ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL!?

Hi there everybody. How are you doing this cold morning? I am well… the last day before the kids go back to school! YAY!!!!! I’m gonna dance a jig tomorrow LOL! Today is another multi-cooker day while I clean… I conquered the pile that was surrounding my desk and I found the floor! YAY for me! But I didn’t get any sewing or such done. I did make a couple of small trips to the store for mass stuff like sugar, flour, etc… things I buy in bulk and was just about out of until I could do the monthly cabinet inventory. And make the BIG trip LOL! Just wait till tax time! That’s gonna be a scary stock up run! I normally drop about $1K total! Oh and get this… I read my blog to the hubs yesterday morning and he called me a dork! OMG! How rude! And my kids… OMG they are so getting on each others’ nerves, and well quite frankly, I find it so funny! They are bickering like crazy this winter… probably because its been such a rainy one and they haven’t been able to get out and do much! This past 2 weeks has made me realize how I need to get some summer activities planned so they don’t drive me crazy! LOL. Don’t get me wrong… I love them very much… but they can really yank my crank! Its all about budgets… last summer we went to the Blue Bell Creamery and the Jersey Barnyard, which cost us maybe $100 for the whole day for all of us! Check out the Jersey Barnyard here! We did some local fun activities as well. I need to do some researching on what we can do cheap this summer… if ya got any ideas, let me know LOL! And if I find some before you, I’ll be sure to share! Look at these pics from the Creamery and Barnyard… they had fun LOL!

This is everyone in front of the first refrigerated ice cream truck for Blue Bell... Everyone wore their cute paper hat except sorry sport Michael LOL!

Here they are with their yummy free scoop of ice cream at the end of the tour!

They have all kinds of stuff to do at the barnyard... feed calves, milk cows, the Hay Maze, the tractor ride... you name it! We had fun!

Ok so how many of you are into football? Got any parties planned? Well, football is HUGE around here (if ya haven’t already guessed)… high school, college, and NFL! Got my favorite college team, the Texas Longhorns, going to the bowl on the 7th (YAY) against Alabama… me and the hubs are at odds right now LOL! Then we have Superbowl on February 7th… YAY! Having a huge party here at the house on the big screen for that one! I would LOVE to see my Dallas Cowboys in this year… so I’m gonna pray to the sports gods that they get the chance LOL! We’ll have to see who the 2 are that will be going before I make my decision on who to root for…

Well, like I said, today is gonna be a multi-pot dinner with the no-fuss crockpots making my life simple yet again! I didn’t get around to the clam chowder or the hot & sour soup yesterday so I am gonna try to get to it today. I DID however make that Peasant Goulash and the gang ate the whole entire pan… I had 1 serving left! I also made the chicken & dumpings and the pulled pork. They ate well. So I’m gonna share the Goulash recipe with you today.



Peasant Goulash

Ingredients

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 pound of beef bottom round roast, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
4 onions, cut into thin slices
3 ounces button mushroom caps
1 cup fat free beef broth
1 can (14oz) stewed tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon cocoa
2 tablespoons paprika
1/2 teaspoon marjoram
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon browning and seasoning sauce
8oz. Wide egg noodles

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Add the beef, onions, and mushrooms and saute, stirring occasionally, until the beef is lightly browned and the onions are translucent, 6 to 8 minutes.

2. Remove the beef mixture to the crockery pot. Pour the broth into the same skillet. Cook over medium heat, stirring and scrapping constantly for 2 minutes to deglaze the skillet. Pour into the beef mixture. Stir in the tomatoes, garlic, cocoa, paprika, marjoram, and pepper. Cover and cook on LOW or HIGH until the beef is very tender- 6-8 hours on LOW or 4-6 hours on HIGH. Stir in the browning sauce.

3. Cook the noodles according to package directions. Drain well and divide among 6 plates. Top with the beef mixture.

OK now for today’s meals… gonna try again to get around to the clam chowder and hot & sour soup. And I found the cutest little oyster mushrooms I might try adding to the Clam Chowder or the Hot & Sour too. See what happens LOL! In the crocks I am making slow cooker chicken taco soup, creamy tortellini soup, and some sweet & sour pork. The S&S pork will be served with rice. The tortellini soup with homemade garlic bread, and the taco soup with homemade tortilla chips, cheese, and sour cream. Oh and I got my shrimp I was drooling over the other recipe, so I am gonna marinate those bad boys and eat them for lunch! YAY! LOL… Since I’ve shared the soups in previous posts, lets share the pork today.



Slow Cooker Sweet & Sour Pork

Ingredients

2 tablespoons plus 1-1/2 teaspoons paprika
1-1/2 pounds boneless pork loin roast, cut into 1-inch strips
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 can (20 ounces) unsweetened pineapple chunks
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1/4 cup cider vinegar
3 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water
Hot cooked rice, optional

Directions
1. Place paprika in a large resealable plastic bag. Add pork, a few pieces at a time, and shake to coat. In a nonstick skillet, brown pork in oil in batches over medium-high heat. Transfer to a 3-qt. slow cooker.

2. Drain pineapple, reserving juice; refrigerate the pineapple. Add the pineapple juice, onion, green pepper, vinegar, brown sugar, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce and salt to slow cooker; mix well. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until meat is tender.

3. Combine cornstarch and water until smooth; stir into pork mixture. Add pineapple. Cover and cook 30 minutes longer or until sauce is thickened. Serve over rice if desired.

