Freezer Crock Pot Meals

Hello again!  I've been on hiatus since Thanksgiving due to the craziness of the holidays and accomplishing a few tasks that have been on my plate since before the Rowselettes were born.  We had a wonderful first Christmas with our babies, both of whom were crawling for the big event.  It's crazy how fast time flies while going incredibly slow at the same time when you have little ones.  A friend of mine said it best that with babies, the days are long, but the years are short.  It seems like forever since they came into our lives, but I can hardly believe they're 10 months old and only two months from their first birthday!  Xander is now pulling up, cruising around furniture, and able to sit up on his own.  Archer is about a month behind him, but has just started pulling up on his own in the last couple of days.  I know they'll probably be walking by their first birthday.  I can't wait!

And now on to the Crock Pot recipe round up!  I saw a post about making crock pot meals in advance and freezing them last year around this time.  Mind blown!  Why had I never thought of this before?  I made a round of recipes before the babies were born, and it was so wonderful to have meals that you literally just had to dump in the Crock Pot, and voila!  Home cooked meal with no effort on my part.  I loved it so much, that I decided to do another round for this winter.  Here are the recipes I decided to use this time around:

• Mongolian Beef
• Pineapple Chipotle Beef
• Mushroom Artichoke Chicken
• Peach BBQ Smothered Pork Chops
• Corn & Red Pepper Chowder
• Creamy Chicken & Broccoli
• Ranch House Pork Chops
• Mississippi Roast
• Curried Chicken with Ginger & Yogurt
• Cuban Braised Beef & Peppers
• Vegetarian Chili with Sweet Potatoes
• Sweet Potato & Chickpea Curry
• Shredded Pork
• 1 can Coke 
• 1 packet onion soup mix 
• Buffalo Ranch Chicken
• 1 bottle Frank's Buffalo Wing Sauce
• 1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch mix

I'm down to only five of these meals left.  So far they've all been really good.  In fact, my husband says that the Mississippi Roast is the best roast I've ever made.  I especially liked the Cuban Braised Beef & Peppers.  So tasty topped with fresh cilantro and avocado slices.  So go on, give it a try.  I promise you won't regret having a stash of Crock Pot meals in your freezer.    

Veggie Frittata

Can I just say that I love fritattas?  They're easy, delicious, and acceptable for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.  What is a frittata you might ask?  A frittata is an Italian omelet.  Although it is more like a crust less quiche than a traditional omelet.  This is the perfect meal for the holiday season when you have a million things to do and guests in the house.  It will seem like you slaved in the kitchen, when in reality it takes about 15 minutes to prepare and make this delicious egg dish.

Veggie Frittata

• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 1/4 medium zucchini, chopped
• 1/4 medium summer squash, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 Tbsp. fresh basil, chopped
• 2 Tbsp. shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 c. cream or milk
• 8 eggs
• Salt & Pepper to taste

1. Preheat the broiler in your oven.
2. Saute onion, zucchini, squash, and garlic in a large, oven safe frying pan for 5-10 minutes or until onions start to become transparent.
3. Meanwhile scramble eggs with cream/milk in a small bowl.  Stir in Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper.
4. Evenly distribute veggies around the pan and pour the egg mixture over the top.
5. Once the bottom and sides begin to set, sprinkle the basil evenly over the top.
6. Place the pan under the broiler for 3-5 minutes.  The frittata is done when the eggs are golden brown on top.

I usually serve my frittata with bacon and toast with homemade jam for breakfast.  Or scones.  You can never go wrong with scones.  For lunch and dinner I like to serve it with a big salad and homemade bread.  I hope you enjoy this delicious, versatile recipe, and Happy Thanksgiving! :)

Thanksgiving in a Crock Pot

Hello all!  I've been MIA for a bit because we went on vacation to Costa Rica at the beginning of November.  With the Rowselettes!  That's right, they're officially international travelers with stamps on their passports and everything.  It was quite the adventure traveling with two 7 month old babies, but all in all we had an awesome time.  Here's a few photos from our trip:

The beautiful resort we stayed at for the first part of our trip.

The pool area.

Our casita deluxe.

Hanging with Dad in the hammock on our veranda.

First tropical drink in the hot tub with Archer.

Dad and Xander selfie.

Swimming at the Baldi Hot Springs Resort where we stayed for the second half of our trip.

There were 25 different hot springs pools with numerous water features!

We love our floaties!

Some nice people took a family photo for us.

All loaded up and ready to fly home. These Kelty backpacks were amazing for travel. Plus the Rowselettes really like them. :)

And now on to my newest recipe.  This crock pot meal is sooooo good!  So if you're craving Thanksgiving a little early, aren't headed home for the holidays, are just celebrating with you and you're significant other, or maybe you don't want to spend your whole day cooking, this recipe has got you covered.  I've seen versions of this recipe on Pinterest a million times, so decided to give it a try.  However, as is the case most of the time, I couldn't just make it the way everyone else does.  So here is my version of Chicken with Stuffing made in a crock pot.

