The Mystery of the Missing Measuring Cups

Acquisition

I was given the cups by my mother when I moved into my first apartment. She had been searching garage sales and thrift stores for months gathering a little bit of this and a little bit of that. She made quite the score when she found these cute vintage 1940's style tin measuring cups for $2 at Goodwill. They were one of my most treasured items that she gave me, and I used them nearly every day. No one ever complimented me on my cute measuring cups, but it didn't matter, because I loved them. Their simple design was pleasing to the eye and I couldn't help but think, "Who owned these cups before me? Did she make bread? Did she make pie? Was she a muffin kind of gal? Or was it cookies?" I imagined her, in her cute little apron and her perfectly manicured nails and done up hair-do.

Loss

The girls were about 2 years old when disaster struck. I don't remember what I was doing, or what they were doing. Only noticed that one day I went to use my 1/2 cup measuring cup and it was gone. I went through everything in my kitchen. The dish drain, the drawer it belonged in, the toy box, the bath tub, every little hiddy hole that I thought the girls might stash something away in. But nothing. It was gone. I was so upset! What did I do with it? Did Hubs put it someplace strange trying to "help"? No? Well, it must have been the kids then... those darn kids!

Where oh where could it be???

And then I had a thought... the trash. The girls were going through a phase where they thought putting things in the trash was fun. We'd caught them several times trying to throw away "good stuff" like the remote control. Well, that must be it then. It went in the trash. It was gone forever.

Renewal (... sort of...)


Six months later, and still no sign of the missing measuring cup. This whole time I've been using the 1/4 cup twice each time I had to measure something and each and every time I was reminded of my incomplete set. I was still irritated about it.

Hubs thought he came up with the perfect solution, he searched the internet and found another cup set and bought it for my birthday. Alas, this "new" set was more than just antique, it was antique. It was darkened in color, had several dents, and one of the cups had a hole in the bottom. They were perfect for a display of old kitchenware, but not something I could use on a daily basis. I went on with my 1/4 cup twice.

After that I looked into buying new measuring cups. I gave up on the idea of finding another 1940's style cups and found myself browsing Bed Bath & Beyond and Anthropologie (which do have some cute cups by the way!). But nothing was quite the same. Sure, the new cups were nice, but they just weren't me. The new cups didn't have some other lady making cakes with them years ago.

I'd tell the story of the missing cup to anyone who'd seem remotely interested. Usually other mom's with young kids understood the significance of my loss. It was more than just treasured measuring cups. It was about personal space, and how we as mom's give that up when we bring kids into the world. Nothing is "mine" anymore. All of "my" stuff gets messed with, broken, lost, tangled up, marked up, and dented. Nothing stays the way I left it. Nothing is in the same place. I put something down so I can take a pee only to come back and have it gone! Just gone! And after a while I start to feel like a crazy person! "But... it was just THERE a second ago!"

The cup at this point had been missing for over a year. I was getting tired with the 1/4 cup twice. One day, I was browsing Etsy and I was very excited when I happened to find a set of measuring cups EXACTLY like mine. They were tin, and old, but functional. They were $40, but I didn't care. I bought them.

Reunification

I now had three (mostly complete) sets of antique measuring cups. I thought that was pretty much the end of the story.

Several weeks before Christmas I was working on baking some goodies for gifts when I was clearing out the dish drain and realized... I was missing another cup. It was the 1/4 cup this time. "ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? Where is my cup?!?!? Is nothing sacred around here???" I questioned both of the girls, at 4 and a half they are completely capable of remembering where they put things. They said they didn't know. I questioned Hubs, he didn't know. I questioned my mother-in-law who had just flown in from out of state, she didn't know. I backtracked my own actions, opened cupboards I knew I was into, looked through everything. Nothing. Then I called my mom and lamented on the phone, "Again?" she said. Yup, again.

Thankfully, I now had a stash of measuring cups! I got out the 1/4 cup from the set I bought and went on with my baking.

I told the story Christmas Day to a rapt audience. We laughed about how funny it was that it happened AGAIN! YEARS later. And that I still don't know what happened to them. They were just gone, into the abyss. Along with the missing socks that never come out of the dryer. It was just going to be one of those things... Amy and her missing measuring cups. Wonder what ever happened to those?

