Cranberry Almond Coconut Snack Mix (Gluten Free, Dairy Free)

Posted on July 18, 2017 by traci

I know there is some debate on whether Cheerios is really Gluten Free or not. Since I have not been diagnosed with Celiac’s disease and only have a sensitivity to gluten, I decide that Cheerios are okay for me.

The Wee One loves this snack mix. While it was cooling on the baking sheet, he would randomly walk into the kitchen, take a handful of the mix, pop the snack mix into his mouth, and then walk out.

I added some pumpkin seeds to my snack mix. Yum!

Cranberry Almond Coconut Snack Mix

Servings: 12
Time: 4 hours
Difficulty: easy
Print

Ingredients

-5 c. Cheerios

-3 c. Honey Nut Cheerios

-1 c. gluten free oats

-1 c. dried cranberries

-2 c. unsweetened shredded coconut

-2 c. raw almonds, chopped

-1/4 c. melted coconut oil

-1/4 c. honey

-1/2 tsp. cinnamon

-1/2 tsp. salt

-1 tsp. vanilla

Directions

Spray crock with non stick spray.
Place the both kinds of Cheerios, oats, cranberries, shredded coconut, and almonds into the crock.
In another bowl, whisk together the honey, coconut oil, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla.
Pour the honey mixture over the dried ingredients in the crock.
Stir until everything is evenly coated.
Before placing the lid on the crock, place a paper towel over the snack mix. Cover, and then cook on low for 3 hours. Stir every 45 minutes.
When done cooking, pour the mixture on a paper towel or parchment paper lined baking sheet.
Allow to cool for an hour before placing in an air tight container.

Happy eating,
Traci

Trends and Peach BBQ Pulled Pork – Day 4

Posted on October 4, 2016 by traci

Welcome to Day 4 of the 31 Days of Slow Cooking.

I am a special education teacher by day and a mother by night. Sort of like being a Superhero.

Lots of my stories are about my students or my two boys. Both keep me entertained.

Right now all I am hearing about from the students in my building are about the clowns that are “haunting” the schools. No one has seen these clowns but the students swear they are really out there. I’m not saying the clowns don’t exist. It’s just the students are obsessed about them. Some are downright scared of them. When I ask the students to quit talking about them, they think it’s because I am scared of them.

After 17 years in the teaching field, you realize trends and urban legends come and go. Two years ago, according to the students everyone had Ebola. Last year, it was the Watch Me trend and the Dab trend. Many years ago, we had the shaped bracelets that students traded. Then 3 years ago, we had the rubber bands you could make into bracelets.

It’s just so interesting to see what trends come and go.

One trend I wish would go is the sagging pants. It’s been going on for 10 years.

What are some trends you wish would make a comeback? Or what are some trends you wish would disappear?

Continue onto page 2 for the recipe.

Crockpot Chicken (Revised)

Posted on July 16, 2016 by traci

The beginning of July was quiet in our house. Maybe that was because I was sick from the Fourth of July until that Friday. I was housebound for two of those days because I had a fever. On the Fourth of July, the only relief I got from my fever was laying in front of a fan. Read More

Updates

Posted on March 24, 2016 by traci

I’m not going to be posting any weekly menus for the next three weeks. We are currently just eating out of the freezer because I have a lot of food stock piled in the freezer. Hubby expressed his concern with the amount of food we have in there so I’m going to be use some of the food up. Plus there is another reason I’m not going to menu plan but I won’t discuss it until a later time.

Hubby and I are having issues with using the slow cooker for our dinners because he is either forgetting to turn it on low when he’s been asked to do it by me or I make the mistake of turning it on high instead of low because I think I’m using one crock pot but I’m using another crock pot. Don’t ask.

Anyway after our last issue with the crock pot, I went on Amazon and got us a new crock pot that is digital. Sweet! I already have one that has the automatic timer. The problem is that it is huge and it only gives me two choices for the low temperature and two choices for the high temperature. With this crock pot I can set the exact time I want and whether I want it to cook on low or high.

