Recipe Wednesday: Stew with Red Wine & Bacon

Stew with Red Wine and BACON? Do I really need to say more?

It's pretty much forbidden in my house and bust out the soups and stews until the temps drop below about 60 degrees. So these cozy, one-pot dishes are pretty much reserved for December, January and February around here. Since "winter" has finally hit in Northern California (kinda, sorta), I am ready for some full-on cozy, comfort food! This is my go-to one-pot, slow cooker dish. One of of the main ingredients is WINE, sooooooo does anything else need to be said? Make it. Now!

A little background because I have to give credit where credit is due...this is my sweet friend Maureen's recipe. Maureen was my teacher's aide back when I taught an elementary school special ed class. At the time, she had 3 kids in high school and I had 2 little-little "babies." She was always SOOOOOO amazing and supportive with both work and "personal stuff." If I had to call in sick because my kids were sick, she always just took over the class and I never had to worry about anything. She saw me cry and supported me countless times in the four years we worked together in that crazy, crazy job. She was always my biggest cheerleader and she is one of the reasons (although she doesn't know this) that I started attending church.

Anyway--enough of the sappy stuff. Maureen is an amazing cook, so she was always making and sharing something delicious! This is her grandmother's stew recipe that she shared with me years ago and it's still on my recipe repertoire all the time in the winter!

Stew with Red Wine & Bacon
5-6 slices of bacon, diced
1lb stew meat (you can buy it already cut into chunks)
3-4 carrots cut into chunks
1 medium onion, sliced
4-5 small red potatoes cut into chunks (you can use any kind of potatoes)
1 tablespoon of flour
1 heaping tablespoon of tomato paste
About a 1/2 to 3/4 bottle or more of good red wine (the bolder the better--i like using a Zin..as in the red kind, not White Zin- LOL!)
1 cup of beef stock (store bought)
Salt, pepper, smoked paprika


1. In a large skillet cook bacon pieces into almost done and most of the fat has rendered out.

2. Meanwhile, toss the meat lightly in flour and salt/pepper and about a tablespoon of smoked paprika.

**If you are short on time, skip to Lazy Girl's Note below** :)

3. If there is a large amount of grease from the bacon, drain a little out (but not all of it!). In the skillet with the bacon grease, add meat and cook for about 5-6 minutes or until the meat is browned on the outside (DOES NOT have to be cooked through!)

4. Remove meat and toss it in the crockpot.

**Lazy Girl's Note: You can skip browning the meat and just throw it into the crockpot if you are really pressed for time. However, I always take the extra 10 minutes or so because all of that amazing bacon grease is just sitting there, waiting to be used!!!

5. To the crockpot, add veggies,  reserved bacon, tomato paste, beef stock and wine. Give it and good stir. Cook on low for about 7-8 hours or HIGH 5-6 hours until meat is super tender. While it's cooking, if it seems to need more liquid, add more wine (or beef stock).

I always serve this up with some nice, crusty bread to soak up all the wonderful juices. It's soooooooooooo good!

XO ~ Casey

Recipe Wednesday: Oldies but Goodies

10 day until Christmas?? Really??? I think I underestimated the craziness of this time of year just because it came upon me SO QUICKLY! I had this awesome recipe coming together for you with one of my ALL TIME favorites that is just PERFECT for cool, cozy weather BUT the cray cray-ness of the season got the best of me so it's #nothappening.

Recipe Wednesday will be in vacation until 2015 (i really just wrote 2014 and had to remind myself what year it will be) and don't worry--i have so goooood stuff for you! It will be worth the wait :) Until then, here are some past recipes that if you haven't tried, you should :)

Merry Christmas and Cheers to 2015!!!


