Wednesday, August 31, 2011

I love my Crock Pot!

So...I joined the Facebook page "Crock Pot Girls" late last week. There were like 90,000 fans or so, which was impressive being such a new page. Today, I look on the wall to get some ideas for dinner and woah! There's 673,310 fans! I'm thinking I'm not the only one that loves my crock pot, haha! What a neat idea tho! In today's world of busy chaotic days, it's so nice to have other women (& men) sharing their go-to saving grace easy recipes!

Recipe I made last week that my fam and guests LOVED:


Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Soup
Ingredients:
1 onion, chopped
1 (16 ounce) can chili beans
1 (15 ounce) can black beans
1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle beer
2 (10 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained
1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning
3 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts
shredded Cheddar cheese (optional)
sour cream (optional)
crushed tortilla chips (optional)

Directions: Place the onion, chili beans, black beans, corn, tomato sauce, beer, and diced tomatoes in a slow cooker. Add taco seasoning, and stir to blend. Lay chicken breasts on top of the mixture, pressing down slightly until just covered by the other ingredients. Set slow cooker for low heat, cover, and cook for 5 hours.
Remove chicken breasts from the soup, and allow to cool long enough to be handled. Stir the shredded chicken back into the soup, and continue cooking for 2 hours. Serve topped with shredded Cheddar cheese, a dollop of sour cream, and crushed tortilla chips, if desired.


Here's some recipes I'm hoping to try out on my boys in upcoming weeks:
Chicken Awesomeness - haha, I may just try this one b/c of the name!

Ingredients:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 can cream o'chicken
1 can cream o'mushroom
16 oz sour cream
2 cups shredded cheese

Directions:
Throw first 4 ingredients in pot cook on low 5 hrs. Shred chicken with fork, add cheese
Cook for an additional hr.

*Serve over egg noodles

Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings


Ingredients:
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 Tablespoons butter
2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of chicken soup
1 onion, finely chopped 2 (10 ounce) packages refrigerated biscuit dough, torn into pieces

Directions:
1. Place the chicken, butter, soup, and onion into the slow cooker. Fill with enough water to cover.
2. Cover, and cook for 5 to 6 hours on High.
3. About 30 minutes before serving, place the torn biscuit dough in the slow cooker.
4. Cook until the dough is no longer raw in the center.

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

Ingredients:

1 (2 pound) pork tenderloin
1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle root beer
1 (18 ounce) bottle your favorite barbecue sauce
8 hamburger buns, split and lightly toasted

Directions:
Place the pork tenderloin in a slow cooker; pour the root beer over the meat. Cover and cook on low until well cooked and the pork shreds easily, 6 to 7 hours. Note: the actual length of time may vary according to individual slow cooker. Drain well. Stir in barbecue sauce. Serve over hamburger buns.

There are just so many! I won't post anymore for now til' after I cook/try some more out! My next step is looking up healthier meals that I can make in my crock pot! It's so hard to come home from work and want to eat something healthy like veggies or a salad some days then make something seperate for your kiddos. I bet there are recipes for yummy lower fat meals that can be ready when you walk in that everyone will enjoy! :)

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Mr. & Mrs. Box!


The last several months have been filled with babies (showers and deliveries) and weddings! I LOVE IT!!

This past weekend was my brother’s wedding which makes it particularly special! We had such a wonderful time and we adore Erica, the bride. They're on their honeymoon in Jamaica this week! I can't wait to hear about their trip and we are all so excited to have Erica as part of our family!

The ceremony was outside on the Fossil Creek Golf Course in Fort Worth. It was totally worth the 108 degree heat watching the sweet couple exchange their wedding vows! Jude was all over the place and embarrassed me a little but the crowd enjoyed the entertainment and Brandon and Erica swear they welcomed the distraction!
Bridesmaids: Jenna, Nicole, Me & Gabby
Maid of Honor: Julianna
Best Man: Marc
Groomsmen:Blake, Jon & Kevin
Ring Bearer: Jude bug :)
Family Pic: sister, brother, me, BRIDE/new sister, GROOM/brother, Mom, Dad

After the photographer was done snapping pictures, it was up to the clubhouse for the reception! Everything was beautiful and we had a blast!! Family (that were always willing to help with the boys), great music & dancing, Fajita dinner complete with margaritas & wedding cake...what more do you need for a perfect night?? NOTHING!
Still so in love! Can we get married again?! HeHe

I truly adore my family!! My Uncle Tim, Aunt Pam and Grandma cheesin' it up with my sweet boys :)

I promise he's mine! ;-) BUT MAN, he sure does favor Erica with that blonde hair, right?!

Bouquet Toss! The other girls didn't stand a chance against Cortney! Love it!

It was SUCH a fun night celebrating Brandon and Erica with all of our family!!
I feel SO honored that we could be a part of such a special day! Congratulations and many blessings to Brandon and Erica, er....Mr. & Mrs. Box!! ;-) XO


Maui, HI - July 2011

Click here to view these pictures larger

Hawaii Family Vacation 2011


My mom called mid March to tell me they had booked a condo in Maui at the Marriott Ocean Club Resort for 2 weeks in July and were looking at airline tickets if we were interested in going with. Joel being due May 6, there was just no way I could commit…way too many unknowns! I just hated we were going to miss out…neither of us had been to Hawaii before.
Joel arrived happy and healthy a week earlier than his “due date” on April 29, 2011! We were in and out of the hospital with no issues…I couldn’t have asked for a better delivery/recovery! By the end of June I was rethinking my decision to decline the trip. ;-) After talking to a couple friends that lived in Maui and several others that had visited, I was VERY SERIOUSLY reconsidering. Jon was on board to look for airline tickets and…we booked our flights the beginning of July! We were definitely nervous about the very long flights and enduring such a dramatic time change with 2 babies less than 2 years old but…we were doing it! I was off work on leave already, we had family there to support us with baby help and we couldn’t be sure we’d have a second chance for a trip like this!
The boys did AMAZING flying!! I was SUCH a proud mommy! :) I must mention that AA has the BEST flight attendants when flying with children. GINGER was our favorite…she was WONDERFUL with both boys and they absolutely LOVED her! She was on both flights (going and coming home) which was a total blessing to us!
My Uncle Rikki and Aunt Sharon stayed with my parents and brother, Kevin, the first week of the Maui trip and we joined them for the 2nd week. We had one night with all and it happened to be Kevin’s 14th birthday! We had a great time celebrating with everyone and we were so thankful we got to see Rikki & Sharon for a bit before they flew back to Texas!
The week flew by and Jon and I are SO glad we decided to go AND that we brought the boys! We made such unforgettable memories and my family was a HUGE help!! Our only wish was that we could have stayed longer!! :)

I'm posting a slideshow of pictures in a post but here's a handful...there are just so many it's hard to choose!! :)


*The Resort Pools*


*Old Lahaina Luau*


*Our smiling beach bum baby*


*Introducing Jude to SAND!!*


*Road to Hana*


*Beach right off our resort*