Monday, April 25, 2011

Our Easter

Ok - I was such the bad mommy this weekend. I totally forgot my camera! I KNOW! When was the last time I did that? Seriously don't remember! Awful me!

So, let me sum up. On Friday we took off for the land southward and celebrated birthdays with the extended fam! So much fun! The kiddos played outside and downstairs until WAY passed their bedtimes but had a FUN time! I have to admit that some of us stayed up past my bedtime, too! Then after breakfast we headed home. We pulled in, cleaned up and got back into the car for a quick drive to the family lunch and egg hunt at the in-laws! That was AWESOME! My sis-in-law was terrific and put lots of fun little toys and not a lot of candy in the eggs! AWESOME! We got to play card games and visit and do a little shopping (cuz I was the bad mommy and forgot to get The Boy a shirt and tie, which he desperately needed!) As a family, we don't always spend much time together but it is so fun when we do!

Sunday dawned bright and early. So I got lots done! I worked on my lesson for my Primary class and cooked breakfast and just enjoyed the morning. We kept the food REALLY simple with one huge ham steak between all four of us, pasta salad and fresh veggies. (Sometimes keeping it simple is best!) My camera was a home so... tons of pictures as usual. I won't bore you with all of them - just my favorites!




After church, we snacked and then made cookies for Family Home Evening!
Tons of fun for everyone! Yep, more pictures - this time from my phone.








Monday, April 18, 2011

My New Favorite Appliance... sorta


Yep, there he is. Our new favorite appliance.
Let me explain...
It seems that on Mondays and Wednesdays we are a bit strapped for time. Either I had to have all the cooking done before the afternoon mayhem began (yeah right)
OR
I would have to plan ahead and have something simmering in the pot.
I found a cook book at Costco called Slow Cooker Revolution which I promptly bought without even looking inside! CRAZY!

LOVE it!

Ok yeah - it is sorta a snooty cookbook that uses slightly crazy things like "canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce" and chickpeas (which will NEVER come into my house EVER).
That being said, everything that I have cooked has turned out as expected or better except one that was totally my fault. I guess there are some ingredients that cannot be left out!
We have only tried a few but ...TASTY!
Here is the list of what we have tried:
  • Chicken in a Pot - my fault. I left out some spices (oops) but the chicken fell apart literally while we were wrestling it out of the crock.
  • Sicilian Meatloaf - crazy good! Crazy that I cooked it in a 1980's crock pot and it turned out fabulous!
  • Maple-Glazed Pork Loin - FABULOUS!!! The cayenne pepper added just a wonderful little kicker!
Next up is the Barbecued Drumsticks (tonight) and then the Everyday Shredded Pork Filling (burritos), and then Huli Huli Chicken and Sweet and Sour Sticky Ribs.  I can't wait!

As I was planning menus, I kept thinking that I needed a new crock but then I remember that there is only 4 of us and we only eat about 2.5 servings of anything! If I got a bigger and better slow cooker then I would have to recruit people to eat at my house every other day so I didn't have to throw great food out! So, we will still use our lovely old crock pot and I will start looking through the crafty blog world for ways to "cute" up the crock.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Spring?

Could it possibly be spring? I certainly hope so and I am not the only one! The Girl couldn't resist the sunshine and the warmer temps (50*)! I have to admit to buying flipflops for everyone last week - I couldn't resist either!
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