Crockpot pork chops and roasted taters

I need to write this down.  It was A-Mazing!

I needed something quick for supper and didn't really want to heat up the house, so naturally wanted a recipe for the crockpot.  I took out some pork chops (unfortunately I'm not great at planning, so they were frozen and it was 2:00).  Normally I make my pork chops with cream of mushroom soup and onion powder and garlic, but my hubby wasn't feeling well, and is lactose intolerant, so I thought I would skip the cream.

So, what do you do?  Google or check on Pinterest, naturally.

I found this recipe on Pinterest...it looked promising.  I did change the recipe up a bit to better suit our family. (http://www.macandmolly.com/slow-cooker-bbq-pork-chops/)

(sorry, I thought about taking the picture after I had started eating.  These days, I need to eat quickly...or else I don't get to)

My version of Crock Pot Pork Chops:

1. Place 1/2 tsp of chopped garlic (from Costco) on bottom of crock pot.
2. Add enough chopped onion to cover the bottom.
3. Pour enough BBQ sauce to bottom to cover garlic and onion.
4. Lay pork chops on top. (They were frozen.  If you are using fresh you may want to add a maximum of 1/2 cup of water)
5. Sprinkle pork chops with mustard powder.
6. Pour more BBQ sauce on top of pork chops.

I made 2 pork chops and used about half of a bottle of BBQ sauce. When it was finished, it tasted like candy.

I cooked on high for 4 hours.

Roasted Potatoes:

1. Peel and chop one potatoe per person.  Cut into uniform size pieces.
2. Put olive oil on cookie sheet and lay potato on top in single layer.
3. Sprinkle with spices of your choice.  I used salt, pepper, salad shake by litehouse, smoked paprika, and cajun spice.
4. Sprinkle more olive oil on top as you mix potatoes around on cookie sheet.  Ensure that potatoes are coated with oil.
5.  Bake at 375 for 10 minutes.  Turn.  Bake another 10 minutes.
6.  Turn oven heat to 400 degrees and bake approximately 8 more minutes until potatoes are crispy.  You may wish to turn again to ensure that they are evenly crisped!

Enjoy!

Helpful hint: Celery and onion

So this may not be any news to you, but for some it may be.

If you're anything like me you go shopping with the best of intentions to eat healthier, which includes more fruits and vegetables.  The problem with that plan is that fruits and veggies are perishable...meaning they go bad.

Celery is a wonderful example.  I buy celery planning to munch on celery sticks when I need a snack instead of cookies and other sweets.  In reality what happens is the celery stalks stay neglected in the fridge until some time in the future when I find them, remembering my original plan.  At this point, they're looking a little rough.  What to do?  What to do?

I hate throwing food out about as much as I dislike shopping for it in the first place...so...I salvage!

I salvage by washing and chopping the celery up into small pieces, then freezing in freezer bags.

I do the same with onions.  Apparently you are not supposed to save and reuse a cut onion (I'm not sure what truth is in it, as my mom always used left over onions and we never got sick). In our house the onion would end up going bad and into the garbage.  So chopping up and freezing is my solution to our left over onion dilemma.

The nicest part about having onions and celery chopped and in the freezer is that it makes making soup and soup stock that much easier!  Not to mention anything else that requires cut celery or onion.

I'm back!

It's been a while!  I got locked out because...ready for it...drumroll please...I forgot the password.  [insert embarrassed icon here].

Our little baby boy was born on March 20, 2014.  He weighed a whopping 8 lbs 4 ounces (Everyone tells me that's big, but I still think it was small-ish).  He's now just over 14 lbs at almost 11 weeks!  Yup he's doing well.

As for my goals, well we'll have to take some time to review those soon.  We're now at the halfway point in the year.  Here's hoping by December 31st, I will have achieved some of those.

Life has been busy with a little one, but I hope to set aside some time to continue blogging.

For now, I will leave you with a photo of my little boy!