Crock Pot SUCCESS!!

Well here is the follow up to my 7 nights of Crock pot Dinners. It was a great week! To be honest the 7 nights were not consecutive. On the sixth night we took a break to eat all of our leftovers that were accumulating. Not only did we have dinner but the crock pot meals provided a few lunches and a leftover night, can't beat that. On the seventh night MY LB and I went on a date, dinner and the Temple. The eighth night I was right back on it for crock pot enchiladas and the ninth night we had super yummy Cranberry Crock pot Chicken.

It was a good thing the ninth night fell on this particular Sunday because right after Relief Society I was asked to feed the missionaries. We love having the missionaries in our home so the answer was easy. Facing the ride home with them in the dirty car and not remembering the condition of my home was not easy. However I knew dinner was in the crock pot and thank goodness it was the yummiest crock pot dinner yet. I actually did the same crock pot recipe today only with meatballs and it was so good.

Here are our recipes rated with our yummy meters, 5 being the yummiest. I added the recipe for the two we loved the most.

Ham and Potatoes Au Grautin - 2 yummies - Good but next time I will use bigger ham pieces.

Slow Cooker Lasagna - 3 yummies - Really good and made with ricotta cheese instead of cottage cheese, which I loved.

Barbecued Pork - 4 yummies - Super good one of our favorites, the pork was so tender and filled with yummy flavor.

2lbs. boneless pork top loin
1c. chopped onion
3/4 c. diet soda (we used Caffeine Free Diet Coke)
3/4 c. barbecue sauce (we just used a Wal-Mart generic brand. Using different types could really add good variations.)

Combine all ingredients in a crock pot. Cook covered on high for 5-6 hours or until meat is tender (4 hours for us). Drain and slice or shred (we shredded and had sandwiches).
Make 8 servings at 4 points each (not including buns)

Cheesy Crock pot Chicken - 3 yummies - I cooked it a little long so the meat shredded which ended up being great for leftovers. I just added some taco seasoning and we had yummy Chicken Soft Tacos.

Cheese Enchiladas - 2 yummies - I love the idea of this and it gave me great ideas for putting my own spin on it next time. You have to be really careful with cook time so your tortillas don't get over cooked and end up being mush. STILL GOOD!

Cranberry Crock pot Chicken - 4 yummies (close to 5) - The mixture of these three ingredient creates the most amazing taste. Once again careful with the overcooking or your chicken will shred. We were at church or I would have stopped it sooner. I did not add the rice to the crock pot I made the rice separate and served the chicken over it. Again, I did meatballs tonight and it was so YUMMY!

16oz can smooth cranberry sauce
8oz fat free or low fat Catalina salad dressing
1 envelope dry onion soup
16 oz skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 cup Uncle Ben's Rice

Mix cranberry sauce, dressing and soup mix together in crock pot. Add chicken (or choice of meat). Cook on low 6 hours (to long for me, more like 4). Add rice and cook another 30 to 40 minutes until rice is done (I skip this step and serve over rice). Because of the variation in calories with the dressing the points weren't given. However, I added our up with Low Fat dressing and got 6 point 1 cup servings with chicken and 8pts with 5 meatballs (stinking store bought meatballs just aren't good for you)

The dinners were all fairly easy. The only real prep was with the potato recipe and the ground beef recipes. It was so nice to have dinner ready, it left no room for Mr. Helper or fast food to reside in our home.

FUNNY STORY! I guess you are wondering how kid friendly the recipes were. Most of the time we had at least three out of the four eat without tears. Twice they all ate without tears, Barbecue Pork and Cranberry Chicken. AND on the last day when I was pulling out my crock pot my little Kendal (two years old) pulled on the cord and exclaimed, "No mommy it's yucky, put it back." She would not let go and I couldn't help but to laugh, the crock pot didn't even have anything in it yet. After eight nights of carrying it to the table, she knew. She ate the Cranberry Chicken like it was going out of style.

Next week I am going to explore the great big world of pre-prepared meals. I will check the labels with my handy dandy Weight Watcher calculator and try for 6 points or less. I am hoping with exploration and trying new things dinner time will become easier and less fly by the seat of my pants. And at the end of my exploration I will build a menu, just in time to pull out the grill.

Crock pot recipes Weight Watcher style visit here; Taste Of Home.