Delicious, easy chicken tacos:

Turkey Chimichangas

 Grilled Chicken Quesidillas

Perfect Meat Sauce

Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake

XO ~ Casey

Recipe Wednesday: Perfect Mashed Potatoes

 

Happy Wednesday! My favorite holiday of the year is just over a week away! I'm looking forward to "tying on the feedbag" as Scott's family would say! I really can't think of a better day of the year--spending time with family, eating, drinking, and reflecting on the abundance of blessings we have in our life...well, I actually think I do this pretty much EVERY DAY, but I like having a holiday totally dedicated to this :)

Big dinners like this are not complete without mashed potatoes in my opinion! I look forward to mashed potatoes and gravy the most, I think!! One problem--I CANNOT STAND peeling, cutting, boiling and mashing the potatoes on Thanksgiving or Christmas Day. It's not hard or a lot of work, but when you have 50 other dishes going and people in your house, it's not the most fun thing :)

A few years back I discovered this recipe for mashed potatoes from Pioneer Woman that you can MAKE AHEAD OF TIME!! No way! I had no idea you could even do that!! I was skeptical thinking they might be gluey or dry but honestly, they are the best mashed potatoes I've ever had!

And just so there is no mistake--there is absolutely NO calorie counting on Thanksgiving Day!!

Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes
**Makes a big 4 quart baking dish of potatoes, you can easily half the recipe

5lbs Yukon Gold or regular old Russet potatoes
1 stick of butter, softened
1 8oz package of cream cheese, softened
3/4 to 1 cup of heavy cream or half and half
1 teaspoon of Lawry's seasoning salt
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
Plenty of black pepper

1. Spray a 4 quart baking dish with cooking spray. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

2. Peel potatoes and cut into large chunks and dump them (carefully) into the boiling water. Boil until fork tender-- about 20 minutes or so.

3. Drain potatoes and return them to the pan. Mash them for a minute or so WITHOUT adding any other ingredients!! This is a key step!!! Mashing them by themselves allows the steam to escape so you are not left with gluey potatoes.

4. After a minute or so of mashing, add remaining ingredients and mash until they are creamy. Check seasonings-- add more salt or pepper if needed (try not to eat the whole pan). You can also add more cream here if you like creamier potatoes.

5. Spread potatoes in the baking dish and dot with butter. (At this point you can cover the pan with foil and refrigerate overnight).

6. Bake for about 20-30 minutes until heated through.

Voila! Perfectly creamy, rich, non-gluey potatoes...and you didn't even have to break a sweat on Thanksgiving Day!  You're welcome :)

Have a GREAT holiday!! I will leave you with my favorite quote of the season: "It's not happy people who are thankful, it's thankful people who are happy." :)

Happy Turkey Day ~

XO ~ Casey

Recipe Wednesday: Soccer Party Potatoes

Last weekend, we had Brooke's soccer end of the year potluck at the park after her last game. Since it was an early morning game, the coach organized a breakfast and he cooked up bacon and eggs and had everyone bring something as a side. One mom brought THIS casserole and it was UH-MAZING! There weren't many of us, but the ENTIRE 13x9 inch pan was licked clean. It was so. darn. good.

Of course, I immediately got the recipe and plan to make it for any potluck anyone wants to invite me to!! It would be PERFECT for Easter dinner alongside ham, it was wonderful as a breakfast dish with bacon and eggs..I think it would really go with any type of meat-and-potatoes-type meal. This casserole, steak on the grill and a nice side salad--heaven. This would also be perfect if you are having some sort of Thanksgiving pot luck at work or with friends.

You can make it the night before and bake it right before you are ready to serve.  I promise you will enjoy this and so will all of your guests :)

Soccer Party Potatoes
2 lbs frozen hash browns (Ore-Ida Southern Style, but any diced hash browns are fine)
1 can cream of chicken soup (mushroom works, too)
12 oz. sour cream
1/2 cup of milk
1/2 cup scallions (whites and greens)
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar
2 cups crushed Corn Flakes cereal (Ritz crackers work too! Yum!)
1/2 stick butter (or less)
Salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 325.

2. Spray a 13 x 9 inch baking dish with cooking spray.

3. In a large bowl, mix first 6 ingredients together until combined. Season with salt and pepper and pour into baking dish.

4. Melt butter and pour over crushed Corn Flakes. Spread Corn Flake topping evenly over potato mixture.

5. Bake for 50-60 minutes until bubbly and the top is golden brown and crunchy.

Have a great Wednesday!!

