Chicken and Veggies in the Crockpot

Let me introduce to you one of my family's favorite dinners, which is also ridiculously easy to prepare. And frugal to boot! Can't get much better than that. I got the original idea for the chicken from Tammy's Recipes, but changed it to a crockpot recipe and added the veggies. I realize the chicken in the picture looks rather plain, with the skin removed and all, but I assure you, it is tender, juicy, and so flavorful.

Recipe:
1 lb carrots, peeled and cut into pieces
5-6 potatoes, peeled (if desired) and cut into pieces
1 large onion, sliced
1 whole chicken (whatever size you want, I like to use at least 5 lbs)
garlic salt
seasoned salt
lemon pepper seasoning
dried rosemary

Place the veggies in the crockpot (you need a pretty large one; don't ask me specifics, I don't know!). Remove chicken from package and rinse; pat dry with a paper towel. Put the chicken in the crockpot on top of vegetables breast-side up and liberally sprinkle with each of the seasonings. Don't be shy, this will end up seasoning the veggies also. Then turn the chicken over (breast-side down) and season this side just like the first. (I would guess I use at least 2 tsp of each seasoning on each side. But that is just a guess, I've never measured. Just sprinkle until you think it looks good!)
Pour in a tiny bit of water if you want, it's not necessary. Turn crockpot on to low for 8 hours, and walk away.

The result will be a mouthwatering, tender chicken, flavorful vegetables, and a delicious broth. Hey, if all of my kids love it, it must be a wonderful thing!

It's De-Lurking Time!

This is my 100th post! In honor of that, I would love it if everyone who reads this blog would make a comment and tell me who you are! If you don't have a google ID, you can just post as anonymous and sign your name.

Also, on a completely random note, I thought I'd share one of my favorite photos of Grant and me, taken September 8, 2002, at the wedding of some friends. We had been married exactly 14 months, Grant had been home from Afghanistan just one month, and I was three days away from donating bone marrow for my brother.

So don't forget to write me a note (don't be shy, it's fun!) and have a blessed day!

Happy Birthday, Marissa!

Today my first daughter turns three. I can scarcely believe it. I posted her birth story recently, so I won't delve into all that. I'll just write a little about her now.

Marissa is very vivacious and quite the talker. Several of my friends have recently commented on how well she talks and how much older she sounds by her conversations. She's dramatic, affectionate, has an incredibly loud scream (especially when being pestered by a sibling), loves babies and dolls and all things girly, adores swirly dresses, hates jeans, likes to be sung to while going potty (and every time we're in a public restroom together and I have to go, she immediately bursts into song as soon as I'm on the toilet....thanks, Marissa.....I really don't need the "Itsy Bitsy Spider" to pee), she has a contagious laugh, her daddy wrapped around her finger, doesn't like most vegetables but loves fruit, rarely goes to sleep before 10:00 pm, despite being put to bed at 8:00, has figured out that if she "helps" mommy bake, she'll get to lick the beaters, has a major sweet tooth, and insists that PINK is the best color ever.

Yep, she's a treasure of a daughter. We are so blessed to have her in our lives.


This was a few hours after she was born, actually Oct 29, since she was born around 11:00 pm.

On her first birthday, 10-28-06

Another shot of her around her first birthday...what a goofy face!

Second birthday, 10-28-07

Another impossibly cute picture around her 2nd birthday.

This was last night, as she and Annika put dollies to bed in the new cradle.

I couldn't resist posting this one of Annika from last night.

The Pink Party

I have to say, having a pink party is a lot of fun. Marissa was more than delighted with the streamers and balloons Grant and I put up, but the real excitement came when we presented her with her first gift, a pink "ballerina" dress-up dress to wear for the party, along with pink leggings if she got cold and new hair bows. The dress is a little big on her (size 4-6), but you should have seen how happy she was. Truly precious.


Her friends arrived soon after and the kids got quickly to work making edible necklaces with Fruit Loops and yarn. I think they ate more than they strung, but they all ended up with really cute necklaces....until they started nibbling on them, anyways!

We played a couple more games and had lunch. I had made a cheesy spaghetti casserole, salad, pink fluff, and grapes, and then there was the cake and ice-cream and tiny sugar cookies. I don't think anyone left hungry! Ha.

Now tell me THAT'S not a happy girl!

Blowing out the candles

Gotta get that last stubborn one!

And now to lick the frosting off the candles. Ummmm.

Opening gifts, with little friend Maddie beside her. Maddie is one week younger than Annika.

Annika enjoyed hiding under the table and sporadically attempting to pull the tablecloth off.

Everyone admired the beautiful dress from Grandma and Grandpa.

Lydia (20 months), Natalee (3), Marissa (almost 3), Corban (5), Evie (4.5), and Morgan (3.5) - with the blue balloon. Isn't it cute how all the girls came wearing pink? I loved it! There were three other one-year-olds also, Michael (15 months), Maddie (13 months), and Annika (13 months).