If you can count read this, if not have a nice day.

I was just reading over my post and noticed there are only six nights of crock pot meals, MY BAD! Don't forget I did have the flu and I was in bed for two days. That can really mess a person up. Kudos to me for being honest! It was either that or bluff a Chili Crock pot night, yes I thought about it. I am human after all!

Miserable Monday #26

Some dream of big things, others wake up and do them.

- Old Saying

This miserable Monday is about sleeping to much. I thought about what I was going to say about sleeping and mostly I thought, I wish. But the more I thought about it the more I started to remember this little piece of my life that some how I forgot. Maybe all of the hours of missed sleep fogged my memory. Quote Johnbytheway - Miserable people repeatedly hit the snooze button to avoid living each day to the fullest. When life's alarm clock goes off and says, "Get up and do something," they smack the snooze button and say, "Yeah, sometime I will." -end quote

Here is my little forgotten memory. After my first baby Matthew was born I slept A LOT. I remember all of the new baby advice and I know more than once I heard, "You have to get your sleep whenever you can." So according to their advice I slept and I did it all in the sport of being a good mom. I am pretty sure MY LB has relatives that still talk about the time they visited me and my baby at 3:00 in the afternoon and we were still in our PJ's. If everyone that visited compared notes they would be surprised to know, "I NEVER CHANGED OUT OF THEM." There was no point I was on my way back to bed soon anyway. They would also probably laugh when at the same time they declared that I said, "We are having a Jammie day." There were LOTS of Jammie days.

No, I wasn't depressed and I don't think I was just being lazy. I am not sure why I slept so much, maybe because I could. Matthew and I would wake up at 9:00am and then take a two to three hour nap in the afternoon. This went on for about two and half years UNTIL, Spencer was born. This had to be the rudest awakening of my life. I was a wreck and to top it all off the kid was COLICKY, cried lots and slept little. I seriously remember thinking I was going to die. I don't know if I ever said it out loud but I remember thinking to myself several times that I wish I would have prepared more and slept less. And that my friends was the end of my two and half year sleep run, I wonder what I missed?

Quote Johnbytheway - Miserable people think the perfect world is found only on their Perfect Sleeper brand mattress. -end quote If that is the case, tonight I am feeling mighty miserable.

GOOD NIGHT

Tell me I can't, I DARE YOU

Enjoy my friends!

O.K. you caught me, I practiced once or twice.

But you have to admit it was still pretty DANG awesome!

Random Thought

Just have a quick minute to give a big.....

SHOUT OUT!

I love you AMAZON!

You always have everything we need and WANT at such good prices and with "Free Super Saver" shipping.

Oh sweet, sweet AMAZON!

Dinner Time? No time for dinner.

Lately (since I filled my days up), we have been back to square one with dinner time. You know what square one is, right? Hot dogs, bean burritos, old MR. Helpers, rotisserie al la Frys, and my all time favorite going out to eat. I have thought over and over in my heads MILLIONS of times how glad I am those days are OVER. No more dad is at school, $70.00 biweekly grocery budget (that was stinky) and well to get right to it I wasn't sure what I was doing yet back then. Being a wife and mother was new to me.

Now I have twelve years of being a wife and ten of being a mom under my belt and I am back to square one. Why you ask? Well, I decided that being a wife and mother wasn't enough. Now I am the "TEACHER"! Yes, one at a time I am bringing the kiddos home for school. CRAZY, yeah I know! Matthew is the first and things are going great. Our relationship has changed dramatically. Just the other day we were outside with the neighbors and he came over and sat down in my lap and said, "I love you mom". It has been so long since he has said it without me pinning him down and making him say it. Side note: While sitting on my lap some girls his age walked by and I asked him, "Aren't you embarrassed to be sitting in my lap?". He replied, "No, they will just think I am sensitive."

So right now Matthew and I are busy getting organized and making plans for Spencer to come home and join us. Maggie is loving Kindergarten to much to even think about pulling her out, maybe next year. Meanwhile I teach Matthew for a majority of the day as well as parent a toddler and teach toddler classes for the City two days a week. Can't forget when 3:00 roles around my school kiddos come home and after a brief brake, afterschooling begins. You would think that I would be going "CRAZY" but actually I feel "Successful" for the first time in a long time. Everyday I make sure to take an hour and a half for myself (it would be 2 but I spend half of it reading with Matthew) in the middle of the day and another hour in the early evening before afterschooling begins. My cleaning all gets done between 8am and 9am (with Matthew's help) and what doesn't get done can wait (forever for all I care). It is actually a pretty good deal, will I get burnt out? Probably, but I am sure school teachers do too and that is what VACATION is for.