XO ~ Casey

Recipe Wednesday: Easiest Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Let me be perfectly clear about one thing: I LOATHE baking. I just simply DO NOT like it, Sam I Am! I've tried it in a car, on a plane, in a boat, I've tried it here, I've tried it there....whoops, can you tell I have little ones and I'm a teacher?! :) There is just something about the exact-ness, the measuring, the flour-everywhere thing that makes me shy away from baking. This precise art is better left to my better half, Scott :)

That being said, I CAN throw together a pretty mean semi-homemade Bundt Cake and I'm a hero whenever I decide I'm brave enough to make my Oatmeal Cookies from scratch. This recipe for  Banana Bread was originally given to me by my friend's mom, I just modified it a little. I knew I would survive baking this because although it's not from a premade mix, you can just throw everything in a bowl and stir!! No mixers, no rolling gooey dough into balls, none of that! Just dump, mix and bake :)

The result is piece of awesomeness that never lasts longer than 24 hours in my house. My kids eat it for breakfast, for dessert and request a slice for lunch. You can also pour the mix into a cupcake tin and make muffins as well (just cut down on the baking time, obviously). It's great with nuts, too, if you're a nut kind of person :)

Easiest Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
3-4 very ripe bananas, the riper the better!
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup of white sugar
2 eggs
1/4 to 1/2 cup of vegetable oil
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups of flour
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons of milk
1 cup of chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 325; spray a standard loaf pan with cooking spray.

2. Mash bananas in the bottom of a large bowl.

3. Add the next 7 ingredients and stir together with a wooden spoon until well combined.

4. Fold in chocolate chips.

5. Pour batter into the loaf pan and cover with foil. Bake for 30 minutes with foil on, then remove foil and continue cooking another 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

6. Let cool, slice and serve!!

**Just a note, this recipe is VERY forgiving. So if you accidentally put in FOUR tablespoons of milk or a little more brown sugar, it will all turn out fine :) My kind of baking :)

XO ~ Casey

Recipe Wednesday: Ham and Swiss "Cuban" Paninis

We LOVE paninis at our house! When we do paninis, we customize them based on everyone's likes...no meat, extra cheese, more ham...etc. Everyone is happy!!! :) Of course, you can put whatever you want in a panini...if you put a combo of meat and cheese on some good bread and get it nice and melty, you really can't go wrong, can you?  These are perfect to serve alongside soup as a cozy fall/winter meal.

I hesitate to even put the word "Cuban" in this recipe because this is certainly not an authentic version of a Cuban sandwich (no roasted pork, just ham). However, the addition of the pickles/dijon/mayo make it more special than just a plain grilled ham and cheese.

We don't own a panini press, so I use my counter top griddle. If you don't have a griddle, it's just as easy to use a grill pan or large skillet. I just love my griddle because I can cook 4-5 paninis at once (not to mention, it's awesome for pancakes, too!). Definitely think about having "panini night" at your house...it's always at hit at ours!!

Ham & Swiss "Cubans"

- Ham Slices
- Swiss Cheese Slices
- "Sandwich" dill pickles (the ones that are thinly sliced)
- Dijon mustard
- Mayo
- Good sliced bread (we've found that Sourdough or Cracked Wheat works the best and makes the crispiest sandwich)

1. Heat griddle to 350 or heat skillet

2. Spread each slice of bread with mayo and dijon.

3. Layer sandwich fillings on one slice of bread: 1) Swiss 2) 1-2 slices of ham 3) Pickles 4) Swiss. Top with other slice of bread.

4. Butter/Olive Oil both sides of the bread and place on griddle or skillet.

5. Cook until bread is nice and brown and cheese is melted--about 4-5 minutes per side--don't rush it :) You can use a heavy pan or skillet if you need to weigh down the panini (optional).

6. Cut in half and serve with soup or a nice side salad. One of these salads would work well :)

Enjoy!!

XO ~ Casey

Recipe Wednesday: Sausage and Spinach Tortellini

This is the perfect fall meal to cozy up to as the weather gets a little chillier. I love how there is everything in one big pot--pasta, veggies, protein. SO yummy :) I love buying tortellini at Costco because it freezes and keeps well. It's also super versatile--you can have them with any kind of pasta sauce or you can throw them in a big pot of soup to make a simple vegetable soup into a full meal.

