Pennies In My Pocket Blog: Food/Drink

Showing posts with label Food/Drink. Show all posts

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Yawn...Can't. Stay. Up. Late. Anymore. & Slow Cooking Thursday...yuuummm!

OK, so my blog posts are fewer lately. I've been trying to get to bed earlier...which is a big struggle for me. I'm a night owl by nature, but as I'm aging, it gets harder and harder to function the next day. I used to work on my blog at midnight and now that time slot has poofed out of my schedule. I am amazed at how well some of you bloggers do with staying consistent with your posts. Maybe I need to hire some of you to work on mine!

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Apple Glazed Pork Roast

I found this seriously-so-fabulous-people-will-think-you-spent-all-day-on-it recipe in my crock pot recipe book that came with my slow cooker.

INGREDIENTS
3 - 4 lb pork roast (I always get a 2.5 lb roast)
4 - 6 apples, cored and quartered (I use Fuji because of the sweetness)
1/2 cup apple juice
5 Tablespoons of brown sugar
2 Tablespoons of ground ginger
Salt & Pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
1. Rub roast with desired amount of salt & pepper.
2. Place apple quarters in bottom of slow cooker, place roast on top.
3. Combine apple juice, brown sugar and ginger then spoon over top of roast, moistening well.
4. Cook on low for 10-12 hours. (My crock pot only takes around 6 hours on low and 4 hours on high.)

This dish is FABULOUS!! I serve with red potatoes and green beans.

Head over to Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for more Slow Cooking recipes and to participate in Slow Cooking Thursday!

Question of the Day
How late do you stay up at night?

Thursday, February 19, 2009

'Mom Thing' Lessons ... & Slow Cooking Thursday

So, I'm still a new mom. Well, maybe not a 'brand new' mom, but the child is only 21 months. I'm a realist. I'm not the type to have unrealistic expectations by any means, but nobody told me how many times a kid can get sick...in ONE month.

Even though I'm a stay at home mom (which means the baby isn't really around other kids often)...even though I'm a germ-a-phobe and keep things nice and clean and disinfected....even though we all get our vitamins, eat from all the basic food groups, etc...EVEN THOUGH...she still gets sick all the time.

I feel so bad for her. She's had a really nasty bronchial infection that causes her to cough this very sad cough. Those big blue eyes just stare at me every time as if asking, "mom, can you pleeeeease make this stop?" She's on breathing treatments and, for the past few days, they didn't seem to be making a difference, but tonight I'm seeing the light...I think. She had a cough several weeks ago that last two weeks, so I'm not expecting this to be gone by the weekend.

We'll most likely I'll need to cancel our trip to Washington state because I'm the type of mom who doesn't like to take a sick or 'just feeling better' child on a plane to very very cold weather. Oh and it wouldn't be great to take myself up there being that I'm starting to come down with it now.

Thank goodness for trip insurance. I knew it would be worth the $30.

I'm learning this whole 'mom' thing. Kids get sick. A lot.

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Tangy Crock-Pot Pot Roast

I found this sounds-so-good-I-have-to-try-it recipe at kraftfoods.com...Sounds yummy and it's beyond easy.

INGREDIENTS
1 beef chuck roast
1 packet onion soup mix
1 can (14 oz.) cranberry sauce, jelly or whole berry
1-2 Tablespoons cornstarch

DIRECTIONS
1. Combine all ingredients (except cornstarch) in crock-pot, cover, and cook on low for 5-6 hours, turning once. Remove roast from crockpot just before serving, and set aside on plate.
2. In a small mixing bowl, whisk about 1 1/2 cups of gravy from crockpot with 1-2 Tablespoons of cornstarch to thicken gravy.
3. Pour back into crockpot, and place roast back in to simmer for a few minutes, making sure there are no lumps in the gravy.

NOTES
* Do not add any additional liquid, as the roast will make it's own gravy.
* If using whole berry cranberry sauce, you can mash some of the berries when mixing in the cornstarch.

Head over to Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for more Slow Cooking recipes and to participate in Slow Cooking Thursday!