And then two days after Christmas the most amazing thing happened. I was putting away my big crock pot, you know, the one that goes into the back of the cupboard that I pretty much never use, and I looked down, and there inside my 1940's tin egg poacher were not just one, but BOTH of the missing measuring cups!!! They were neatly stacked one inside the other. "I can't BELIEVE MY EYES!!! I CAN NOT believe my eyes!!!" I laughed and laughed! I ran upstairs cups in hand to where my mother-in-law and daughters were playing. "Do you SEE this?? Do you SEE what's in my hand right now??! It's my CUPS!!!!" I told them where I found them to which my mother-in-law said, "I guess you don't poach eggs that often." Nope, I use the microwave instead.

Which of course begs the question, "Which one of you girls put them there???" To which, I got blank stairs and "Uhhh...I don't know, Mommy." I have a hunch which child hid my measuring cups, but it's just one of those mysteries that will live on.

3 Quick Things to do with Blueberries!

First, a reminder! I'm drawing names for the winner of a fabulous hand painted step stool tomorrow morning! So if you haven't entered yet, you might wanna. There aren't that many entries so you're chances of winning are excellent! :)

Now on to bluer topics. BLUE BERRIES! Around here they're in season and it seems like this year in particular they're huge and juicy! And cheap! I just picked up a bunch of them at Safeway for $1.99, plus they're local! You really have to work hard to find a good reason not to buy them!

But then you get them home and you have to figure out what to DO with them. So here are my 3 quick easy things to do with blueberries.

#1 - Freeze them! Just wash them up, pick off any stems or bad berries, throw them in a ziplock and straight to the freezer they go! I love doing this because then I have yummy blueberries all winter to use in muffins or pancakes or whatever.

#2 - Make Blueberry Crisp! It's like apple crisp but with blueberries. Mix 5 cups of berries with 4 T of sugar in a casserole dish, then make up a crumble topping consisting of 1/2 cup of rolled oats, 1/2 cup of brown sugar, 1/4 cup of flour, 1/2 teaspoon of whatever spice you like (cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice are all good choices), then cut in 1/4 cup of butter until it reaches a crumbly consistency. Sprinkle the crumbles over the top of the berries, then pop it in a 375 degree oven for 30 minutes. Easy peasy! And EXCELLENT with vanilla ice cream!

#3 - Blueberry Muffins! There are tons of great recipes for them out there, just pick one and go with it. Here's one to get you started.

Need another excuse to go buy blueberries? Here's my recipe for blueberry pie!

Mystery Spice Monday! Coconut Macaroons

I think I'm starting to get lazy...

Yup, definitely lazy.

Plus it seems that as the days are getting brighter my priorities are starting to shift from the kitchen to the garden.

So this past week our dinner menu has consisted of grilled chicken, spaghetti with sauce pulled from my freezer, and burritos. Basically anything that I can get on the table in 20 minutes is what we've eaten lately.

So I apologize for this next recipe...

Although really I shouldn't because it's EASY and DELICIOUS! Plus the end result is lighter than air and should really carry a disclaimer that says CANNOT EAT JUST ONE!

So, maybe you should actually thank me rather than ask me to apologize...



Yup, I believe thanks are in order. :)

Coconut Macaroons
Adapted from JoyofBaking.com

4 large egg whites (120 grams)(4 ounces), at room temperature
1 cup granulated white sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup cake flour, sifted
3 cups sweetened shredded coconut

In a double boiler (or a stainless steel bowl over a pan of simmering water), whisk together egg whites, sugar and salt. When this mixture is creamy and warm to the touch remove from heat and stir in extracts, flour, and coconut. Refrigerate for about 1 hour or until firm.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper (or your handy dandy Sipats).

Place in small mounds (I used a mini ice cream scoop) on the parchment-lined cookie sheets; space several inches apart. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing to a cooling rack.

Makes 2 dozen cookies, so if I were you I'd double it! :)

Do you have something fun that you made this past week that you'd love to share with the world? Then join in the fun!

Quick & Easy Meal: Chicken Pie with Cornmeal Crust

I don't know about you, but I LOVE casseroles! I seriously could eat one every day of the week. And there are so many different ones you can make so I'd never get bored.

Hubs on the other hand... HATES them! And based on my own personal research, so many of my friends husbands are in agreement. Hubs very much prefers that his meat, carb and veggie share the same plate, but do not touch or intermingle. Very basic...

BOOOOOOOORING......

What is it about men & women and their eating preferences?