Spinach and Sausage Tortellini
 1 package of pre-made tortellini
1 package of Italian Turkey Sausage (or you can use about 1lb of any sausage you like)
2-3cans of fire roasted tomatoes (depends how "saucy" you want it)
4 clove garlic, finely chopped
4 cups (or about one package) of fresh, baby spinach (found in the produce aisle)
1/2 cup of half and half (optional)

1. If you are using Italian Turkey Sausage, remove sausage from casings. Brown sausage in a large skillet with a little olive oil, breaking apart sausage as it cooks. When sausage is browned, remove and drain on paper towels.

2. Add garlic to skillet and cook quickly (about 30 seconds); add tomatoes and simmer a few minutes.

3. In the meantime, cook tortellini according to package directions; drain.

4. Add sausage back into sauce. Stir in baby spinach and cook for a few minutes until it wilts (at first it seems like a TON of spinach, but it will cook down quickly). Season sauce with salt and pepper if needed.

5. Stir in half and half, if using, and heat through. Stir in cooked tortellini and toss to coat. Enjoy with plenty of red wine :)

It's just a bowl full of comfort :)

XO ~ Casey

Recipe Wednesday: Salads Part 2

Back in July,  I gave the recipes for two of my favorite "entree" salads--salads that you can have as a meal. The salads today are two of my all-time favorite green salads. I make these two salads ALL. THE. TIME. If I can't think of a good side dish (or I'm too lazy to make one), I always turn to these salads.

Side Salad #1: Cafe Green Salad--this recipe is from Melissa D'Aribian on Food Network.  Of course, I modified it a little :) The dressing is homemade, delicious and of course, EASY!!

Cafe Green Salad

Several large handfuls of mixed greens

Dressing (double if you are using lots of mixed greens):

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 splash of soy sauce
1 pinch of sugar
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1. To make dressing, whisk together first 4 ingredients. Slowly drizzle in olive oil and whisk well until the olive oil is combined.

2. Pour dressing over greens and serve immediately.


Side Salad #2: Arugula Salad--This salad is hardly even a recipe! We use this salad as a condiment, too-- We'll top burgers or sandwiches with it or have it alongside a "heavy" meal like steak and potatoes. It's the perfect light complement! You can also stir it into a pasta salad to add a hint of freshness.

Arugula Salad

Several handfuls of baby arugula (get the washed, prepackaged kind)
Salt/Pepper

Dressing:

Juice of one lemon
2-3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil (i just eyeball it)
 
 1. Whisk together lemon juice and olive oil. Pour over arugula and season well with sea salt and lots of fresh ground pepper.

Seriously, I should call this a 30 second side dish! SOOOO easy!

This is one way we eat this salad...with grilled steak and garlic fries! Might be my all-time favorite summertime meal!

 XO ~

Casey

Repcipe Wednesday: Hobo Dinners

Not sure if I'm just in a nostalgic mood lately, but I seem to be posting recipes that have been on my "rotation" for years and years! I've been making my Turkey Chimis for over 10 years and today, my Hobo Hamburgers are another Rooney Family staple. I've been making these for over 10 years as well!

There are a zillion "foil wrapped" dinner ideas out there that include all sorts of meats and random veggies, but I really believe mine is the best :) Nothing random (AKA: peas!), nothing complicated (AKA: a fancy way you have to wrap the foil) and it has more flavor that most of the other "foil wrapped" options I've tried.

5 Reasons This Recipe Rocks

1. You can make it a day or two in advance and just pop it in the oven about 45 minutes before you're ready to eat.

2. Virtually NO CLEAN UP!!! You can eat your dinner right out of the foil pouch and toss it when you're done!

3. No need for "side" dishes--it's like a one-pot meal--everything you need is in the pouch..meat, veggies..a little cheese...what more do you need?! :)

4. You can really customize it however you want. Switch to ground turkey, swap out veggies, different sauce, etc. But like I mentioned, I really think my version is the best :)

5. These are also great for camping...you can make them ahead of time and throw them on the grill whenever you're ready! Did I mention: NO CLEAN UP!?!

