The Pampered Ladies Package Train

[MrsSunshine]

what a morning, didn't set my alarm last night, woke up a 710 informed my son its time to get up and went to bed and shut the door. I just got up. Everyone's still in bed.
my husband woke me up when he got home to ask if i needed any Advil, what a sweetie. guess I sounded horrible.
anyway,
Tetris... holy ya.. i did that 3 times last night.. STILL not fitting..I dont' want to squish, but i know alot of the room left is the tissue. but still dont' want to chance it.
i can only imagine what CP is thinking today. or this week.. there goes those SC'ers again. LOL.

[garbagepicker]

Lol.. got some of that too! Funny that I remember my Dad eating chili sauce with his eggs all the time as a kid, but not many of my friends know what I'm talking about when I mention it.

I had a late second harvest last year, all of a sudden I had a whack of tomatoes, and already had done salsa for the year, so I made chili sauce.. LOVE it. Mine is more spicy (cinnamony type spicy) and sweet than overly hot, but is pretty darn good on meatballs in the crock pot. (And on eggs.. although I usually forget about it downstairs until I'm finished eating) My problem is I used bigger jars, and really should have used small ones as it's usually just me that likes it..

OK, here's my sauce and meatball recipe... sorry for the long post!

Italian Meatballs ( I usually double or triple the batch as I like lots of meatballs!)
1 lb ground beef
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp oregano
1 tbsp fresh parsley (fresh makes a difference!)
1/2 tsp garlic powder (I usually add a shake or two more)
1/2 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
1/4 cup parmesan cheese (I will admit I add more!)

Mix all ingredients by hand, and shape into meatballs the size of golf balls. Drop raw meatballs into the large stock pot of sauce and simmer for 3-4 hrs.

Italian Sauce (again, I usually double this..or triple.. enough for a very large stockpot)
8 cups of fresh tomatoes, peeled, drained, then pureed
4 cups of chopped peeled tomatoes (drained of extra juice)
Red Wine (amount varies on how thin you like your sauce, I use between 1/2-3/4 a bottle, preferably dry..)
Tomato paste to thicken (1/2 can? depends on how much wine I add!)
3 cloves garlic chopped fine
1 small onion
6 cloves, if using whole cloves I tie in cheesecloth, or I sub ground cloves.. approx 1/8-1/4 tsp to taste
1 tsp dry basil
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
2 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup grated parmesan

Saute onion and garlic in the olive oil. I like my sauce more smooth than chunky, which is why I puree most of the tomatoes. If you prefer chunkier, keep tomatoes whole and squish with your hands before adding to pot. Add rest of liquids and spices.

Drop meatballs, and raw Italian sausage pieces into the sauce and simmer 3-4hrs. Stir occasionally.

About 15 min before removing sauce from heat, I add a handful of chopped fresh basil leaves and stir thoroughly.

Enjoy!

THANK-YOU! that recipe is awesome! Any hints for peeling the tomatoes? Do you blanch them first?

G

[couponsrule]

All this talk of recipes has me thinking: Does anyone have any tried and true, "proven delicious", crock pot dinner recipes they'd like to share? I need more ideas as I'm tired of eating the same old bland crap for supper. Needless to say, I am NOT a great cook! lol

I would REALLY appreciate any ideas. Simple and quick would be the best of course, lol.

[couponsrule]

omgosh we have to make this in the corner so I can eat it lol!

Wow, that looks so good, but sooooo sweet!!!!!

[gwennad]

All this talk of recipes has me thinking: Does anyone have any tried and true, "proven delicious", crock pot dinner recipes they'd like to share? I need more ideas as I'm tired of eating the same old bland crap for supper. Needless to say, I am NOT a great cook! lol

I would REALLY appreciate any ideas. Simple and quick would be the best of course, lol.

I love my crockpot, it's so super easy to use. I tend to just throw things in there, set it on low and come home to a yummy dinner. I do a lot of roasts, pork, beef and chickens, toss in potato pieces, carrots, some broth (to turn into gravy after) and let it all cook. Chicken doesn't get crispy skin like in the oven though. I also do "lazy" meals like lazy cabbage rolls, lazy lasagna. Basically just the same ingredients you'd use to make the real versions but thrown all in the crockpot and voila! a casserole type dish. I also do a breakfast casserole every Christmas morning that is super yummy, I'll have to find the recipe for that though. It's awesome, cooks overnight and we wake up to a yummy breakfast that fills you up til dinner. I was reading you can do baked potatoes in there too which I'd like to try. Oh, and I did an M&M meatshops meal, you get their frozen meatloaf and put it in there, then on top their frozen scalloped potatoes and let it cook. It was so good.

[army_girl29]

waiting, waiting... how much longer?

[coyote00]

Wow, very awesome packages!!!!!


I also want to say...you ladies are making me hungry with all your recipies

I have a full afternoon of Dr's appts and look forward to seeing some more pictures wen I get back .

Have a beautiful day.

[garbagepicker]

Whew! Just put together an IKEA unit with my toddler's help...proud of us!!

G

[lizardqueen78]

Oohhh! I also love my crockpot! I hate soups and stews though lol our favourite at the moment is chicken and stuffing!

