Slow-cooker roast chicken

Well, today was one of those days. You know the type: everyone over sleeps, everyone is grouchy, moody and whiny. Nothing seems to go quite right no matter how hard you try.

Yea, sounds like a normal Monday to me, too. 😋

Except today I tried something I've never tried before. I roasted a whole chicken in my slow-cooker!! Yep, I sure did! And let me just say, it tasted a-MAZ-ing!

However, it was definitely a Monday. So, it didn't LOOK very good. See, I goofed and didn't think to leave the cooker on high for this process. I mean, come on, low and slow, right?? Not when roasting chicken, apparently LOL But never fear, freestylin' saves the day! I just popped it in the oven and crisped the outside up nicely! I wish I would have taken more pictures (did I mention it was Monday?!😝) but I only got a couple.

Here's what I did. Take about a half dozen potatoes and peel and dice them. Put in bottom of crock pot. Then take a whole chicken ( don't forget to remove the gooky stuff- neck giblets, etc!) Rinse and pat dry. Season with your favorite poultry seasonings. I used Mrs. Dash garlic and herb and frankly, I'm not a fan. Going to try something else next time.

Anyway, after you get your chicken all rubbed down and coated well, drizzle with 2 tablespoons melted butter. Cook on HIGH for I would say 4-5 hours. Or use a probe thermometer if you have one. Just be sure to check the temperature! I cooked mine on low all day and it was falling apart tender. No crispy brown skin, but if you are not concerned with the skin I say go for it! Very yummy either way. If you cook it on high, I'm told it will brown nicely.

Oh, I will share the pic of mine in the cooker. Believe it or not it is DONE here, falling apart! Like I said, just not browned. I just popped it into the oven (450° for 10 minutes) and it was perfect!

Quick tip for freezer meals : Soup!

Saturdays are always crazy around my house! So I just have a quick tip for you. I've been doing lots of freezer meals lately in an effort to eat out less. Here's the best tip I know for quick fix meals! Next time you make a big pot of soup and you have leftovers, ladle some of the extra into large muffin tin and flash freeze. Once frozen, pop put the disks and put in a freezer bag. Next time you need a quick meal for 1 or 2, put a disk in the microwave and voila! Dinner or lunch in seconds. I did corn chowder here and it worked wonderfully!

Need help learning to meal plan?

Check this out! Crystal @ Crystal & Co has a new e-book coming out. How To Meal Plan: a Step-by-step Guide for Busy Moms. You can check it out Crystal & Co. E-Book

Have a great day!

Faith

Freestyle Lasagna

MMMM Cheesy!

I love lasagna. I do not like the time it takes to prepare lasagna. The complicated sauce, the mixing of cheeses, cooking the noodles (while somehow managing NOT to destroy them all)… well you see my point. This is my freestyle version. It took all of maybe 20min prep time. Not to mention the $saved!

Ingredients:

2 mild Italian sausage links

2 jars favorite pasta sauce

1 pasta sauce jar of water

15oz ricotta cheese

3cups shredded Italian cheeses

1 lb. ribbon pasta

Put sauces and water in crock pot with 2 sausage links. Cook all day (or night - easily done ahead of time) on low. After simmering for several hours, sausage will be ready to fall apart. Just chop it up and add it back into the sauce.

Preheat oven to 350°

Cover the bottom of a large casserole dish with a bit of sauce just to prevent sticking. Top with about half the uncooked noodles and more sauce. Dot with small spoonfuls of ricotta and sprinkle with shredded cheese.



Not too much cheese on this layer, you want the sauce to really be able to work

Next top with the rest of the dry noodles, and the sauce. Eyeball this part. You want enough liquid to cover the pasta. As you can see in my picture below, it looks soupy, but it turned out perfect!


When you have enough sauce, dot with the remainder of the ricotta and kind of stir it in a bit so it looks like this:



It looks funny, but trust me, it works!

Top with remainder of shredded cheeses. Cover with foil and bake. Starting with the sauce hot, mine took about 20 minutes for the pasta to get tender. If you are starting with it cold, or you made the whole thing ahead of time, you will have to cook longer. Just test a small bit of the pasta to make sure. Once pasta starts to get tender remove the foil and continue baking until golden brown. Again, this took about 20min for me.

Isn't that pretty???

Let sit on stove for about 5 min before serving. Rave reviews for this one from the whole family!






Home Roasted Peanuts

Oops.

 

Ever have one of those times when you think you are buying something everyone is gonna LOVE? Then you get home and realized you bought the wrong thing?