Question of the Day
When is a new mom officially not a new mom anymore?I'm curious.:)

Monday, February 16, 2009

Menu Plan Monday ... Sleep In Monday

I love 3 day weekends. We were going to sleep in, but instead, someone is coming over at 7:30am to give us a quote on doing a patio and resurfacing the pool decking. Remind me why I said he could come that early??? Maybe I'll just let the hubby take care of that appointment. I'm not a morning person...at all.

I know, don't throw rocks at me. I'm the mom who has a child who sleeps in until 9 or sometimes even 10:00! I wanted to take advantage of that with the hubby being off. I KNOW! Totally wrong, isn't it? Like I said, don't throw rocks, please. ;-)

Oh and by the way, thank you all for the condolences last Friday when my AC adapter broke. Yes, I have a Dell and yes, it's a PAIN to get a new one, BUT I found this handy dandy computer shop that had a refurbished one that saved me $40 and they DELIVERED it to me within an hour! How cool is that?!?! Oh and it includes a year warranty...which on average, I've needed a new one every year anyhow.

Well, so that was fixed in a jiffy, but then my DSL was down most the weekend. Hummphh

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For more fabulous meal plans, visit orgjunkie.com!

Monday: Three Cheese Chicken Penne Pasta Bake
Tuesday: Dixie Pork Chops (Photo to right) I sub cranberries for the raisins and use apple cider vinegar.
Wednesday: Grilled Tilapia with Mango Salsa - Great dish if fish scares you. Tilapia is extremely mild. This is one of our fave fish dishes.
Thursday: Tangy Crock Pot Roast - I'll post this recipe on Slow Cooking Thursday
Friday: Leftovers!

Question of the Day
Any plans this Presidents' Day?

Monday, February 9, 2009

Menu Plan Monday and ME Time...

Good Monday to you all! Sorry I slacked on the Friday Sale last week. I had a full week and tried to fit some 'me' time in. I picked up some amazing sushi and took it to a fabulous girlfriend's house. We chatted like teenagers. That usually does me good for at least a week or two, although I have been craving the salmon sashime like a mad dog since then.

Thank you for the thoughts and prayers for my friend Carrie. She is doing better, thankfully!!!

I'll be posting the 'green' bag giveaway soon. I'm loving mine and think you should, too. hehehe

Here are just a few deals...I'm super tired and can barely keep my eyes open...

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For more fabulous meal plans, visit orgjunkie.com!

Monday: Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf - had this planned for last Friday, but ended up not making it.
Tuesday: Fried Chicken with Creamy Gravy
Wednesday: Leftovers from Monday.
Thursday: Quick Slow Cooker Turkey Chili - (photo to the right) I'll post this recipe on Slow Cooking Thursday
Friday: Going to a friend's for dinner...he's owned a few restaurants so needless to say, we cannot wait for dinner at his place!

Question of the Day
What do you do for 'me' time?

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Find a family you can share a meal with....Slow Cooker Thursday

Hello all! Sorry I missed the deals for yesterday. Been worried deeply for a friend of mine. She is 33 and has had two strokes in a week. In spite of the strokes, she is doing fairly well. She will have to relearn many things, but her speech is coming along well. If you could, please keep Carrie in your thoughts and prayers. Thank you.

Needless to say, blogging wasn't top on my priority list. If I randomly disappear, that is why. I've been doubling up my dinners and taking her family meals as well as spending time with her in the hospital. Who likes to cook in a time like this? Speaking of cooking, the slow cooker meal is listed at the bottom, of course. :) I encourage you to cook a meal for someone who could use one.

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Cantonese Pork

I found this looks-too-good-to-be-true recipe from cdkitchen.com ...This seems too easy and sounds too good to be true. This will be my first time fixing this recipe.

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 pound pork, cubed
1 green onion, sliced
4 ounces can mushrooms, drained
1 onion, sliced
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
8 ounces can tomato sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoon vinegar

DIRECTIONS
*Place all ingredients in crockpot. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours. (My crockpot will probably only take 5 hours.)
*Serve over rice.

Head over to Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for more Slow Cooking recipes and to participate in Slow Cooking Thursday!