What's in my Crockpot?

I'm always on the lookout for slow cooker meals.  I like the convenience and the flexibility of knowing I will definitely have a hot meal all but ready when hubby gets home.  I like the cost savings on the electric bill and knowing that supper is going while I do other things.  I like the fact that I can control ingredients and that most frugal ingredients do quite well in the slow cooker.

We're still on a mission to eat down what we have on hand in the freezers.  Today I pulled out a package of hormone free, boneless skinless chicken thighs.  This was meat I bought on sale and froze.  Often if I can't find the "healthier" choices on sale I go for whatever is available in my price range, but when I can find things on sale I do try to stock up.

I decided to go with this recipe.

Crock Pot Lemon Garlic Chicken

Click on the link for the original recipe.

Of course, like all recipes I tweaked it a little.

1.  I used thighs instead of breast...just adjust cooking time.
2.  I omitted extra salt because seasoning package was quite salty.
3.  I use 1/4 tsp of black pepper.
4.  I did not use butter to brown chicken, instead choosing to use a non stick pan and a tiny bit of grapeseed oil.
5.  I used 1 cup of chicken broth.
6.  I reduced the garlic to 1/2 tsp because I didn't want it to over power the sauce..
7.  When the chicken is done, I will remove a piece for  from the juice and thicken the juice for hubby and daughter to use as a sauce.  This will save me some calories, sodium and carbs.

I'm serving this with rice and green beans.

Right now the house smells so good!

Last Week

Last week was a whirlwind week.  Lord willing no more doctor's appointments until August!  On an odd note, I didn't exactly stick to my menu.  Several nights we just ate leftovers, but that wasn't so bad.  I hate to waste food.

I'm down almost 45 lbs. now.  I'm off my blood pressure medicine and cholesterol medicine.  I have to have additional blood work in August and see where things stand.  My doctor is quite pleased with my progress and so am I.  I feel 10 times better.

This week as far as I know I will be home all week.  I can't put into words how excited I am about that.
Today is catch up day.  I'm catching up the laundry, the housework, the bills, the baking....basically whatever didn't get done last week....which today looks like a lot.

I actually have managed to sneak in a little crocheting and knitting time.  I'm working on a simple sweater for daughter, a scrap yarn blanket, and a crocheted mesh tunic.  I got caught up in a movie hubby was watching and I think I'll have to pull two rounds out of the tunic...lol...because I can't figure out where I am in the pattern.  I'll try to share photos on Wednesday.

Menu 6/10/13

This week is going to be a crazy one -- having us traveling back and forth to town 4 days in a row and then I have a class on Saturday.  Everyone is for a doctor's appointment, but thank goodness only 2 of them are mine.  With that bit of insanity in mind I decided this was definitely a week when I wanted a menu plan...I'll be using the slowcooker for those four days in some capacity just to make my life a little easier.

Monday -- baked Parmesan cod fillets, wild rice pilaf, green beans
Tuesday -- beef tips in gravy with onion and bell pepper,  green peas, mashed potatoes
Wednesday --  turkey meatloaf, sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts
Thursday --  baked soy beans, turkey hot dogs, oven fries
Friday -- green Limas with ham bits and potatoes

Our area was blessed.  The tropical storm seems to be moving on.  One tornado formed in our area, but there are no reports of any damage to homes or worse injured people.  The area it touched down in mostly has farm land and forests.  Ironically enough the winds seem to be stronger now that the sky has cleared than they did during the worst of the storm.

I'm still on the "low" diet.... plugging away at the weight loss and feeling better each day.  My doctor really wanted me to join a gym, but obviously he doesn't quite understand rural life.  The gym he preferred has the works, but it is an hour and half away -- just one way...lol.  When we added up the cost of membership, the cost of travel, and the sheer hours I decided there was no way I was going to commit to that.  Due to my fibro and a heat sensitivity I cannot exercise outdoors in the southern summers.  It is just more than my body will take.

I've been using my daughter's Wii and exercise videos, but I have a hard time giving the doctor a tangible "number" for exercise that way.  Hubby and I decided to bite the bullet and buy a treadmill.  I scoured prices, reviews and features and finally settled on one.  It came by freight yesterday and we put it together last night.  I'm excited to say I finished a mile walk before 7 this morning.  I'm hoping to do the same thing before bedtime tonight.  (For the record, the final cost of a nice treadmill was less than the cost of gym attendance (for me) and even having it shipped was cheaper than renting a truck to pick one up.)

