Recipe #3...."Marcy's Barbecued Chicken"....

I don't know Marcy, but that's the name of the chicken with which I found a recipe. To be honest, this ended up not being one of my favorites -- one I probably won't use again. Nope -- it wasn't bad; it simply wasn't my favorite, and we have many other recipes I like better. BUT, I said I'd post...so, here it is. The pic I took right after I had it all ready in my slow cooker doesn't look that appetizing, does it?

2 lbs. chicken pieces (I used skinless, boneless chicken tenderloin pieces); 1/4 C. Flour (I used corn starch); 1 C. Ketchup; 2 C. Water; 1/3 C. Worcestershire Sauce; 1 tsp. chili powder; 1/2 tsp. salt; 1/2 tsp. pepper; 2 drops Tobasco Sauce; 1/4 tsp. garlic salt; 1/4 tsp. onion salt; The Final Cooked Product....

In all fairness, our PICKY child, Luke, ate this chicken. He didn't want to try it, but I told him he had to. He ate the bare minimum of his chicken and potatoes to get dessert (don't hold that against this recipe; this would be normal for Luke). Kate, of course, devoured it. SO, I would call this child-friendly. I made garlic mashed potatoes and a salad to go with this chicken.

Recipe #2 -- Mexican Corn Bread....

This evening (Tuesday), we had "Mexican Corn Bread." Marc, Emma, and I all agreed this was quite good. It will be added to our family's repertoire of meals. We all 3 agreed that it was better than last night's cheese and corn chowder. Luke, the picky one, didn't try it. Kate, on the other hand, cleaned her plate. SO, I would say this is yet again a child friendly recipe. This first pic is one right after I put it in the slow cooker. The last pic will be the finale -- just before eating.

16-oz. can cream-style corn; 1 Cup cornmeal; 1/2 tsp. baking soda; 1 tsp. salt; 1/4 Cup oil; 1 Cup Milk; 2 eggs, beaten; 1/2 Cup Taco Sauce; 2 Cups shredded cheddar cheese; 1 medium onion, chopped; 1 garlic clove, minced; 4-oz. can diced green chiles; 1 lb. ground beef, cooked and drained; A) Combine corn, cornmeal, baking soda, salt, oil, milk, eggs, and taco sauce. Pour half of mixture into slow cooker (I lightly sprayed slow cooker). B) Layer cheese, onion, garlic, green chiles, and ground beef on top of cornmeal mixture. Cover with remaining cornmeal mixture. C) Cover. Cook on high 1 hour and on low 3 1/2 - 4 hours, or only on low for 6 hours.

Emma topped her serving with salsa and sour cream. Marc & I topped our servings with taco sauce and sour cream. All 3 of us thought our respective servings were yummy! I divided up the cheese. I put 1/2 of the cheese on top of the meat mixture (before the second cornmeal mixture). Then, I topped the whole "casserole" with cheese -- ALL before I ever turned on the slow cooker. (I hope that makes sense).

Official Recipe #1 -- Cheese and Corn Chowder (with Ham)....

As I sort of "promised," here is my first recipe for the slow cooker....Cheese and Corn Chowder (with Ham). I put (ham) in parentheses because it technically isn't in the recipe. I just know that with Marc, my loving husband, there better be some sort of meat in the main course. This recipe is from yesterday (Monday), and here is what it looked like starting out. Actual recipe to follow -- notes from me will be at the end of this post.

3/4 Cup Water; 1/2 Cup chopped onions; 1 1/2 Cups sliced carrots; 1 1/2 Cups chopped celery; 1 tsp. salt; 1/2 tsp. pepper; 15 1/4 oz. can whole kernel corn, drained; 15-oz. can cream-style corn; 3 Cups milk; 1 1/2 Cup grated cheddar cheese; A) Combine water, onions, carrots, celery, salt, and pepper in slow cooker. B) Cover. Cook on High 4-6 hours. C) Add corn, milk, and cheese. Heat on High 1 hour, and then turn to Low until you are ready to eat.

And....the finished product....

NOTES: A) We're not fans of celery in this house AT ALL, BUT I do realize that celery adds quite a bit of flavor. So, I opted for celery seed instead. I have no idea how much I put in; however, I felt it was too much. So, I will cut back next time. B) Since I mentioned "next time," we (Marc, Emma, and I) all agree that this recipe is a "keeper." C) I added 2 Cups of cubed ham midway through the first cooking cycle. Admittedly, it was good with ham. D) I did not cook this recipe on "High." My slow cooker gets quite warm, and cooking on "Low" was fine. E) I did NOT use 3 cups of milk. I think I used 2, and it was still a bit much. Next time, I will scale back to 1 1/2 Cups, probably. F) I personally think this recipe would be "kid friendly." Luke's one of the more picky children on this planet (yep, we've enabled it -- no commentary, please). So, he didn't try it. Kate, who is not so picky, probably would've liked it; however, she's not great with a spoon yet. I didn't feel like messing with soup with her at the table. Fortunately, I had some leftovers for her to enjoy.

