Crockpot Wednesday - Chili

I don't usually use the crockpot during the week because we're gone for at least 10 hours and my crock doesn't have a timer. Maybe I'll splurge one day and get a "fancy" one.

Tomorrow is Kick-Off for football and we're having a few friends over, what better to have then Chili and home made buns?

So, here's the most difficult, sodium laden Chili recipe evah. Seriously.

1 package ground beef, cooked and drained

2 19 oz cans Aylmer Tomatoes (Chili seasoning Accents)

2 14 oz cans Heinz Chili Style Red Kidney Beans

2 14 oz cans Heinz Chili Style Pinto and Red Kidney Beans

1 tsp Chili powder

1 tsp Chipotle Chili powder (I use the Epicure Selection ones for both)

Toss everything in a crock pot, give it a stir, cook for a while.

I have no idea why people like it but they do. I like it 'cause it's simple :)

Buns are from Tasty Kitchen using the bread maker.

Menu Plan Monday

Happy Labour Day! We're celebrating by watching an Original Series Star Trek marathon (currently Amok Time is on). And I'm knitting a bit while watching so maybe by the time the colder weather comes around I'll have a blanket done.

I didn't do a menu plan last week which turned out good because I didn't really cook alot, not sure what we ate actually :)

So for this week,

Monday: Tacos with homemade Guac and Pico de Gallo

Tuesday: Chicken Roll ups (flattened chicken breast, spinach and swiss cheese on top. Roll up and bake in the oven. Recipe is from my moms Herbal Magic cookbook)

Wednesday: Quasidillas using leftovers from Monday

Thursday: Chili for football kickoff, with home made buns

Friday: Leftovers

Celebration!

Congratulations to our softball team for winning the 'A' division final this year. For winning we got a cooler full of beer. I wish there were any left, but there's not because we had a great time.

But oh what a long weekend.

Six games in two days. Eight games in the last 5 days. That's a lot of ball.

My house is a filthy mess, I have less than half my laundry done from last week; I hope that we all have clean clothes for tomorrow. I don't have a menu plan, but I did get groceries on Friday. I need to hose the boy off soon because he's filthy. And my tomato plant needs some water.

Bed is calling.

Everything can wait until tomorrow.

Mostly.

Menu Plan Monday - Phoning it in

I'm really taking the easy way out this week, phoning it in so to speak :) I didn't make it to the frugal grocery store on the weekend and I couldn't justify buying the same thing for dollars more at Safeway so it's a kind of eat out of the pantry and freezer week.

I did, however, do a mini review of last week since there were so many new things that I tried.

Monday: Leftovers. I'm going to toast the remaining baguette and put warmed up risotto on it. I'm going to make Adam and Jet fend for themselves.

Tuesday: Ham and Cheese Quiche. Need a quick dinner than can be reheated when we get home.

Wednesday: Steak and Potatoes. Because it's EASY.

Thursday: Pizza or maybe take-out because it's our last ball game.

Friday: Fish for friday. Chili Lime Orange Roughy, and rice or noodles.

Saturday and Sunday we're playing ball. Which will probably include drive-thru.

Meal Plan Review

Because I made a whole bunch of new stuff this week, and for lack of anything else to blog about, I thought I'd review the new recipes from this weeks menu plan.

Country Fair Chicken is reviewed here.

Tater Tot Casserole Quick and basic, tasted pretty good too. Only problem was, I didn't have Tater Tots so I went out and got some. Turns out the reason why we don't have Tater Tots in the house is because it gives me fierce heartburn. So...will know for next time.

Shepherdes Pie Wow, that was a ton of work. And it didn't have enough salt or pepper. If there's ever a time where I've got potato leftovers I'll make this again.

Risotto Today's dinner, because Jamie Oliver said it would be good. I liked the process of making it, but didn't taste all that good by itself. I think I used to much cheese and a bit too much wine. And it's debatable if I cooked the onions enough.

However, it tasted pretty good on slices of baguette.

Now I have to figure out something for this week. And finish all my laundry.

The Great Western Drive

Somedays things just come together.

I got an automatic email from Sony today letting me know that new titles were available for an author I was watching. Last Christmas I bought a Christmas anthology - A Bride by Christmas with a Western romance written by Candace Camp. I loved it and have been wanting to read more of the same since then.

But it's really really hard to find. This author published under a different name and the back list is just now starting to come available. But I still don't know what's good from what's bad.

The second email I got was my reading list from Feedblitz. KristiJ from Ramblings on Romance had a post on Westerns and how they need a little love and attention.

And there were recs! I love recs, especially ones that are out of print but available as e-books.

