HHM 8/3/2015

The weather in my neck of the woods:

Things that make me happy:
Having meals ready to put in the crockpot to have ready to eat at 5:00

Menu for this week:
Most all my menu items are make ahead crockpot dishes

Not sure what order we will have them, but you can see what I have planned for the next 2 weeks.  I try to rotate things so we don't have the same kind of meat 2 days in a row.

Here is what is left in the freezer from last week:
Crockpot Beef and Gravy
Cincinnati Chili  (fixing Monday)
Hamburgers
Honey Garlic Chicken


Going with this week's sale ads, Pork is mostly what is on sale. *sigh* we're not big pork fans, but I'm going to make up some pork dishes for the freezer.

Slow Cooker Cube Steak with Gravy  served with mashed taters
Simple Tender Pork Chops served with rice
Simple Pork Chop Dinner potatoes on the side with green beans
Smothered Steak
Crockpot Chicken Tacos (we do like these, but going to try this version, tomatoes & green chilies are cheaper than our favorite salsa)
Kielbasa and Potatoes
Cilantro Lime Chicken
Sriracha Honey Chicken Wings (using legs since I have a rain check from last week)
Slow Cooker Green Beans

What's on my TV today:
Haven't been watching anything lately


Looking around the house:

Living room: just a few chairs to straighten up

Kitchen: few dishes soaking in and on the sink waiting for me to wash them tonight

Bathroom: needs cleaned

Bedroom: not too bad

On my To Do List:

• Print out recipes I've chosen to make
• Finish grocery shopping tonight
• make ahead some meals on this weeks list
• work on my crochet projects

New Recipe I tried or want to try soon:
I have been sharing them as I make them.  I think our top 2 favorites, that all 3 of us liked was the Philly Sandwiches and the Homemade Pizza

In the craft basket:
I'm still working on the afghan for my sister.   I volunteered to make a rich textures tote for a fellow yarn club member. I'm getting close to getting it done.

Looking forward to this week:
I ordered a set of Tunisian Crochet Hooks.  I should have them by Friday, if not before.

Tips and Tricks:
You can brown hamburger in the crockpot.  No need to heat up the house by using the stove.

Currently Reading

I read Ghost No More by CeeCee James in like 24 hours.  I couldn't put it down.  I could relate to some of the incidents in the book so it made it even better. *affiliate link*


No words needed (favorite photo or picture):

How about a video!  We got a sweet deal this past week.  Here is just 1 of our new party lights. We were testing them out on the ceiling.

Lesson learned the past few days:

Other local small business people deal with the same issues as we do.

On my mind:

I was given some fresh homegrown veggies over the weekend.....I think I'll dehydrate them.  

Linking up with Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for Happy Homemaker Monday
and
Organized Junkie for Menu Plan Monday

Yes and NO!

So for Saturday evening I decided to put the Balsamic Glazed Chicken in the cooker.  I opted not to eat any because #1 it's pretty acidic and #2 I'm not a big chicken fan.  Hubby ate it but said he didn't really care for it.  To me it doesn't even look appetizing.  So this is a NO FIX again.

Sunday lunch was AMAZING!  Roast, taters, gravy and homegrown corn on the cob.

For supper I fixed the Pizza with homemade sauce.  I wasn't too sure about the sauce,  but the crust smelled and looked good.  Even tasting the sauce before I made the pizzas I was saying how I didn't have good feelings about it.  It turned out really good.  There is actually none left.  Next time I DO need to pre-cook the crusts a little longer though.

SO, 2 were good, 1 was bad.  Tomorrow I think I will fix Cincinnati Chili. 

Crockpot Ravioli

Friday was a whirlwind of events.  It usually is.  Since we were out late and busy Thursday night and I wasn't able to fix what I had planned, therefore we didn't have any leftovers, so we had to eat McDonalds $1 burgers for lunch.  Not my favorite, they just don't taste good anymore.  SO, I made one of my quick crockpot meals that doesn't need a lot of prep, Crockpot Ravioli 

It went in to crock at about 3:00 and was ready by 5:30/6:00

I've made this several times, in fact it used to be a weekly thing when the boys were little.  I haven't made it in probably 5 or so years, so I've forgotten all my tricks.  Time to remember them though.

