Quick and Fancy Crockpot Chicken

Have a couple of hours with no idea what to cook for dinner? Try the following recipe. It is easy, inexpensive and taste a bit fancy. Try serving it up over egg noodles, another inexpensive food. You might also try it with regular pasta or rice. To make this dish even less expensive, try purchasing boneless, skinless chicken breasts in an inexpensive family pack. One of these packs usually contain six good-sized chicken breasts. The following recipe calls for four of those breasts. Retain the remaining two chicken breasts for another meal. My suggestion is to take them and place … Continue reading →

Campfire Cooking

Fall is the perfect time for some campfire cooking. Whether you like to use a fancy grill or rough it using only a stick, there are several recipes that you can try. Nothing beats the flavor of campfire cooking, and all of that outdoor air is one of the best seasonings for hunger. Even kids can cook over a campfire when you hand them a stick. Don’t limit their creations to just marshmallows, though. Try hot dogs and bannock, which is bread dough that you wrap around the stick. Just make sure to supervise children, since hot pointy sticks and … Continue reading →

Crockpot Mac & Cheese II

You can make comfort food, such as macaroni and cheese on a hot summer day. Just use your crockpot instead of your oven. This macaroni and cheese dish can be paired with a salad to make a full meal, or used as a side dish. It will freeze well, too. Just make sure to reheat it and eat it within three to six months for optimal flavor. If you have a food sealer, you can keep it even longer. This variation on the original crockpot macaroni and cheese sneaks in some extra lycopene for good eye health through the addition … Continue reading →

Baked Oatmeal in the Crockpot with Flax

If you are an early riser, then this easy, hot breakfast is a synch. I usually get up hours before the rest of my family, either to exercise or work. I pop all of the ingredients into the crockpot, mix them up, and then set it on low. By the time everyone else is up and ready for breakfast, the Baked Oatmeal in the Crockpot with Flax is done! I like these simple meals in the morning, because they really go a long way to making for a great day. While this breakfast is wonderful in the winter, I prepare … Continue reading →

When It Is Too Hot to Cook

We are in the middle of the first hot and sticky bits of summer. The window air conditioners got in the windows just in time, and the thought of turning on the oven banishes any thoughts of cool comfort that we might have left. You just have to figure out other ways to cook. The Grill This is the typical summer cooking appliance. You can get wonderful flavor on a grill all the while keeping the heat out of your home. Plus, using a grill can be a lot of fun and earn you bragging rights. What can you typically … Continue reading →

A Magic Wand

I had to smile. Mary Ann is advising we don’t need all these gadgets in the kitchen. Yesterday I bought one. It’s one of those hand held wand mixer things. Last year I went to a conference and the woman was extolling the virtue of her Bamix wand which she assumed everyone had, as they were according to her the most useful tool on the plant. A lot of other women agreed with her. I’d never seen the point of another gadget until recently when sharing recipes with a friend. She mentioned her wand using it in a mayo recipe. … Continue reading →

Cooking without a Stove

When you don’t have a range, or don’t want to use one, what are your options for cooking? It turns out that there are many great dishes that you can prepare. We found out the hard way after living without a stove for a few weeks. Here are some of the kitchen appliances that we used and the meals that we made in them. Slow Cooker (Crockpot) Obviously, there are so many different things that can be made in a crock pot. But up until we lost the stove, the main dishes we made all centered around meat. However, with … Continue reading →

Sweet and Spicy Beef

In cooler weather there’s nothing better than a crock pot meal. But why should the crock pot only being relegated to cooler weather. It’s great in warm weather too, as it doesn’t make the kitchen hot with cooking. Yes, you can tell where I’m heading with this can’t you? I have another crock pot meal to share with you. My new crock pot has been getting a huge amount of use since it arrived. Sweet and Spicy Beef Ingredients Tablespoon oil 16 ounces round or rump steak 2 cloves garlic 2 small Spanish onions Quarter cup red wine 1 teaspoon … Continue reading →

Canning for the First Time 2

Have you ever tried canning? I did for the very first time. Now I am looking forward to putting all sorts of things in jars to preserve for future months. Nice, fresh, local organic food to be had any time of the year! Yesterday I started talking about my first canning experience. If you missed it, you can see the post here. Today I will finish up, offering some tips about the canning process. After this step, I was ready to fill the jars, Because the apple butter was piping hot (as it should be to makes sure there is … Continue reading →

Canning for the First Time

This week I canned my own food for the first time. You know what? it was easier than I thought it would be. I know happily have 11 canned jars sitting in my food pantry. Have you ever tried canning your own food? Here is what I learned. First of all I needed something to can. For my experience, I didn’t specifically set out to can, but I realized that it was the best option for my apple butter. (You can check out the recipe here.) The first batch I made went directly into the refrigerator and to friends, so … Continue reading →