It was a lovely party and the girls were delightful. Marissa couldn't have been happier. We saved some of her gifts for her actual birthday, the 28th. So there will be more pictures forthcoming!

Chocolate-Covered Cheesecake Squares

I had grand plans for these babies. I found the recipe in Taste of Home (Oct/Nov 2007) and was instantly determined to make them at some point. I found my perfect chance when planning desserts for my friend Ellen's baby shower. She loves cheesecake and chocolate, so what could be better?

Well, let's just say that mine didn't turn out exactly like the picture. See, you're supposed to cut the cheesecake into bite-sized squares and dip them completely in chocolate. Sounds simple enough, I guess. And the picture showed absolutely flawlessly dipped little delights. Huh.

Maybe my first mistake was not adding enough butter to the crust. See, I doubled the recipe (which calls for 1/4 cup butter) so we could have some at home and made it in 13x9 inch pan. So technically I should have used 1/2 cup butter, or one whole stick. As I was getting down to work, I realized that most of my butter was in the freezer. Except for one "almost" whole stick in the fridge. It might have been missing 1.5 Tablespoons. So I just used that. Disastrous decision. My crust turned out so crumbly, it made dipping nearly impossible because all the crust would just stay in the chocolate. Argh!!! Crumby chocolate is NOT impressive. Well, that's what you get for improvising a little when baking. Not a good idea. So I had to alter my dipping strategy a little. Truthfully, I don't know if that extra butter would have made THAT much difference......I just can't see how dipping these could be easy after trying it.

Regardless, the result was delicious and people raved about them.

Recipe:

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup finely chopped pecans

1/4 cup butter, melted

2 packages (8 0z each) cream cheese, softened (reduced fat is fine)

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup sour cream (light is fine)

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 t. vanilla extract

24 oz semi-sweet chocolate (I used this amount for my double batch and still had a little left over....I guess because I didn't dip mine all the way)

3 T. shortening

1/4 cup white chocolate chips, optional

Line a 9-inch square baking pan with foil and grease the foil. Combine the graham cracker crumbs, pecans, and butter. Press into prepared pan; set aside.

Beat the cream cheese, sugar, and sour cream until smooth. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined. Stir in vanilla. Pour over crust.

Bake at 325 for 35-40 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool on a wire rack. Refrigerate until chilled. Freeze overnight.

Melt chocolate and shortening, stirring until smooth. Cool slightly. Using foil, lift cheesecake out of pan. Gently peel off foil; cut into 49 squares. Remove a few pieces at a time for dipping; keep remaining squares refrigerated until ready to dip.

Using a toothpick (or fork or your fingers), dip squares, one at a time, into melted chocolate.

Place on wax paper lined baking sheets. Let stand 20 minutes or until set. (I tried dipping only the cheesecake part and only the crust part. Both were easier than trying to cover the entire square. Plus I could drizzle extra chocolate in a contrasting color on the top.)

If using white chocolate, melt it until smooth and pour into a sandwich bag. Snip off one tiny corner and drizzle the cheesecake squares as desired.

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator or freezer.

These can actually be eaten frozen, although they taste much better thawed for a little while. They are really good. And of course, you could customize it by changing the cheesecake flavor.

My first Baby Shower Cake

My friend Ellen is expecting her fifth baby in November and I had the pleasure of helping with her baby shower last Friday night. My job was to make the desserts. I made chocolate dipped cheesecake squares (recipe to come soon) and the cake. Here are a couple of shots of my creation.

This is how I cut it to shape it into a onesie. I think if I make one like this again, I wouldn't make the angles on the legs quite so sharp. I think. The cake was a doctored up devil's food mix with pudding, sour cream, extra oil and eggs, and mini chocolate chips added. It was very tasty.


The finished product. I had the most difficult time with smoothing the frosting. I don't know if it was because I made it the day before and it had been refrigerated all night, or because I had the windows open and it was a little humid in the house, or what.....but it just did NOT want to smooth out for me. It kept getting lumpy and smearing and causing great anguish. Corban's birthday cake frosting worked out MUCH better, same recipe.


The sweets table....I just made the chocolate dipped cheesecake squares and the cake. It turned out very pretty, and everyone enjoyed both quite a lot, I guess.

Oh, I pretty much copied this cake from one I found on this website. You can get all kinds of inspiration there. Actually, all of the birthday cakes I've made for the kids except Corban's elephant were inspired from the treasures on there.

Diaper Duty

This afternoon, Corban was watching me change Annika's diaper, the following conversation occurred.
Corban: "Hey Mom, when I grow up and have kids, will I get to wipe their bottoms?"
Me (laughing): "Oh yeah, buddy, you sure will!"
Corban: "Good!"

And he really meant it.

And now I've documented it to remind him in a few years. Hehehe.