Now I’m going to start looking for new crock pot recipes for the write 31 in October. I’m going to do another 31 days of crock pot recipes. I’ll type of the recipes on my Google Drive between now and then. I’ll also upload the pictures of the recipes to the Drive. Once October comes around, I’ll then share those recipes. The recipes will be ready to go but not the blog posts. Those blog posts will be fresh material so that I’m following the guidelines for the write 31. (Although I may put some notes on the Google Drive when I’m typing up the recipe.)

Here is a link to my new crock pot. I’ll share my impressions of it after using it for a while.

Happy eating,
Traci

Split Pea Soup (Pressure Cooker or Slow Cooker)

Posted on February 3, 2016 by traci

On a cold winter day, soup is the perfect meal. This split pea soup warms the soul.

My grandpa loved split pea soup. I’ve never liked it until now. We’ve had it twice in the last few months. Yum!

This can be done in either the pressure cooker or slow cooker.

Split Pea Soup

adapted from Skinny Taste

Stars of the recipe:

1 lb. split peas, rinsed and picked through
1/2 c. diced onions
2 carrots, peeled and chopped into small pieces
2 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 & 1/2 c. diced ham
6 c. water
1 chicken bullion cube
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste

Steps (Electric Pressure cooker):

Rinse the peas. Pick out any bad pieces.
In the pressure cooker, saute the onion, carrots, and garlic for 5 minutes.
Add the water, ham, bullion cube, bay leaf, salt and pepper, and split peas.
Put the lid on the pressure cooker. (Make sure the pressure cooker valve is closed).
Set to the pressure cooker to soup. Pressure cook for 20 minutes.
Allow to naturally release the pressure.
If the split pea soup is not as thick at you would like, allow to sit for a few minutes to allow it to thicken up.

Steps (Slow Cooker):

Rinse the peas. Pick out any bad pieces.
Saute the onion, carrots, and garlic in a small pan on the stove.
Add the water, ham, bullion cube, bay leaf, salt and pepper, split peas, onion, carrots, and garlic.
Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours.

Happy Eating,
Traci

Crockpot Lasagna

Posted on January 23, 2016 by traci

Soon after I was married in 1999, my mom gave me a recipe for lasagna that involved no boiling of the noodles. I’ve made it that way for the past almost 17 years.

I can’t believe I haven’t shared the recipe for my lasagna before. It takes a while to prepare it but it’s worth the preparation.

I used my casserole crockpot for this recipe. You could use an oval one but may need to break up the lasagna noodles.

All of my measurements for the layering of the lasagna are estimations because I typically don’t measure how much of each ingredient I use on each layer.

Crockpot Lasagna

Stars of the recipe:

1 lb. ground beef or sausage, browned and drained
1 to 2 Tbsp. Italian seasoning
1 (16 oz.) container of ricotta cheese or small curd cottage cheese (I suggest using ricotta cheese.)
2 eggs, beaten
1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce or 2 c. homemade spaghetti sauce
2 1/2 c. shredded Italian cheese
1 box of lasagna noodles

Steps:

Combine the ricotta cheese or small curd cottage cheese with the eggs in a mixing bowl.
Spray your crockpot with cooking spray.
Spread 1/4 c. of the spaghetti sauce on the bottom of the crockpot.
Place lasagna noodles over the spaghetti sauce.
Then layer in this order:
1. 1/3 c. of the ricotta cheese mixture
2. 1/3 c. of ground beef or sausage
3. 1/3 c. Italian cheese
4. 1/3 c. sauce
5. noodles (I use 3 on each of my layers.)
Continue layering the noodles, ricotta cheese mixture, ground beef or sausage, Italian cheese, and sauce. (I had 4 total layers.) When you get to the last layer, save a little of the ricotta cheese mixture.
One the last layer, place noodles, the rest of the ricotta cheese mixture, and the rest of the Italian cheese. Sprinkle Italian seasoning over the cheese.
Cook on low for 3 to 4 hours or until the noodles are cooked.

