Turkey Day came and went and this morning I packed up the last of the dark meat and mashed potatoes & gravy for Jay’s lunch.
We hosted this year and were grateful that everyone came to us. Our long holiday weekend was filled with adventures and now we’re back to our normally scheduled routine with soccer practices, homework, religious ed classes and dance this week.
Here are a few bits and pieces of the last several days…
{simple decorations ~ a clearance vase from Target and a branch & pinecones from my morning hikes}
{kosher, Pioneer Woman brined bird on the grill}
{centerpiece from our backyard}
{our feast ~ 1. turkey {before cranberry orange relish!} 2. candied yams 3. cornbread stuffing 4. Ina’s parmesan mashed potatoes {before gravy!} 5. green bean casserole 6. maple glazed carrots ~ yum! desserts not pictured ~ sweet potato pie and Grunc’s pear ginger upside down cake}
It was a treat to have my dad {Popsi} here from Seattle, my mom {Gramma} here from San Diego and Grunc {great uncle Larry} and Auntie Jill here from Yosemite/Marin County. We all joined together to get the food on the table and consequently ate too much! Now all that’s leftover are happy memories of Thanksgiving 2012…
…and I’ll take those leftovers over a turkey sandwich with cranberry sauce any day!
Last week I was fighting some sneezing, sore throat and stuffy nose business. It lingered for over a week so when I heard about this soup, I nearly ran to the store for the ingredients!
Creamy Crock Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
{recipe adapted slightly from Jen over at Craft-O-Maniac}
1/2 bag {or so} baby carrots cut in thirds
4 celery stalks rinsed and cut into smallish chunks
1/2 onion, chopped
1 32 oz. carton chicken stock
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup milk {I used 1/2 cup 1% and 1/2 cup whole}
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 1/2 tbsp. garlic powder
1 tbsp. dry thyme
6 boneless skinless chicken tenderloins or 4-5 boneless skinless chicken breasts {can be frozen}
Place the chicken stock, 2 cans of soup, water, milk and seasonings in the crock pot and whisk together. Place the frozen chicken breasts/tenders and chopped veggies in the crock pot. Cook low 4-6 hrs. Pull out the chicken breasts within the last hour and shred with two forks and put back in crock pot.
Boil and cook one bag of egg noodles {per package directions}, rinse, drain, and add to the soup during the last 20 minutes or so.
Ladle up, add some Sriracha if you wish and slurp away!
For the slaw, I just used one package of cole slaw mix and mixed it with the first five ingredients of this recipe and added a little squeeze of Sriracha. Let it sit and marinate for a couple hours and then get ready to build your tacos!
I used just under 3 pounds of meat {lean chuck roast} and cooked on low for about 8 hours…
These were to-die-for.
The meat and slaw would also be excellent in slider form or just pile a little meat on top of some slaw and call it a salad.
We don’t need no stinkin’ expensive gourmet taco truck!
I’ve heard nothing but, “Man, the holidays are going by so fast!” and “Can’t believe Christmas is only 2 weeks away!” lately.
So far all my planning ahead has helped a little, but I am still scrambling, stressing and scurrying, however at the same time, trying to enjoy the season. Fortunately all events that are near and dear to us fell on different days so we’re able to attend everything, but it does make for one crazy month.
I wanted to have our neighbor friends over for a simple, little dinner to celebrate Jay’s birthday and the only option was to do it on Friday. Since I was in the midst of getting the Christmas cards out and afternoon dance class last Friday, I needed to have a menu that I could make ahead of time and be ready for entertaining when we got home close to 7:oopm.
I chose to do something in the crock pot so that could be simmering all afternoon and make a dessert ahead of time that was fancy enough for guests, but easy!
I took my chances with two new recipes and they both worked like charms.
{I followed the recipe, but used more like 3 pounds stew meat and added one small carton fresh mushrooms to the mix ~ a must for beef stroganoff as far as I’m concerned and served over [No Yolks] egg noddles}
{Used low fat evaporated milk and the 4 eggs not the egg substitute}
The most difficult part about this recipe is the water bath and not splashing it into the ramekins! Please don’t be afraid of creme brûlée if you love it…you can make it at home easily. We have a kitchen torch to do the brûlée, but if you don’t, there are broiler instructions at the bottom of the recipe.
I decided to make up a {Wintery White Wine Sangria} which was just two bottles Chardonnay, 1 liter ginger ale, 1/2 cup triple sec, some orange slices and some fresh cranberries.
{I threw the ingredients into this glass canister in the morning and let the flavors marry all day in the ‘fridge. The cranberries floated in the glasses and looked very festive!}
If you’re doing some entertaining this holiday and have a busy schedule as well {who doesn’t?} this is the perfect type of menu that will leave you able to sit and visit with your guests and not be slaving over a hot stove or pulling things out of the oven as they arrive. All I had to do was boil some water for the noodles after the guests arrived and we sipped sangria & Blue Moons and visited until the noodles were ready. See, I was so busy mingling that I was too busy to snap a photo of the stroganoff so I have nothing to show for it other than echoing praises from all who consumed it. The meat was super tender {I cooked on low for about 8 hours…added the cream cheese in at about hour six. Next time I may substitute sour cream for the cream cheese, but it was excellent this way}.
