Making Crock Pot Meals Even Lazier

I love my crock pot. Last winter, we used it pretty often. The only thing was, there was not a lot of variety in our crock pot meals. And you had to wake up early enough to cut up all the ingredients, or brown the meat first. It took WAY too long. But the pay off was still worth it...leave for work, come home and magically, dinner is all ready! Then recently a light bulb went off for me. I could use a day off of work to do all the cutting and hard stuff and put each unprepared meal into a bag in the freezer. Then all I would have to do in the morning is dump the contents of the bag into the crock pot. Brilliant! So I started looking for recipes where there aren't any stages like "add biscuits for the last 30 minutes" or "brown the beef in the seasonings and butter or whatever first". This morning, I only did two meals, but I found a whole bunch and intend to do more so I can use trusty ol' crock pot all fall and winter long!

Cilantro Lime Chicken

Ingredients:

1 16oz jar of salsa

1 packet taco seasoning mix

3 tablespoons cilantro

juice of 1 lime

3 lbs bonesless skinless chicken breast

Directions: When it's time to make it, cook it on low for 6-8 hours. Shred it up and serve with rice or tacos or some kind of salad. Pretty much whatever's easiest.

Beef Stew

Ingredients:

1 lb stew meat

2 potatoes cubed

1 cup baby carrots

(you could add celery, but I find it detestable)

1 tablespoon herbs provence

2 cloves minced garlic

if your husband doesn't hate onion, 1 chopped onion. or if he does hate onion, sneak in some onion powder

1 can/bottle of beer or 2 cups beef broth

Directions: Cook on low for 8-10 hours. If you WANT to do a little extra work here, you can combine 3 tbls melted butter with 3/4 cup flour to make a gravy. Add that to the stew and let it thicken for 15-20 minutes.

And there you have it, people. Do a little work one day so you can be lazy on the other days. It took me about 30 minutes to prepare both of these lovely little recipes.

Nest Relocation

These lovebirds have been busy lately! We picked up our little nest and moved 900 miles across the country to beautiful Colorado! All summer long, I was eager to get moved. I had so many great ideas to beautify our little nest, so many projects I wanted to do. But I hadn't seen our new apartment. I didn't know which things could go where AND I knew that some of the projects wouldn't travel well. So I had to be content with logging all of the inspiration I came across on Pinterest. Well, now we are here! We finally have internet, and I know what I want to do. Unfortunately, I spent twice as much at Ikea buying new furniture than I intended, so some things will have to wait. Soon, though, very soon, lots of projects will be happening. Until then....

Chalkboard Paint is Super Cool

I have been seeing lots of chalkboard projects around lately, but I think this one from BHG just might be my favorite. Jazz up some unfinished wood chairs by painting them a bright color. Then paint the back splat with chalkboard paint. You will never need place tags again!

This is another great idea. Give wine bottles a sleek modern look and a personal touch by painting them with chalkboard paint.
Or use chalkboard paint to create wall decor that can change anytime with the swipe of an eraser.
Use chalkboard paint to help you remember which plant is which. You could even right down maintenance instructions on each pot.
This stuff is pretty awesome and I can't wait to use it for something. Or many things!

Penne Alla Vodka

Cooking for two is hard! We try to eat healthy, but we are rarely together for meals and we don't like a lot of the same things. I try buying veggies I like (zucchini, yellow squash, tomatoes, onions), but since Gabe doesn't eat them, I have a hard time eating them before they go bad. I end up throwing out fresh fruit and veggies and it feels so wasteful! We haven't really come up with a solution yet other than just keeping trying. So we try...but occasionally, we like to indulge. And our favorite indulgence is penne alla vodka. I tried to "healthy it up" by using whole wheat pasta and fat free half and half instead of heavy cream, but it just wasn't the same. So here it is in all it's unhealthy glory.

You'll Need:

- 1 lb box penne

- 1/4 cup butter

- 1/3 cup vodka

- 1-1/2 cups pasta sauce

- 1/2 cup heavy cream

To Prepare:

Melt butter in a saucepan. When butter turns frothy, add vodka. Evaporate the vodka then add in the cream and pasta sauce. Tada! Add in pasta and you are finished. Sprinkle some cheese on top if you like!

P.S. I was going to take a picture, but then I ate it instead....oops!

Pre-Nesting

efore we could nest together, we had to spend 9 months planning, searching, buying, stressing...the whole lot of it! That lovely and most memorable phase of life that is being engaged. In those months, I did much to prepare for our wedding but little to prepare myself for settling down together. Oh, but I couldn't wait! I couldn't wait for the hype to be over so that we could find magic in doing ordinary, everyday things together. And now the waiting is over. and each day we take pleasure in cooking together, finding homes for all of our new things, and turning a boring white-walled apartment into a place we look forward to coming back too at the end of the day.

As I sit here on my old and somewhat smelly borrowed couch and look around, I see that we have quite a ways to go. But my untamed imagination sees all the possibilities and the apartment should know that I am a force to be reckoned with, and in no time at all, it will be a comfy cozy little nest for me and my lovebird.