A Carniverous Crock

Things are still crockin' around here. Sunday's Roast Beast was divine. Monday I crocked Sloppy Joes--and last night's Meatloaf was delish (Aussie was eating it like it was dessert--DH had to cut him off after his 3rd trip). You can see we've been a little heavy on the red meat--tonight I'm looking for something chickeny, I do believe. Here's my recipe from last night (I combined 3 different recipes from "Fix it and Forget It").

"Crockabelly Meatloaf"
(5 out of 5 Hansen's heart this recipe)

1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1 pkg of crushed saltines
1/4 chopped onions
1/4 c chopped yellow peppers (it called for green --but I had yellow-and it was still yum!)
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 lbs ground beef (pretty sure I used 2 lbs)
6-9 medium potatoes
4-6 medium carrots, cut in chunks

1. Beat together eggs and milk.
2. Stir in crackers, onions, yellow peppers, salt and pepper. Add beef and mix well.
3.Shape into loaf that is about an inch smaller than the inside of your crock pot. Place loaf into crock.
5. Place carrots and potatoes around Meatloaf.
6. Cover. Cook on high 1 hour. Reduce heat to Low. Cook 7-8 hours longer (Okay- so I didn't actually get crockin' till 1 or 2 -- which didn't leave time for 9 hours of shenanigan cooking. I just threw it in and cooked it on high till about 6 pm. By six, my taters were ready and my loaf of meat was 180 degrees in the center--so I called it good.)
7. The recipe calls for 1/4 cup ketchup--to spread on top of your meatloaf at the beginning of cooking -- but that sounded kinda gross to me (besides, my kids enjoy slathering their own food with gobs and gobs of ketchup daintily applying their own ketchup afterwords).

Crockpot tip (from Fix it and Forget it): Don't peek. It takes 15-20 minutes for the cooker to regain lost steam and return to the right temperature.

My Personality Test

ESFP - "Entertainer". Radiates attractive warmth and optimism. Smooth, witty, charming, clever. Fun to be with. Very generous. 8.5% of the total population.

Free Jung Personality Test (similar to Myers-Briggs/MBTI)

{Obviously, if this personality test had said I was messy, unorganized, obnoxious, and beyond kooky--I would've filed it away under 'Well DUH'!}

Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda

{Yay! My favorite only sister, Jilly, had her baby yesterday. He is a week early--but we are so glad to have Baby M here (name is still under discussion--but my vote is for Carter!).}

Last night, my DH and I went to visit Jilly at the hospital. Security has been seriously upgraded since I had my babies almost 10 years ago. In my day, you walked to the hospital uphill both ways in a snowstorm the only security they had was the volunteer lady at the front desk who would gladly share your personal information with anyone who acted interested.

Needless to say, times have changed. Boy howdy! have they!

At my sister's hospital, upon exiting the elevator--you must approach doors to the wing you are wanting to enter, pick up a phone, give the room number, the name of the patient, and chase it all down with a secret code. At that point, the nurses will buzz you in--if you passed the secret combination test, that is.

When I called my sis and told her we were on our way to see her and the bambino, she informed me of this ritual. Naturally, she didn't know the secret code.

What's the big deal? I thought. We'd figure it out. Then she told me to be sure and park and enter in the South Entrance. Go to the 4th floor. And she gave me her room number.

We entered the South Entrance of the hospital, got on the elevator, went to the 4th floor, found a door with a phone outside of it--and just as my DH picked up the phone to call the nurses station with our info (we were just going to fake it on the code)--I got the brilliant idea to ask some guy sitting on a bench outside of the secret doors--if this was the labor and delivery wing.

"This is the Psychiatric floor," he answered.

He didn't appear to be joking.

What the? {Not to judge or anything--but, I was hoping he wasn't waiting for an evaluation.}

DH and I speedily made our way in the opposite direction of that door mostly because we were afraid we might run into Lindsay Lohan or some other nutty celeb--as Utah is the new hot spot for rehab.

Minutes later, we were stopped by a big, burly male nurse--who asked us what we were doing. I'll admit we were looking pretty ridiculous suspicious at this point.

