Spice Bottles

 I already had these spice bottles but when we moved and I saw this neat spice drawer in my kitchen I knew I wanted to make my labels a bit prettier. So I finally got around to cutting some vinyl last week. HOWEVER, this took much longer than expected. They look ok but not great. And I am not sure they will stick for long. Time will tell. So while I did it I would not necessary recommend doing again :)

I am hooked

A Friend showed me these little gems a few weeks back and I LOVE them. They are frozen herbs and they pop out like ice cubes. We get them at Trader Joe's, I still used LOTS of fresh garlic but sometimes this is a better option.

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French Beef Dip --- freezer cooking

I got this idea and some recipes from http://mamaandbabylove.blogspot.com/2011/04/freezer-cooking-with-slow-cooker.html  this is a GREAT idea. Put all ingredients for a crock pot meal in a gallon bag and freeze then just put the frozen goodies in the crock pot for 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high. Her recipes she splits to make two meals and she has 2 adults and one child in her family. The ones I tried I did half the recipe to see if we liked it. I am not a big fan of most things frozen after they are frozen, like doing once a month cooking and putting all in the freezer, I don't like the texture. I do a few things but not a lot. So I really like this idea. I will share the other recipes I am trying if we like it.

Here is Here original recipe
French Beef Dip



5 pounds of rump roast or bottom round beef (cut into smaller sections, not tiny, just enough to fit into the bag, you can cut them up more after they are cooked)  I used a roast I already had in the freezer just took the plastic off and put it in the bag and cut it up once it had thawed a bit in the crock pot.

4 packages of portobello mushrooms, leave them whole. I don't like portobellos so I used large button mushrooms "stuffing size"

2 14 ounces of beef broth (add day of) red wine would have been good half and half maybe

2 onions chopped I will do less onions next time.

I also added about 1/4 cup soy sauce and 3 cloves of garlic.

Assemble all ingredients(except broth) into freezer bags. Place in freezer. Day of cooking, place in slow cooker and add broth. Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4. You can shred chicken if you want, or leave in chunks. Serve with rice or cous-cous or make sandwiches. This recipe makes extra liquid, for dipping if you make sandwiches.

This is my bag from the freezer before going in the crock pot.

New kitchen

I LOVE my new kitchen, really it is the reason we bought this house. The first thing we fixed in our new kitchen was rice krispie treats, gluten free of course. We may need to make another batch today :)

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Clean Up

I enjoy cooking, I enjoy trying new recipes but THIS part I DO NOT like at all. It is not unusual for my sink to look like this while the dishwasher runs :)

A New Magazine

I got the first Magazine  of a new subscription for Clean Eating today. I LOVE IT!!! I want to try every recipe and I think I read every word in. It is GREAT... if you want to check it out go here http://www.cleaneatingmag.com/

smore's cookie update

 So I LOVE these cookies ...Smore's Cookies. But Harrison could not eat them. So this week Harrison and Matthew wanted to make cookies and I had a Gluten Free chocolate chip cookie mix. Once I put them in the oven I remember we had a chocolate bar and marshmallows so I added them once the cookies had cooked and put back under broil for a couple minutes.  They were YUMMY and both boys LOVED them.

new favorites

These are a a couple of my new fave kitchen tools. the little pan is very little. That is less than half a stick of butter in it. but it is GREAT for melting butter, cooking one egg, warming things up for Harrison ( I really try to not use the microwave much, and wish I had a toaster over so I did not need to use it at all). I also got the other tool ( I don't know what it is called) for a stocking stuffer but ended up keeping and glad I did. Yes it is one thing to wash but makes moving chopped veggies etc from the cutting board to the pan so easy.

Cooking with kids

Harrison LOVES to help cook and some nights like this week, he wants to help a little too late. So we pulled out a Gluten Free cake mix to make some cupcakes. I made some Cream Cheese Icing and we were set. and we had some left over sprinkles for good measure.
Cooking with kids is never dull and NEVER tidy but he LOVES learning new things, being creative, and spending time with Mommy. So spread the paper out, grab the broom, and a wet towel and get cooking.

What's your favorite

What is your favorite website or blogs to watch? On any topic, I tend to look at cooking, healthily and green living, photography, mommy advice, gluten free, saving money. You can find lots of my favorites on the right hand side of the blog. but a few I check out daily are.

http://theprudenthomemaker.com/default.aspx the prudent homemaker is a must read.

http://stolenmomentscooking.com/ this has some great recipes several of which I have posted on here in the past

http://www.oneprettything.com/ lots and lots of craft ideas, and it is updated several times a day on most days and has a lot of free printables

http://www.controllingmychaos.com/ I have also linked this one a few times for recipes, craft, and kid ideas. CUTE stuff

http://www.keeperofthehome.org/ lots of natural Christian living tips

http://www.glutenfreehomemaker.com/ some good gluten free resources

Favorite Things and Kitchen Must Haves

A few items in my Kitchen that I LOVE and use every day, or almost everyday. I think every kitchen should have these tools in it. Every Kitchen needs a cluttered Fridge, with pictures of friends and family, invitations, and art work. :) My fridge may be cluttered but it sure makes me smile.

My mixer gets used almost everyday in some form or fashion. I used to have it put up in a closet and never used it. But if I keep it out I use it ALL THE TIME, some days I find my self washing it several times a day just so I can use it again.

Bamboo cooking spoons etc. I LOVE THESE, they don't melt like plastic, don't get hot like metal, they don't splinter like wood, and don't stain. THEY ARE GREAT!!! Mine are from Pampered chef but I am sure there are others on the market as well.

Mini ice cream scoop, I use this all the time. I use it to drop cookie dough, to fill deviled eggs, to give Harrison a little scoop of ice cream, fill stuffed mushrooms etc. Great tool to have in the kitchen.

Over the sink strainer. Again another item I use almost daily. When was a baby I left this in the sink all the time and putt dirty bottles in it till it was time to wash them. It is great for when your peeling veggies too, I put a trash bowl down in the sink and keep all the trash and water contained while I wash, peel, and cut. I also use it often instead of my food meal when canning. I Use it to rise tomatoes etc off then once they are peeled I put them in the food processor then run them through this strainer with a large pot or bowl under to take the seeds out.

One of my newest tools is my large food processor and it is handy too. I got the money out of it on salsa alone this summer, but it is great for bread crumbs, peppers, onions, anything. and the slicing attachments make super fast cut veggies for s0ups and salads.