Josh, Mason and I went shopping this weekend for a few gifts and Josh bought some silly string. This came in very handy to distract him as I put his Christmas presents away. He really wasn’t sure what to think when Josh first shot him with it, but he soon caught on and had a blast. I think it will be a new tradition at our house….Silly string fights on Thanksgiving weekend.
Miss Ava joined us as we walked the neighborhood to trick or treat. We had lots of fun and even Mimi and Papa joined us to help pull the wagon.
A few afternoon pics of Mason in the yard…he couldn’t resist putting his Cowboy outfit on at 4:30 in the afternoon…he was so excited!
Miss Ava and Mason posing before heading out to trick or treat
My good friends asked me to take a few pre-engagement photos for their “save the date” cards. Due to some unfortunate circumstances, I had to bring Mason along which made the photos a little harder to do…but he was a pretty good boy and we had fun.
So I couldn’t resist to make one more meal considering I had everything on hand. This is from allrecipes.com
Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings (with alterations)
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
2 tbl butter
2 (10.75 oz) cans of condensed cream of chicken soup
1 onion, chopped
2 (10 oz) packages of refrigerated biscuits, torn into pieces.
Place chicken, butter, soup and onion in a slow cooker, and fill with enough water to cover.
Cover and cook for 5-6 hours on high. About 30 minutes before serving, place torn biscuit dough in the slow cooker. Cook until the dough is no longer raw inside.
ALTERATIONS: So I used cream of chicken, cream of mushroom and chicken broth instead of adding water to fill. This was yummy but very salty, so next time I will use LOW sodium soups and broth and add my own salt. Other suggestions on the website includes canned or frozen veggies. I also used about 1.5 lbs of chicken and only used 1 can of biscuits.
So a few of us girls at work have decided to start doing some more crock pot meals and here’s a few I’ve tried recently. Sorry no pictures thus far because I’ve either not been home when it’s been devoured or my house hold just couldn’t wait for me to get my camera…haha!
From C&C Marriage Factory blog:
Brown Sugar and Balsamic Glazed Pork Loin
1 (2lb) boneless pork loin
1tsp ground sage
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1/2 cup of water
Glaze:
1/2 C brown sugar
1Tbs cornstartch
1/4 C balsamic vinegar
1/2 C water
2 Tbs soy sauce
Directions:
Combine sage, salt, pepper and garlic. Rub over roast and place in slow cooker with 1/2 C water. Cook on low for 6-8 hours and about 1 hour before roast is done, combine ingredients for glaze in a small sauce pan. Heat and stir mixture until in thickens and brush on roast 2-3 times during the last hour of cooking. Serve with remaining glaze on the side.
Josh and Mason loved this recipe!! We did use more water to make sure the pork was covered. My friend, Amy said her husband loved it too. Lisa B. suggested the recipe to us in the first place. Thanks!! Sorry I have no pictures but it was pretty much destroyed in seconds. Check it out on the C+C Marriage Factory website.
Here’s one I made today and before I could get my camera to take a pic, my husband tore into it!! It’s from MMMCafte.blogspot.com!!
Honey Sauced Chicken
3/4 pound chicken (of your choice)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/8 cup chopped onion (or 1/16 cup onion flakes)
1/8 cup ketchup
1 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper, put into crock pot. In a small bowl, combine honey, soy sauce, onion, ketchup, oil, garlic and pepper flakes. Pour over chicken. Cook on low for 3 hours or on high 1 1/2 hours. Chicken into bite size pieces, then return to pot and toss with sauce. Serve over rice or noodles.
We served it with rice and it was delicious!! If you have a sweet tooth you will LOVE it, but you may cut back a tad on the honey if you don’t…everyone in my family loved it!!
The third we made last week was from 50+ Friends Club Cookbook Crockery Pot Cooking.
All Day Crockery Pot Beef
1 1/2 lbs beef roast
1/2 tsp pepper
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 env. onion soup mix
2 tsp worcestershire sauce
1 tsp steak sauce
3 carrots, diced
2 ribs of celery, diced
1 green bell pepper, cut into rings
1/2 C water
1/2 C tomato juice.
Cut beef into serving sized portions. Use more beef if you need more than 6 servings. Brown beef in a bit of oil. Place the vegetables into bottom of Crockery Pot. Sprinkle the beef pieces with fresh ground black pepper, minced garlic and the onion soup mix. Place on top of the vegetables. Mix the steak sauce and Worcestershire sauce in a small bowl with about 1/2 cup water and 1/2- cup tomato juice. Pour this over the meat. turn to low, cover and cook for 7-9 hours. When ready to serve, ladle meat and vegetables out of pot with a slotted spoon. Use the liquid as is or turn Crockery Pot to high and thicken liquid with a little flour or cornstarch.
I threw baby carrots and small potatoes, but left out the celery and bell pepper…I also tripled the water, tomato juice and sauces in order to keep the meat covered. Very flavorful and juicy!! We loved it!
It’s Respiratory Care Week and I’m on the committee to come up with the fun stuff to do for the week. We, of course, have food and desserts…but this year was a tad different. We had a “carnival” and all the employees could play games, get snacks, figure out puzzles and participate in a photobooth!! I was in charge of the photobooth and here is a sneak peak of how it went the first night.