We told him we were looking for the labor and delivery wing. He chuckled. Yes. Chuckled. And told us we should have gone in the west entrance. Then gave us picture perfect directions.

We finally reached our destination, picked up the phone, called with the room number and still no code--and the nurse proceeded to give my DH a hard time about letting him in {under the direction of my bro-in-law, Rob, who had no idea we had almost been admitted into the psyche ward.}

We told Rob & Jill of the shenanigans

we encountered in the

psyche ward.

Rob said, "Oh, you shoulda gone in the

West Entrance."

Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda.

The Sunday Funnies

DH decided to set up the twins their own Internet accounts {one with parental controls} so they can access their Webkinz, Disney.com, Cartoon Network, and the like without having to log into my account to do it.

So, today as he was setting it up--DH asked each of them what they wanted for their screen names.

Aussie went for, "Auzyboy @ whatever.com". {His soccer coach gave him the nickname Ozzie--and we thought it was so fab we've started calling him that over Aussie}.

Savvy told dad that she wanted, "A girl with animal instincts @ whatever.com". (DH steered her away from it as this is precisely the type of website we want the kids to avoid -- can you imagine what you'd get if you typed that into google? YIKES!).

So, with a little assistance from dad, Savvy decided on "dogandcatgirl @ whatever.com". Unfortunately, after that decision had already been saved and thereby made unchangeable--Savvy decided it sounded too much like a superhero.

Being a G-Rated kinda gal--I'd choose a superhero over a girl with animal instincts any day.

What a Crock

Tonight's Menu? Chicken Crockatore

(5 out of 5 Hansen's like this meal--but only one gave it a 10--me)

1 onion, sliced and diced
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (or 12 chicken tenderloins from the package of frozen Costco chicken)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp pepper
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
3 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 jar of spaghetti sauce
4 oz can sliced mushrooms (I left this out--there is only one person in my family who likes mushrooms--and it ain't the chef)

Place onions in bottom of crockpot. Add remaining ingredients. Cover. Cook on low for 8 hours. Serve over hot spaghetti. (There were actually 4 Chicken Cacciatore recipes in my "Fix it and Forget Cookbook". So, I've combined the recipes using what I thought sounded like a good mix (2 recipes had tons of ingredients and 2 had very few). I also decided to throw in some Parmesan cheese and more pepper (it only called for 1/4 tsp)--I may add in another jar of spaghetti sauce if it doesn't look saucy enough later in the day--I'll keep you posted on how it all turns out).

Friday Gems

"The trick is to enjoy life. Don't wish away your days, waiting for better ones ahead."

--Marjorie Pay Hinckley

I Heart Crockpot Dinners

I heart my crock pot. I have a great love for the fact that I can crock it out earlier in the day when I'm not as busy. I also love that my house smells yummy by 4 pm.

But, I think what makes me truly heart crocker dinners is that it does not heat up my house. {My house has a tendency to heat up during the day--curse you east/west exposure}--and by dinnertime I DO NOT want to add another 350 degree oven into the mix}.

Here's my "Cowboy Casserole" recipe from yesterday.

Cowboy Casserole

(5 out of 5 Hansen's heart this recipe)
1 onion, diced
1 lb ground beef, browned and drained (it called for 1 1/2 lbs--but I went with what I had)
6 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 can of kidney beans (any beans will do--I used chili--cause it is what I had--walmart brand in the canned pinto bean section-green can)
15 oz can diced tomatoes mixed with 2 tbsp flour--next time I'm using a jar of salsa
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1. Layer onions, ground beef, potatoes,

garlic and beans in crocker.
2. Spread tomatoes/salsa over all. Sprinkle

with salt and pepper.
3. Cover. Cook on low 5-6 hours or

until potatoes are tender.

{I served it on a tostada shell--which may be weird because of the potatoes-but I wanted a little crunch. Sprinkle cheese on top--serve with a side of corn and some fruit--and you've got yourself a great meal for your little cowpokes. hehe}

So, crock a meal today!