Bonus Recipe #2...."Nan's Sloppy Joes's"

This recipe is one I found in a "slow cooker" book; however, last night, because I was using my slow cooker for the nacho dip, I simply did this one on the stove. It worked out great! This recipe is merely a simple change from the traditional "Manwich." Before I go on, I'll say that our family liked it!

1 lb. ground beef, browned and drained (if necessary), 1 onion, chopped and browned with ground beef, 3/4 C. ketchup, 2 Tbsp. chili sauce, 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce, 1 Tbsp. prepared mustard, 1 Tbsp. vinegar, 1 Tbsp. sugar

Bonus Recipe #1...."Quick and Easy Nacho Dip"....

I have two bonus recipes for the week, and here's the first one....it's actually not a "supper" recipe. It's an appetizer, or for us, it will be a "Super Bowl" recipe. I made this dip last night for our small group guys. Marc reported to me that the guys liked it....It's called "Quick & Easy Nacho Dip."

1 lb. ground beef, dash of salt, dash of pepper, dash of onion powder, 2 garlic cloves, minced, 2 16-oz jars salsa (as hot or as mild as you like, 15-oz can refried beans, 1 1/2 cups sour cream, 3 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided, tortilla chips -- 1) Brown ground beef, and drain if needed. Add salt, pepper, onion powder, and minced garlic. 2) Combine beef, salsa, beans, sour cream, and 2 cups cheese in slow cooker. 3) Cover. Heat on low 2 hours. Just before serving, sprinkle with one cup cheese. 4) Serve with tortilla chips!

I'm Making the Switch....

Oh Me, Oh My...I'm making a switch! I'm switching to Tumblr. I'm tired of Blogger being weird. I'm tired of spending way too much time simply making a post! AND, mostly anymore, I'm simply posting pics of our daily happenings. I can do that faster and easier with Tumblr (once I figure it all out). I can even do it on my iPad with an app! SO, go HERE to find my new blog! We'll see how this goes!

Odds and Ends....

Last Thursday evening, and you locals obviously know this, but we had a NASTY thunderstorm roll through. It wasn't at all tornadic (YAY!), but oh my -- it was W.I.N.D.Y. I was SO grateful that a) we were home and b) Marc was home with us. We had warning, but if one wasn't paying attention, it could've easily slipped up. We're a family who frequently pays attention to the weather. SO, we were ready! I'm not sure what the wind speed was here, but I'm guessing it was around 80 mph. There was a lot of tree damage and power outages. Amazingly, we only lost power for about 10 seconds -- NOT normal for us. Usually, we're the ones without power. I am grateful. The corn in our garden was SAD after the storm. All of us were sad, quite frankly!

We were convinced our corn was done. But, several people who clearly know more about gardening than we do suggested that it would probably come back up in a few days! These smart people were absolutely correct! Yesterday (Monday), Luke and I went outside to find our corn revived! Hopefully, we'll have yummy corn -- that comes up when it's supposed to. AND, we can eat it in remembrance of that storm -- Ha!

If you remember MY PREVIOUS POST, I mentioned that Luke and my dad (a.k.a. Papa Andover) would be at a steam engine together this past Friday. Well, they were! First Bank, here in town, has their annual "Customer Appreciation Day" on the last Friday each June. One doesn't have to bank there to join in on the fun. They're just generous to the community. We're grateful for their generosity. There are free hot dogs, pop, and chips. Sno cones, a bounce house, etc. for the kiddos. It's always hot -- you know, part of the fun! This year, Luke & I invited my dad to join us. A free hot dog and a chance to see his grandkids easily persuaded my dad to spend WAY MORE in gasoline than the meal was worth to join us! SO, Luke did jump (he's in his "work shirt" -- his plaid shirt).

While jumping, Kate sat with my dad, and I was FINALLY able to capture a decent picture of Kate and my dad! Kate's usually an extreme Mama's Girl if I'm around. Therefore, I've never been able to get a decent pic of the two of them! Go Kate, Go!

AND, drum roll please -- Luke and Papa Andover spent quite a time looking at the steam engine together. Luke may or may not remember this moment, but I know my dad will (my dad has quite a hobby in trains)....

Yesterday (Monday) and forecasted this week was/is VERY nice early July weather. Usually, it's HOT! Nope, it's warm, but it's not hot. It's been such a change from last week's heat! So, yesterday morning, I loaded the kiddos up in the double stroller, and we comfortably walked to and from the park for a play date with friends! Glorious!

We had a lot of fun at the park, and then, for lunch, we were even able to eat lunch outside -- something we just don't do in July!

Last night, Luke & I were happy to see a couple more glimpses of the end of the Kansas 2013 Wheat Harvest....yep, there is still some wheat being cut!

More on our weekend -- the good, bad, and ugly....in a future post!