Just like everything else it must be the hormones.

So if your husband is like mine, he probably will hate this meal and run out to Micky D's instead.

But I thought it was really good! And the girl's liked it too!

So you might wanna give it a try, just don't mention the words "pot pie" or "casserole".

Chicken Pie with Cornmeal Crust

First you heat 1 3/4 cups of chicken broth in a saucepan on the stove. Then you add 2 lbs. diced boneless skinless chicken breasts.

Simmer for 2 minutes.



Use a slotted spoon to fish out your chicken and place it into a 2-quart casserole dish. There's that word again... casserole...



Chop 4 carrots, any way you like. I did mine on the diagonal to make them fancy. Looking back that wasn't such a great idea because my girls wouldn't eat them. Apparently carrots sliced on the diagonal are a totally different vegetable than carrots in little disks.



Then add the carrots to the simmering broth. Simmer for about 5 minutes.



Remove carrots with your slotted spoon and add them to the casserole dish. Set the broth aside, you'll need it in a few minutes.

Now it's time to make a roux. Isn't that exciting!!!

I think so! I know, I live a sheltered life.

Melt 4 tablespoons of butter over medium heat.



Add 1 chopped medium onion. Sautee until translucent.



Add 1/3 cup all purpose flour. Don't try any funny business with other types of flour, otherwise your sauce won't turn out right. Cook for 5 minutes stirring constantly.



Remove from the heat, this is important, and then slowly stir in the reserved chicken broth. You may want to use a whisk.

Return to heat and cook until the sauce simmers & thickens.

Remove from heat and add in 1 cup of milk, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 cup of parsley.







Then pour your sauce over the top of the carrots & chicken.



Now for the crust! This was another hatch mark against the recipe as far as my Hubs is concerned, he hates anything that involves cornmeal. Doesn't like corn bread even! Can you imagine?!

I obviously can't, which is why I keep trying. I keep thinking one of these days I'll make a cornmeal recipe that Hubs LOVES... I'll keep you posted on that little experiment...

In any case...

Mix together 1/2 cup of all purpose flour, 1/2 cup of yellow cornmeal, 1 teaspoon of sugar, and 1 teaspoon baking powder.



Then add your wet ingredients. Some might mix these in a separate bowl before adding them to the dry... but I didn't. I just went for it and hoped for the best. It gets me in trouble sometimes but in this case it worked out just fine.

Wet ingredients here are 1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons of milk, 1 egg, and 1 tablespoons of olive oil.



Mixy mixy... I used a fork.



And then I carefully poured it over the top of the casserole.



Word to the wise, put a cookie sheet under this puppy before you toss it in the oven. Mine did ooze over the sides, and I was very thankful that I had the foresight to use a cookie sheet.

Cook in the oven at 375 degrees for 45-50 minutes or until crust is golden. Let it stand for 10 minutes before serving.




Chicken Pie with Cornmeal Crust
Borrowed with love from Parenting.com Recipe by Jane Kirby

Filling
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 2 inch pieces
4 carrots, thinly sliced
4 tablespoons of butter or margarine
1 medium onion, chopped
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 cup low-fat milk
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
1 cup frozen peas (I didn't use them because Hubs HATES peas, maybe even more than he hates casseroles, so I knew if I included them he most certainly wouldn't try it.)
1/4 cup parsley

Crust
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons milk
1 egg
2 tablespoons peanut or olive oil

1. Heat chicken broth in a large saucepan until boiling. Add chicken, reduce heat to low, simmer for 2 minutes. Remove chicken with slotted spoon and place in a 2-quart casserole dish. Add carrots to broth, simmer for 5 minutes. Remove with slotted spoon and place in casserole dish. Reserve broth and set aside.

2. In another saucepan or large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent. Add the flour and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and slowly whisk in reserved broth. Return to heat and cook, stirring until the sauce simmers and thickens. Remove from heat. Blend in milk, salt & parsley, then pour sauce over chicken and carrots. Mix in the peas if you wish, set aside.

3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

4. In a small bowl combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, and baking powder. Using a fork blend in the milk, egg and oil. Pour over the chicken filling and spread to the edges of the dish. Bake 45-50 minutes or until crust is golden. Stand for 10 minutes before serving.


Coming up...

Lentil Soup with Herbs de Provence.

