Cookbook Winner

The winner of the cookbook is:

#7 Gary

Congrats, Gary! Email me and I will send you your very own copy of my cookbook. Lucky you.

If you didn't win, don't worry you can get your very own copy too. You'll just have to pay for it. But really, what is a measly $13 in the grand scheme of things...especially since your meal planning will be a breeze.

Superbowl Party Fun Food

If you're planning food for Sunday's big game here are some delicious, easy ideas your guests are sure to love:

Cocktail Meatballs: I'm salivating over these meatballs right now. I loved the Kroger brand frozen meatballs, they worked and tasted great.

Chicken Artichoke Dip: Had this for new years over a month ago and still dreaming about it. SOOOOOOOOO good. 5 stars through and through.

Velveeta Rotel Dip: A fast and fun favorite...gets eaten all up every time.

Chocolate Chip Cookies: If you have an oval slow cooker...it looks like a football. Decorate with brown frosting and white frosting for the laces for a festive treat.

Have a fun day with yummy food (the most important part, right?)

Tip #12: If your baby is sick...

Michelle M. sent me this great tip on yet another way to use your slow cooker....awesome!

"I have an 8 month old who got sick right when I needed a new filter for my humidifier. I couldn't find the right filter for several weeks, so I used my crockpot instead. I filled it with water and set it to high. When my little guy went to bed, I cracked open the lid to let out the steamy air. To be honest, my baby slept better with the crockpot humidifier than with my regular humidifier!"

While you're standing in the checkout line...

While you're waiting to buy your groceries this week check out the February 8th issue of Woman's World Magazine (comes out Feb 1). There is a little section about the best slow cookers and I have a quote on page 26. WOO!

Share it! Cookbook giveaway!

You can win your very own 365 days of slow cooking cookbook! I added a new gadget on the left side bar of this blog. Just share this blog through facebook or tweet it and then leave a comment and you'll be entered in to win. If you don't do facebook or twitter, just email 10 friends and give them the link to this blog. Contest ends in a week.

Good Luck!!

Redo of the Lime Chicken and Spinach Fettucine

Okay, so I missed my slow cooker. I kept thinking about all the yummy recipes that I've had this past year that I only got to have once. I wanted to try them again to see if they really were that good or if my tastebuds were jaded by one too many slow cooker meals. I decided to try day 293 the Lime Chicken with Spinach Fettucine. I used what I had on hand and I changed a few things so I thought I would repost the recipe with all the changes. I forgot to take a new picture but here is what it looked like last time:




Here is the recipe with the changes:

Serves 4-6

2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup chicken broth
lime juice
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 1/2 lbs chicken tenders
1/2 medium red onion, chopped
1 red pepper, cut into long strips
1 green pepper, cut into long strips
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup flour (divided)
1/4 cup butter
1 lb spinach fettucine (or regular fettucine noodles), cooked and drained

Combine garlic, broth, 2 Tbsp lime juice, soy sauce, chicken, red onion, and red and green peppers in slow cooker. Stir to coat chicken. Cook on low for about 4 hours (depending on how fast your slow cooker cooks). In a large skillet, melt butter over low heat. As soon as butter is melted sprinkle in 1/4 cup of flour. Stir with wire whisk. Slowly add in whole milk and stir with whisk. It should be pretty thick. Take your measuring cup and dip it in the slow cooker and get about 1/2 cup of the liquid. Pour it into the skillet. Add in the rest of the flour (another 1/4 cup) and stir. Get more liquid from slow cooker and add it into creamy mixture. Add in about 2 T to 1/4 cup of lime juice to the cream mixture (depending how much lime you like). Add in the rest of the contents from the slow cooker. Stir to combine. Add in pasta and coat. Serve with cilantro for garnish, if desired.

Review:
I really loved this limey, yummy dinner. I had it for lunch and dinner the next day too. The peppers and onions have the best texture and taste. I used what I had on hand. There was no need to use half and half, the whole milk worked perfectly. Obviously, it would be ideal to use orange and yellow peppers like the original recipe asks for but it was still super tasty. 4 1/2 stars maybe even 5!

weird

Weird. This is weird. There is no food to cook, no picture to take, no post to make.
But...
there are cookbooks to send out! I am excited about the final product and hope that you will like it. There are still plenty left if you'd like one email me.

Day 365: Texas Style Beef Brisket

The last slow cooker meal...eaten with my family and friends!

Me, preparing the meal (notice there are 3 slow cookers)

Me with my 2 kids, Reagan and Skyler (the sign says "congrats Karen, you did it. You're the best around)

I've never made a beef brisket before. I figured the 365th day was a good day to make it.

Serves 12

3 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 Tbsp chili powder

2 bay leaves

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp liquid smoke

6 lbs beef brisket, fresh

1/2 cup beef broth

Combine first 6 ingredients in large resealable plastic bag. Cut visible fat off the brisket. Cut brisket in half and place in bag. Rub the seasonings all over the meat. Refrigerate overnight. The next morning place the beef in the slow cooker. Add broth. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until tender. Thinly slice the meat and serve with your favorite barbecue sauce.