Crock Pot Chicken with Apple Sage Stuffing

• 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs or 1 large turkey breast
• 2 (6 oz) packages seasoned stuffing
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 celery ribs, chopped
• 2 small green apples, chopped
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 c. plain yogurt (can be low fat)
• 1/2 c. H2O
• 16 fresh or dried sage leaves

1. Saute onion, celery, and apple in a pan over medium heat until onions just start to turn translucent.
2. Spray the bottom of the crock pot with olive oil spray and place chicken thighs or turkey breast in the bottom.
3. Salt & pepper the chicken and then pour the onion, celery, and carrots on top of the chicken/turkey breast.
4. Add the stuffing on top of the veggies.
5. Mix the cream of chicken and mushroom soups with the yogurt and H2O in a small bowl.
6. Pour this mixture over the top of the stuffing and top with sage leaves.
7. Cook on Low for 4 hours. 
8. Fluff the stuffing by mixing with the soup mixture and veggies.  At this point you can leave the chicken/turkey breast whole or shred it and mix the whole thing into a glorious mess of deliciousness.

I don't have any pictures of this meal after it's done because, let's be honest, most things that come out of a crock pot don't plate well.  That, and the fact that we ate it so fast there wasn't time for photos. ;)

Halloween Decorations

I know most of you probably already have your houses all decorated and ready to go for Halloween, but if not, here's a great way to get ready for the big day.  This is how I decorated my house, and I love it! 

It's so simple and makes such a big impact.  I used the Martha Stewart brand window statics and wall stickers from Michaels in my windows.  But you could easily create your own with black paper and a stencil.   

And let's not forget the pumpkins!  I actually grew 5 of these pumpkins myself!  It's the first time I've been really successful at growing pumpkins.  It was so exciting to be able to carve my own pumpkins for Halloween.  The one in the middle in the back is my mom's that she bought.  We had a pumpkin carving party, and she helped me carve my pumpkins.  She did the one in the very front, which I think looks awesome. :)

I hope you all have a wonderful and safe Halloween!

Homemade Ginger Beer

If you're as much of a fan of Moscow Mules and Dark & Stormies as I am, then you know how expensive it is to buy ginger beer.  It's roughly $7 for a four pack of bottles.  That's more expensive than regular beer!  So I was super excited when a friend of mine told me it was super easy to make my own ginger beer.  He directed me to this recipe by Tori Avey.  I gave it a go, and was pleasantly surprised by how delicious and fizzy it was.  And since it cost me roughly $1-$2 to make two whole liters, I'll be making my own ginger beer from here on out. :)

 

Moscow Mule

1. Pour 1-2 shots of vodka and ginger beer over ice in a copper cup.
2. Squeeze one lime wedge into drink and stir.
3. Enjoy!

Dark & Stormy

1. Pour 1-2 shots of dark rum and ginger beer over ice in a low ball glass.
2. Squeeze one lime wedge into drink and stir.
3. Enjoy!

Roasted Chile Tomato Salsa

At the moment I have a plethora of tomatoes sitting in my garage that are all ripe.  This is due to an early hard frost and subsequent harvest to try to save as much from my garden as possible.  So what to do with all of these delicious tomatoes?  Normally I would make a whole ton of vodka or regular pasta sauce.  However, that is a rather time consuming process, and with two little ones demanding my attention, that is a no go this year.  Instead, I've been making batches of fresh salsa.  There is a little, local farm stand not far from my house that I frequent during the end of summer and early fall.  It is so close that the Rowselettes and I usually go on a bike ride to visit it.  They had some amazing Anaheim chiles this year, so I decided to use them in my salsa.  This stuff is seriously good!

 
Roasted Chile Tomato Salsa

• 6 medium Anaheim chiles, seeds and ribs removed
• 1/2 large red onion, cut into quarters
• 2 jalapenos, seeds and ribs removed 
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 c. fresh cilantro
• 1/2 large lime, juiced
• 12 small to medium tomatoes 
• 1/2 tsp. salt

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees farenheit.
2. Place Anaheim chiles on a baking sheet lined with tinfoil.
3. Spray the peppers with olive oil spray and roast for 15 min.
4. Once the peppers are done, put all ingredients except tomatoes in a food processor.
5. Process on high until all ingredients are finely minced.
6. Add tomatoes to food processor.  
7. Process on high until tomatoes are liquefied. 

 

In case you weren't sure what an Anaheim chile looks like, this is it. :)

The smell of the chiles roasting is amazing!

My favorite part about this salsa is how easy it is to make!  You can even roast the chiles a few days ahead of time and store them in a resealable bag in the fridge.  This salsa will be good for a couple of weeks in the refrigerator, but I doubt it will last that long. :)    

Side note: It was recommended to me by another blogger to increase the size of my photos.  What do you guys think of the larger pictures?

Burt's Bees Mama Bee Nourishing Body Oil

Occasionally I find a product so awesome, I just have to share it with you all.  So today I'm going to give you the low down on this Burt's Bees Mama Bee Nourishing Body Oil. 

I've been using this body oil since I had the Rowsellettes, and it has worked wonders on the stretch marks I got from breast feeding and my c-section scar.  My scar, while still visible, looks really good.  My husband keeps commenting on how you can hardly see it anymore.  I attribute this mainly to the Vitamin E oil in this product.  Vitamin E is traditionally known to help minimize scarring. 

But the really amazing thing is how it has virtually faded away my stretch marks to nothing in the 6 months I've been using it!  As a person who'd never had stretch marks in my life, it was rather disheartening to wake up one morning with a plethora due to my milk coming in for breast feeding.  I vowed not to let it get any worse and started using this oil.  And sure enough, within a couple of months, I could see a vast improvement in the appearance of the stretch marks.  Hallelujah!  I love you, Mama Bee Oil. :)