CrockPot Creations Part 3: Pork Carnitas with Green Apple Slaw

My first week back to work was a hectic one and left me with very little time at home for cooking.  I managed to throw together a few meals, but one night The Hub and I decided to turn to our trusty friend, The Crockpot, for help.   We had bought a 3 lb. pork shoulder over the weekend and decided to make some tasty Pork Carnitas We had also bought a giant bag of Granny Smith apples over the weekend and needed...

Hump Day: Festive Holiday Cocktails

Happy Hump Day everyone!  It's official, the holidays are in full swing.  Tomorrow I'll be attending my first of many holiday parties this season and to get in the spirit, I thought I'd share some pretty delicious looking and festive cocktails that I found.  I can't wait to try these out .  What's your favorite holiday cocktail? Peppermint Patty You'll Need: - 1 oz. Smirnoff Vodka - 1 oz. Peppermint...

A Midwest Delight: Mom’s Pinecone Dip

One of my favorite things about this time of year is that I can make my mom's adorable Pinecone Dip. I'm not sure where she found this recipe, but it's totally a Midwestern thing, right up there with the Jell-O Pudding Chocolate Eclair that I'll share with you sometime when summer returns. The Pinecone Dip is super easy to make and looks so fabulous that you'll impress everyone you serve it to.  I have been...

Holiday Host Gift: Sweet & Spicy Glazed Nuts

As the holidays approach, our calendar is filling up with parties!  White Elephant parties, Ugly Sweater parties, and Work parties.  Each year The Hub's company hosts a fabulous holiday party at an awesome venue with a fun theme.  They've done Vegas, Roaring '20s, '80s Prom, 1979, and this year's theme:  Truman Capote's 1966 Black & White Ball. We had to do some research to figure out what this meant. ...

Crockpot Creation Part 2: Meaty, Chipotle Chili

It was uncharacteristically chilly and rainy this Thanksgiving weekend, which meant that we had to come up with an alternative for The Hub's Birthday BBQ.  We decided to move the party inside and put together another Crockpot Creation! As usual, this creation was The Hub's brainchild.  He wanted to do a chili that included a LOT of meat and some slow heat, which can best be derived from chipotle chilis. ...

Thanksgiving Sleeper Hit – Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes

You guys, I have something to confess... I don't like Pumpkin Pie. I know!  I know!  How completely unAmerican of me!  But it's true.  I like Pumpkin Bread, Pumpkin Cookies, Pumpkin Muffins, but I don't like Pumpkin Pie. Now that I have that off my chest, I can share my latest recipe with you - Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes.  I decided to try these out as an alternative to Pumpkin Pie so that I could feel...

A Cheese Ball With a Secret

As a dinner guest on Thanksgiving, you never want to arrive empty-handed.  And for those who are "culinarily challenged,"  a bouquet of flowers or bottle of wine is an excellent choice to bring your host.  But if you want to do something a little extra, that is still super easy, then this is the recipe for you. I came across this Cheese Ball recipe in the November issue of Cooking Light and immediately thought...

A Stuffing “For The Rest Of Our Lives”

You can probably tell by now that I like to use a recipe when I'm cooking.  I'm good at following directions.  When I need to improvise in the kitchen, I panic.  What can I say, it's the perfectionist in me!  I want to know that it's going to taste good.  I'm not sure what came over me, but when I made that Stuffed Acorn Squash last week, I just knew I wanted make a few small changes to the recipe and turn it...

Vegetarian Inspiration – Stuffed Acorn Squash

Last week we had our dear friends Marq and Dawn over for dinner.  They are both vegetarians so I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to try out a recipe from The Kitchn that I have been eyeing:  Stuffed Acorn Squash.  Little did I know that Marq does not actually like acorn squash.  When he admitted this to me I told him, "too bad, I already bought them so now you have to eat them."  You can say that...

Crockpot Creations Part 1: Pollo Loco

One of The Hub's favorite things to do is throw a whole bunch of random things in a crockpot and see what happens.  Surprisingly, his concoctions are usually very successful!  I like to call these meals Crockpot Creations.  Today I'm going to share a creation that we made last week and transformed into 3 different meals.  I call this creation, Pollo Loco. You'll need: 4 chicken breasts 6 cups of...