Archives for October 2012

Slow Cooker Mexican Lasagna

I’m not always a patient person.

Ok, I take that back. I’m never a patient person.

I know it’s a virtue and all, but why did something so difficult have to be a virtue? Couldn’t one of the virtues be to eat lots of chocolate? I could really follow that virtue without any hesitation.

The crockpot is my best friend when it comes to impatience. You all know how much I really love that thing. Popping dinner into the crockpot in the morning and not looking at it again until that evening when it’s time to eat is truly the best way to go.

I got a hankering the other night.

A mexican hankering.

I honestly wanted this mexican lasagna that my friend Laurie has made for me a few times. It’s really tasty and seemed easy enough to make. But since I’m cursed with impatience, instead of giving her a call or even a text message, I just made up my own in hopes to coming somewhere close to her’s. I kinda had inklings on what ingredients might have been in it so I just went to work adding things as I thought would taste good.

I want to introduce you to the Slow Cooker Sling. No, it’s not something that you have to go out and buy at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. It’s something you can make in 2 seconds. This is the easiest way to remove your mexican lasagna without mess. It also makes it super easy to cut into pretty pie pieces.

Take a piece of long foil LONGER than your crockpot and let the ends hang out. Push it into the crockpot and form it into all the nooks and crannies.

Then take another layer of foil and go the other way with it. Depending on your crockpot, it may not need to be as long as the first piece. Once again, form it into your nooks and crannies. We wouldn’t want to leave any nooks or crannies out!

Then it’s time to whip up the filling for our lasagna. This is SO simple and incredibly tasty. It took everything in me to keep from eating all the filling. Unlike some crockpot meals, you’ll be happy to know that there is NO chopping and NO browning of meat in these steps.

That means it’s really easy y’all.

Flash forward past your laborious mexican lasagna stacking and it’s ready for the easy part…waiting. But the waiting is easy! Go play outside or enjoy a movie, or go to work. You know, whatever you normally do.

When you come home, plop a little shredded cheese on top to melt up and get ooey gooey. Then use your handy foil sling to pull it out.

NOTICE: Objects on foil are bigger than they appear! It may seem small when you first get it out, but I assure you, when you start to slice it into pieces it will be much bigger.

Yeah, like this big. Each and every single bite is heavenly.

When I first started making this I was considering calling it Mile High Enchilada Pie because it slices like pie. But when my daughter was describing it, she said “Momma, is this pasta?”. That’s how soft the tortillas get. They are almost like pasta which taste a lot like noodles and hence the “lasagna” name.

I don’t know if this is exactly like my friend Laurie’s but it’s quite tasty anyways! We ate every single leftover and I will be making this one on a regular basis!

Let me know if you make this. I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Slow Cooker Mexican Lasanga
Recipe Type: Main Dish, Slow Cooker
Author: Pennywise Cook
No cutting, no chopping, no browning, no baking. Just a simple slow cooker mexican lasagna for a busy weeknight meal!
Ingredients
  • 28 oz Can Black Beans
  • 4 oz Cream Cheese, Softened
  • 1 can Corn
  • 1 Jar Salsa, Divided
  • 1/4 tsp Cumin
  • 1/2 tsp Chili Powder
  • Dash Salt
  • 6 Flour Tortillas
  • 1 and 1/2 c. Shredded Cheese- Divided
  • 1/4 c. Sour Cream
Instructions
  1. Begin by creating your foil sling in the bottom of your crockpot.
  2. In a large bowl mix the filling together- black beans, cream cheese, corn, 1/3 c. salsa, cumin, chili powder, and salt.
  3. In bottom of the crockpot pour 2/3 c. salsa. Place 1 tortilla on bottom. Top with 1/2 c. filling, then 1/4 c. shredded cheese.
  4. Layer another tortilla then 1/2 c. filling and another 1/4 c. shredded cheese. Continue until you have a total of 5 layers and 6 total tortillas. End with the tortilla.
  5. On top, mix the rest of the jar of salsa with 1/4 c. sour cream to create a creamy mixture. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
  6. When close to done cooking, top with 1/4 c. shredded cheese and allow to melt. Remove with sling and slice into pieces to serve.
Notes

You can adjust how hot or mild you make this by using your preferred heat salsa.


