Monday, January 26, 2009

Crock Pot Meals

I've had a few of you ask for ideas for meals made in the crock pot. Although I haven't made any of these recipes up, I'm happy to share some that I use. I've gotten some recipes off of www.menus4moms.com and some from a Weight Watcher cookbook and some are just family favorites. Enjoy! And if any of you have a recipe to share...please do.

Crockpot Beef Casserole

2 lbs stew beef cut into 1 inch pieces
1 envelope onion soup mix
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can whole mushrooms
1/2 cup beef broth

Combine all ingredients in crock pot. Stir together well. Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours or on high 5-6 hours. Serve over egg noodles.

Crockpot Enchiladas
1 lb ground beef, cooked and seasoned with salt and pepper
1 medium onion (or I just add a little onion powder or minced onion in with my ground beef)
4 whole wheat tortillas (so the recipe calls for whole wheat but I usually alternate between whole wheat and white flour just because Spencer never wants anything to be too healthy)
1 can corn, drained
1 10-oz can enchilada sauce
1 can Rotel tomatoes and green chiles, undrained
2 cups shredded cheese, cheddar or Mexican blend
sour cream

In a bowl, combine ground beef & onion. In another bowl mix the Rotel and enchilada sauce. Place 2 tortillas in the bottom of the crock pot. Place half of the following in layers over the tortillas: Meat, corn, sauce mixture, and cheese. Repeat layers. Cook on low 5-6 hours. Top with sour cream.

Pulled Pork--BBQ
Cook large pork roast, butt, or shoulder in crock pot on low for 8-12 hours. Before cooking, season with onion or onion salt, salt, pepper, etc. Add water so crockpot is filled 2/3 of the way. Should be cooked well enough that meat falls appart. Shread meat with forks, discarding as much of the excess fat as possible. Cover with barbecue sauce and reheat. Serve on rolls like a sandwich.

Italian Chicken
4 boneless chicken breasts
1/2 cube butter
1 package Zesty Italian seasoning

Melt butter and add chicken. Sprinkle seasoning over chicken. Cook in crockpot for 6-7 hours on low setting or 3-4 on High. In a saucepan, melt 8 oz cream cheese or 8 oz sour cream and 1 can cream of chicken soup. Pour into crock-pot when melted and let simmer for about 15 minutes. Serve with noodles or rice.

Taco Soup
Brown 1 lb Hamburger with onion, onion salt, or dried onion. Put in a crock pot and add 1 can kidney beans, drained, 1 can corn with juice, 2 cans stewed tomatoes, 1 pint of salsa, taco seasoning packet. Serve topped with sour cream and enjoy with tortilla chips.

Crock Pot Hamburger Heaven Casserole

16 oz lean ground beef
2 cups sliced raw potatoes
1 1/2 cups sliced carrots
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
1 10 oz can tomato soup (can use low fat)
1/2 cup water
1 tsp dried parsley flakes
salt and pepper to taste

Spray crock pot with cooking spray. In large skillet brown meat, onion. and celery mixture. In crock pot combine meat mixture, potatoes, carrots, peas, and corn. Stir in tomato soup, water, parsley flakes, and salt and pepper to taste. Cover and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours.

Crock Pot Chicken & Dumplings
2 lbs uncooked boneless skinless chicken breast
21 1/2 oz 98% fat free cream of chicken soup
1 medium onion
1 cup chicken broth
1 1/2 cups water
3/4 uncooked red potatoes
1/2 pound carrots
1 cube chicken boullion
7 1/2 oz refrigerated buttermilk biscuits

Cube chicken, Dice onion. Cut up carrots & Potatoes. Spray crockpot with Pam. Combine all ingredients EXCEPT BISCUITS in crockpot. Cover and cook on low 5-7 hours. 30 minutes before serving, tear each biscuit into pieces. Add to crockpot, stir gently. Turn setting to high for 30+ minutes until biscuits are fluffed up and cooked through.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Callie's 27th Birthday

Callie turned 27 today! We had a lovely celebration with our cousin Jamison (who just moved to Provo) and Emily & Jeff.



Because it was Callie's birthday, she chose our menu...Mushroom Swiss Burgers. They turned out so yummy! We also had carrot cake and ice cream. (Unfortunately, I forgot to make sure we had candles and we didn't. I did, however, have a 7 candle so that's what she got. Oops.)


She received some nice gifts from family members and friends and had many phone calls, text messages, and e-mails.

She held all 3 nephews at one time today. We laughed so hard. We are happy she is living with us :).

A Friend Reunion

On Friday, 2 of my good friends from Logan (Julie and Esther) came to have a mini-reunion. It had been a while since I'd seen either of them and it had been many years since the 3 of us had been together. It was fun to spend a few hours together,catch up, laugh, and reminisce. Between the 3 of us we have 7 kids and Jules & Esta are both expecting their thirds. The kids all played well together, as there are three 4-year-olds and three 2-year-olds. (Cameron got to have a friend over to play for the afternoon and he was our photographer.)



Friday, January 23, 2009

Introducing Juliette Jane...

Ryan & No'el had another adorable baby girl on Wednesday, January 21st, Juliette Jane (she may be called Jette/Jet when her name is shortened). She weighed in at a healthy 8 lbs 8 oz and was 20 inches long. She has cheeks that are to die for...I can't wait to kiss 'em. No'el is doing well and her sisters cannot get enough of her. She didn't have a name until last night so that's why I waited to post these adorable pictures of our new niece.




Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Aunts & Uncles

My dad's cousin passed away last week. The funeral was in Utah today and my dad and his siblings were asked to sing. So my Uncle Randy flew in from California and my parents and Aunt Sydney came to Utah yesterday. They all met at Aunt Sylvia's to a) decide WHAT to sing and b) Practice, practice, and practice. My Grandpa Tew & his wife were also there, as well as Randy's daughters, Mandy (and kids ) & Joslyn. They ended up singing "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" and my mom accompanied. They used to sing together often as children but don't get the opportunity much anymore. I took a random shot of the four of them together. (I also shot a video but decided not to post it. However, if any of my Tew relatives want to see or hear it, let me know.)

Yes, I Know I'm a Little Weird

I plan a dinner menu for about 2 weeks at a time. I like to have a plan so that when the kids ask, I have an answer. It also helps cut down on the grocery bill if I don't just randomly pick things up. And when I'm teaching piano until "dinner-time" I need to have something either already in the crockpot or fast and easy. So I'm a planner...and often I have a theme for our meal (mostly it's a Country.) Emily makes fun of me for it, but I think it's smart (and a little weird.) In honor of the Inauguration today, I had a truly American meal. What's more American than Hot Dogs, Chips, and Baked Beans. (I know it's not a healthy meal and it honestly is never on the dinner menu. But Gavin, especially, loved it and told me it's the best meal he's ever had.) And I baked my very first Apple Pie. Yum-O!

Monday, January 19, 2009

Cam's New Hair




Aunt Callie carved some arrows into Cam's hair...he thinks they are totally awesome!

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Same Ol'

I wish I had something exciting to blog about but we are stuck in a rut. Cameron is "off-track" so every day is basically a repeat of the day before. Today, however, we made some super easy cookies so I'll share that recipe:

Mix one cake mix (just out of the box without anything added), 2 eggs, and 1 cup applesauce. Bake at 350 for 9-11 minutes. We used a chocolate cake mix and added some peanut butter chips. Yum-O!

Cameron has to give a talk in Primary on Sunday. We found a great website for 2-minute Primary talks. The talks are based on the 2009 Primary Theme. The website is http://primarytalks.googlepages.com if anyone else can find it useful.

And one last thing--Callie has graduated from being a "Freshman" at her Cosmetology School and will soon be on the floor, ready for clients. (Her school has a really good rep and all services are double and triple checked to make sure they are done correctly (if, for some reason, you don't think Callie knows what she's doing). And it is CHEAP! If anyone living in or visiting Utah wants to schedule an appointment with her, get in touch with me. She is SO good at what she does. (She cut and colored my hair a month ago and I get compliments on it often.) Recently, Owen decided he should do Aunt Callie's hair. Here are a few fun pics of their session together...





Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Our Name in Lights...or on a truck!


Callie was on her way to work today and saw this truck. Luckily, she's talented enough to drive and take a picture. I never thought I'd see our name in lights...so I guess I'll take it painted on a truck! Fits us better anyway. Does that make me sound like "white trash?"

Friday, January 2, 2009

Carlos, Natalie, & Vandy

My cousin Carlos' wife, Natalie, had an emergency C-section on December 30. She was only 24 weeks along. Their baby girl, Vandy, weighed in at a whoppin' 1 lb 11 oz and is 13 inches long. She is in the University of Utah Hospital but is doing well. Callie, Emily, and I went and saw the parents and baby yesterday. Although the baby is TINY, she is absolutely beautiful. Please keep their family in your prayers.

Thursday, January 1, 2009

A Wonderful Christmas

We had such a lovely Christmas this year, mostly due to the generosity of my children's grandparents, aunts, and uncles. We had Uncles Chopper and Tom over for Christmas dinner and we spent some time in Blackfoot with the Tew Family. My kids received many really nice gifts. Santa Claus brought Cameron a bike...


Gavin a Spiderman Scooter...


and Owen a Diego Hot Wheel.


Spencer got a new car stereo, Natalie got new scriptures, and Callie got a digital converter box for the TV in her bedroom. (As a side note, Spence and I have been married for 8 1/2 years but my scriptures still said "Natalie Tew" on the front. I mentioned to Spence that I'd like new ones a few months ago and didn't think about it again. One day after work, Spence called and said he was going to stop and get my Christmas gift so he'd be a little late. When he got home he brought in a 2 liter of Pepsi and said they'd given it to him when he bought my gift. I had wondered if he'd bought scriptures but couldn't find the correlation between scriptures and caffeine so I figured I wouldn't be getting my scriptures and was really curious about the one gift under the tree that I didn't know about. Imagine my surprise when I opened that gift and found some beautiful scriptures with Natalie Styer engraved! I was thrilled. By the way, the pop was leftover from work...)

Both sets of grandparents gave us money to use on gifts for all so as a family we received a beautiful TV stand, a new camera, all but Spence got new coats (he got a new one last year), and the boys got new boots and gloves...which came in handy when we went to Idaho for the weekend.







Grandpa Rick got out his snow machines and we had a great time racing them through the field. Uncle Jeff made a snow fort with help from the boys. And Uncle Ryan came over with his snow machine later and his is super fast! Owen stayed out as long as he could but I'm not sure he enjoyed it as much as the rest of us. We ate a lot, sang a lot, played games, and exchanged more gifts. Ryan & No'el's family gave our family a Griddle, and the boys got some awesome toys (Cam got Moon Shoes and rarely takes them off, Gavin got a big truck, and Owen got a Thomas the Train set) and shirts from them too!

Aunt Emily & Uncle Jeff gave the boys play swords so they could become "warriors." Aunt Callie gave the boys Marshmallow Guns...which are so fun and the adults in our house may have played with them as much as the kids in our house!! Here is a short video I would title, "Fun with Marshmallow Guns."


Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!