Since the Church has a refrigerator, microwave, sink and dishwasher, but no stove/oven, we all have to bring our hot dishes in in crock pots. It’s not a big deal, really.  Actually it’s convenient to keep your stuff hot in a crock pot.  My problem was bringing soup or stew or anything else that could slop around  and get all over everything!

A friend of mine brought one of these to Church…

Ain’t it perty?  I think so!!

So, when CSN Stores contacted me to do a review for them again, I went to one of their over 200+ stores looking for this fantastic gem.  And sure enough, they had one and it was the right price.  So I ordered it, got it and used it!!

This crock pot is awesome!!   It has these clamps on both sides and little hooks that they latch onto.  You simply put the latch over the hook, pull down on the clamp and it clamps the lid down.  The lid has a black rubber (I assume it’s rubber) gasket that goes all the way around it, so when clamped down it makes an air/water/soup tight seal!! =)

This last Sunday I man split pea and sausage SOUP!! Yes, I said SOUP!!  I really wanted to see if this baby would live up to my expectations.  Guess what??

NO LEAKS!!!  We live on a dirt road that isn’t smooth at all and there are so many bumps, I thought for sure it would leak some.  It.Didn’t.Leak.At.ALL.  It was amazing.  The High sitting got the soup nice and hot like it was supposed to and it turned out great….don’t think I’ll make that soup again (it wasn’t my favorite) but I’ll definitely use the crock pot again!!!

I give this Crock Pot ♥♥♥♥ (4 hearts)!!!

(since I don’t have stars on my character thingy, I will use hearts for rating on my reviews…1 heart being very poor, 2 hearts being poor, 3 hearts being average, 4 hearts being good and 5  hearts being very good).

The only thing that I would change on this is I would give it Cool Touch sides, this baby gets HOT!!!!

Thanks to CSNStores for, once again, hooking me up with a great product!!! =)

Anywho…

Chicken and Black Bean Soup

1 can black beans

1 jar salsa

1 can low sodium chicken broth

1 can chicken

1 can corn (not drained)

1 can refried beans

**put everything in a pan, heat through, enjoy**

Happy Fat Tuesday!!!

For more diet tips, recipes and diet stories, head over and see Taylor!!!

UNTIL NOW!!!

I am so glad that CSN Stores offered me the chance to review this fondue pot.

It.Is.Fabulous.

I used a couple recipes from the owner’s booklet that came with the fondue pot.  I wasn’t impressed with the first one we tried (the one we used for the pictures).  And honestly, we added a few ingredients to the cream cheese recipe to try to “kick it up a notch” and it did help, but I was looking for something with a little more umph!!  But the chocolate recipe was good!!!

The pot itself was great!! All the ingredients melted like they were supposed to, and the easy-to-read/use  heat settings were nice.  All it took to make the fondue sauces  we used  was the warm setting on the dial.

The fondue pot I got included eight “forks”, each with a different colored “dot” at the end of the stick so you don’t have to worry about mixing them up when using them with friends.  I, of course picked the pink one!!  Then the kids fought over the rest…but it all worked out.  It also has a stay-cool ring that sits on the top of the pot itself to hold the forks and catch drips and such.  It is electric but fully immersible for washing, which is nice.  It was very easy to clean after both recipes, cheese and chocolate. Overall, I think this is a great product.

The only thing I would do different is make the pot divided.  It is big enough that you could do two fondues at once.  Once sweet and one savory, for example.  It would be great to be able to both without having to take one fondue out and wash the pot and start over on another!! Just a suggestion Rival!! =)

I give this Fondue Pot ♥♥♥♥ (4 hearts)!!!

(since I don’t have stars on my character thingy, I will use hearts for rating on my reviews…1 heart being very poor, 2 hearts being poor, 3 hearts being average, 4 hearts being good and 5  hearts being very good).

Here are some pictures of our Fondue Party!!

So there you have it.  Rival’s 3 qt. Stainless Steel Fondue Set is a big hit at our house!!!

Isn’t my “little” helper too cute?? Love you pumpkin_seed, Thanks for helping out!!

Carry On =)

Laura hosts Menu Plan Monday for us every Monday.  This is a great way to get ideas  to add to your menu and to share your ideas with others, as well.  So if you are sick of the same old thing for supper, join us and get some new ideas to spice up your meals!!  This will also save you money on going out when you just can’t decide what to have AND when you shop, because you’ll know exactly what to get when you go!!!

It seems like no matter what I plan to do for meals in a week, I never seem to quite get there! LOL  I think I have too much going on 90% of the time, but it’s all good!! So here is this weeks menu plan, whether I stick to it or not, may be another story!! Have a great week everybody!!

• tater tot casserole
• hamburgers and the fixins
• brats and the fixins
• sloppy joe’s and the fixins
• french bread sandwiches
• grilled cheese and tomato soup
• left-overs

Happy Eating!!  Go visit Laura for more yummy meal ideas!!

Rhubarb Upside Down Cake

What you need:

• 4-6 cups rhubarb (washed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces)
• 1- 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 – 3/4 cup flour
• 1 yellow cake mix (can use recipe for 9×13 yellow cake from scratch instead if you desire)

What to do:

• wash and cut rhubarb
• toss rhubarb, sugar and flour together in a large bowl
• grease and flour your 9×13 pa baking pan
• add rhubarb, sugar and flour mixture to your pan;  pouring the extra sugar and flour over rhubarb in pan
• prepare cake mix as directed and pour over rhubarb in 9×13
• bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean…will take a smidge longer than if you made just the plain cake

my in-laws love to serve this cake with a dab of vanilla ice cream, you could also use cool whip!

For more Tempt My Tummy goodness…go see Lisa!

For more Tempt My Tummy goodness…go see Lisa!

Laura hosts Menu Plan Monday for us every Monday.  This is a great way to get ideas  to add to your menu and to share your ideas with others, as well.  So if you are sick of the same old thing for supper, join us and get some new ideas to spice up your meals!!  This will also save you money on going out when you just can’t decide what to have AND when you shop, because you’ll know exactly what to get when you go!!!

It seems like no matter what I plan to do for meals in a week, I never seem to quite get there! LOL  I think I have too much going on 90% of the time, but it’s all good!! So here is this weeks menu plan, whether I stick to it or not, may be another story!! Have a great week everybody!!

• breakfast for dinner!!
• parmesan chicken fingers with potatoes and a vegetable
• BLTs
• venison steaks, veggies, potatoes, rolls
• garlic bread hoagies (will share the recipe later if they turn out!!)
• sweet and sour meatballs/rice
• left-overs

Happy Eating!!  Go visit Laura for more yummy meal ideas!!

CHIPOTLE CON QUESO DIP

What you need:

• 2 lbs packaged processed cheese spread cubed (I’m gonna use Velveeta)

• 1 (10 oz) can diced tomatoes with green Chile peppers

• 1-3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, chopped (depending on how spicy you want your dip)

• 1 T. Worcestershire sauce

• Tortilla chips

What to do:

• In a 3 1/2 – 4 quart slow cooker, combine cheese spread, undrained tomatoes, chipotle peppers in adobo sauce and Worcestershire sauce
• Cover and cook on low heat 3- 3 1/2  hours or on high for 1 1/2-2 hours
• Stir well before serving
• Serve with warm with Tortilla chips
• keep warm on low or warm setting

For more ideas on what to do in your crock pot go see Debbie!!

I am setting this up as an automatic post…should post of Friday, April 30, 2010.  We shall see if I can do it right ( I will try to check it tomorrow)!! If not, we’ll just link up next week!! No worries!!

So, without further ado, I bring you (drum roll please)…

Homemade Beef Potpie

What you need:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 small onion chopped
• 1/2 – 1 cup beef stock
• 2 small potatoes, peeled and chopped into bite sizes
• frozen mixed veggies
• 1 can refrigerated crescent rolls
• 1 – 2 Tbsp flour
• seasoned salt to taste
• Pepper, to taste
• garlic powder, to taste
• 2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce, more or less to taste
• hot sauce, to taste (optional)

What to do:

• Preheat oven 350°.

• Brown the hamburger meat and saute the onions with the meat. Add the seasoned salt , pepper, garlic powder to the hamburger while browning.
• Add the bite sized potatoes to the browned meat. Continue to simmer on stove top. Add, the frozen mixed veggies and Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce.
• To make a sauce, add 1-2 Tbsp of flour to the meat and veggie mixture. Adding the beef stock, stir all together over low heat, continuing to simmer the beef mixture. This creates the beef sauce. Once simmered and you are happy with your flavors, transfer the meat/ veggies to a prepared casserole dish. (next time I will use a little smaller one than my 9×13, so my crust is separated like that)
• Cover the meat with crescent rolls (see picture above).
• Bake 20-30 minutes, uncovered. You want your crescent roll topping to be nice and golden brown.

ENJOY!!  Giving a shout out to Lisa for this great recipe!!!

Now for the Meme part.  Link up below with your post.  Please comment after linking up!!! Thanks for joining me for Foodie Friday!!!

Bacon Horseradish Dip

What you need:

• 3 (8oz) packages cream cheese, softened and cut up

• 3 cups shredded cheddar cheese (12 oz)

• 1 cup half-and-half or light cream

• 1/3 cup green onions, chopped

• 3 tablespoons prepared horseradish

• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• 1/2 teaspoon coarse-ground pepper

• 12 slices bacon, crisp cooked, cooled and finely crumbled ( 1 cup)

• corn chips, toasted baguette slices, toasted pita wedges, or assorted crackers

What to do:

• In a 3 1/2 – 4 quart slow cooker, combine cream cheese, cheddar cheese, half-and-half, green onions, horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, garlic and pepper
• Cover and cook on low heat 4-5 hours or on high for 2-2 1/2 hours, stirring once halfway through cooking.
• Stir in bacon
• Serve with corn chips, baguette slices, pita wedges or assorted crackers

For more ideas on what to do in your crock pot go see Debbie!!