This morning while daughter was putting away dishes I had her leave the new-to-me casserole dish out.
I cubed some chicken breast and put in the dish.  Then I topped it with a low carb homemade barbecue sauce.  I'm still working on perfecting it, but this wasn't too bad.  It isn't thick because I can't add a cornstarch or anything like that....it reminds me of my frugal Grandmama's barbecue chicken.  She always washed the bottle out with water and added that to her sauce so it was never super thick.

I apologize for the photo.  I didn't think about photographing and colors until after I was finished.

Easy Barbecue Sauce

8 ounces of tomato sauce

garlic powder and onion powder to taste

Worcestershire Sauce (about 1/4 to 1/3 cup)

3/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp Splenda Brown Sugar Mix

1 tsp Splenda

1/4 tsp black pepper

4 or 5 good shakes of hot sauce 

Heat on low heat for a few minutes.

If you do not want low sugar you can add real sugars to this.

You could also add diced garlic and onion if you prefer.

For hotter add more hot sauce.

Pantry Eat Down

We're still working on eating down the pantry with a twofold purpose -- to avoid hurricane loss for freezer items and to rotate short term stock out.

This is the cute little casserole dish I bought for $1.49.

Black Bean Casserole waiting to go in oven for supper tonight.

Love the color and the little leaf detail.

Black Bean Casserole

1 1/2 to 2 cups of cooked black beans plus a little liquid

diced bell pepper (I used red and yellow)

onion, garlic, cumin 

and any other spices you like

Top with thinly sliced potatoes.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Lightly drizzle with olive oil or spray with cooking spray.

Garnish with bell pepper strips.

Bake until potatoes are done in a moderate oven.

If you didn't want this to be vegan you could add meat and or cheese.

Daughter's cake. 

Used up a cake mix and frosting bought on sale.

Used up sprinkles from Easter packet we bought after the holiday.

Speak of the Devil

Not a hurricane, but a tropical storm is rolling our way.  It is supposed to hit us sometime tomorrow with the rains starting today.

My to do list for today is pretty simple:

1. bake a cake for snacks for hubby and daughter
2. pick up extra water just in case
3. bake a loaf of bread or two
4. boil some eggs
5. standard chores

We're really not expecting it to be that bad.  However since we're in a rural area we often have power outages during storms....usually from tree branches hitting power lines.  

Better safe than sorry is the motto we're operating under so I'll be doing a tiny bit of prep today just in case.

The Past Couple of Days

Nothing exciting has been going on.  For the past three days we have been doing our typical housework.  We're still working on eating the stores down.

Tuesday -- I used up sausage and low carb tortillas that were lingering.  Hubby had a late meeting so supper was a simple beans and rice dish.  Used up some shredded cheese to go with those.

Wednesday --  had to run to town to the DMV office to have daughter's eyes checked.  Even though the distance is long I can't complain because our state does offer free driver's ed courses.  She's finished everything but the driving part which we hope she'll start this week.  

I did start beef stew in the crockpot.  (Used up beef cubes, 3 potatoes, 2 carrots, half an onion, some open beef broth, green peas, etc.) I think I'll make cornbread to go with it.

Since we were in town anyway I stopped at the thrift store and bought just a few items.  A cute 1.75  quart casserole dish, 3 books, and a roll of birthday wrapping paper.  Not bad for $5.73.  The casserole dish was because I wanted it, the books because I am out, and the wrapping paper for daughter's 16th birthday.  Can't believe it is coming so soon!

The thrift store is in the same parking lot as Dollar Tree is so I decided to pop in to see if they had any more soy milk.  They didn't...but I did pick up a few items totaling just over $17.

I bought the following:

2 bags of popcorn (like you pop yourself) -- for inexpensive snacking
2 boxes of Hamburger Helper Cheeseburger Mac -- for dry storage
2 boxes of Au Gratin Potato Mix -- for dry storage
1 bag of pretzels -- to go with hubby's lunches
1 bag of Jolly Rancher candies  -- for snack basket
1 can of turkey (to try and see if I want to add to storage)
1 bottle of garlic marinade  -- to try on grilled chicken
2 bottles of mustard (one deli and one Dijon for storage)
1 plastic spoon -- to replace one I have that is falling apart
1 6 count of kitchen scrubbies (finally killed my last one)
1 package of icee pops -- cool treat
1 package granola bars -- for on the road

Now that we're home and I've finished my basic chores, I find myself a tad sleepy and I'm off to curl up with a book.