Ladies Night Out Planning

So, I have the wonderful opportunity to help do a Ladies Night Out thing at Church tomorrow. The theme is "Giggles and Grace" ....just a time for fun fellowship and a dvd presentation called Embrace Grace.

After doing many events, I have learned that I tend to go overboard on the variety of foods and quantity. So this time I really tried to keep it simple. And after making it through the grocery store today, I feel like I actually did it this time!

Our Menu:
Chicken Salad on Hawaiian Rolls
Turkey and Provolone Spirals
BBQ Smokies
Fresh Salsa, Queso Dip (in crock pot,)  and White corn chips
Veggie Tray w/ Ranch Dip
Fruit Tray

Punch

LOTS of desserts (One of my friends, Karen was So kind to make cookies and brownies!)

CHOCOLATE!

First off...I found a crock pot that MATCHES my theme!!!! Actually, I had bought it as a gift, but ended up with it in the trunk of my car! Pics to come of that in the future I hope!

Here are the invitations:

 

Goodie Bag Contents...I decided to not go with the zebra theme for everything...So there are polka dots and more! 

So the theme in our presentation I had put onto...Organic Custom Lip balms! I was so excited to find these! The lady did a fantastic job and I got them VERY fast.

 

I had some photo paper that came free with something, so I made these cute little prayer reminder cards.

 

Found the basket on clearance!!

 

I got the goodie bags in the primary colors of the event...I also got matching paper straws I ordered!

Plates. I love the square thing! 

 

 

Flowers: I was sooooo happy to find these roses today. They are so beautiful. And 24 roses for $22...it was a deal!

 

Make shift vases...Made out of Crystal Light plastic containers! I found the wraping paper at Target for $1 a roll.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Slow Cooker Recpies, Most Popular

I will not give too many specific measurements on some things. I am not really stuck on that when I cook. But if you should need them, just ask! **Bullion Cubes...Knorr has the BEST. They are worth every penny! Also, 4-6 hours is on HIGH :)

Cheesy Chicken:

3 Chicken Breasts
1 Cream Of Chicken Soup
1 Condensed Cheese Soup
Seasonings for chicken
1/2/ Cup Water
Sour Cream, optional

Put all but the Sour Cream in the crock pot. Cook 4-6 hrs. Stir in sour cream before serving if you desire. GREAT over tortillas, rice, and pasta. Also good as opened faced sandwich on french bread.

Pepper Steak
Stir Fry Meat or London Broil cut into 2" strips
Green Peppers, cut into strips
Red Pepper, cut into strips
Onion, Cut into wedges
Garlic
Seasonings
Canned chopped tomatoes
Beef Bullion
1/4 Cup Water

It all goes in for 4-6 on high. Good with rice.


Chicken and Dumplings
Chicken
Frozen Veggies (your preference) { For a better meal ,use fresh cut carrots and celery instead of frozen veggies)
Chopped onion
Bullion Cubes
1 C water
Salt and Pepper (or whatever you like to season with)
Chicken Gravy Mix (dry...found in gravy isle)
Canned Biscuits

Put it all in, except biscuits...stir well...tear biscuits up and put on top...cook for 4-6 hrs.

Salsa Chicken
Chicken
Canned Black Beans
Jar of  Salsa
Rotel or canned tomatoes
Onion
Garlic
Canned Corn
Taco Seasoning Mix (on gravy isle)
Bullion

Mix it all up. Cook 4-6 hours.  Good over rice.

Taco Soup---this stretches to feed a lot!
Cooked ground beef
Dry Taco Seasoning Mix (on gravy isle)
Canned Corn
Canned Kidney Beans
Canned Black Beans
Canned Tomatoes ...diced
Canned Tomatoes...crushed
Salt and Pepper, Garlic Salt

Cook 4-6 hours. Yummy!

Crock Pot Cookery In Mass

So......before I had spoken of Dinner Delivered meals I was doing. They were fun, but on a month when I had VBS, I did a freezer slow cooker meal to deliver. It turned out wonderfully for the recipient (as far as I know!). Now that is what I have been doing for a few months. It is SO EASY and then the families have meals when they need them. And I only spend one day a month delivering. Last month I made about 18 meals. It took about 3ish hrs to prepare, 1ish hours to go to the store to get the supplies, and about 2 ish hours to deliver. (For those interested in cost to do this, below is a chart showing what a value this is). It was SPLENDID!  I LOVE doing this, it is such a blessing to me! I am so thankful others allow us to deliver these to them!

How I "Roll"

               Preparation

I buy the slow cooker disposable bags found in the plastic baggie/ foil section of the store. We have access to a commissary, so my cost is about $2 a box. If they were too much I would use the large zip locks instead. They would then have to wash the cooker afterwards. I love the idea of NO scrubbing! I then make a list on the computer of the meals so they will know what they are eating! I then assign a number or a color to each meal. This paper is printed out and included with the meals.

