Crock Pot Mondays

In my quest in my battle to succeed at meal planning, I've decided to introduce a new feature to the blog: Crock Pot Mondays. Basically the premise is for me to post recipes that I've tried or currently trying in my slow cooker. This way (I hope!) I will be continually motivated to keep up with meal planning. Lately, my Crock Pot has been working overtime. In the last couple of days I've made lazy chicken and sloppy joes. I've got most of my recipes from Stephanie O'Dea's A Year of Slow Cooking blog. This woman's blog is giving the inspiration to expand my slow cooker repertoire from the usual fare I make. I really want to make a cake.

So what's in the Crock Pot today, you ask?

Lemon and herb roasted chicken

Ingredients:
* 1 whole chicken, thawed and skinned

* 1 head of garlic

* 2 lemons
* salt and pepper

* fresh rosemary

Method:

After you skin the chicken, rub it inside and out with salt and pepper. Place chicken in slow cooker. Peel garlic and stuff several whole cloves into chicken and sprinkle more cloves on top and around the chicken. Slice lemon and place on top, around and inside the chicken. Wash rosemary and do the same. The recipe states that if you are using dried rosemary, use a good amount, about two to three tablespoons. Do not add water. Cook on low for eight to 10 hours.

I've never tried this recipe, but I have no doubt it is a winner. I've made fragrant lemon chicken, which is a similar recipe and it was delicious. There is nothing like the smell of rosemary wafting through the house on a coldish September day.

Are your parents in?

I don't like interacting with door-to-door salespeople. I find these encounters awkward. From time to time we get unwanted solicitors knocking at our door. Most times it by sales representatives trying to sell us hot water heaters. I've got one. I'm good, I usually tell them before I shut the door. Sometimes salespeople from cable companies attempt to woo us with offers of discounts. Tonight it was a representative from an energy company showed up on my front doorstep.

I could ignore the doorbell, but that would be rude. After all, it is municipal election season and candidates are on the prowl for support. When I opened the door I knew I was in for a sales pitch of some sort. She introduced herself as a representative from one of the many energy companies that have flooded the market in recent years. I wasn't in the mood for a sales pitch as I had a headache and feeling a tad nauseous.

Are you responsible for paying the energy bills in the household? she asked.

Nope, was my reply.

Are your parents in?

This question threw me for a loop. My parents in? Are you kidding? I may look young (despite for the grey hair) for my age, but I don't look teenage young. Maybe it was my vacant stare or my dishevelled appearance that caused her to ask the question, but regardless she had made my entire day.

Nope, I replied before she left my doorstep.

I must point out that I didn't lie when I answered her questions. Dear husband is in charge of paying for the energy bills and my parents aren't in. They live an hour outside of the city. So nope, my parents aren't in. Thanks for asking. And thanks for making my day, lady.

Back on the meal planning bandwagon (maybe)

It has been a year since I wrote my first meal planning post. To be truthfully honest, nothing has changed. I'm not sure when I fell off the meal planning bandwagon, but it was several months ago. A staple in our meals has been a lot of shake and bake chicken and a lot of ham sandwiches (or hammages as darling daughter calls them) for me.

Today, I decided to take action. I hate cooking. Absolutely hate it. Slow cookers make cooking a bit bearable as I don't actually have to cook. I just assembling. I'm okay with assembling. When dear husband broke our slow cooker earlier this year, he went out and bought the hugest slow cooker he could find. Bigger is not always better as the slow cooker seems to overcook our meals because it is too big. So I bought a smaller slow cooker. Now I have two, I absolutely no more excuses why I can't assemble slow cooker meals.

I have yet to come up with a comprehensive slow cooking/meal plan. It is a work in progress. I've got some ideas, but it remains to be seen if I'll stick with it. Since I have a poor meal planning track record, I'll likely be writing a similar post this time next year.

So are you wondering what is my slow cooker? This recipe, taken from The Everything Slow Cooker Cookbook, is a slow cooker staple in my house. I usually tweak my recipes to suit my tastes. When I assemble this recipe, I usually opt using chopped onion rather than using onion flakes. Also, I don't put in the milk and cheese until 30 minutes before I'm ready to dish out the meal.

Wyoming Cowboy Casserole

1 pound lean ground beef

1 cup Colby cheese, cubed

1 can condensed tomato soup

1 can (16 ounce) whole kernel corn

1 can (16 ounce) red kidney beans (I usually drain and wash before throwing them into the pot).

1/4 cup milk

1 teaspoon dry onion flakes

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1. Brown ground beef in a skillet on medium-high heat; drain off grease. Spread beef on paper towels to cool before placing meat into the slow cooker.

2. Add all ingredients to the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for four hours. Serves four.

*Serve over biscuits and with a salad.

Routine keep sanity intact

I love routine. I hate when I'm out of a routine.

It has been a hectic couple of days. After the CIBC Run for the Cure charity garage sale on Saturday, I thought I'd spend the rest of the weekend relaxing. Heck, dear husband even had Tuesday off. With that many days off, surely we'd do something as a family.

If you consider snapping at each other, getting under each other's feet and whining family time, then we spent lot of quality time together. Darling daughter was sick on Saturday night and refused to sleep. Sunday was spent in a sleep deprived coma. Monday (I can't remember what happened Monday) came and went and yesterday we spent underneath each other's feet. Also, darling daughter refused to nap. Fun times weren't had by all.