Here you go!

Hobo Hamburgers
**Makes 4 "pouches" that serve 4 people (or at my house, 2 adults and 3 little kids!)

1 lb lean ground beef
1 egg
1/2 cup breadcrumbs (i use Panko, but any kind works)
1 cup grated cheese (i use sharp cheddar)
1 teaspoon seasoning salt OR (1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper and 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder)
1 green bell pepper, finely chopped


1 medium onion, sliced into rings
Any kind of potatoes, sliced into thin rounds (i use about 3-4 red potatoes)
Your favorite BBQ sauce

1. Cut 4 pieces of foil approx 12 inches x 12 inches. Spray with cooking spray and set aside.

2. Combine first 6 ingredients and mix until thoroughly combined (i use my hands!)

3. Shape mixture into 4 patties...this doesn't have to be perfect! Just get them all about the same size and thickness so they will cook evenly. I like to make mine fairly flat so they cook faster.

4. Lay each patty onto the foil. Top each patty with: a layer of BBQ sauce, onion slices, 3-4 potato slices, more BBQ sauce)

5. Carefully bring the edges of the foil together to seal the pouch. There are several ways to do this (don't even Google how Martha Stewart does hers!!), but I just make sure it's sealed well, but also not so tight where it doesn't let the contents of the pouch "steam" in the oven. Mine usually end up looking something like this:

6. Place pouches on a cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes or until potatoes are tender and meat is cooked though. Cooking time really depends on your oven and how thickly or thinly everything is sliced.

7. Let cool for about 5 minutes, put pouches on a plate, open them up and dinner is served!!

XO ~ Casey

Recipe Wednesday: 5 Days of Lunches

Last month I wrote about being nervous that I actually had to make lunch for my kiddos this year. Well, it's turning out to be better than I expected....so far :) I refer back to this post often and mix and match my main course + fruit/veggie + sides lists. So far, I've kept it pretty tame but hopefully in the coming months I can experiment with soups and other thermos-type items.  I also pack lunches with the kids, so they can give me input about what they want. I find they are much more likely to eat it if they have some sort of say in the process.

Here are a five of my recently packed lunches:

** Don't forget you can Pin all of the images to Pinterest and refer back to them later!

Day 1
Main Course: Tortilla chips with shredded cheese
Fruit/Veggie: Nectarine slices, juice (optional!)
Sides: Whole wheat cereal, Nutri Grain bar

Day 2
Main Course: Cheese Roll Up (made the night before)
Fruit/Veggie: Plum, Juice (optional)
Sides: Sun Chips, Yogurt

Day 3
Main Course: Jelly sandwich & turkey pepperoni and cheese kebab (Will was HUNGRY)
Fruit/Veggie: Grapes
Sides: Fiber One lemon bar (Yumm!!! Found them at Costo), Pirate's Booty

Day 4
Main Course: Waffles and Syrup
Fruit/Veggie: Apple slices (you can toss them in a little orange juice to keep them from browning)
Sides: Nutri Grain bar, Cheese stick, Danimals Smoothie

Day 5
Main Course: Ham and Swiss sandwich
Fruit/Veggie: Grapes
Sides: Fiber One lemon bar, Sun Chips

Happy lunch-packing!!!

~XO

Recipe Wednesday: Perfect Meat Sauce

You know I'm a HUGE fan of my crock pot.  Remember the best pulled pork?? Here's a super, super simple recipe but it delivers a huge amount of flavor. I've made this recipe a zillion times...for my family, for large gatherings, for parties...it's a hit every time. Double the recipe to feed a crowd!!

