Crock Pot Tip & some ramblings.......

Do you know that when I don't feel good, I get grumpy and down right ornery?  

Well ask anyone in my family. 

Just cover your ears if you really don't want to know the truth about me!  

I am a grumpy ole' bear at times and with this Yucky Swine Flu, I have been quite a grumpy bear!!!  

I will rain on your parade!  
I promise.  

Just watch me sitting on the rain cloud letting it drip on you and yours- if you are trying to have a fun day.  If you are well, well you'll be wet if I can catch you!!  

I have a bad case of Cabin fever! I'm tired of Coughing! I'm Hungry!  Nothing sounds good to eat.  I am Wheezing.  I have had enough Headaches.  I am done with my high Fever.  I am over the worst of the Chills and Sweats...................... 

(Don't get worried by the wheezing, it is benign, nothing serious, 

I just had to add it in as it adds the element I wanted!!! lol......)

This swine flu is really bad stuff.   

Stay away from coughing, feverish looking people!  

You don't want this!!

The good news is that we are getting over it!  I see the light at the end of the Sickie Tunnel!!  We are nearly well again!!  Hurray for us!!!

We are also now immune to the Swine Flu!  What a nice silver lining.  Unless of course the swine flu decides to mutate and we catch a mutated version?  I hope not.  I would like to think that we are immune!!  Yeah, I'll stick with that.

So...................  

Do you want something?  

Are you still reading?  

OK, I see you are still here 

so here is a food TIP for you.

I received some chicken from my parents while we have been sick.  My parents have brought us stuff and left it on the door step, then they call and tell us there is a surprise on the door mat.

My Dear Hubby took the chicken and put it in the fridge.  I thought the rest of the family had been nibbling at it.  I also thought it was a whole chicken from the rotisserie.  

Gasp! No one has eaten at it!  

My first thought was to put it in the crockpot and heat it up take off the breast and thigh meat and then make soup out of the rest of it.  

That is when I found out it was chicken pieces, fried or baked pieces.  Still wonderful.  

So I dumped the chicken into the crock straight from the fridge and turned it on high.  Now it smells heavenly in the kitchen!  and the pieces are piping hot and ready to eat.  


Then after the bones are scoured, I will cover them with water and make some chicken broth.

I changed my mind.  Not really enough to make soup with.  The meat is tender and falling off the bones.  We will eat it all.  Just give us a couple of minutes.


So my tip was to reheat the chicken in the crock pot not the microwave.  It took a bit more time, more energy, but it is, oh, so much nicer and tastier!!  

Since we weren't going to be eating for a while throwing it in the crock was one of those 'toss it in and forget it for a while' meals.  

Now mashed potatoes, gravy and corn will round it out and we are eating a nice meal that was Easy-Peasy to put together all thanks to my wonderful parents who have been helping us out during our time of isolation!!!  


(Those of you who know me don't read this.  For the rest of you don't look the messy countertop!) 

(Yes we do have chocolate powder.  I just took it out of the cupboard, it needs to be used.)

My food here is on a small salad plate.  Funny how the thigh became a heart shape as I picked on it while it was in the crock pot!!

Reheating in the crock might make sense sometimes.  It did today.  I think I will watch for other opportunities to use the crock pot.  After all, next to my cast iron, my crock is my favorite cookware!!

Hope your day is being happy and healthy.  Stay away from those swine!!!  They are not selfish they share their germs with anyone and everyone!!!




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Make Do Tips in the Kitchen

    

There are a couple of make do tip's in this photo.
    

First, I have a box, it is quite sturdy and it holds my spice bottles that I use regularly.  I (me and only me) try to keep the salt and pepper in the front left portion of the box.  I can grab them very quickly.  For a while I could reach up, anywhere in the box and pull out what I wanted without looking and usually get the right bottle.  

          

But.................     Enter little cookers......................... 

           

People who have decided to make their own eggs and other foods

AND

have decided to use spices in their own dishes.  
   

They (the other members of my household) tend to mix everything up in my box.  This is really one of those things I am not going to battle over.  Because I know that in a few short years, my two will be out of my home on their own and I will be missing them tremendously.  So I will be happy that they are home in the kitchen, learning, experimenting and having fun.
    

The second make-do here is putting the can opener in the cupboard instead of keeping it on the counter.  I do keep it plugged in for quick use.  This way it is off the counter and out of the way.
    

But I have learned something, out of sight is out of mind.  As you can see, the can opener needs a good cleaning.  And when it is hidden from view in the cupboard, I lazily forget to clean it when I am getting the toaster!
    

And that mark on the cupboard that looks like marker......... well it isn't marker.
It is a natural staining in the wood grain.
Could have fooled me..........Wait!...... 
It has done several times and I know what it is!  lol.....
Even after more than two years, I still have to do double takes when I open that cupboard. 

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Thanks for visiting with me today and leave me a comment if you have the time.
   

Now jump back to Ann's site for more Make-Do Monday ideas.
    

