook page!  As I was reading through their page, I saw that they worked with Bloggers.  I was ecstatic!  So, they agreed to send me a couple of bottles to try!  What a great deal!

A little info about Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce taken from the Country Bob's Website; "Country Bob's All Purpose Sacue is in a class itself.  It is more than a steak sauce, because of its unique flavor and the variety of uses.  You can grill, cook, and marinate with it, or put it in your soups, stews, baked beans, and your other favorite dishes."  This is a gluten free product!  

When this sauce came to our door step, my husband and I were anxious to try it!  We will admit, we are "sauce-o-holics!"  When we saw we could use it on just about anything, we were even more excited.  We tasted it........Y-U-M!!!!  We decided right then and there we needed to try it ASAP.  

On Thursday, I was running late for work, but needed to get something in the slow cooker for dinner.  Three things came to mind.....a frozen Boneless Bottom Round Roast, Country Bob's all Purpose Sauce and a dry ranch dressing packet.  DONE!

This was one of the easiest dinner's I've even put together.  When I came home from work, I had a delicious smelling roast waiting for me.  I shredded it, topped some nacho chips with it and added my own spin from there.  My husband snuck a taste before I served it and his exact words were, "WOW!  This tastes amazing!"  My thoughts exactly!  

Long story short, Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce will now be a staple in our house!  I can't wait to try their other products, especially their Spicy All Purpose Sauce!!  YUM!

To find a store near you that sells Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce, click here.

And because you are all SO awesome, I have 2 Bottles of Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce to give away to 2 lucky readers!!!!!  Scroll down below the recipe to enter!  Good Luck!

BBQ Ranch Shredded Beef Nachos

Ingredients:

2.5-3 lb. FROZEN Boneless Bottom Round Roast (if you use a thawed roast, you can cut down your cooking time by a couple hours)

1/2-3/4 cup Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce

1 dry Ranch Dressing Packet

Directions:

Place your roast in the crock and sprinkle the ranch dressing packet over the top.

Pour the Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce over the top.

Cook on LOW for 9-10 hours or on HIGH for 4.5-5 hours.

Shred your beef and place back in the crock.  Mix with the juices in the crock.

Serve over nacho chips, add cheese, shredded lettuce, sliced green onions, salsa and sour cream.

Enjoy!

*Disclaimer: I was given 2 bottles of Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce in exchange for an honest review.  All opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

Now, on to our Giveaway!  To win 2 bottles of Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce, follow the directions below.  Please be honest and make sure you have done what is required.  I will be checking.  This Giveaway will close on Sunday, April 2, 2012 at 12:01 a.m. EST.

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Baby Food - Beef

Making my own baby food is a must for me.  Especially since Gavin is our "last" child, it's even more important to me that I do everything I can while the opportunity is still there to give it to him.  Making my own baby food is definitely something I can easily do.

Not only am I providing my son with nutritious home made food, but I'm also saving a lot of money!

My husband helped me with my baby food  prep this week!  I made yogurt, peas and beef this week/weekend.  He kept telling me how awesome it was that I do this for our son and how much money I am saving us!  (You're welcome, honey!)  If I didn't have my husband cheering me on, I have to be honest, I'm not sure I could keep up with all I do!  It's nice to know someone recognizes and cares!

As for the beef baby food, it was INCREDIBLY easy to make!  You can use any cut of meat you want really.  I used a bottom round roast because it was the most meat for the money.  Season your meat any way you think would be best for your baby.  I used Mrs. Dash because it's a nice blend of spices and all things I normally cook with.

You CAN do this!  It's SOOOO easy!

Baby Food - Beef

Ingredients:

1 1.5-2lb. Boneless Bottom Round Roast

1 tsp. Mrs. Dash Original Seasoning

1/4 cup water

Directions:

Place your roast in the bottom of your crock.  Sprinkle it with Mrs. Dash and then add your water to the bottom of the crock.

Cook on LOW for 7-9 hours or on HIGH for 3.5-4.5 hours.

Remove your roast from the crock.

Shred it a little bit and put pieces into your food processor.

Grind it into a powder.

Place about 2 heaping teaspoon fulls into snack sized baggies.  This is about 2 servings.

I stick them into my deep freezer and take them out as I need them.  I mix these with Gavin's veggies each evening.

Corned Beef with Cabbage, Carrots and Red Potatoes

I never in a MILLION years thought I would be saying this, but I LOVE Corned Beef and Cabbage!!!  Holy Cow was this good!!!!!   I've only had corned beef a few times in my life.  Only one other time do I remember enjoying it, and that was with a woman who was like my second mom in High School!  That same, lovely person, gave me her recommendations for doing this in the slow cooker!  (Thank you Debora!)

This was a GIANT hit in our house!  With Ella's first bite, she said "Wow! This is delicious Mommy! Try some daddy!"  She proceeded to clean her plate in record time and ask for seconds!  

This looks like she didn't enjoy it, but I assure you, this was a silly face because I got the camera out!  LOL!  When she doesn't want her picture taken, she closes her eyes.  This is her second plate full! :)  SCORE!

Gavin also enjoyed some Corned Beef, Carrots and Potatoes....

He just LOVES when I let him get messy!

Not only did my whole family thoroughly enjoy this dinner, but it was incredibly simple to put together.  The thing that took me the longest was peeling the carrots, LOL!  I put everything in the crock the night before and then took it out of the fridge in the morning and let it cook all day!


Since these are on sale at our local grocery store this week, I'll be purchasing a couple extra to keep in the freezer!  I can't wait to make this again!


Happy Early St. Patty's Day!!!

Corned Beef with Cabbage, Carrots and Red Potatoes

Ingredients: (Makes 4-5 servings)

1 3lb. Corned Beef Brisket (I bought a low-sodium one and I Highly recommend it!!)

1 head of cabbage

3-4 large carrots

24 oz. Baby Red Potatoes

salt

pepper

water

Directions: (I used my 6.5 Quart Slow Cooker for this)

Place your brisket in the bottom of your crock.  It will come with a seasoning packet.  Sprinkle the contents of that packet over your brisket.

Cover your brisket with water.  (It took me about 4 cups)

Next, place your veggies on and around your brisket.

(I took a picture while you could still see the other veggies!  There was a lot more cabbage to add.....)

Sprinkle your cabbage with salt and pepper like I did if you wish!

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

Enjoy!