The key is chopping your veggies really finely. You can prepare the ingredients the night before, load them into the crock pot and just turn it on the next morning--that's what I usually do :)

 The Perfect Meat Sauce

1 lb. lean ground beef (turkey works, too!)
1 small onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
1 jar (or 3 cups) of marinara sauce--I only use Gina Rispoli (see below--it's the BEST!!)
Salt/pepper

1. In a large skillet with some olive oil, brown ground beef; add to crock pot.

2. In the same pan, add onions, garlic, carrot and celery. Cook until veggies are slightly soft; add to crock pot.

3. Add marinara sauce to crock pot; stir to combine.

4. Cook sauce on low for 7-8 hours or high for 4-5 hours.

5. In the meantime, cook pasta (whatever kind you like!) according to package directions. Reserve one cup of the cooking liquid.  If necessary, add some cooking liquid to the meat sauce to make it less thick. Season with salt and pepper.

6. Combine pasta and sauce and serve with lots of Parmesan (and lots of red wine) :)

Recipe Wednesday: Cheesy Baked Burritos

Here's another one of my yummy go-to recipes. When in doubt, I can always roll something into a tortilla and it's somehow tastes good :) This is just a BASIC recipe and you can add whatever ingredients you like!

Note...The Mexican tomato can be spicy, so if you don't like spice just use enchilada sauce.

Cheesy Baked Burritos
1 lb ground beef (turkey, chicken, whatever ground meat you like!)
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 small (7 oz) can of Mexican tomato sauce (on the Mexican aisle, I like the El Pato brand)
4-6 large "burrito size" tortillas
1 large can of enchilada sauce (green, red, whatever you like!)
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, plus more to sprinkle on top
1 can refried beans
1 packet low sodium taco seasoning
Scallions for topping

1. Brown meat in a large skillet; add onions, Mexican tomato sauce and taco seasoning-- simmer until onions are tender,

2. In the meantime, heat beans in a small saucepan with a splash of water. When beans are warm, stir in cheddar cheese; set aside.

3. Assemble burritos: add a good amount of bean/cheese mixture and meat to each tortilla; roll and repeat for 4-6 burritos.

4. Place burritos in a baking dish. Brush each burrito with a little olive oil, then top them with as much enchilada sauce as you like!

5. Top with a little more cheese and bake at 400 for about 8-10 minutes until cheese is melted and everything is heated through.

6. Top with scallions and enjoy!!!

** Extra meat filling is great in tacos or for lunch the next day with some tortilla chips!

Recipe Wednesday: Grilled Chicken Quesadillas

This might be one of my favorite dinners...ever! Cheese, veggies, protein and a nice tortilla..it's basically all the food groups on one plate! It works great with leftover grilled chicken and if you have it, this comes together in about 15 minutes.

Grilled Chicken Quesidillas

*makes 3 large quesadillas

6 medium sized tortillas
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 green bell pepper, sliced
1/2 an onion, sliced
1 grilled chicken breast or 1 faux grilled chicken breast (click to see my method)
Taco seasoning or Cajun seasoning
2 cups of your favorite cheeses, grated (i love using sharp cheddar and monterey jack)
Cooking spray/olive oil

1. Slice grilled chicken into strips and set aside (i like to season my chicken with taco seasoning or Cajun seasoning for this recipe). In a large skillet, heat a little oil and add sliced peppers and onions and cook about 5-7 minutes until the veggies are slightly soft; set aside.

3. Heat a griddle, grill pan or large skillet; spray tortillas with cooking spray or brush lightly with oil.

4. Top each tortilla with a layer of cheese, chicken, veggies and more cheese (don't make it tooo fat!). Place another tortilla on top and place on the griddle. Repeat until you have 3 quesadillas.

5. Cook each quesadilla until golden brown on each side (about 2-4 minutes on each side).

6. Cut into triangles and serve with sour cream, salsa and avocado!

This tastes like something you would order as an appetizer at a chain restaurant but whole lot healthier!! You can swap out the veggies, use a different meat and mix up the cheeses--customize it to whatever you like. This would also be great as a vegetarian meal. Enjoy!

~XO,
Casey

Recipe Wednesday: The Crock Pot and the Best Pulled Pork Ever!

**Fun News** The recipes on this blog are now "pin"able! So if you have a Pinterest account, just hover over the picture, click on the Pin It icon and you're good to go! :) Now on to the business of the day...