Herbed Turkey Breast with Orange Sauce

Ok, this one is so simple, and it turns out so yummy that I didn't even get a picture of it when it was done because it got gobbled up so quickly. Ha! Turkey.. gobble... get it?

Sorry...

That was lame.

So here it is, you should rush out and buy the ingredients today so you can toss it in the crock tomorrow morning. :)

Herbed Turkey Breast with Orange Sauce
Adapted from The Crock Pot Recipe Collection

1 boneless skinless turkey breast (2-3 pounds) or 2 turkey tenderloins
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups orange juice

Toss onion into a 4-quart crock pot. Combine garlic, rosemary, pepper and salt in a small bowl. Slice raw turkey 3/4 way through at 2 inch intervals. Rub turkey with garlic mixture, make sure to get in between slices as much as you can. Place turkey in crock pot on top of the onions, sliced side up. Pour juice over the top. Cook on Low for 6-8 hours.

I served it with rice and green beans, and it was a major hit!

Not Just Any Ol' Roast!

Well, I've been promising this recipe for what seems like DAYS... oh wait.. I guess it has been days. OOPS! Well, it's finally here, and that's what's really important, right?

When I saw this recipe in my new Crock Pot Recipe Collection I seriously HAD to have it! Just reading the ingredients list made my mouth water! Plus it was listed under the "Prize-Winning Recipes" tab... so it just HAD to be good!

The title of the roast? Heavenly Harvest Pork Roast... oh yeah baby!

It has a few extra steps involved, but I was able to get it all put together and in the crock in 20 minutes. So I really think the extra steps were a big pay off!

First step... and this is where my mouth started watering... add 1/4 cup of pomegranate juice and 1/4 cup of sugar in a small saucepan. You can find pomegranate juice in the produce section. Cook over low heat, stirring, until sugar melts. That took about 2 minutes. Pour into a 4 quart crock pot.



Then prepare your roast. I picked up a 3.5 pound pork loin. If you use something bigger than that I'd suggest using a larger crock pot as mine barely fit into the 4 quart. The rule of thumb is that you need to fill the crock at least 3/4 full otherwise it'll burn whatever you put inside. So you want it to fit snuggly.

I trimmed the fat off my roast, you don't necessarily have to. Hubs thought my roast was a little dry. I think next time I'll trim the fat but then add some butter on top of the roast while it cooks to add moisture.



Then mix your spices in a small bowl. You'll use 1 T of salt, 1 T of garlic salt, 1 T of steak seasoning, and 1 t of black pepper. It's a lot of salt obviously, because steak seasoning usually has salt too. I thought it was great, balanced out the fruit juices, but if you're having guests who have high blood pressure you could easily just use garlic powder instead of garlic salt, and then use No Salt steak seasoning.



Rub the seasoning mixture ALL over the pork. Make sure to get all sides, including the bottom.



Then place the roast into the crock, turn it over once it gets into the juice so that the roast is completely covered in that yummy pomegranate syrup.



And then pears! I know... SO GOOD! PS: I think this picture is proof that my photographing skills are getting better. Aren't you glad! lol



Slice and peel the pears. I used An'jou. They're in season right now, I just bought them for $1 a pound which I thought was a good price.



Then I stacked them on top of my roast. I think fruit and meat is a marvelous combo, don't you?



And then an orange! Yup, that's three fruit flavors for this roast! I used a tangelo, they're also in season right now.



Slice it up, and stack it up and around the roast too. I think these fruits and meats are going to be GREAT friends!



Then put the lid on and set your crock on High for 6-8 hours. Mine totally fell apart as I was trying to take it out of the crock. It's important to let a roast rest for a few minutes before slicing into it, so you should always take the meat out of whatever it's cooking in and put it on a plate or cutting board for a few minutes before slicing. Go ahead and pour that juice from the crock all over it while it rests!

And when it's done... your house will smell amazing and you'll have this fantastic roast that everyone in your family will love!



So there's the roast, as promised! I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. :)

Heavenly Harvest Pork Roast

1/4 cup of pomegranate juice
1/4 cup of sugar
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon garlic salt
1 tablespoon steak seasoning
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 boneless pork roast, any type
2 pears, cored peeled and sliced thick
1 orange, sliced thick

Combine pomegranate juice and sugar in a small saucepan. Cook on low until sugar melts. Pour juice into the slow cooker. Combine all seasonings in a small bowl. Trim roast to your liking, and rub roast with seasoning mixture. Place the roast in the crock pot and turn the roast to cover it with the juice. Slice pears and place on top of the roast, then slice orange and place on top and around the roast. Cook on High for 6-8 hours.