Dear husband was stoked that he could spend the rest of the week in the computer room, participating in a work-related training sessions. However, he changed his mind and announced yesterday he'd be doing the course from his office. I don't blame him. I'd want to take a break from all the whining, too.

So with him out of the house, our routine has resumed. I've spent the day cleaning up poop, cleaning out the refrigerator and baking muffins. And darling daughter has decided to resume her naps. Yes, I love routines. They keep me sane.

Half marathon dreams

Summer is over.

This is the conclusion after I hung up the phone with my friend and running coach, C, yesterday afternoon. We have a " running date" this coming weekend. It sounds like hills will be involved. I haven't done any hill running since May. Ugh. She also mentioned an alternative, but it sounds as painful as hill running. I think that option may involve running eight kilometers. Double ugh.

I was very upfront and honest with C. Although I have been running faithfully all summer, I have been quite lazy. I haven't ran more than 4.1 kilometers for months. I consider four kilometers a long distance run. I'm scheduled to run in the CIBC Run for the Cure on October 3. I know I won't have any problems running the five kilometer route, but I'm not looking forward to it as there has been an element of laziness in my running throughout the summer.

And if it is any consolation for me, C hasn't ran this summer. She doesn't run in the summers. But for me, I must run, even in the most humid, sticky days. I don't have a choice. If I don't run, I feel antsy and unbalanced. I can't afford to feel those feelings. During our conversation, C mentioned that we should do the Race Weekend half marathon. Although months ago I was all gung-ho to do a half marathon, I now have my doubts. The other night while running a 4.1 kilometer route, I started to wonder how I even ran a 10 kilometer race in June. Was I nuts? And am I nuts for contemplating running a half marathon? I could be.

Time will only tell. Hills are fun, C tells me. Horrible but fun. If I can survive a hill run this coming weekend, maybe, just maybe, I might start considering a half marathon.

Just because you like your stuff doesn't mean everyone else will

On Saturday, me and two fellow mommas and friends, organized a charity garage sale. From gathering donations, to organizing and pricing, this sale was a huge undertaking. But all the work we invested into it was well worth it as we raised more than $450 for the CIBC Run for the Cure.

For the last two months, I've been slowly getting rid of darling daughter's baby things. It has been a work in progress. I sold a bunch of stuff in July through on-line classified ad sites. I've taken a break because that it was a huge undertaking in itself. Dealing with strangers, including those who can be classed under the random category, can sometimes be an exercise in frustration.

I decided to put darling daughter's clothes in the garage sale because I have painfully discovered that selling baby clothes is nearly next to impossible. Some stuff I sold at the garage sale almost broke my heart. Parting with baby clothes is hard as they are a reminder that the baby age is gone she'll never be that small again. Despite the fact you are ready to let go, it is hard to divorce yourself from these items. Throughout the sale, we sold the clothes at bargain prices. Again, this broke my heart (and injured my ego a bit) as I knew they were worth more than what we were selling them. I tried to remind myself that (a) this was a garage sale, not a consignment sale and (b) selling this stuff was raising money for charity. I think at one point I agreed to sell a clothing lot consisting of seven sleepers and two pajamas for $5. That was hard.

Despite having my heart broken a bit, my ego was injured when people rejected darling daughter's stuff. The thoughts of What do you mean you aren't going to buy this stuff? My kid look darn cute in it? ran through my head as people pawed through the clothing bins. Despite trying, I couldn't win.

I'm not too sure what I'm going to do with the leftover items. I guess I could keep them. Or I guess I could try and sell them again. Between trying to sell baby and maternity clothes, I think I've given myself a massive headache.

My moment in the spotlight

I belong to a local online moms group. It is a wonderful group. As well as the in-person events hosted by members, we talk online and offer virtual events, such as Mom of the Moment.

I can't really take credit for Mom of the Moment. Although I "host" MOM, it was never my idea. The premise behind MOM is that each month one lucky mom is randomly chosen from a pool of moms. In turn, she is showered with little gifts and cards by the participants who have signed up for the event. It is pretty cool idea. Each month I enjoy going to the card store, finding a card for the lucky mom and buying a little something, usually a Second Cup gift certificate, and popping my mail in the Canada Post mailbox at the local pharmacy. Although I participate, I never thought I'd get chosen as MOM.

When I returned home from our Prince Edward Island vacation, I was surprised to learn that I was August's MOM. Since I wouldn't be home to do the monthly draw, hosting responsibilities were temporarily taken over by the group's head organizer. Before I left for PEI, the card was ready to go with the intention it would be mailed once I learned the name of the lucky MOM. It was certainly a surprise to learn that lucky mom was me.

All month long I've been enjoying the cards and the little presents. I must say, MOM is a great pick-me-up, especially on horrible potty training days when I've literally have had to deal with poop all day. Since there are so many, my cards are strung across a piece of string in my living room. They create a garland of sunshine of sorts, especially on days when I'm not having the greatest of days. I think I'll be keeping the cards up for awhile. Looking at them instantly puts a smile on my face.

Thanks ladies for shining the spotlight on me this month. It was a lot of fun. And I hope September's lucky mom enjoys the spotlight as much as me.