Do you own a crockpot? If the answer is no, you need one. Like, now. They are pretty cheap and once you learn a few recipes and get into the habit of using it, it will be one of your most valuable kitchen items. The 2 recipes I'm going to share today ALONE are reasons enough to get a crockpot. I'm serious. They are THAT good. The pulled pork recipe has a 2 minute prep time..and that includes washing the knife you used to prep. How good does that sound for a busy weeknight???

First things first. Buy a crockpot. They are available in all sizes and price ranges. I suggest getting an oval one. You can cook an entire chicken in that thing! Here's one from Target for $29:

Or you can get a slightly smaller one from Wal-Mart for about $15! Comes in fancy colors, too :)

Or go for broke and get this one from Williams Sonoma for $249. Wow, whatever is cooking in there looks AMAZING!! I'd eat that--bones and all.

Ok, so now that you have a crockpot, on to the AMAZING recipe--Soda Pop Pulled Pork. It's fantastic. It's delcious. It's sweet, it's tangy. It's just downright AWESOME! And it's probably the easiest "recipe" in the history of man. Here you go...

Soda Pop Pulled Pork

1 3-5 lb pork shoulder (can also be called a pork roast)
2 cans of soda (I use Dr. Pepper but you can use whatever...Coke, Root Beer, something dark)
1 large onion, chopped into chunks
1 cup (or more) of your favorite BBQ sauce (i love Jack Daniels Original No. 7)
Scallions (optional)
Hamburger Buns (if you are making sandwiches)

1. Trim pork of any excess fat on the outside (optional, but I like mine as lean as possible)
2. Place chopped onions into the bottom of the slow cooker.
3. Place pork on top of onions and pour both cans of soda into the slow cooker.
4. Cook on HIGH for 7-8 hours or on LOW for 10-12 hours. Pork should be falling apart when you touch it with a fork.
5. After cooking, carefully remove pork from crockpot. Drain all liquid and onions from the pot; discard.
6. With two forks, shred the pork until it is fine and there are no big "chunks" left.
7. Return shredded pork to the crockpot and stir in the BBQ sauce. **here you can taste and decide whether or not you like more or less sauce. I tend to like it more "pork-y" and less "sauce-y" but that's just me :-).
8. You can stir in your scallions and serve immediately OR set the pot on low or the "keep warm" setting and serve in a hour or so.

It's so.darn.good!!! BUT! Not as good as this next recipe, which is what you can have the next day with your leftover pulled pork. Scott declared it his "new favorite meal" and the best leftovers EVER (and he HATES leftovers!) So here you go....

Pulled Pork Nachos
1-2 cups leftover pulled pork
4-5 large handfuls of good tortilla chips (thick ones!)
1-2 cups of your favorite cheese, shredded (we use sharp cheddar and pepperjack)
Scallions, sour cream and pico de gallo or fresh salsa for topping!

1. In a small saucepan, heat pork until warm.
2. While pork is heating up, spread tortilla chips in an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet.
3. Top chips with pork and shredded cheese
4. Place into a 425 degree oven for about 3-5 minutes until cheese is melted.
5. Top with scallions, sour cream and fresh salsa.

OMG. YUM. YUM. YUM! If you have never tried pulled pork nachos, you need to put it on your bucket list. Seriously. You could even serve this to your friends and they'd never know you were feeding them leftovers! LOL!

Hopefully these two recipes have convinced you to buy a crock pot or at least dust off the one you already have. They were both home runs at my house and I really felt I hardly lifted a finger! :)

Cheers!

XO ~ Casey

Recipe Wednesday: Brown Bag It

 I have a confession to make. I've never made a brown-bag, packed, school lunch for my kids.

Ok, ok, I am **slightly** exaggerating....i did make lunch for Will in preschool 3x a week last year but it was ALWAYS the exact.same.thing: jelly sandwich, crackers, yogurt, cereal bar. Every.single.day. It was brainless and an afterthought.

Well, two big things have happened this year...#1 School lunch prices skyrocketed from $1 (teacher discount!) to a whopping $5.70 (#teachersgetnorespect)!!!!Soooooo...Brookey will not be able to indulge in school hot lunch every day as she has the past 3 years. #2 Will has been branching out a little with his food choices so he will consider things other than the dreaded jelly sandwich.