*****
So, keep it simple and don’t stress. Put your crock pot to work, bake up a dessert ahead of time and have pre-mixed drinks ready to go at your next get-together.
Fridays are perfect crock pot days. We don’t get home until about 7pm and it’s nice to have something ready for dinner without a lot of fuss. I love that you can fill your crock pot with a few ingredients, turn it on and literally forget about it.
I poured in one 12 ounce can of 55 calorie Budweiser Select {classy, I know or you an substitute 1.5 cups of beef broth}, the juice of a 12 ounce jar of pepperoncinis, several actual pepperoncinis and one packet dry Italian dressing seasoning {like Good Seasons}. Mix those ingredients, add your meat {I used a really lean 3 pound beef rump roast} and set it on low for 8.5 hours. I chose to add a slice of provolone on top and stick it under the broiler for a minute or two. You can also serve with chopped giardiniera {pickled peppers, cauliflower,carrots, jalapeños, etc.} and use the juice for dipping like a French dip…I guess it would be an Italian dip then, right? Next time I will chop the meat into smaller pieces, but overall this meal was magnifico ~ suuuuuper easy AND the whole family approves? How often does that happen?
Last Friday afternoon I picked up a fresh rotisserie chicken, brought it home and immediately took it off the bone. Hint: it’s MUCH easier to get off the bone when it’s warm than when it’s cold.
I took half the chicken, chopped it up and added it to this crock pot lasagna recipe ~ lasagna with mushrooms, spinach and a bechamel sauce. I also chopped up one red pepper and added that in with the onion, mushroom and spinach mixture.
{Since Leah’s recipe didn’t include the chicken, I just went ahead and followed her directions and scattered the chopped chicken on top of each veggie layer}
Started the crock pot at 3:00pm and when we got home at 7:00pm from dance, dinner was ready!
Reposting this carnitas recipe today {10.12.11} over at The Larson Lingo’s Crock-tober! These carnitas are healthy and great in tacos, burritos, over cilantro rice {recipe also on this post!}, on nachos or in a salad! Makes a TON so there are lots of leftovers or perfect for a party. Come on over and see who else is linking up and what they’re cooking up in their crock pots!
Mel shared a recipe for baby back ribs with a cherry mustard BBQ sauce ~ needless to say, they look amazing!
*****
Mondays are generally catch up days around here. You know…tidying up the tornado from the weekend, laundry, phone calls, cleaning, etc.
It’s been {c}old and rainy today, so I didn’t mind being holed up in the house doing all these lovely {c}hores.
I was up bright and early this morning getting my crock pot on. Jay found a {c}arnitas recipe here and I thought it’d be the perfect thing to cook away in my new, gorgeous stainless steel Crock Pot while we hung out at home today.
Here is the line up:
This recipe is soooo simple, but it takes 10 hours on low!
In at 7am…ready at 5pm!
In between the {c}hores, we played {C}hutes & Ladders:
…and put together a {C}urious George puzzle:
Rainy day movie of {C}hicken Little:
…and the tail end of a {c}artoon:
(gotta love {C}andace!)
Once the sun reappeared, the kiddos {c}hristened Emilie’s new swing set:
Sweet Baby Ryan:
We had a minor {c}ollision:
*****
I made some {c}ilantro lime rice to go along with the {c}arnitas. This recipe is inspired from my friend, Niki, in San Diego. Mine doesn’t turn out as well as hers, but it’s still delish.
Here’s the line up:
Tonight I made WAY too much rice ~ 2 cups with 4 cups stock! I think we could feed the whole neighborhood. I would suggest a cup of rice (2 cups stock) for 4 people or 1/2 cup rice (1 cup stock) for 2 people.
First, toast the rice and get the onion (I used a half, chopped) going in some olive oil and a little bit of butter for about 10 minutes stirring frequently:
Holy rice, Batman!
Next, add your stock depending on the amount of rice you’re making (1:2 ratio):
Bring to a rapid boil for a couple minutes on high and then turn to low and cover for about 2o minutes. Chop a handful of cilantro and stir in at the last minute and you will have this:
…enough rice to feed all of China!
The carnitas turned out perfect, but again, we could feed an army. Look at all this meat from a 2.5 lb. pork shoulder:
I got a bone-in shoulder and I was a little nervous, but the meat literally fell off the bone and I discarded it and then started shredding the meat with 2 forks. It was SUPER tender. I spooned a little of the juice over it to keep it moist.
Here is the final taco action on a plate:
YUM! Smokey from the cumin and citrusy from the orange and lime juices! I added a little peach pineapple salsa, a tad bit of sour cream and a squeeze of lime and it was delish. The recipe calls for corn tortillas, but I am a flour tortilla girl all day long. I found these mini ones at Super Wal-mart of all places and I love them because they are the perfect soft taco size ~ even smaller that the “fajita” size variety you see in the grocery stores. They come in a package of 20 for under 2 bucks!
Don’t forget a squeeze of lime on your rice!
Enjoy and adios! I am off to see {C}armen at boot camp!
Maybe I should take her a couple tacos and some rice…