Well kids, its late in the morning (for me anyway) so I better get off here and get to work! After I dance around in my underpants screaming Joy to the World tomorrow morning, I’ll post again and let you know what all I got accomplished (or didn’t LOL) and what’s for supper LMAO! Until tomorrow… HUGS!

LAUGHTER CURES WHAT AILS YA!

Well a big Hi there and hello from Texas! It’s a very cold morning here and my hands feel like blocks of ice! I want to start off by thanking everyone for the comments both on here and in my email. A couple made me tear up and a couple made me chuckle. Either way, they all brought me joy! So thank you and keep leaving such great comments!

OK, so yesterday I told you I was gonna finish undecorating right? Well I did it… in record time no doubt! Everything is moved into storage and ya wanna know something? My dang living room echos! LMAO How is it I have never noticed this until now? LMAO even the kids said “Wow mom, it DOES echo in here” lol so I went around the rest of the afternoon acting like I was echoing at the Grand Canyon. LOL it was so funny and the kids were saying “Mom, you’re such a nerd!” OMG gee love you too butthead! LOL! I still have this one ugly pile of junk by my desk that thinks it has won but little does it know, I have a new plan of attack and it will surrender to me today! Mwahaha! LMAO (See what the cold does to your brains kiddies???)

Alright I’m hungry… what’s to eat today? WHAT?? You want ME to cook? LOL ok ok… cold weather to me is slow cooking soups and such (If ya haven’t already caught on to that…). Winter time is when I make a lot of hearty soups, stews, etc. I actually got 3 freezer meals out of dinner last night (I was impressed LOL). I try to stock the freezer that way in the summer if for some odd reason they want what I deem “winter food” they can have it. Summer time is a whole nother type of cooking so stick around… there is a “whole other side of me” the kids say LOL! Ok, so dinner today… well I am lucky to have multiple crock pots courtesy of the Crock Pot Trio’s and I can have 10 pots (3 trios and 1 single LOL) going at once LOL! If you don’t have one and can spare $100 I recommend it HIGHLY! That’s if you are a cooking fanatic or you have a large family, etc. I got mine at Target but I am not sure if they are seasonal so run while you can! I plan on picking up at LEAST 2 more when I get my taxes back if they still have them! Well I have a request for more chicken & dumplings (by my belly LMAO) so that will be in one pot. My brother is a big fan of clam chowder, so I think I am gonna make him one pot and I’ll have some hot & Sour for my mom on a 12qt pot on the stove (cuz it doesn’t need to cook all day). I’m also thinking about trying some Peasant Goulash I found a recipe for in one of my books I found on our Super Shopping Spree. If it turns out (and is pretty LOL) I’ll share it tomorrow. See, I like pretty foods… it makes me (and you LOL) WANT to eat them… its been said (by me at least I KNOW) that we eat with our eyes. I know I do… if it looks nasty, then 9 times out of 10… I ain’t eating it!! LOL! OK so in the last crockpot I will probably make some Bourbon Mango Pulled Pork so the gang can have sandwiches with the clearance crusty rolls I found (and froze… gotta get them out LOL!). So I’ll share 2 recipes today… the Pork and the Clam Chowder to tempt your palate!



Bourbon-Mango Pulled Pork

Ingredients

2 mangos
1 (4 pound) pork shoulder roast
2 tablespoons ground black pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon chipotle chile powder
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 cups water
1 teaspoon chipotle chile powder
2 teaspoons honey
1 (1.5 fluid ounce) jigger bourbon whiskey
2 (12 ounce) bottles barbeque sauce

Directions

1. Peel the mangos and remove the pits. Place the pits into a slow cooker, then roughly chop the mango and set aside. Place the pork shoulder into the slow cooker, and season with the black pepper, kosher salt, and 1 teaspoon chipotle powder; pour in the balsamic vinegar and water.

2. Cover, and cook on Low 5 to 8 hours until the meat is very tender. Once done, drain the pork, discarding the cooking liquid and mango pits, and shred with two forks.

3. While the pork is cooking, puree the chopped mango in a blender until smooth, then pour into a saucepan along with the honey, 1 teaspoon chipotle powder, and whiskey. Bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, stirring frequently until the mango has reduced and darkened slightly, about 10 minutes. Stir in the barbeque sauce, and remove from the heat.

4. Return the shredded pork to the slow cooker, and stir in the mango barbeque sauce. Cover, and cook on High 1 to 2 hours until the pork absorbs the barbeque sauce.



Awesome Clam Chowder

Ingredients

1/2 pound bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
5 unpeeled potatoes, diced
2 carrots, diced
salt and pepper to taste
2 (6.5 ounce) cans chopped clams with juice
2 (1.8 ounce) packages dry leek soup mix
1 quart half-and-half

Directions

1. Place the bacon in a large pot and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until crisped and browned, about 10 minutes. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon, leaving the drippings in the pot. Set the bacon aside. Stir the potatoes and carrots into the bacon fat. Season with salt and pepper, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

2. Pour the juice from the clams into the pot, and add enough water to just cover the potatoes. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the potatoes are just tender, 10 to 15 minutes.

3. Gently stir the leek soup mix into the potatoes until no lumps of soup remain. Stir in the clams, reserved bacon, and half-and-half cream. Cook and stir until the chowder returns to a simmer and thickens, about 10 minutes more.

Well I guess that’s all folks! I’m off to start the pots and conquer the last of the holiday havoc! LOL… Then I have to try to finish my dad’s gloves I have been sewing for his sandblasting machine… he really kinda needs them LOL! Then I guess if I finish that, I can start on some crafts on my list of goals! So until tomorrow my precious… HUGS!