Review:

Dear Crockpot,

I'm so over you. Consider yourself officially dumped.

Later,

Karen

Relieved, liberated, released, reprieved. This is how I feel. I kind of feel like when I finished a marathon a few years ago and I swore to myself that I would never run another marathon again. I mean what the heck was I thinking when I started this project? I guess I'm a little rash. Not that it was all bad, it really was a good experience. It's just so good to be done. Mostly, it was just very difficult for me to think of seven new and different recipes each and every week, with no breaks. Meal planning from now on will be a cinch. I've learned so much and had some really great experiences. I'm thankful for it and even more thankful that it's over. Thanks to all of you for following this blog and all your comments! I really, truly love them so much. I hope that this blog will continue to be a wonderful resource for your meal planning and simplifying your life.

Anyway, the review of the brisket. It was good. I had a couple of friends over for dinner and they gave it 4 or 4 1/2 stars. I don't know what else to say...I'm a little burned out.

ABC Story

Here's the link to the story that was on ABC4 news this morning.

Day 364: Heath Bar Chocolate Pudding Cake

"ONE DAY MORE...One day to a new beginning! There's a new world for the winning! There's a new world to be won!" -Les Miserables

Makes 10 servings

1 box (21 1/2 oz) Betty Crocker Triple Chocolate cake mix

1 pkg (4 serving size) instant French vanilla pudding and pie filling mix

1 cup sour cream

1 cup heath toffee bits

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup water

3/4 canola oil or vegetable oil

Spray slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. Combine cake mix, pudding, sour cream, toffee, chocolate chips, water and oil in mixing bowl. Stir well to combine. Batter will be slightly lumpy. Pour into slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Middle will be a little gooey and pudding-like. Serve with ice cream.

Review:

I liked it the night of and even better the next morning. Ha! Sometimes chocolate tastes so good in the morning. When I was in high school I had a paper route that had to be done by 6 am. When I'd get back home sometimes we'd have a little chocolate pudding cake leftover from our Sunday dinner. I would always sneek a few spoonfuls and it would taste so good. Anyhow, this is a very tasty recipe. I was hoping the toffee bits would be more prevalent...but it was still a 4 star dessert, nonetheless.

Day 363: Potatoes Au Gratin

1/2 cup whole milk
10 oz can condensed Cheddar Cheese soup, undiluted
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp pepper
2 lbs russet potatoes, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1/2 cup chopped onion
Paprika for garnish

Warm the milk in a small saucepan over medium heat until nearly boiling. Remove the milk from the heat and add the soup, cream cheese, garlic, and pepper. Stir with a whisk until smooth. Layer about 1/3 of the potato and onions in bottom of slow cooker. Top with 1/3 of cheese mixture. Repeat process until all ingredients are used. Cover and cook on low for 6 1/2 to 7 hours, or until potatoes are tender. Sprinkle with paprika and serve.

Review:
These potatoes were a little lacking in flavor. I expected more from this recipe. Don't get me wrong, we ate all of them and even licked the crock clean but they just weren't as flavorful as I thought they would be. 3 stars.

Good Morning Utah

Hi!

Are you getting as exciting as me for the end???

I doubt it.

If you're interested, there is going to be a news clip about my project on Good Morning Utah (ABC4) on Monday morning. The show runs from 5-7 am...I'm not sure when during that time it will be on. I'm going to DVR it. Luckily, the new DVR which came to replace our old, faulty DVR came just in time. Unluckily, the old DVR had lots of recordings on it which all got deleted. :(

Day 362: Sloppy Joes

2 lbs lean ground beef
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup prepared yellow mustard
1 can pork and beans
Hamburger buns

Cook beef in medium skillet over medium-high heat until no longer pink, stirring to break up meat. Drain fat. Transfer beef to slow cooker. Add ketchup, mustard and pork and beans. Mix well. Cover and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours. Serve on buns.


Review:
"Sloppy joes, slop sloppy joes, sloppy joes, meatball sandwich!" -Lunchlady Land
I figured I should at least do one sloppy joe recipe this year and here it is. I actually quite liked the flavor of the meat and enjoyed the little twist with the pork and beans thrown in there. Easy fix to serve a crowd. 3 stars.

Day 361: Hummus

1 cup dried chickpeas
4 cups water
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp water

Rinse chickpeas. Place in slow cooker with 4 cups of water. Cover and cook on high for 3 hours until very soft. Drain liquid (retain 1/4 cup). Use a potato masher or hand mixer to cream the chickpeas. Add the garlic, lemon juice, salt, water, and 1/4 cup of liquid to creamed chickpeas. Mix. Refrigerate, if desired and then serve with fresh veggies or spread on pita bread.


Review:
Hummus in an easy, affordable form. Tasty, flavorful, and very healthy. My little boy loved it and ate in plain like mashed potatoes. I ate mine with carrots and celery. Use as a spread on a pita, if desired. 3 stars.