Happy Eating,
Traci

Crockpot Chicken Fajitas

Posted on December 5, 2015 by traci

Stars of the recipe:

2 to 4 chicken breasts (depends on the size of the chicken breast – Mine were huge so I used only 2.)
1 green pepper, sliced
1 yellow, red, or orange pepper, sliced
1 small onion, cut into rings
¼ c. water
2 Tbsp. homemade taco seasoning or storebought fajita seasoning packet

Steps:

Place chicken breasts in a 4 quart crockpot.
Place peppers and onions over the chicken.
Sprinkle the taco seasoning or fajita seasoning over the chicken and veggies.
Pour water over the chicken and veggies.
Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or high for 3 to 4 hours.
Using 2 forks, shred the chicken.
Serve on a tortilla with cheese and sour cream.

Click here for a printable version of the recipe.

Beenie Weenies

Posted on November 10, 2015 by traci

I’m reposting this recipe since I didn’t have any pictures of the dish.

This is an easy meal to put into the crockpot. It made more than enough food for my family of four that I put half of it in the freezer for another meal.:)

Beanie Weenies

Stars of the recipe:

2 small cans of pork and beans or one large can
1 small can of Great Northern beans, drained
1 16 oz. package of hot dogs, sliced
1 lrg onion, chopped
1/4 cup of ketchup
3 Tbsp. of mustard (or more to taste)
2 tsp. Worchestershire sauce (or more to taste)
1/2 cup of brown sugar, packed
4 slices of bacon, cooked and chopped

Steps:

Place all the items in the crockpot. (I gave it a stir.)
Cook on high for 3 to 4 hours or low for 6 to 8 hours.
Enjoy! I served mine with green beans and biscuits with apple butter.

Menu Plan Monday – November 2, 2015

Posted on November 2, 2015 by traci

Can you believe it is November already? Thanksgiving will be here before we know it.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, I have 9 new recipes to share between now and the third week of November. This means I’ll be posting 3 or 4 recipes a week. All but one of the recipes have been tested and approved by my family. One of the recipes is for a turkey breast that my mother-in-law has raved about.

The majority of the recipes are for the slow cooker. Anything to make it easier for you. A week before Thanksgiving, I’m going to give you my plan for making the foods in stages as not to do it all on Thanksgiving.

This is going to be our first year hosting Thanksgiving so that will be fun. Last year I made the side dishes and then transported them over to my mother-in-law’s house. We’ve already invited my mother, sister, and mother-in-law to Thanksgiving. We have a few other people we want to invite also.

I’ll be posting my first Thanksgiving dish today on my Cooking It Slow blog. It’s for Makes It Own Gravy Turkey Breast and Easy Gravy.

Menu Plan Monday

I created a printable menu but am changing the dates on a few of the meals. We have leftover side dishes that would go better with the meatloaf then the beenie weenies. So I’m flip flopping the meatloaf and beenie weenies.

As you can see, I’m still using the crockpot for my meals. It’s so much easier to use the crockpot for our meals.

Monday – Crockpot Meatloaf, sweet potato casserole, stuffing, and veggies

Tuesday – Chicken fajitas, Spanish rice

Wednesday – Beenies Weenies (We didn’t make them last week.)

Thursday – Sausage and cheesy hash brown casserole

Friday – Barbecue Chicken Legs, pasta side dish, veggies

Printable Version

What’s on your menu this week?

This post is linked to Menu Plan Monday.

Countdown to Thanksgiving Pinterest Page

Happy Eating,
Traci

Weekly Ramblings – Halloween 2015 – Write 31 Wrap Up

Posted on October 31, 2015 by traci

Today is the last day of the Write 31 challenge. I can’t believe it’s over. During the challenge, I have cooked a lot of meals and desserts in the crockpot. It’s been a fun experience. In fact, as I am typing there is chicken and hamburger meat cooking for later meals.

I’m going to continue cooking dinners in the crock pot. During the month, it’s been a much easier way to get dinner on the table which is much less stress on my part. One thing I would love to do is more freezer kits and share them with you.

My 31 day post is going to be attached to a page later this week so you can still refer to it later. I’m also going to provide printable recipes. I’ve already put some of the recipes on my Google drive. Once I get done with that, I’ll provide you with a link to all of the recipes. 🙂

Here is a list of some of my new and some old blogs that feature crock pot meals. I’ve shared a few of them on my menu plan Monday blog posts.

Here are 23 of the recipes I’ve shared over the course of the last 31 days.