Take 3 or 4 chicken breasts, put in bottom of pot, dump a box of stove top stuffing (dry mix) and then cover it with a mixture of cream of whatever (chicken, mushroom broccoli) soup and sour cream or Greek yogurt (mix can of soup and 1/2c of sour cream in bowl before putting it on chicken) bake on low for 4 hours (raw) or 6-8 (frozen) when cooked just "fluf" it to break up the chicken and serve with veggies!

i also do chicken ranch tacos (meat only) in te crock.....soooo good! I find a lot on Pinterst and so far they have all been super easy and delish!

[julesie-pie]

I love my crockpot, it's so super easy to use. I tend to just throw things in there, set it on low and come home to a yummy dinner. I do a lot of roasts, pork, beef and chickens, toss in potato pieces, carrots, some broth (to turn into gravy after) and let it all cook. Chicken doesn't get crispy skin like in the oven though. I also do "lazy" meals like lazy cabbage rolls, lazy lasagna. Basically just the same ingredients you'd use to make the real versions but thrown all in the crockpot and voila! a casserole type dish. I also do a breakfast casserole every Christmas morning that is super yummy, I'll have to find the recipe for that though. It's awesome, cooks overnight and we wake up to a yummy breakfast that fills you up til dinner. I was reading you can do baked potatoes in there too which I'd like to try. Oh, and I did an M&M meatshops meal, you get their frozen meatloaf and put it in there, then on top their frozen scalloped potatoes and let it cook. It was so good.

are crockpots hard to clean though?? I really want one, but hubby keeps saying no.

Whew! Just put together an IKEA unit with my toddler's help...proud of us!!

G

the hardest Ikea thing I have had to put together was a rocking moose! Sounds simple enough,but I was doing by myself & it require 3 or 4 hands, the awkward angles where the Allen key would only rotate 5 degrees

[gwennad]

Whew! Just put together an IKEA unit with my toddler's help...proud of us!!

G

You are brave! I am far too impatient to accept my toddlers help, though apparently he's a big help at daycare raking up the leaves and working outside.

are crockpots hard to clean though?? I really want one, but hubby keeps saying no.



the hardest Ikea thing I have had to put together was a rocking moose! Sounds simple enough,but I was doing by myself & it require 3 or 4 hands, the awkward angles where the Allen key would only rotate 5 degrees

I find the crockpot a bit annoying to clean, now that I have a dishwasher it fits into though it's much easier. once the food is out I put some HOT water in there with a bit of soap and let it sit for awhile, then I rinse it and put it in the dishwasher. I could wash it by hand but I'm enjoying the new dishwasher

[couponsrule]

I love my crockpot, it's so super easy to use. I tend to just throw things in there, set it on low and come home to a yummy dinner. I do a lot of roasts, pork, beef and chickens, toss in potato pieces, carrots, some broth (to turn into gravy after) and let it all cook. Chicken doesn't get crispy skin like in the oven though. I also do "lazy" meals like lazy cabbage rolls, lazy lasagna. Basically just the same ingredients you'd use to make the real versions but thrown all in the crockpot and voila! a casserole type dish. I also do a breakfast casserole every Christmas morning that is super yummy, I'll have to find the recipe for that though. It's awesome, cooks overnight and we wake up to a yummy breakfast that fills you up til dinner. I was reading you can do baked potatoes in there too which I'd like to try. Oh, and I did an M&M meatshops meal, you get their frozen meatloaf and put it in there, then on top their frozen scalloped potatoes and let it cook. It was so good.

Thanks! I should definitely try some of these. I love lasagna but never think to make it in a crock pot!

[couponsrule]

Oohhh! I also love my crockpot! I hate soups and stews though lol our favourite at the moment is chicken and stuffing!

Take 3 or 4 chicken breasts, put in bottom of pot, dump a box of stove top stuffing (dry mix) and then cover it with a mixture of cream of whatever (chicken, mushroom broccoli) soup and sour cream or Greek yogurt (mix can of soup and 1/2c of sour cream in bowl before putting it on chicken) bake on low for 4 hours (raw) or 6-8 (frozen) when cooked just "fluf" it to break up the chicken and serve with veggies!

i also do chicken ranch tacos (meat only) in te crock.....soooo good! I find a lot on Pinterst and so far they have all been super easy and delish!

Sounds delicious! I'm definitely trying this one this week!

[Venuila]

I find the crockpot a bit annoying to clean, now that I have a dishwasher it fits into though it's much easier. once the food is out I put some HOT water in there with a bit of soap and let it sit for awhile, then I rinse it and put it in the dishwasher. I could wash it by hand but I'm enjoying the new dishwasher

Yeah, the crockpot makes the cooking part easier but the clean up sucks. So big and heavy and awkward.

[gwennad]

Yeah, the crockpot makes the cooking part easier but the clean up sucks. So big and heavy and awkward.

I wish I could find the crockpot liners they sell in the States. I'm sure they'd help with some things. But I do make sure to spray it with Pam or coat it with cooking oil, makes it much easier to get stuff off with no scrubbing. I find my oval one easier to clean than the old round one I had though, it fits in the sink better.