SO.... Dinner time has become, no time for dinner. That is why I decided to pull out the crock pot and start planning ahead. I set a goal of planning an entire week of crock pot meals and eating 7 in a row. Of course I googled Weight Watchers Crock Pot meals (can't get off track) and there were TONS of them. I was so excited and got to work straight way, picking seven that looked "yummy".

Today I am on day four and happy to say that all is working out great. Dinner has been in the crock pot by 11:00am and ready to eat by 5:00pm. I am being a real back patter right now so ignore if you want, I don't blame you. I have picked a great variety of meals and ones that are super easy. Let's see; Saturday was Au Grautin potatoes with ham, Sunday was Lasagna (which I missed because I had the flu but the leftovers were yum), Monday was BBQ Pork and today we are eating Cheesy Crock pot Chicken. All of which have been 8pts or under!

Everyone has enjoyed the dinners. Well, we have four kids so it's hit and miss but there has been at least three out of the four that have enjoyed the dinners. And the only real problem that I have run into is the "Onion Police" or should I call them "Onion Detectives". "I see something white, is it onion?" "I see it too and I saw her cutting onions this morning." (insert whiny voice) "MOM! You said it didn't have onions!" "SO ARREST ME, I LIED". I omitted the onions from the barbecue pork because three nights in a row might have got me nine years in the slammer.



For all of these recipes and more great Weight Watchers crock pot recipes go here: Taste of Homes. Don't forget to tell "Maddymoo" that Christy sent you! I kid, I kid!

Random Thought

I am Tired

I feel so "accomplished" this week! For the first time in a very long time I feel like I had a "successful" week. I achieved, I conquered, I kicked butt.

My life changed " LOTS" over that past two weeks and I have managed better than I have in a very long time. I even had time to read a good book.

How does that happen? I go from tons of free time and getting nothing done, to having no free time and getting everything done. It feels good! However, I must admit that regardless of my success and accomplishments, this week has left me tired.

GOOD TIRED

Miserable Monday #25

Happy people believe that if they judge harshly,
they may be judged harshly in return.

- John Bytheway

Quote- John Bytheway, Miserable people backbite. They haven't learned that if you want to be big, you shouldn't belittle. -end quote Have you ever been back bitten? You know what I love or should I say "who" I love? I love the people that are "oblivious", I want to be "oblivious". MY LB is oblivious but maybe that is all men. Not only do these people usually not know it is going on but better yet they just DON'T CARE, it's not worth their time. Oh bless those good people!

Quote- John Bytheway, Back biting leaves a bad taste in your mouth. Happy people keep their teeth to themselves." -end quote Right now I am thinking do I backbite? I hope none of you just answered, YES YOU DO. Because if that is the case than not only do I do it but I am really BAD at it. I kid! I kid!

I have an idea, I just got it! Every time I catch myself slipping and taking a "bite" out of someone I will force myself to "throw up" a compliment that was bigger than the bite I just took. Seriously, like a compliment so good that it will consist of breakfast, lunch, dinner and the bite I just took out of them. THAT IS HUGE!! Well, there it is a great goal to start my Monday and make it and myself a little bit less miserable. I LOVE THIS BOOK!

NEW

NEW White Tanks plant open house and our daddy is the Superintendent.

On Saturday we went to the White Tanks Water Plant open house and toured the facility. Our tour guide was really good looking and very knowledgeable. Don't tell but I ended up going home with him. There is just something about a man with the "Superintendent" title that I just can't resist.

New Dog

This is our new dog Chance. I am still planning on telling you "The Sory" of how he came to be (it's funny).

NEW school for Kendal and mommy is the teacher

I love this picture! My little princess all ready for school. On Friday I taught my first Little Learners class for the city. It was so much fun and Kendal just loved being there with "The Friends".

NEW Health and Wellness program for our ward

Friday night we had a great time with our Ward. Michelle is the new health and wellness specialist for our ward and she is amazingly dedicated. We had a huge bonfire, motivational speaker on gratitude, hay rides, hot chocolate and roasted marshmallows. I felt so good and rejuvenated after leaving.

