Quick, fragrant and comforting...another delicious meal

I made ONE POT CHILI MAC AND CHEESE last night and it was very good.  Follow the link here to get the recipe.

The recipe was easy and flexible.  I used the whole can of both beans instead of having some left over.  I did add more tomatoes because I love using my garden grown tomatoes from the freezer.  And I had a 17 oz package of macaroni, so I used it and increased the liquid.  It was good and makes a pretty large pot of food.  So we have leftovers for lunches.  I love it.

<^..^> Lori

Hey honey

Oh boy!  This looked so good but what drew me to it was the ingredient of honey.  I rarely use honey.  I have a bear shaped bottle of honey next to my tea bags in case someone visiting would want to use it but I don't like it in my tea.  LOL!  This summer we tried a new grill recipe for pineapple that used honey.  I will have to post about that because it was really good.  Anyway, I saw this recipe for Crock Pot Balsamic Pork Roast on Pinterest from Skinnytaste.

I thought it looked good but what really put the icing on the cake was that at the grocery store they had a small package (1.79 lb) of pork tenderloins on manager special.  Do you have a manager special where the meat manager goes through his shelf product and drastically reduces close dated meat before it goes bad?  I often base my meals around these specials.  I save money and try new recipes that I might not otherwise try.  I used the same recipe even though I didn't have 2 pounds of meat and it worked well.

I did have to buy some balsamic vinegar because it is not something I normally stock but I am sure it will make some nice salad dressing down the road.

My family loved it!  

<^..^> Lori

One of my best friends is called the slow cooker or "Crock"

I have long been a fan of the slow cooker or crock pot or just "crock" for short.  Over the years as a working mom, it was a great way to prepare a meal the night before and stick the insert into the fridge.  In the morning, put the insert into the crock and set it to run.  Then no matter if I was late getting home or right on time, dinner was ready.

Now that I have retired from the company after 33 years.  I still love crocks!  I own several of them.  I have two 6 quart versions and one of those units with three small crocks in it.  I use them year round but I especially like to use them in the winter because the house is closed up and the crock makes it smell so good, so homey.

I found a great recipe and wanted to share that it is fool proof.  I am the fool to prove it.  I messed up and added the gravy right in with the broth and chicken.  IT STILL TURNED OUT GREAT!  Hurray!

Here is a link to the blog post where I found the recipe on Ciao Chow Bambina for Chicken & Gravy in the crock.  Doesn't that look yummy?

I served mine over mashed potatoes also.  I made Rhodes parker house dinner rolls plus a salad and my family was VERY happy.

<^..^> Lori

Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken

I read on Melissa's blog about a crock pot recipe she was making that day.  I followed her link to the recipe for this



I made it and it was delicious.  Just spicy enough to satisfy.  My husband and daughter loved it.  My son was eating pizza with his band friends after a concert so he didn't try it.  He likes his food to stay separate anyway.  You know...not have the veggies touch each other.  LOL!  So this type of food doesn't look good to him.  He would prefer a plain bowl of the rice instead. 

<^..^> Lori