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No-Bake S’mores Pie

Fall is here! On our trip these past couple of weekends I noticed the trees a changin’ and they are just beautiful. It was especially beautiful driving through the mountains in Chattanooga. I love looking down on huge valleys just covered in autumn-colored fall trees. Makes the drive more enjoyable for sure!

Along with the leaves falling and cooler weather, campfires are sure to follow! In fact, we’re thinking about having a family night this weekend around our fire pit. The feel of cool, crisp air mixed with a crackling fire and marshmallows just can’t be beat in the fall. And you can bet that some fall treats will be eaten! S’mores are my all-time favorite campfire food. I enjoy a roasted hot dog every now and then. And popcorn in those foil packages are fun, but s’mores are the real deal.

Even before the weather even pretended to cool off, I got a hankerin’ for a s’more. Somehow, instead of creating just 1 s’more, I ended up creating this pie. That’s ok. I’d rather have an entire pie than 1 s’more anyways.

So this pie is super simple. I wanted to make it a little better for you, so instead of using creams, I opted for a nonfat yogurt. Of course after using an entire bag of chocolate chips, it doesn’t really matter. But hey, at least I make the effort right?

All the prettiness on the top is completely optional. I had just bought the ingredients for my s’more so I had them and thought why not make the pie look pretty? So depending on how pretty you make yours look, you’re talking between 4 and 6 ingredients. Most of which are highly inexpensive and easy to work with. This pie would be a GREAT thing to bring to a cookout get together.

The one thing that I will point out is that the yogurt does give the chocolate filling a bit of a tang. Clearly this was my sacrifice for making something better for you. My daughter noticed this immediately, but it didn’t bother my husband. If you think you might not like that, try using heavy cream instead. Should taste great and give the same type consistency.

Here’s how to make it:

No-Bake S’mores Pie
Recipe Type: Dessert
Author: Pennywise Cook
You don’t have to make a fire to have s’mores! Try this easy pie to satisfy your craving!
Ingredients
  • 1 Graham Cracker Crust (reduced fat)
  • 1 Bag Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips (12 oz)
  • 1 c. Plain, Nonfat Yogurt (or heavy cream)
  • 1 tub Marshmallow Cream
  • 2 c. Mini-marshmallows- Optional
  • 5 Graham Crackers for Topping- Optional
  • 1 Hershey Bar for Topping- Optional
Instructions
  1. In a large microwavable bowl, place the chocolate chips and 1 cup yogurt. Microwave on 50% power for 5 minutes. Remove and jiggle the bowl getting the chocolate chips to move around without stirring. Return to microwave and heat on 100% powder in 15-30 second increments until the chips begin to melt. Stir until smooth. Place in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour- 2 hours.
  2. Chocolate mixture should be cold. Place in a mixing bowl and whip until the chocolate turns a light brown color. Whip for about 5 minutes on high. Pour into graham cracker crust.
  3. Top with marshmallow cream (though you may not need the entire tub). Top with chocolate pieces and graham crackers if you wish and line the outside with mini marshmallows.

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Breaking Away from Busy & OMG It’s October?!

We are back in one piece after a couple of different road trips. The first going south and the second going north. Do you ever get on one of those I have to get out of here kicks? I think that’s what must have been going through my head to schedule two different trips within a week of each other. That and fall break, so it’s not completely my fault.

The picture above is from my husband and I’s trip to Atlanta. The picture itself was taken at the Sundial Restaurant in the Peachtree Westin Hotel right smack-dab in the middle of downtown. Beautiful place and spectacular view to say the least. If you’ve never been there before, the restaurant SPINS. Yes, it spins! In 1 hour of dining there, you’ll get a full view of the entire Atlanta skyline. In this picture, if you look reeeeeeal close, you can see Stone Mountain! So cool huh?