This was pretty good.  I used cheese ravioli's and a meat based spaghetti sauce and mozzarella cheese. Next time I make it I'm using 2 jars of sauce and 2 bags of cheese.  Hubby likes it saucier and I cheesier.

It didn't last long, this is my portion. 

I had a house full of people again last night.  We shall see what happens for today's supper (Saturday).  I need to look over what I have made up and get something in the slow cooker here before too long or we will be starving.  Another night for a full house.

Out of Milk App Review

Well, there was a change in plans tonight.  We ended up going out of town to pick up a really sweet Craigslist deal.  SO, we ended up eating out.  The pizza and hamburger didn't get made.

SO that means tomorrow I will be putting the Ravioli's in the crockpot for us to eat.  Also I might not be able to blog the next few days because we will be open and have "guests" until the wee hours of the morning both nights.

So tonight instead of telling you how awesome my pizza was, I am finally going to tell you about the out of milk grocery app I use.  it is available on Android, Iphone, and Computer.  I also have it on my original Kindle Fire .  You can sync between devices, edit, share grocery lists and so much more.

Here are a couple screen shots from my android app.  This is my most recent trip to the grocery.  I love how it adds what is in your cart, and includes sales tax.  It also tells you any dollar amount you have left, if you need to go to another store.  I usually make separate lists for each store I go to so I have the exact dollar amount due at check out.  #1 for my benefit so I don't have more to buy than money in my purse, and #2 so I can have an accurate price and keep tabs on the cashier.  They aren't always right, and neither are those bar code price scanners at checkout .

Here is the list before checking things off (trust me there are more items than fit on the screen, but not too many.)  I usually manual enter the items, but I do occasionally use the bar code scanner, and it works and is product accurate most of the time.  Sometimes it's way off and I have to edit the product.

Another feature is product history.  It tells you the date and price of the product last time it was entered or updated.  The $0.00 items are when I first enter them as a "new item" then when I add a price it creates a new product with the price.  

There is also a pantry list which I am in the process of working on.  I want to use it more like a price comparison list than a pantry list.  You can create categories or just put everything in the same place.  Items are easily added to your shopping list too from your pantry.

Here is the entry screen.  Note the store and product size shows up in the list above.

 The clock near the unit price also shows price history.

I really like this app, I have also even used it for keeping track of inventory for our business.  I used the pantry feature and the amount feature so I knew when I needed to buy.  

Over all I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this app.  I don't have the paid version, just the free one, because I'm cheap, BUT if I ever DO decide to pay for an app, this would defiantly be one I would consider worth it.  If you're looking for a great easy to use grocery list alternative to the paper and pen that you often leave at home on the counter, I suggest you give this a try.

I am not being compensated nor have I been contacted by the company to write a review.  This is all mu own opinion from using this app for multiple things over the past 3 years.

You can read this same review and others I've written  on my Amazon account

Root Beer Chicken

Tonight we had the Root Beer Chicken.  You can see the original recipe HERE.

Root Beer Chicken with mashed potatoes and homemade chicken gravy.

We got off to a rough start.  I set the alarm on my phone to remind me to put the chicken in the crockpot to get it started cooking, on low for about 3 hours, which I had another alarm set to remind me to go drain the grease/broth off and add the root beer sauce.  Two hours after I started cooking hubby texted me "The crockpot isn't plugged in".  UGH!  Now what!  I asked him to plug it in and turn it on HIGH, hoping supper wouldn't be too much later than planned.  He also folded a towel up and put it on top of the lid to help hold in the heat. (I think that worked)  At this point we had about an hour before we would be home.  I had the pizza crusts pulled from the freezer, just in case, so we did have something for supper.  It ended up working out pretty good as we had customers in our store that stayed and chatted for 30 minutes after we were supposed to be closed.  They are good customers, we didn't mind.  By the time we got home, the chicken was done.  I drained the grease/broth off and added the root beer sauce, made the mashed taters in the microwave, and decided on a whim to make gravy with the chicken drippings while the chicken finished cooking.  I looked and looked for a homemade chicken gravy recipe and didn't find one, so I just went out on a limb and did my own thing.  The gravy was OK, but it needs a LOT of work.