Totally Yummy Brownies!

Ever see a picture in a magazine and think to yourself, "Oh those look GOOD! I bet I could make that!"?

And then you rush to the store, buy all the ingredients, and sit and wait for an excuse to make them?

And it takes you less than 5 minutes to find an excuse? (I'm hormonal, I need them NOW!!!)

And then you spend the next 3 hours making them?

And then... well...

They just don't turn out looking the same as they do in the magazine?



Happens to me ALL the time!

Thankfully, they still tasted pretty dang awesome. So awesome in fact that Hubs wouldn't let me take them to that MOY Luncheon. Because they were simply too yummy to share.

But maybe I'm not the best judge of what's yummy and what's not at this point in time. My hormonal womanly spiddey sense is so strong right now that I could sniff out a chocolate bar in a random stranger's pocket from 50 feet away.

I kid you not.

But I digress...

I'm not sure you should try this brownie recipe, it really does take a full 3 hours to make. Three hours. And although they really are fantastic, I'm thinking you could easily skip the top two layers, just make the nice thick gooey brownie layer, add some chocolate chips, and it would be just as fabulous. Plus it would only take 30 minutes.

So here is the recipe for just that one single decadent layer plus chips. If you have an extra 2.5 hours feel free to make the frosting and add that chocolate layer... but you really don't have to. I think the brownie is good enough to stand on it's own.

WonderTime's Layered Brownie sans Top 2 Layers

1/2 cup unsalted butter
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate (yes, you want the unsweetened for sure, trust me)
2 cups of sugar (see, it'll get plenty sweet)
4 large eggs
1/8 teaspoon of salt
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chocolate chips (any kind you like)

Heat oven to 300 degrees. Grease a 9x13 pan and line it with buttered parchment or wax paper cut to fit the bottom of the pan. Melt the stick of butter and chocolate in a small pan over very low heat, or in a double boiler. Remove from heat. While the mixture cools, beat together the sugar, eggs, and salt for 8 minutes in an electric mixer. Fold in the chocolate mixture, then the flour and vanilla. Lastly add flour coated (so they won't sink to the bottom of the pan) chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the pan, about 30 minutes. Cool thoroughly, about an hour and a half. These brownies are VERY gooey and best served cold.

Mystery Spice Monday! #5

Feel like you're in a cooking rut? Not sure how to get out of it? Take a long hard look at your spice rack, pull out something you haven't used in a while (if ever), do a little research online to find a new recipe, and come back here each Monday to share your results! You'll be glad you did!

This week I really looked up into the neither-regions of my spice cabinet and pulled out this lovely box of secrets.



It was ultra super secret since the instructions were in Greek, and the only thing in English were the words Barbeque and Herbs.

Well, I know what to do with grill seasonings, so I decided I'd give it a try.

In any Greek food I've had there's always quite a bit of olive oil and lime or lemon juice.



So I mixed about a 1/4 a cup of herbs with enough oil and juice to a pourable consistency.

Ooooh... this is gonna be good! I was feeling very inspired at about this point!



I poured it over the top of 4 chicken breasts. It probably would have been better if I had let it marinate for a while, but I didn't have time that night so I just threw it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.



Then I went to work on the salad. Nothing says Greek to me like cucumber & tomato salad.

Plus, it's super easy AND super yummy. Two things I'm always looking for in a recipe.

I chopped up 1.5 cucumbers, 4 romma tomatoes, and 1/2 a red onion.



And since I had some fresh basil laying around that I wanted to use up I decided to toss in some of it.

To chop basil you just roll it into a little tube, and then slice away.



Lookin' good already!



Then I sprinkled on some oregano, and salt & pepper, and 2 Tablespoons of olive oil.



Plus 2 tablespoons of lime or lemon juice.



And then a bunch of kalamata olives. The store I went to only had the kind with pits, but I know you can get them pitted. It'll save you a lot of trouble if you're able to get the pitted kind.



And of course feta cheese. I've noticed that it's a lot cheaper to buy it in a block then to get it pre-crumbled. You'll get about twice the cheese for your buck that way, and it's no trouble at all to crumble it yourself.



Oooooh yeah baby! Once you mix it all up it's good to let it set for about 15 minutes. Let the juice do it's work to macerate the veggies.