I make a list of the meals. Then I make a list of who gets what meal(s). I use a handy dandy chart like this:

                         Chicken       Roast        Ham        Soup
Mrs. A                    x                                                x
Mrs. B                    x               x              x              
Mrs. C                                     x                   
Mrs. D                   x                               x                x

Then I tally up needed baggies and ingredients. I use a similar method as above to figure out the food quantities I need. I let the ladies know a few days ahead I am doing it on such and such a day.

               Shopping

I am NOT a list person, but to do this effectively, it is needed. So I shop with my list. On these days, I try to NOT buy anything for myself. Only the things for the dinners. I bring it home and promptly fridge the meats and perishables. Then I either get to work or I do it the next day.

               Assembly/Delivery

I CLEAN my kitchen WELL before I start..even the parts I will not use. Obsessive? Yes, but this is for others, so we should do our best. Then I get out the veggies and cut them as they will be needed in the recipes. I do all this on my little kitchen table in my little kitchen. Then I get the meat needed out and a mixing bowl for each meal (for example...in the chart above three people will be chicken dishes...so three bowls I get out and put the liners into them so I can do it assembly line style). I assemble, then either tag it by color or by number and then pop into the freezer/fridge. I do this for each meal, then I place them in a cooler or a freezer tote and take them to the recipients. Clean up is Quick, just some bowls, knives, and two cutting boards!

                Cost

I think this slow cooker thing is a b-a-r-g-i-n!! My family of 6 costs about $50 to eat at a mid range eatery, $100+ at a nicer establishment. Fast Food is about $30 for us (and YUCK!). Look at this below:

Fast Food Meal $30 each x 18 meals = $540! For Fast Food! **No veggies, no leftovers, not usually healthy!
Mid-Range Eatery $50 each meal x 18 meals = 900!!!

The meals I prepare (usually one crock pot meal feeds my family of 6, with leftovers sometimes too!) On the 18 meals I spent about $160.  For 18 meals for $160 = 8.88 EACH! That is a savings of  $21.12 PER MEAL over fast food prices. And 41.12 over mid range eateries! So really if we give up 5 fast food meals a month, it pays for 18 meals to give. Not much of a sacrifice there!!  (And fyi...I include some rice and pastas and drink mixes with the meals (not all the meals, but some).


Easy, Fun, and Fantastic!

Ducks & Chickens

The ducks went to a new home. Our mallards are a happy couple on a friends pond! And the Pekings went to a duck farmer, they were aggressive to the mallards and NASTY to keep on our sized property. It was a fantastic experience and I hope to do mallards again next year. They were so loving and would follow us around! 

Our chicks are now teens and starting to produce eggs for us. After almost a year of chicken keeping I can say it is awesome and not too much work. It is a wonderful thing, even in out city home. We expanded out flock to new breeds, but were not able to get any rainbow layers :( Hopefully next season!

We plan to add 6-8 a season to keep egg production up. We will likely rely on the eggs and the meat from the ones at the post peak laying era of their lives for food once we head into retirement, in about two years.

 

 

Garden Update

 

Our garden ended up looking full and lush! The lettuce did great. The tomato plant ended up growing HUGE! We used no chemicals or pesticides at all. We ended up not putting much effort into the care of it at all due to other things going on, but it was fun and we look forward to doing it again next year!

 

 

 

 

 

Simple, Easy Birthday Celebration

So....for birthdays at our home, we usually keep it on the mellow side. We did some bigger parties when the kids were younger, but now favor a family & perhaps close pals celebration. I keep some party things in a box so that time does not get away from me at the last minute. We have 4 birthdays in May-July. This year for one of the birthdays, I simply put out easy decorations (that I found on clearance early in the year) and my daughter was very pleased. I did it just prior to leaving the house for Church that morning, so she did not see it until we returned! A dear friend made some AWESOME cupcakes (below)  That made the days sooo special! Love is priceless! Another dear friend made another daughter a awesome cake (which I hope to post when I get the pic!)  and delivered it (we were out of town, so the party was with the Grandma). It was such a huge gift! Such a tremendous blessing to have ladies in my life who bless us in such special ways. Our celebrations hopefully reflect to our children our love of family and that simple can be so much fun!

 

How cool that she made these from scratch!

 

Southwest Chicken Bake

Super easy, super yummy and fairly inexpensive to make. This is hearty and when served with rice it is super high in complete protein.

Here is what you need:

1.5 lb boneless chicken breasts
1 Onion
Taco Seasoning Packet
1 Can Black Beans
1 Can Corn
1/2 C Salsa
Shredded Cheese (about a cup or two)

Cooked Rice or Corn Chips to serve over it. I like mine with sour cream too :)

Dice the onion, and brown it in a little oil in a skillet or pan. Then cube the chicken, and brown it with the onions. After it is not pink anymore add everything except the cheese and the rice or chips. Simmer covered on low for 40ish min. If the mixture gets too thick, add some water. Stir frequently.

