I've been wanting to spice up my pot roast for a while now. I make a pot roast at least twice a month -- it is easy, tasty and my family loves it. I like to make it in the slow cooker, since all I have to do is throw the ingredients in, turn on the slow cooker, and I have a delicious meal ready for my family a few hours later! But, I've been a bit disappointed with how bland my pot roasts have been. My husband tends to like spicer foods, and following in their daddy's shoes, my kids tend to like more flavorful foods, too. So, I've been looking for new pot roast recipes, but most have very Continue reading...
Easy Slow Cooker BBQ Ribs
Today has been a great day so far. One of my daughters just loves the snow, so I promised her last night that I would get up early (for me, that means 9:30 a.m. on a Sunday) and take her to the big pile of snow that the snow plows left in the middle of our street. She's been sledding and climbing on it all day. Luckily, my husband is watching her outside now, so I can have some hot soup and warm up! Before I took my daughter outside, I started a simple crock-pot dinner that my family just loves! All I did was take 2 pounds of baby back pork ribs and place them in my large slow cooker. I Continue reading...
What I Am Reading This Week
Reading magazines used to be a hobby, but now, reading all the fantastic mom blogs out there is my new obsession! These are some favorite posts that I came across this week. I just LOVE Mexican food, so I was happy to find this Cheesy Chicken Taquitos recipe from How to Nest for Less: I love this post on organizing a daughter's closet. I've been trying to figure out how to organize one daughter's hair accessories, and One Creative Housewife has some really smart ideas! My kids love fortune cookies, so if I could manage to make these fortune cookies (with free printables) Continue reading...
Delicious Christmas Cookie Recipes
I will be going to a Christmas cookie exchange in about two weeks, and will need to bring about 5 dozen cookies to share with neighbors and friends. So, I’ve been looking around Pinterest for some good Christmas cookie recipes. It’s always fun to find new cookies to bring to the party – which a great neighbor of mine throws every year! (Thanks, Roberta!) Now is a perfect time to bake – it’s a wonderful way to get in the spirit of the holiday season, and homemade cookies make for some sweet gifts! These are a few of my favorite Pinterest cookie Continue reading...
My New Pampered Chef Bar Pan
As I mentioned a while back, I had a Pampered Chef party recently. It was wonderful having some friends over for the party, and now I have been having fun trying out my new products. Last night, I tried out my new Pampered Chef Medium Bar Pan. The pan normally retails for $25, but I got it for 60% off as a host benefit from my Pampered Chef consultant, Rose Cardone Slack. I bought the pan because I have very little to cook on in the oven. I have a few old cookie pans that I usually cover with foil when I cook meat in the oven. I figure that I can use the Pampered Chef bar pan, which is made Continue reading...
Keurig K-Cup Home Brewer — A Hot Father’s Day Gift!
I love my family's Keurig K-Cup Home Brewer. I originally bought the coffee maker as a gift to give to my husband for Christmas, but my kids convinced me to give the brewer to him right away, since he often drinks coffee on the way to work in the morning. If the man in your life doesn't have a K Cup home brewer, it would make a perfect Father's Day gift! The brewer has become a family favorite. My kids love it, because now they can make their own hot drinks on their own, instead of asking me to heat up some hot apple cider, hot chocolate, etc., in the microwave. I keep large mugs in a great Continue reading...
Pampered Chef-Style Chicken Fajita Dinner
I had a Pampered Chef party at my home last Friday, and it was a lot of fun. For the party, a Pampered Chef consultant came over and demonstrated the Pampered Chef's cooking tools and products. For my guests, she made a great chicken fajita recipe in my kitchen’s microwave in only 14 minutes. She used the Pampered Chef deep covered baker to make the dinner recipe. I was quite impressed – the Pampered Chef covered stoneware casserole dish that she used made the chicken nice and juicy – not rubbery, like one would expect from the microwave. I immediately wanted to order the Pampered Chef deep Continue reading...
Freezer and Pantry Meals
One night last week after getting home late from an evening full of my kids' after-school activities, we found that I didn't really have anything to prepare for our family's dinner in the fridge. My kids didn't want to go to the grocery store, so instead of getting calorie-laden (and expensive) take-out food, I decided to prepare our family's meals from what I could find in our pantry. My husband and I had frozen French bread pizzas, and my daughters had boxed mac 'n cheese, one of their all-time favorite meals. To get a little green element in there, I opened up a can of peas. Our Continue reading...
What’s For Lunch: Cookie-Cutter Sandwiches
My kids wanted sandwiches for lunch today, so I decided to jazz up their usual salami/cheese and turkey/cheese sandwiches by cutting fun shapes out with cookie cutters. I simply made the sandwiches (making sure to place the meat and cheese so they will stay in the sandwich once cut), and cut the sandwiches into shapes with some of my cookie cutters. I have a large heart-shaped cookie cutter, and cookie cutters for each of my daughters' first initials, so I used those. I used a smaller heart cookie cutter to top each heart sandwich with a smaller heart-shaped piece of cheese. Below are Continue reading...
What’s for Lunch: Deviled Eggs and Pasta Salad
Now that the school year is here, I am hoping to better manage my kids' nutrition by making lunch for my daughters most school days. In the past, I used to let them buy lunch, since they liked their school's lunches. But, it turns out that this year, my daughters would rather bring in their own lunches, so I am happy! It seems that the appeal of the school's lunches have worn off for my daughters. They also don't like the long lines they have to stand in to purchase a lunch. When I pack a lunch for them, they get to choose their seat in the lunchroom earlier, and get started on their Continue reading...