Now, if you're like Hubs, then you'll just take your salad and chicken as is. But if you're like me then you'll go just a few extra steps.

First I sliced my chicken, against the grain of the meat.



Then I spread a tiny amount of mayo inside a warm pita.

And made myself a delicious Greek chicken & salad pita sandwich.



My Recipe for Cucumber & Tomato Salad

1-2 cucumbers chopped
4-6 tomatoes chopped
1/2-1 red onion chopped
3-4 fresh basil leaves (or you can use a few sprinkles of dried)
1/2 teaspoon of oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 Tablespoons of olive oil
2 Tablespoons of lime or lemon juice
1/2 sliced kalamata olives with pits removed
1/2-1 cup feta cheese

Stir all ingredients together and allow to marinate for at least 15 minutes.



If you're feeling even MORE ambitious you should check out Smitten Kitchen, she recently posted what looks to be an amazing recipe for homemade pita bread!

Got a Mystery Spice recipe that you're ready to share with the world? Check out my participation guidelines and then link up! :)

Find Recipes Based On What You Have On Hand

Sometimes I really do feel like I'm the last person on the Internets to discover certain sites. And then when I do find them, I get SO excited and want to tell the world about them! Then I wonder... does everyone think I'm an idiot for only finding ___________ now rather than 3 years ago when it first came out?

But just in case you haven't found it, I thought I'd share it with you anyway!

Check it out! There are actually web sites out there where you can put in ingredients you have on hand and POOF as if by magic it tells you what you can make with them! How cool is that?!

Yes my friends, I'm practically the last person on earth to discover Supercook.com.

I've gotta tell ya, the last time I got so excited about a site was when I discovered The Pioneer Woman.

And you know how much I love Ree.

The part that I think is so awesome about Supercook is that you can enter literally EVERYTHING you have in your kitchen, highlight certain ingredients you wish to use for that meal, and then it comes up with recipes that do not necessitate a trip to the grocery store!

Perfect for families that are trying to save money.

Plus it will also give you suggestions that will require one or 2 items from the grocery store. I like this feature because oftentimes you might have said ingredient but you didn't enter it. Or maybe you have cheddar cheese and the recipe calls for monterey jack. Not a big deal to use cheddar instead.

Or say you're a crazy chick who's decided to utilize her spice cabinet to it's fullest, and you really aren't sure what to make with coriander...

You get the idea.

Cook Once, Eat Twice!

Today I thought I'd give you a REAL glimpse into my style of cooking in the hopes that you too will see how easy it is to cook more than one meal at a time in the kitchen. A lot of the tips and tricks I use can be found in The Freezer Cooking Manual from 30 Day Gourmet. Excellent book for anyone who'd love to learn how to cook meals in advance and store it away in their freezer! And for only $10.17 on Amazon... it practically pays for itself with the money you'll save buying food in bulk.

One of the great things I took from this book was the quote, "If you aren't using your crock pot, you're wasting time." Reason? Because you can easily have your crock pot going while you're cooking something else that requires more attention. I've taken this advice to heart, and now I use my crock pot at least 3 times a week, often while I cook other meals.

Of course you don't have to cook an entire month of meals in one day. Generally, I just cook more than we need at every meal and simply freeze the left overs. Or, like yesterday, I take one big bulk package of meat and cook it up several ways on one day. I prefer this over making a month of meals for several reasons. 1) I end up with a larger variety of meals stocked up in my freezer. And most importantly 2) It takes just about the same amount of time and effort as it does to cook just one meal. Plus 3) It enables me to pull food out of my freezer when I don't feel like cooking.

Win WIN if you ask me! There are so many advantages to cooking this way, and very few if any negatives. You really should give it a try!

Yesterday I cooked up an entire large family pack of ground turkey using two separate recipes. The entire process took me about an hour, but I was also trying to take pictures of myself as I was going along. My guess is that it would take you about 30-45 minutes.

My two recipes were a Taco Dip (which could also be used as an enchilada filling, or baked potato topping... this really has so many possible uses) and Italian Turkey Meatballs.

Lets get started shall we!

I didn't notice how large my package was, I'm guessing it was about 3-4 lbs. I took a third of it and tossed it in a large skillet on the stove. I didn't plan ahead very well so I defrosted it in the microwave, which is why the corners ended up a bit cooked. But for the Taco Dip it really didn't matter. The rest of the meat (I carefully chose the uncooked parts) went into a large mixing bowl.



