Carnival of the Recipes - Crockpot Edition Yum!

I simply LOVE my crockpot. I don't know what I ever did without one, and I insist that anyone that doesn't' have one, go and get one! Right now - I'll wait.

Got one?

Good.

Is it nice and big? Does it have multiple heat settings? GOOD!

We're good to go.

Presenting.............

Dawn's Too Lazy to Cook Chicken in a Crockpot Recipe :)

Now, one of my most favorite recipes for the crockpot I made up by accident - as usual, I'd realized that I had NOTHING in mind for dinner, so I looked in the freezer for inspiration. I had a package of frozen chicken thighs. Ok, that'll work.

So I tossed the 2-3 lb package of frozen chicken thighs into the crockpot, still frozen hard as a rock. I then sprinkled Lawry's garlic salt on both sides. I put the cover on and set it on low (or if it's near noon, I put it on high) and left it alone THE ENTIRE DAY.

No water, nothing.

Just chicken and garlic salt.

Around 4pm, I follow my nose and go check out the crockpot - omg it smells heavenly! There's now a whole bunch of juices in there that've come from the chicken and so I toss in approximately 1 cup of instant rice (or minute rice or whatever) and cover it again.

At 5pm,w hen we eat dinner, it's ready. It's fabulous. The meat falls off the bone, the rice tastes wonderful from the chicken drippings. It's just fab-u-lous!

So there's Dawn's too lazy to cook Chicken in a Crock pot Recipe :)

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This recipe was submitted as part of Carnival of the Recipes - Crockpot Edition, hosted by Slowcooker recipes (had you guessing there for a minute, didn't I?)

Carnival of Recipes - Christmas in July!

As the holiday season approaches every year, virtually every member of my family is thinking about one thing.

STUFFING!

My mother & I both make the same stuffing that my grandmother made, that her mother made, and so on and so on. The recipe doesn't change, probably because it means so much to us. It means family. It means another meal that we share TOGETHER.

Sausage & Bread Dressing/Stuffing

1 1lb roll sausage meat (I use Jonesboro)
1 lg onion, chopped
3 loaves white bread, pulled apart into 1 inch pieces
a kettle of hot water
bells' seasoning
salt & pepper

First, you pull the bread apart. If you have kids, this is their job - and you have to make sure you remind them that the bread can't be too big, even if they've done it 100 million times.

While they're doing that, you can chop the onions - make sure they're not too big, because no one wants a big honking piece of onion in their mouth.

Now hurry the kids up.

Finally, the bread is ready - put it into a BIG stock pot - and then gradually add in the onions. Now, it's time for the sausage. You'll do this yourself, since it's raw meat - pull apart the same size pieces as the bread - not too big - you want it to blend well!

The next part is tricky, and completely up to you and your own taste. Pouring in the water. No one can tell you how much is ENOUGH - it's just a feeling. An intuition. But be sure you stir gently as you pour, making sure that each piece of bread is incorporated. Now, the next tricky part is the seasoning. Because this too is completely by intuition. Some people like it VERY seasoned (me), some don't (my mom). So sprinkle some in. Mix it up (but don't make SOUP out of it, for cryin out loud!) - now, I'm NOT suggesting you try the RAW MEAT mixture (although my mother's done it for 72 years without a problem, she'll tell you)- but you know - somehow, figure out how much seasoning is good for you. I'm guessing I use about 1-2 teaspoons of bell's seasoning. I then sprinkle the top with salt & pepper.

Next, it goes into a cooking-sprayed pyrex bowl or aluminum foil pan if you don't feel like washing it. Cook it until the top is good and crisp. You really can't OVERcook it unless, you know, you totally forget you were cooking it in the first place (shup heather).

My mother also uses this in her turkey - but I don't like the stuffing in a turkey (the bones, the BONES!) - but that's up to you (again, with the 72 years thing).

The thing is, ENJOY this - it is made with alot of love.

This recipe is submitted to the Carnival of Recipes for this week's theme of Christmas in July, hosted over at Christmas Recipes.

Mmmmm BBQ!

After my brief stint of living in the south, and spending mostly all of it pregnant, I became enamored with a phenomenon of Pulled Pork Sammiches. O M G I love pulled pork sammiches. And after having spent a week shy of 12 years with a transplanted Tennessean, it was in my best interest to find a *good* bbq pulled pork recipe.

I've since LOST THE DAMNED THING. I went low-fat, and then ultimately, low-carb and LOST THE DAMNED RECIPE! LOL

However, this one is close enough LOL

Dawn's "Close Enough" BBQ Pulled Pork

I buy a pork butt or pork roast that's at least 4-6 lbs. I put in the crockpot by itself - nothing but maybe some salt & pepper and cook it on low for ohhh. . . the whole day. LOL

About 30 minutes before it's done, or my husband has driving me crazy with his whining about whether it's done or not, I make the sauce.

*1 teaspoon vegetable oil
* 1/2 medium onion, minced
* 2 medium garlic cloves, minced
* 1/2 cup cider vinegar
* 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
* 1 tablespoon dry mustard
* 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
* 1 tablespoon paprika
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
* 1 cup ketchup

Heat oil in 2-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; saute until softened, 4-5 minutes. Stir in all the remaining ingredients except ketchup; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, then add ketchup. Cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 15 minutes.

While this is simmering, I'm shredding the pork with a fork and piling it into a bowl. When the sauce is done, I pour it over the pork, making sure that everything is good and slathered. Then, it's onto some nice soft buns, or maybe just the plate. Or if he has his way, out of the bowl LOL

Yum - I think we have to make this this week!

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I'm hosting the Carnival of the Recipes this week and our theme is BBQ. Visit me here to check out the rest of the round up!