Because that's the beauty of e-books.

The backlist is forever available.

Harlequin gets that. Others are starting, but it's slow going.

So, except for that one short story and a (unfortunate) paranormal, I have nothing to add to the Western love. Yet. But thanks to the Great Western Drive I'll have lots of recs to choose from.

Country Fair Chicken

This was actually pretty good. Nice and simple the way that I like my food.
I have no idea why it's called Country Fair Chicken, but whatever. I got the initial recipe from E-Mealz, but then I also looked online and modified it a bit.

Country Fair Chicken

2 or 3 chicken breasts chopped up
3 or 4 medium potatoes sliced
3 or 4 carrots chopped roughly
1 onion chopped
3 Tbs olive oil
1 package of herb and garlic soup mix
1/2 cup chicken broth

Chop everything, toss with oil, add soup mix and toss.

Pour into casserole dish, add chicken broth

Cover and cook in 350 degree oven for 1 hour, remove cover for the last 15 minutes.

Notes:
I didn't have this soup mix so I used a herb marinade; it was very peppery. Probably shouldn't do that again.

I used a cup of broth because that's how much was in the container. It wasn't detrimental.

Could probably use another veggie, like celery in really big pieces.

But all in all quite good and easy to throw together. Just have to find the right spices to replace the soup mix.

menu plan monday

Monday already?! I'm not sure how well this weeks plan will work out because I'm a bit under the weather and all I want to do is order take-out.

Monday: Pizza.

Tuesday: Country Fair Chicken. Pretty much just cut up chicken, potatoes, carrots and onion tossed in olive oil and spices. Put in a casserole dish and add some chicken broth, cover and bake for an hour. I have a real recipe that I'll add if it works out.

Wednesday: Sausage and Perogies. Adam requested it, and it's super easy so I'm all for it this week.

Thursday: Tater Tot casserole. Except I don't have tater tots or green beans in a can, but I do have hash browns and frozen green beans. I'm sure it will all work out.

Friday: Steak sandwiches with bruchetta and extra old cheese. Sliced steak on toasted french bread topped with strong cheese and bruchetta. With a good red wine if I'm feeling better.

Saturday Shepherds Pie. I was going to do this for Friday, but it seems like more work than I usually want to put into Friday dinner.

This 'n That

Bullet posting today

• Bought an ice cream maker, not the easiest thing to purchase if you want to spend less than a million bucks. The first batch is firming up in the freezer as we speak; Mint Chocolate Chip. Should be yummy.
• Found out a big chain bookstore is opening up in the shopping centre near my house. This is bad news for me unless I get a Christmas job there to help offset the number of books I'll buy.
• Saw GI Joe today. We sat too close and it made me queasy (or the coffee/popcorn combo did it, not sure which). It was a completely awesome movie even though Adam thought the dialog was campy, I was too busy looking at the hottie Duke to notice.
• Also bought a new cast iron frying pan, for 16 bucks at a discount store.
• New Home Outfitters near my house carries Le Creuset. At some point the three hundred dollar price tag isn't going to stop me. I should just never go in there.
  

Anniversary

Wow, whoda thunk eight years could go by so quick? Happy Anniversary to me and Adam.



It was probably the hottest day of the year, I feel bad for the guys in their tuxes because the church didn't have A/C and then there were a ton of pictures outside and I'm not sure the hall had very good A/C either.

Mostly it's a blur, a good blur, but a lot of planning, a little stress and a whole lot of expense to be shoved into one day.

I have a grand total of 12 digital pictures from the day and I can't remember why I scanned them in the first place. Almost all of them feature people who I know don't want those pictures posted, so here's three of the ones that are just me and/or Adam:



Our cake pic. I'm glad we didn't go wild on the poor cake because we forgot all about it until my Aunt reminded us. We (meaning my mom) got it from the local grocery store and decorated it with leftover flowers from the bouquets.



My pensive picture. Post ceremony at the formal picture shoot while Adams family was getting their pictures done. I was hot, tired, hungry and my feet hurt.

So I found some shade and hoped that somebody brought food soon.

They didn't.

So we went to the restaurant where we always go to wait out the time between wedding and reception and got some wings. Best wings ever. Made for some good pictures too. But I don't have those scanned.



Honeymoon in St. Louis. Had a good time; watched a football game and a couple baseball games. Toured around a bit and met some nice people. (edited to add; I just threw away the shoes I was wearing in that pic. Sad.)

We'll go out tonight with the boy for dinner to celebrate, but other than that we're pretty relaxed about the whole thing.

Which is not to say that for our ten year anniversary I don't expect something grand, because I do. Adam just doesn't know it yet :)