I put about a cup of frozen corn into the crock.



Chopped up an onion. Half of it went into the skillet.



The other half went into the mixing bowl.



Then while the meat & onions in the skillet were browning I went to work adding more ingredients to the meat in the mixing bowl.

The first thing I added was 1/2 a cup of Panko bread crumbs.



Then a heaping 1/2 a cup of parmesan cheese.



By then the meat on the stove was cooked.



So I added it to the corn in the crock pot.



Then I tossed in some canned black beans.

I love black beans. I try to use them whenever a recipe gives me an excuse. The original recipe didn't call for them, but somehow a Taco Dip just wouldn't be right without some beans.



There are so many amazing salsas now a days. I stood in front of the salsa display for like... 5 minutes... before I decided to go with this one. Remember how indecisive I am?? Yeah... it was a tough choice. There were so many good ones that were just begging to be tried. I put 1/2 a cup into the crock pot.



And then taco sauce. You can totally use a hotter one if your taste buds will allow. But I was planning to take this dip to my Mother of Multiples meeting so I decided to go with mild. As it was several people told me, "My! This is a spicy one!" Half a cup goes into the crock.



And then a can each of sliced black olives and diced mild green chilies. These two are best buddies I tell ya...



I also added a pinch of red pepper flakes. Because I like a little extra something. Don't you?

Then I mixed all up.

Put the lid on and let it simmer on low for 2-3 hours.





Then back to the meatballs. They need a little more extra love.

I added a teaspoon of garlic.



And then I squeezed in some ketchup. I'm guessing I used about a 1/2 a cup or so.



And an egg. Gotta have something to bind it all together.



And then one of my favorite spice mixes, Italian seasoning.

I swear, I should have been born Italian.



I tossed in 2 large palmfuls of it.



Then a palmful of salt. I'd rather over season than under season, so I used a lot. There's a lot of meat in there remember.



And then pepper, another palmful. Please excuse my blurry picture... I'm not a professional photographer. I probably shouldn't even hold a camera, but I do.



I also added a pinch of red pepper flakes. Trust me, you'll want to. It just adds that little zip that makes them totally irresistible.

Then you take off your rings and dig in with both hands, mix and mush until it's thoroughly combined. I understandably don't have pictures of this part.

Next you form the meatballs and place them on a lined cookie sheet. I used a mini ice cream scoop to keep them uniform.

Cook them in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes or until they start to turn brown.

And Ta Da! Delicious meat balls that you can freeze away for future use in spaghetti sauce or... you can just heat them up and eat them the way they are.



The girls ate these for dinner last night, and they were so good that Ziva stole one off of Anya's tray!

My parents babysat the girls last night, and while Mom and I were chatting we kept sneaking those meatballs! They were cold when we were eating them, but they were GOOD anyway!

Cooking 2 meals at once requires a little bit of multi-tasking, but don't be afraid to give it a try! You'll really save yourself a lot of time and effort in the long run. When I was done with these recipes I had a beautiful and tasty dip to take to my meeting, plus the girls had meatballs for dinner and I was able to freeze 2 meals worth of meatballs for later!

Italian Turkey Meatballs

Roughly 2 lbs. of ground turkey
1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 an onion, diced
1/2 cup of ketchup
1 egg
2 large palmfuls of Italian seasoning (I'm guessing 3-4 tablespoons)
1 palmful of salt (2 teaspoons)
1 palmful of pepper (1 teaspoons)
1 teaspoon of garlic
a pinch of red pepper flakes

Mix all ingredients. Form into meatballs (or use a mini ice cream scoop) and place on a lined cookie sheet. Bake in the oven at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, or until they turn slightly brown.


Taco Dip
Adapted from The Crock-Pot Recipe Collection


1 lbs. of ground turkey
1/2 a chopped onion
1 cup of frozen corn
1 can of black beans, drained
1/2 cup of salsa
1/2 cup of mild taco sauce
1 can (4 oz) diced mild green chilies
1 can (4 oz) sliced ripe olives
1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend (optional)
Sour Cream (garnish)

Brown ground turkey and onion in a large skillet. Combine with remaining ingredients in the crock pot, reserving cheese and sour cream. Right before serving you may add cheese. Serve sour cream on the side or as a garnish.