NEW years eve with the Mechams. MY LB's sister was visiting from Colorado so we had family dinner, trip to the Temple lights and brought the kiddos back to grandma and grandpas house for a sleep over. We headed out to a late movie just the siblings and brought in the new year with a big smooch in the AMC. Twelve years of kissing MY LB at 12:00am on January 1st.

NEW tradition, we decided that we wanted to start a new years day tradition for our family. We decided on Fondue (food of course) and a night of resolutions. Turns out Fondue takes practice but that didn't stop us from dipping. We all talked about our individual resolutions and created a family resolution for 2010. It was a fun night and hopefully will be a lasting tradition.

NEW years resolution for me. I had been thinking about this for a couple of weeks prior to New Years. I thought about how I wanted to be a better daughter of God, mother to my children, wife to MY LB and friend to others. I am not sure how or why but I have become very selfish with my time and activities. When I start something I don't want to be bothered and it becomes the most important thing in my life. I thought about what I wanted out of the year and I decided to sum it all up in one word, "SELF-LESS". This year I want to focus less on myself and in doing so become... a better daughter of God, mother, wife and friend. AND I want to participate in 3 5ks (first one is in 3 weeks) and 1 triathlon.

NEW year for you and I hope that it is a good one!

Happy New Year

Funny of the day

I was pretty astonished on finding out from Maggie's teacher that she has, and I quote, "Model student behavior." However even more astonishing was finding out that she has model teacher behavior.

Today I took our little Cocoa Bean rabbit to school for show and tell. It was very exciting, Cocoa got a bath for the big day and everything. When I arrived Maggie's class was sitting quietly on the carpet waiting for "The Rabbit" with Maggie sitting in front of them on a big chair. I loved seeing their excited faces and hearing their little kiddo murmur as I pulled Cocoa out of her box. I handed the rabbit over to Maggie and kids began raising their hands with questions.

This is where Maggie took control, Yes Maddie do you have a question? Timmy I can't call on you until you are sitting criss cross. It is getting a little loud for questions I can't call on anyone else until you get quiet. Ricky you are being so good today what is your question (I guess he is not usually good because the teacher agreed with her). I called on Bobby because he was sitting quietly. It just kept going from there and I was completely astonished. Who is this little teacher sitting in front of me? Is she the same little girl that lives at my house? The one that giggles when she gets her brothers all riled up, the one that burps and laughs, picks on her baby sister and still fuzzies her bear and sucks her fingers? Is it REALLY my little girl?

NO IT CAN'T BE

IT JUST CAN'T BE

Miserable Monday #24

Laughter is sunshine; it chases the winter

from the human face.

- Victor Hugo

Quote Johnbytheway- Have you ever laughed so hard that your stomach was sore the next day? ...."laugh your way to washboard abs." -end quote I think everyone would laugh more if this was the case. I can picture it now, groups of people at the gym sitting around laughing at the prompt of their instructors. Would the instructor be telling jokes or teaching the technique of fake laughter. I choose the joke telling and I would LOVE to instruct that course. I honestly would love to be a stand up comedian or a motivational speaker that speaks on the topic of "Oops I Lost My Laughter And I Can't Find It". First I think I have to write the book, that could be a problem.

I really do feel like my laughter keeps disappearing. I will go days without finding it and than all at once I find it and I think, "oh how I missed you my friend". My laugh is loud and scary so when it comes out of hiding everyone knows. Seriously my laugh scares young children, makes the not so young children laugh and I do believe adults startle at the out burst. Yet I still miss it when it goes into hiding.

Quote Johnbytheway- Miserable people think life is to serious to laugh about, while happy people know that life's so serious they have to laugh to survive. - end quote I don't stop laughing because I think life is to serious, I stop laughing because sometime it just plain isn't funny. Actually once you are juggling a full set of life, home, church, school, kids, work, money, friends, hobbies and so much more life gets hard. The more I have on my plate the less I laugh. I have told MY LB more than once that "I am just not fun anymore" and he agrees (I kid I kid). He says that I am still fun we just have lots going on and it's hard to be fun like I was. So that means I have to be fun like I am, right? I will try because one thing is for sure......

I LOVE TO LAUGH