Superbowl Sunday

I sat and pondered what I would make for Superbowl Sunday.  I thought what a huge day for crock pots.  Well I decided I was going to forego the crock-pot this week as I wanted more "football" like snacks and meal.

I sat down Saturday morning and made a list of everything I would need  to make nacho's and rye toast breads.  It takes me an hour to get my sister to get up and get around to go.  I finally get her in the car and off we go to Meijer's at 11 am.  I thought it was odd that there were no parking spots but didn't say anything as I don't mind walking anyways...but then I notice the minute we walk into the store that there is a line that went on for as long as my eyes can see.  I look and there are no carts and people are in line waiting for them.  I looked around and commented... "what is going on here".  Someone heard me and said a winter storm is coming.  I could not believe it. I admit I don't listen to the weather reports but I cant believe I didn't hear about this storm.  Everyone was there and they were all buying food like snowmageden is coming.  It took us 25 mins to get a cart and we started grabbing stuff. They were out of some of the things I needed, of course.  We had to go past the clothing to get in line.  We were in line for an hour and every line was open.  It was crazy.
I was so happy when I got out of there. I called Cory to tell him to stop at the store to get the rest of them stuff as he was at work in another city.
Cory saved the day and brought everything else home that I needed.  We decided to celebrate as we  didn't have to leave the house until Monday morning.  So we were going to rent a movie on demand and make a pizza.  We put the pizza in the oven and Cory jumped in the shower.
My sister and I were on our computers when we hear a big BOOM.  We both looked at each other and I got up to see what that was.  I walked in the kitchen and I noticed the oven off.  I let Cory know and he said it was probably the fuse.  After he got out of the shower he went and flipped the fuse and sure enough it came on. But it locked up and kept beeping and had a huge F1 on the screen.  I had a bad feeling. Cory starting working on it and there was a huge boom again and 2 large sparks came out.  We shut it down.
I was so upset as what are we going to eat for the Superbowl.  Plus we had nothing for dinner. We decided to go to bed and worry about it in the morning.
So this morning when I woke up, Cory had already been out and picked up breakfast for us.   My mom gave us an idea to buy a  hot plate.  So off Cory went in the snow again for a hot plate.  He ended up getting the nuwave cooktop.  I have to say it worked really good.  So Superbowl Sunday was saved.
Tomorrow we will have a repair man come to see if the oven can be saved.

Crockpot Pork chops

Today I decided to make something with pork chops.  I love Pork chops.  Here is the recipe I used:

6 boneless pork chops
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
1 teaspoon ginger
2 cloves garlic, crushed.  ( I minced mine)
Salt and pepper to taste  (didnt need any)

Put pork chops in crock pot.

Mix the rest of the ingredients and pour over the chops and put on low for 6 hours or high for 2-3 hours.

My thoughts on this was it was not sweet enough.  I added some additional brown sugar to it until I liked the way it tasted.  I put it over rice.  Would I make it again..... probably not.

Crock Pot Cheesy Potatoes with ham

This is a oldy but goody.  I love this dish.  It is comfort food on a cold day.  

2 1/2 bags frozen hash browns

2 can of cream of mushroom soup

1 large bag of sharp cheddar cheese

1 12 oz sour cream

1 stick of butter  (melted)

1 package of diced ham

In crock pot mix cream of mushroom soup with sour cream and butter.  Add ham and cheese and mix.  Then add the hash browns and try to mix together (it is really full sometimes and hard to mix) and let cook. Stir occasionally as it melts down and gets easier to mix up.  I put mine on 4 hrs depending on when I want my dinner.  

You will love this. 

Beefy tomato macaroni soup for your crockpot

Today I decided to try a soup.  Since it has been sooooo unbelievably cold I thought a hot soup would be great.  I love soup but wanted a hearty one.  I found this one and off I went to the grocery store to buy all the ingredients for it to make for today.

1.5 lbs ground beef
1 onion diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
6 cups very strong beef broth
1 28 oz can of chopped tomatoes
1 28 oz can of whole tomatoes
1/2 cup ketchup
1 1/2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
1-2 Tbs of brown sugar.  (or to taste)
1 tsp Italian seasoning
3 cups elbow macaroni or 2 cups dry macaroni to add in at the end.

Cook your ground beef with your garlic and onion until done.  Drain grease. Put your meat mixture in your crock-pot.
Add your beef broth and tomatoes, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar and Italian seasoning.
Put your lid on and cook for 8 hours.
When it is done you will add your dry macaroni and cook another 20-25 mins.  Or add your precooked macaroni and until they are heated through and serve.

*I did mix this up a bit.  I do not like whole tomatoes so I substituted it for rotel diced tomatoes with green chilies.  Also I did precook my macaroni and I did not mix them together.  I don't like soggy noodles so I put my noodles in my bowl and then pour the soup over it.  I will keep my noodles separate for tomorrow too.

This is really good and I will make this again.  Let me know what you think if you make this.

*****Added: this is by far my favorite recipe as of right now.  I love it!  I want to make this all the time.*******

Broke!!

I was having a really good day and it was almost over.... when  I received terrible news...... My nephew Jake fell and broke his arm.

I was shocked.  That was the last thing I expected to hear.  I guess he was in the play room and was jumping on the couch and fell off it. Then he would not stop holding his arm.  So off to the U of M hospital they went, and sure enough it was broke.  I was surprised to say the least.  At least I was no where near the scene of the accident... lol

Crock pot cube steak

Today I am trying a cube steak recipe.  Seems so easy. Here it is:

1 package cube steak ( I had 2 huge cube steaks in my package)

2 cans of cream of mushroom soup

1 packet Lipton onion soup mix 

Add a can of cream of mushroom soup to the bottom of the crockpot. Spread it around evenly.  Put your cube steaks on top.  (here I added a chopped up yellow onion as I like real onions in my stuff)

Sprinkle a packet of Lipton onion soup mix over your cube steak.  Put the last can of cream of mushroom soup over the top of it and cook on low. My was done in 6 hours.  I had mine on low.  Boy the house sure smelled good when I got home today. 

Hope you like it. 

My pencil drawing

I have always loved drawing but have just recently decided to pick up a pencil and do it.  I have been practicing and making mistakes but I have enjoyed it. I have finally decided to post a picture of one of my drawings.  I hope you like it.

Crock pot tater tot casserole

While on vacation this week I was cleaning out my cupboards and saw my crock pot sitting in the corner.  It kept taunting me as I used to use it constantly but over the years I just stopped using it all together.  So I decided to look for recipes for my crock pot and put it to work again.   I found this amazing recipe for Tater Tot casserole.  I remember my mom making tater tot casserole when I was a kid and I grew nostalgic and thought I would give it a try.  This will definitely go into my meal rotation.   I wanted to share it with you.

1 lbs ground beef ( I used 1.5lbs)
1 small onion
1 can original rotel  (if you want it spicy you can get medium rotel)
1 can cream of chicken
1 16oz bag of tater tots (I used a 32oz bag)
1 bag (2 cups) of cheddar cheese.

Brown the hamburger and drain.  Add the onion and the  can of rotel and mix well. Put into a greased crock pot.  Add the can of cream of chicken and mix. Put the bag of tater tots on top of the meat mixture.  Put on low and just wait.  I kept checking on my after 4 hours.  The tater tots looked cooked and I tasted one of course.  When you know they are done you put the cheese over the tater tots and cook  at 350 for 15-20 mins and enjoy.

******Added:  This is really good and I will make this from now on.  I love it and everyone that eats it loves it and asks for the recipe.*****