 

Yep, I did that. My mom and I stopped at a produce stand on the way home on Sunday. I was so excited because they had raw peanuts in the shell, just like my kids LOVE to eat at the restaurant! (you know, where you can throw the shells on the floor? yea, maybe that has more to do with the love of peanuts J)

 

So, anyway, I filled up a baggie and paid for them and brought them home all excited. We cracked some and ate the nuts. As it turns out, I like raw peanuts, but no one else does. LOL And honestly, I don’t like them that much. We like them roasted, apparently.

So what to do? I hated the idea of wasting them.  A quick internet search and Voila! How to roast peanuts in the shell! Who would have thought it was so easy??

 

What you need:

Desired amount of raw (still in the shell) peanuts
Foil-Lined Pan

Preheat oven to 350º

 

Place raw peanuts on the pan

 

Bake for 15-20 minutes, stirring a few times. Remove from oven just before done, as they will continue to cook in the shell. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before eating. Easy peasy! Just be sure to remind your kids not to eat the shells! yea, go ahead and giggle, but my 9 year old saw them on the pan and decided to bite into one LOL he said it wasn't bad, kinda tasted like popcorn! Gotta love kids!

 

Disclaimer: sorry there weren't many pictures, it was late and I was tired and didn't double check my pictures for clarity. These were the only 2 that came out LOL

 

 

 

Hello!

 

Hello, and welcome to my new adventure!

 

 

Let’s get one thing clear: I am not, nor will I ever claim to be a chef. My sister is a chef. She went to school, excelled in an apprenticeship and can not only tell you the difference between camembert and Gouda, but can recommend the best wine to go with it. She’s mastered the art of braising and basting, and baking too. When I need to know a specific recipe or when I can’t figure out why my cake is too heavy, I go to her. But most days, I just wing it. I love food. I love to cook. I love to entertain. What I don’t like? Having to follow a recipe like it’s the Bible. I don’t like rules. (I rarely bake, for obvious reasons)

I’m just a mom. Yea, right, like there truly is anything as “just a mom”. I’m also just a wife, teacher, caregiver, hairdresser, etc. etc. etc. J

Seriously, though, I’m your average, every day mom who doesn’t have enough hours in the day. I struggle with the same question you do, “What’s for dinner?” Some days I have a “plan”. Other days, I haven’t a clue. But either way you can be certain; I’ll always be a Freestylin’ Foodie.

 

Mini Loaded Baked Potato Pizza

I have kids. 3 of them, to be exact, which means one thing for sure: repetition. The story will have to be read, one more time. The movie will have to be watched at least one more time. And when asked what they want for dinner, at least one will always say, PIZZA. Kids thrive on the same thing over and over, and pizza is definitely one of those mine never seem to tire of.

But let’s face it. Pizza can be boring. Pizza can be expensive, especially frozen pizza for 5 people that cannot agree on toppings. So what to do?

Make your own pizza, of course.

Only, in my house, the toppings can be whatever you want. Ham, turkey, pepperoni, bacon, pineapple, and every-type-of-cheese-imaginable are favorites. Hubby likes veggies, too, and the kids do love their grape tomatoes, as well. We’ve used rotisserie chicken, pulled pork, cream cheese, feta cheese even French fried onions (surprisingly yummy!). Really whatever sounds interesting is a possibility.

Oh, did I mention I rarely buy pizza crust? No, I don’t make it either (I dislike baking – too much measuring!J) 2 words: Hamburger Buns. No, seriously. Want to know one thing kids like better than pizza?

 

MINI PIZZA

 

Hamburger buns, bagels, mini tortillas, sandwich thins; even hot dog buns make wonderful pizza crusts! (Texas toast Garlic bread makes a great crust too!)  So while the kids are piling on the cheese and making sloppy wonderful messes with the sauce (on a foil lined baking sheet of course!), I like to get creative and make my pizza a bit more exciting.

 

 

LOADED BAKED POTATO MINI PIZZA

Ingredients:

• Hamburger buns, (or whatever kind of crust you want, freestyle it!)
• Ranch dressing (mine had bacon in it, which of course, everything is better with bacon, right?)
• 1-2 potatoes, scrubbed
• Crumbled Bacon
• Shredded cheese – I used Italian and cheddar
• Grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400º

Scrub and slice potatoes thinly. Think au gratin, not potato chip thin here. Put them in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil over medium heat (high if you are impatient like me, just watch it so they don’t boil over) Cook until potatoes are tender, but not falling apart, you want them just under done. Drain carefully and dry on a paper towel.

Now take your crust and place on a baking pan (lined with aluminum foil for easy clean-up) that you have sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Top with ranch dressing and then layer on the potatoes. Top with bacon and cheeses, as much as you like, and then sprinkle with parmesan.

Bake until the cheese is melted and the parmesan starts to brown. You could also top with chives and a bit of sour cream after they come out of the oven.

 

 

What’s your favorite pizza topping?