Soooooo..i guess that means Mama needs to get off her butt and start making lunch everyday. Ugh. Luckily Pinterest and the internet have saved the day and I think I have this one under control. At least for the first few months :) I wanted to share with you some ideas about how I am going to make this school lunch thing happen...

First off--I am NOT this mom:

Really, people?? Who did this??? I want to know who it is because I want to be their friend. Because as their friend, I would tell them how ridiculous they are and after that, I would **strongly** suggest some additional hobbies to fill their time so they are not spending their time making cantaloupe hearts.

I'm very practical and short on time so my kids will be deprived of watermelon balloons. Sorry, kids!!! #pleaseforgive

Below is my practical-no-catelope-hearts-school-lunch game plan:

1) Shopping:  I started with a shopping trip! Yay! I bought the kiddos new, good sized lunch bags-this is Will's:

Then, I purchased these Rubbermaid lunch "bento-box" things from Target. They fit perfectly into the lunch bag AND they came with an ice pack :) I can't find them on Target online, but here they are on Amazon: Rubbermaid Lunch Blox

2) "Main Courses:" I scoured Pinterest for some "main course" ideas outside of the typical sandwich (which will STILL be on the menu, of course!). Here is a list of what I came up with...these are things my kids will eat..if your kiddos are more adventurous eaters then there are so many more options!

- Sandwiches: Jelly, Turkey, Ham/Cheese
 - Ham and Cheese skewers (substitute any meat or cheese...turkey, salami, Will even likes turkey pepperoni). Something like this:

- Whole wheat tortilla chips and shredded cheese/cheese cubes:

 - English muffin with cream cheese/peanut butter
- Quesidillas (my kids will eat them cold!)
- Mini bagels with cream cheese/jelly/honey, etc.
- Waffles. This looks great! Who says you can't have brunch for lunch?? Will would request a side of sausage :)

- Meat/Cheese/Crackers (aka: homemade Lunchable)
- English muffin cheese pizza
- Leftover pasta with red sauce
- Pasta Salad
- Cereal and milk
- Mac and cheese
- Tacos! You could also just use those "Scoop" chips and put whatever "toppings" on the side.

3) Fruit and Veggies: I want to include at least one fruit or veggie in each lunch, so here are my top picks that pack and travel well:

- Grapes
- Apple slices (squeeze a little lemon juice on them to prevent browning)
- Blackberries
- Blueberries
- Strawberries
- Orange slices/Cuties
- Apple sauce cups
- Fruit cups
- Mandarin oranges
- Carrot sticks
- Melon 
- Sugar Snap Peas
- Cucumber
- Banana

 4) Sides & Snacks: Last, I brainstormed a bunch of snacks I know my kids will eat. Here are my ideas:

- Cereal bars (they LOVE the kids Clif bars, available at Costco)
- Veggie sticks
- Goldfish
- Crasins/Raisins
- Cheese sticks
- Pretzels
- Cheese Its
- Wheat Thins
- Muffins
- Yogurt
- Graham crackers
- Fig Bars
- Popcorn
- Danimals
- Kettle chips

5) Mix and Match: Now the easy part! I just mix and match! Each week I'll pick 3-5 "main courses", 2-3 fruits/veggies and 4-5 "sides"...then just mix it up! You can definitely do the same, just substitute things that your kids like to eat. If they don't eat many "main courses", add in more fruits/veggies and sides. No one said there HAS to be a main course in every single lunch! Well, maybe that chick who made the sandwich house with pretzel windows but we don't know her :)

Visually, the "mix and match" would look something like this...a main item, fruit/veggie and a few snacks:

 You can see that you can make tons of combinations with just a handful of items.

This "brainstorming" and list-making will definitely help me all year long, as I venture into the world of lunch making. I hope it will help you, too! I'll leave you with a few more pictures of simple lunches that will hopefully get you inspired for the school year. Happy lunch-packing!

PS--If you have any other great lunch ideas, I AM ALL EARS!!! I'll be looking for great ideas all year long! XO~ Casey