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Check out my other posts for these meme's:

Impromptu Cake Pans

    AND 

I wanted to bake a delicious chocolate cake and I don't have any round cake pans. I usually do not make layer cakes. Most of the time I either use a 9x13 or a specialty pan. I have both a heart shaped pan and my 'nut' pan. The nut pan is in the shape of a nut from a bolt and nut. I love to use it and write things like:

Have a Nutty Birthday. 

  

You're Nuts! 

  

49 years - Are you Nuts? 

  

I'm Nuts over you....

  

Although it has been years since I have made one of these funny cakes. I made them mostly before I got married, (16 years of marriage now).

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So I grabbed these:

These are my Make-Do cake pans. A pair of oval crocks. I greased them with my trusty bacon grease, did not flour them though. I used a cake mix because I was in a hurry.

  

I was in such a hurry, I didn't take a final photo. However, they cooked beautifully. I tried to get the first cake out of the pan too quickly/early and it broke up a bit. Or maybe I should use the excuse that I was talking on the phone at the same time I was trying to de-pan the cake and I was distracted, but I won't use that excuse, even though it is really true. I still salvaged it and used it as the top layer. Frosting makes good glue!!

  

I let the second one sit until the crock was still a little warm but not hot. Then I loosened it around the edges and used a spatula to go under the cake on the bottom. I turned it out and it came out perfect. I was a bit disappointed not to have any stuck to the pan, 'cuz I eat those pieces. Bad for me, good for the end results on the cake. 

  

Now that they worked out so good, I will not invest in cake pans. It was fun having a cake a bit on the oval side. A little unique, like me! I probably will put an oval of parchment paper in the bottom, though. That would make removing the cake a bit easier, in case it was just a fluke that the second one came out so easy. 

   

So again, I have more things on my agenda to experiment with. This will go to the end of the list, so maybe if I remember to read my list, I will get to it in November or December.

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Thanks for visiting with me today and leave me a comment if you have the time.
   

Now jump back to Ann's site for more Make-Do Monday ideas.
    
Or
   
Jump back to Tammy's site for Kitchen TIps Tuesdays for more tips.

    

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Check out my other posts for these meme's:

Kitchen Tips - Fun and Practical

My first tip is to always play with your food. Well, maybe not always, but have fun when you do.

Pilot brought his plate from the table the other day and said, "this is for you."

Before I even took it, I sighed and thought, "yes, another dirty dish. Of course it is for me. Whoa me, the slave of the kitchen, the cooker, the baker, the dishwasher, etc..........."

Yeah right! I am not all those things, I try to have everyone help at our house. But I really was thinking, "why are you handing me your dirty plate? Don't you know where the sink is or even better, where the dishwasher is?"

Then he handed me the plate and I looked at it. He had made a heart with some of his drippy BBQ sauce. He loves me! and was thinking of me when he was doodling in his sauce. I love that boy!

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My second tip is re-packaging milk to freeze.

I bought 2 gallons of 2% milk when it was on Pull Date Clearance from my grocery store for $.99 each. Too good to pass up. But we don't drink 2% and no one wanted to use it. So it has sat in the fridge since May 7th. I know, I can't believe it doesn't smell horrible yet!

The thing is I opened the last jug today and yes, it is just starting to turn, I think. But it can still be used for cooking and baking with no problem.

So I decided to freeze this bottle. However, when I freeze a whole gallon bottle, I find that the bottle is so big that it takes quite a while for it to thaw. I hate that.

So this time, I poured 2 cups of milk into 8 freezer quart bags. Put them in a basket and tossed them in the freezer.

Now when I need some milk, I can pull out a bag and it will thaw quickly because it is freezing flat and there is only a small amount in the bag. I can even thaw it under a warm water bath because of the freezer bag.

Don't forget to label and date your freezer foods, so that you can both identify the item and know when you froze it.

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My last tip for today is a little bit of Re-packaging.

I have these water bottles that I picked up in St. Louis over a year ago.

They were bottled in Norway. Since I have a connection with Norway, I wanted to keep the bottles. They are glass and so they are not great for carrying around.

But I finally decided to re-package some of my small pasta and rice into them. So here is what I have so far:

I have brown rice, large Acini de Pepe, small Acini de Pepe and some small angel noodles.

When I use up the Small angel-hair noodles, I am going to put barley in this one. I love to use barley, but forget to use it because it is in a solid colored tupperware container and I can't see it. So this would really help remind me of the barley.

Maybe even dried onions flakes or Italian Seasoning, the stuff I use a lot of. In any case, you can see I have finally put them to good use.


Thanks to Bloggland for helping me get to my projects!!

I think I am going to put Sea Salt for grinding in one and Black or multi peppercorns in the other that are still empty.

I will probably move them to a cupboard. But for now I want to see them. These guys are sitting on the back of my stove for the time being. They are clear and cute. And now they serve a purpose.

Thanks for stopping and taking a look. Have a great day!

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Jump back on over to Tammy's for More Kitchen Tips Tuesday!



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