Now for the chicken.  It wasn't bad, even for me, who doesn't really care for chicken (unless it's processed).  Hubby said he thought it would be better if the chicken was cooked in the oven and the sauce was basted over the chicken.  I wonder what it would taste like if it were marinated in the sauce.  I also wonder if it would be better if the skin were removed, hubby said leave it on.

We did like the chicken, and I do plan to make it again.  the gravy.......yah well, it may end up in the trash. ;-)

Tomorrow night we're having homemade pizza. The temps outside are supposed to be cooler, so using the oven for a bit and not having the AC on shouldn't be too bad.  I will also be cooking up the hamburger patties I premade and using THIS SEASONING on them.  I've made them before and learned I needed to add more seasoning.  Just tasting it before adding to the hamburgers it was pretty spicy, but the spice wasn't as noticeable on the hamburgers once they were cooked.  The hamburgers will be for Friday night, something we can heat and eat, since the arcade will be open.

Slow Cooker Philly Cheesesteak

So Day #2 of my menu (Day #1 needs work in my opinion, I have another made up and in the freezer, so when I'm satisfied with it I will share) we had   Slow Cooker Philly Cheesesteak.  OH MY this was GOOD!  Simple and easy too.

My picture doesn't do it justice.....

You can find the recipe and instructions HERE on the Budget 101 web page.

Here's what I did different than the posted recipe:

• I used beef that was on sale
• I bought a bag of frozen fajita vegetables which had onion, and red, yellow and green peppers. (it was cheaper than buying the fresh vegetables)
• I only had to cook on LOW for 4 hours.  (Maybe my cooker is hotter than theirs, I'm finding cook time is less than suggested time on the recipes I've tried so far)
• I toasted the buns, and melted the cheese under the broiler in my oven
• We added Mayo to the bun

Next time I will try:

• a little more seasoning, maybe salt & pepper?  It needs a bit more
• more cheese, 2 slices instead of one maybe
• "specialty mayo" something tastier than just plain mayo.  

This one didn't get frozen, it looked and smelled so good I knew I had to make it soon.  I will be making this again.  It will probably freeze just fine.

Tomorrow is Root Beer Chicken......if it's good I'll share the recipe.  Of course you can always go look yourself on my menu if you can't wait on me.

Happy Homemaker Monday 7/27/15

The weather in my neck of the woods:
Hot, Hot, Hot, cooler with rain chance, then Hot Hot Hot!

Things that make me happy:
Having meals ready to put in the crockpot to have ready to eat at 5:00

Menu for this week:
Not sure what order we will have them, but you can see what I have planned for the next 2 weeks HERE

What's on my TV today:
Haven't been watching anything lately


Looking around the house:

Other than the few spots I need to clean because there were people over all weekend and  we were gone on Sunday, but it's not too bad right now.

On my To Do List:

Finish grocery shopping and make ahead some meals.

New Recipe I tried or want to try soon:
I have a lot of new ones I will be trying.  I will share them if we like them.

In the craft basket:
I'm still working on the afghan for my sister.  I've also been making some more potholders to sell and give away (the peace sign one is for my sister), and I volunteered to make a rich textures tote for a fellow yarn club member. This one is out of cotton yarn.  It will be fun to see the difference when I get it done.

Looking forward to this week:
I'm not sure.  Friday nights are fun at the castle.  It's Game Night with the "Young Adults".  Also Saturday is starting to be exciting, we have a growing group of MTG players coming for Saturday Night Magic, now that we are set up with "Wizards of the Coast".

Tips and Tricks:
Planning ahead for the weeks menu saves money.  Eating out and shopping nightly both get expensive.

Currently Reading

Almost finished with "The Fiddler" by Beverly Lewis *affiliate link*


No words needed (favorite photo or picture):

Fuzzy took a selfie.......:-)

Lesson learned the past few days:

You can't please everyone no matter how hard you try or how nice you are.

On my mind:

Slow Cooker dishes....must.find.more.  Pinterest is my friend for finding good ones.

Linking up with Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom