Slow Cooking Thursday!

I decided to update my banner, I figured with it being a new year, we needed a new one :) Please update your banners when participating ok???

Welcome to my weekly Crockpot Recipes Exchange. It's such a great way to share your favorite dishes or to learn some new ones to make for your family.

What do you think??? Do You have some great recipes to share, or perhaps you're looking for some delicious ones to give you a reason to pull out the ol' crockpot???

Time to pull out those crockpots and put them to good use. If you want to join in, just grab the banner and add your name to Mr Linky :)

Well ladies, hopefully today I'll be lucky and get more than 4 comments on this, I thought you guys were enjoying but I guess it's run it's course.....will see how today goes, if I'm still not getting much response to it, I think it may be the last one I do, I don't want to keep putting something up that people are not interested in anymore :)

Anyway, here we go:

Bachelor's Beef And Beer Recipe

Ingredients:
2 pounds cubed beef
3 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1 bay leaf
1 package dry onion soup mix
12 ounces beer

Directions:

Combine flour, sugar, thyme and soup mix. Toss cubed beef in to coat. Dump in crock pot.

Add bay leaf, pour beer over beef mixture. Stir. Put lid on and cook on low for 7-8 hours.

Remove bay leaf. Serve over noodles, rice or mashed potatoes.

Watching TV on my computer!!!!

We all know that I love TV and I love some shows, honestly, I think that if I could, I would probably spend days glued in front of the tv screen. I'm one of those people that likes all kinds of shows so I can usually find something to watch.

Unfortunately, I'm either really busy, running around, or the kids take over the TV so I find myself missing a lot of shows that I'm interested in.

I had hear about TV Computer Cards, which allow you to watch TV on your computer, but I kept thinking, NAH, I mean really, how good would that be??? I had also heard that you can record your shows straight to the computer so you can watch them later.....sound great so far???

UMMMMM HELLOOOOOO...I should have done it earlier.

Yesterday I had to run to the BX for some stuff and I happened to glance at one of the shelves. There is was....Hauppauge WinTV2000 for $75. I didn't know whether to pick it up or not, but I really really wanted to check it out, so I picked it up. It's inexpensive and let me tell you, I'm NOW watching tv, yes, watching tv while I blog. I can make it as big as my tv monitor or I can have it always on top in the corner AND I can record my shows.

I'm so thrilled you have no idea, NEVER again will I miss Grey's Anatomy, Ugly Betty, General Hospital or American Idol or Survivor or whatever.........I can even set a timer on it to record a show while I'm away from the computer....or I can be watching one channel and recording a different one. And even better, I have the clips saved on my computer so I can watch it whenever I want to.


Anyway, I finally managed to make it to all your blogs and leave comments.....except for Liz (Looneybin4sure) and Hub....for some reason, every single time I try to load up their blogs, it crashes my computer LOL
I'm not sure what is going on, but I'll keep trying.

Little Nicholas is finally getting sick too, he's walking around sniffling and this morning he said "Mommy I can't go anywhere, I'm sick"....well that would be ok if daddy was home, but it's not like I can just leave him home while I pick up Jasmine. He cracks me up with the things he says though, and so does Jasmine.

Yesterday we were talking and I don't recall what I told her, but she looks at me and says "You're freaking me out man" LOL Man?!?!?!?!
Where does she get these things, it's like the other day she was telling me about one of the boys in her class, and she was explaining how he is always getting in trouble because he whines and cries for everything....then she says to me "Ugh he annoys me, he kept whining to me and finally I just said "golly, do you want some crackers to go with that wine?" HAHAHAHAHA

She's a feisty one, definitely going to keep me and her daddy (him especially) on our toes during her teenage years.

Thursday she has a Spring Concert at school, at 2:30pm and 6:30pm, and we've been told (by her) that she has to be there for both times. Apparently it counts towards their grade, so she's paranoid about being there and not missing it for anything in the world. Since Curt is in class this week, I'll be there at 2:30pm with Nicholas and then we will ALL be there again at 6:30pm.....will be a day full of Spring thoughts and songs about Groundhogs. Can't wait!!!




Anyway, I have to tell you, I have met the sweetest ladies through blogging. You all know how much I love you guys and it's amazing how friendships are formed even when you've never met in person.

I was talking with Elizabeth through emails and she told me she was sending me something, boy was I ecstatic when I got the mail this weekend and was met with a package full of books. You know the way to my heart Elizabeth LOL Thank you so much :) She's such a sweetheart and I love her to pieces :)

Then yesterday, I get home and grab the mail to find a beautiful "Get Well" card from the other sweetheart Eden. What a sweet thing to do and it definitely made my day :) Thank you Eden :)


Everytime I'm sick I get lazy, really lazy. I don't want to do anything and so I have to find ways to force myself to get up and clean, cook dinner and well, continue being a mommy and wife I guess.

So I'm sitting here and I know I have to go sweep and mop the kitchen floor and I don't want to. I could get away with not doing it but I doubt anyone wants to keep stepping on that sticky spot. You know the ones that mysteriously appear and NO ONE did it??? Don't you just love that???

Anyway, I'm outta here, have errands to run and things to do. Hope you're all having a wonderful Tuesday, remember to take one day at a time, enjoy it to the fullest and stop worrying about those things which we can not control. Lay it all in the Lord's hands and watch how much easier your life can be :)

God Bless,

Apparently it was Superbowl Weekend?!?!?!

I must be the odd one out because I didn't know it was Superbowl, I had NO idea who was playing or what they were doing, quite frankly the only thing I know about Superbowl is that people get together and throw big parties which include loads of yummy food. FOOD is the key word with me, see my ears perk up and my taste buds start having a party of their own.

I just realized that I didn't get to my blog this weekend, and not because I didn't try to, but for some reason, Blogger is yet again picking on me, or on us I guess. I have been lurking all of your blogs and not being able to comment, and those are the ones that actually show up for me, for the majority I have a weird error that keeps popping up. Everytime I see it is makes my eye twitch.

Anyway, I'm here, I'm alive, suffering a major sinus issue, but I'm ok. Yesterday though was pretty bad, it got to about 1pm and I told Curt that I had to go lay down, I was dizzy, I was feeling immense sinus pressure to the point where if I had to look down, I felt like my forehead was going to explode. You know when you see those horror movies and there's something trying to push through a wall of a house???? That's what it felt like, something or maybe "someone" (lol) pushing against my forehead. It was horrible!!!

I laid down and Nicholas came upstairs to rub my face, he's such a sweetie :) All I know is that I woke up 30 minutes later and he was gone LOL
Poor kid must have wondered why mommy just fell asleep!!!

So there you go, the adventures of a sick mommy, never gets old I tell ya.

I don't have much going on here today, I'm hoping to get a nap in because Curt is working nights this week. For some lame reason, I was so caught up in "The First 48" that I watched two episodes and then realized that it was after midnight....yeah great going Sandra, now I have about 5 1/2 hours to sleep before I have to be up.....wouldn't have been TOO bad if I was able to go to sleep straight away, but I couldn't.


Long story short, I'm cranky, I'm tired, my sinus is driving me insane and I want SPRING to come NOW, dagnabit LOL
I think I need more coffee.

Thank you to all who left comments about Machu Picchu, it really is a stunning place and one that I would LOVE to visit someday. I'm having such a great time visiting all these places and learning about new cultures and ways of life, and the recipes are great too.

One of my favorite type of books to read are Time Travel Romance, and Eugenia Riley just excels in those....so when I was at paperbackswap last week, I saw one of hers and quickly ordered it. BUSHWHACKED BRIDE is hilarious, imagine a woman from our time, a College Professor nevertheless, suddenly finds herself in a carriage being taken over by a Gang of Criminals comprised of 5 brothers, and the year is 1888. LOL
I'm almost done with it and I'm LOVING every single page, you know those books that you just can't put down???
I just can't wait to finish it :)

I have to cut this one short, I have some errands to run and I need to make a hair appointment for Jasmine, she needs a haircut badly, and I'm not one of those moms that will just do it myself and send her to school ready to be picked on for the botched up hairstyle. Might as well paint a Target on her LOL

I will come by and visit you all again today, hopefully I can actually leave comments this time.

God Bless,

The Greatest Places on Earth!!!

I'm taking you on another trip today, and this one I'm sure you will enjoy too.

How about Machu Picchu??? Sounds like something you could eat doesn't it?? LOL

Come on, grab your coffee and coat, let's head out.

MACHU PICCHU

Machu Picchu is a city located high in the Andes Mountains in modern Peru. It lies 43 miles northwest of Cuzco at the top of a ridge, hiding it from the Urabamba gorge below. The ridge is between a block of highland and the massive Huaynac Picchu, around which the Urubamba River takes a sharp bend. The surrounding area is covered in dense bush, some of it covering Pre-Colombian cultivation terraces.

Machu Picchu (which means "manly peak") was most likely a royal estate and religious retreat. It was built between 1460 and 1470 AD by Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui, an Incan ruler. The city has an altitude of 8,000 feet, and is high above the Urubamba River canyon cloud forest, so it likely did not have any administrative, military or commercial use. After Pachacuti’s death, Machu Picchu became the property of his allus, or kinship group, which was responsible for it’s maintenance, administration, and any new construction.

The Incas planted crops such as potatoes and maize at Machu Picchu. To get the highest yield possible, they used advanced terracing and irrigation methods to reduce erosion and increase the area available for cultivation. However, it probably did not produce a large enough surplus to export agricultural products to Cuzco, the Incan capital.

One of Machu Picchu's primary functions was that of astronomical observatory. The Intihuatana stone (meaning 'Hitching Post of the Sun') has been shown to be a precise indicator of the date of the two equinoxes and other significant celestial periods. The Intihuatana (also called the Saywa or Sukhanka stone) is designed to hitch the sun at the two equinoxes, not at the solstice (as is stated in some tourist literature and new-age books).

At midday on March 21st and September 21st, the sun stands almost directly above the pillar, creating no shadow at all. At this precise moment the sun "sits with all his might upon the pillar" and is for a moment "tied" to the rock. At these periods, the Incas held ceremonies at the stone in which they "tied the sun" to halt its northward movement in the sky. There is also an Intihuatana alignment with the December solstice (the summer solstice of the southern hemisphere), when at sunset the sun sinks behind Pumasillo (the Puma's claw), the most sacred mountain of the western Vilcabamba range, but the shrine itself is primarily equinoctial.

Few people outside the Inca’s closest retainers were actually aware of Machu Picchu’s existence. Before the Spanish conquistadors arrived, the smallpox spread ahead of them. Fifty percent of the population had been killed by the disease by 1527. The government began to fail, part of the empire seceded and it fell into civil war. So by the time Pizarro, the Inca’s conquerer, arrived in Cuzco in 1532, Machu Picchu was already forgotten.

SCENERY:

Virtual Tour:
Credit goes to Valpard for posting this beautiful video on Youtube

RECIPES:

Arroz con Pollo
Serves 4

Ingredients

2 tbsp Fresh Coriander (cilantro)
2fl.oz. Vegetable Oil
Salt and Pepper
4 boneless Chicken Breasts, skinned
2 Garlic Cloves, crushed
1 Onion, finely chopped
12oz Long Grain Rice
20fl.oz. fresh Chicken Stock
4oz Frozen Green Peas
2 Jalapeno Chili Peppers, cut into very thin strips


Instructions

1. Place the coriander in a blender together with 120ml/4fl.oz. of Water and process until quite smooth. Pass through a wide meshed strainer to remove the excess water and set aside.

2. Heat the oil in a large saucepan, add the chicken, garlic and onion and fry over a medium heat for about 20 minutes, turning from time to time, until the chicken just cooked.

3. Add the reserved blended coriander and the stock and bring to the boil, stirring well.

4. Add the rice and chilies and cook over a medium heat for 15-20 minutes until liquid is almost completely absorbed.

5. Add the peas and continue to cook over low heat for a further 5-10 minutes or until the rice is cooked. This is traditionally served with the chicken completely covered by the rice.

Leche Asada (8-10 servings)

Variations of this can be found all over Latin America.

* 1 can of sweetened, condensed milk
* 1 can of evaporated milk
* 1 cup sugar
* 1 tsp vanilla extract
* 8 eggs, beaten
* 1/4 cup water

Mix the condensed milk, evaporated milk, 1/2 cup of sugar, the vanilla, and eggs.

In a saucepan dissolve 1/2 cup sugar in 1/4 cup of water, heat carefully until it becomes syrupy and slightly tan.

Pour the caramel in a glass baking dish and pour the milk mixture on top.

Take a slightly larger glass dish and fill halfway with water. Place the dish with the milk mixture inside the larger dish and cover everything with aluminium foil. Cook in a 400-degree oven for 30-45 minutes or until the custard is completely cooked. (In Spanish this method of cooking is called baño maría.)

Serve slightly chilled.

Slow Cooking Thursday!

I decided to update my banner, I figured with it being a new year, we needed a new one :) Please update your banners when participating ok???

Welcome to my weekly Crockpot Recipes Exchange. It's such a great way to share your favorite dishes or to learn some new ones to make for your family.

What do you think??? Do You have some great recipes to share, or perhaps you're looking for some delicious ones to give you a reason to pull out the ol' crockpot???

Time to pull out those crockpots and put them to good use. If you want to join in, just grab the banner and add your name to Mr Linky :)

SAUCY SCALLOPED POTATOES

4 cups thinly sliced peeled potatoes (about 2 pounds)
1 can (10-3/4 ounces) cream of celery or mushroom soup, undiluted
1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk
1 large onion, sliced
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1-1/2 cups chopped fully cooked ham

In a slow cooker, combine the first seven ingredients; mix well.

Cover and cook on high for 1 hour. Stir in ham. Reduce heat to low; cook 6-8 hours longer or until potatoes are tender.

Yield: 8-12 servings