After the 40-ish min (which gives the flavors time to meld) Top with cheese and put the lid back on till it is melted. Or you can put it in the oven in a baking dish and brown the cheese (who really wants another pan to wash though? Not me!) So the stove top works really well!

Eat and enjoy!

Lasagna

I have been making lasagna for many years. Last week I made a "boat load" of it (lol!). I made enough for maybe for about 25  people. I enjoy it because it is quick and easy. Lots of folks like it so here is how I do it as per my BFF request! I might make this for Wednesday night soon, that would be enough for like 50 or so people. I've never made that much at once!

Below is my general recipe, I don't measure so these are my guesses. Now let me say this...I made some week before last that was not so good. I did not precook the sauce long enough (and I used a generic bland one) and then I did not cook it quickly in the oven (I waited because we ran out). The results were not delicious (we did eat it, but I was disappointed! Thankfully we had no company that night!) This week I did it the better way and it was so delicious.

You need:
1 onion
Ground Beef (1 lb is more than enough)
Sauce (two jars, or three cans. Classico brand rocks,And the ones in a tin can are good too. Get diff flavors if you can... Onion & Garlic, and 4 Cheese are my favorites. Don't use a "traditional" or "meat" flavor if you can help it. They are b-l-a-n-d)
Lasagna Noodles (does not matter brand/type~ 1 box)
1 small ricotta
1 small cottage cheese
1 bag mozzarella (I also like to use a 5 cheese blend in addition to mozzarella, but you don't have to)
Parmesan (does not matter what kind, just need a few table spoons or you can leave it out)
Salt, Pepper, Garlic Salt, Seasoning Salt, Whatever else you like to season with

A pan, 9x13 or 8x8..thicker if 8x8, thinner if 9x12...either way good!

Dice the onion, saute it with the ground beef that you season with spices till browned. Add the sauce and 2  cups of water. Simmer covered slowly for at least an hour. This makes a HUGE difference. I did mine for like two or three hours the other day and it was soooooooooo good.

Now, when it is done simmering stir in 1/4 cup water, in a bowl mix your ricotta, Parmesan & cottage cheeses. Add garlic salt and pepper..and don't skimp! If it is TOO thick, add 1/8-1/4 cup of water so you can spread it with ease when layering.

So now, get your pan. Put about 1/4 of your sauce on the bottom. Then layer noodles across it, covering the whole bottom of the pan. Next, spread a layer of the cheese mixture on the noodles. Then sprinkle some mozzarella on it. Then top with another nice hearty layer of sauce. Repeat twice, just remember to change the way the noodles are going...go long ways one time, short ways the next. This keeps it from falling apart when you serve itYou should end up with three noodle layers, two with ricotta mixture on them. If you have more, then don't worry, it will be yummy still!!

When you top the final layer with sauce, make sure it is ALL covered well or you will get dry, yuck noodles. Add a bit of water if needed. Put into your 350 oven after you cover it with tin foil.

Wait for 45-60 min. Take the foil off. Is it bubbly? If so, then it is done. Take foil off and top with some mozzarella cheese and put in oven for about 5 more min.

Take it out and let it cool for at least 10-15 min. This is super important for it to hold its shape.

Then eat it.

This freezes well, very well. Just wrap in foil and then put into baggie in the freezer. Super handy for a quick meal later in the month. This is also fabulous as a leftover.

Super Simple Dinner

So this week we made lasagna for some folks we know, and I had some leftover ricotta and cottage cheese. I came up with a quick and easy meal that was really good...and thought I would share it.

What I had was...no-boil noodles, sauce, leftover mozzarella cheeses, leftover bag of ricotta and cottage cheese mixed together with spices I had on hand.



I put really hot tap water in a dish and put the noodles in to soak for about 10 min..this softened them so I could use the to make "shells" for the filling. Then I put a spoon of the  ricotta mixture &  mozzarella in the center of each noodle and rolled it up, and put it in the pan. Then after the pan was full, I covered it all in sauce really well. sprinkled a little cheese on top and baked for about 45 min.



It was good! And the kids and I ate the WHOLE 9x13 pan for linner (our lunch/dinner combo!)

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies;Eating Out

It has been a long while since I have baked Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies. I made some this afternoon. So delicious. I mean Super Yummy. I use the recipe from Hershey's Dark Chocolate Chips. It is the best recipe I have ever found for CC cookies. And something I learned from a friend...take them out before they appear done. When they are set, not firm. They will harden slightly as they cool, and you will be left with a moist, soft cooky.

And today we WANTED to eat out. And we had thought about going to a town a ways away to shop for some things. But, I had not pre-cooked us anything, so alas, we ended up at home. We had bacon and eggs...it was good. Plus I was able to make dinner (baked spaghetti & bread) while working on lunch so there will be little clean up and time to make dinner. Yippee!