The food was terrific. The service was wonderful. However, I do recommend going at lunch for 2 reasons: 1) you can actually SEE more when its light outside 2) because it’s like 75% cheaper to eat there for lunch than at dinner. I remember looking through their menu seeing something for as much at $80 (1 entree) at night. Most of the food was $20 (1 entree) or less during lunch.

It’s highly worth it to eat here if you’re headed to Atlanta!

Our next adventure involved the entire family and took us up to Ohio. Using my fantastic Groupon, I was able to score 2 nights including lunch for over $300 off the regular price at the Great Wolf Lodge in Mason, OH. Not bad if I do say so myself.

This was our first “real” family vacation that didn’t involve us visiting someone or bringing someone along to help. To be honest, I was actually quite worried about how we were going to hold up, but it turned out to be a fantastic and fun family trip!

The resort itself was so nice. The staff was friendly and very helpful. 1 and 1/2 hours into the trip we realized that we had forgotten our pack n’ play for our little one to sleep in. The Great Wolf Lodge had those and they were complimentary! They really did think of everything. All the way down to the story time every night. The wolf characters came out to see the kiddos and all of this combined with the incredible WATER PARK meant that the girls were completely pooped by the end of the day. The water park was huge and had something for all of us. There were slides that young kiddos could go down. There were slides just for the older kids including a water coaster! That was pretty scary if I do say so myself. And we really enjoyed the “toilet slide”. It starts with a very steep drop and then basically flushes and swirls you backwards down a tube. Sounds kinda silly, but it was fun!

Aside from the random fire alarm that went off the first night, we really enjoyed our stay. My oldest has even stated that she wished that she “lived at The Great Wolf Lodge”. I see a trip back there (or to a different location) soon.

I come back from all of our adventures to find out that it’s OCTOBER already! Geez, where have I been?

You want to know something really sad? I was walking to my van the other day and realized that I still had my Rudolph nose attached to the hood. Yeah, big red nose in October. You can see how out of touch with time that I am!

After being away for a while, we needed some things at the store. Addie found this lovely monkey mask on the Halloween aisle (yes, it’s that time!) and wanted me to take her picture in it and “put it on facebook”. Her words, not mine. Wow.

So now I’m ready to slow it down. Breathe a little. Step into fall and enjoy some cooler weather, crisp apples, fall colors, and yummy fall food.

Who else is with me?


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Making A Memory Last Forever

Back years ago when I first found out that I was having my first baby, I remember anxiously waiting to find out what the gender was so that I could go out and buy baby clothes. I know that some people don’t like to find out what they are having, but I was excited to get in the mind set of what to expect.

Would I be having tea parties or GI Joe wars? Would I be looking at blue paint or pink? Would I buy plaid pants or flower dresses? This was life-changing information people! The night before we found out the gender, it was like Christmas Eve. I could barely sleep.

The big day arrived and we found out that it was going to be a GIRL! Though I didn’t exactly share how much I really wanted a girl, I was so excited that I would have a princess to spoil. I went out shopping and bought the cutest little halter top romper pictured above. We learned a lot from our baby education classes, including the fact that it’s important to watch the dyes and scents found in the fabrics that baby clothes are made with. Not to mention how rough some of those fabrics can be before that first trip through the wash.

I bought my very first bottle of Dreft within days of buying that sweet outfit. Though the romper was one of my favorites, there were lots more outfits that I bought along with it. A entire load of laundry was in order and Dreft was the detergent of choice!

What do you bet that when we found out we were having another girl 4 years later that I would bust out this very outfit for her to wear. I love its blue color because it went so well with their baby blue eyes. Years later, Dreft has kept it looking just like the day that I bought it. Even after the spit up, pureed carrots, and many messes from 2 babies, it’s remained adorable and dear to my heart. Even if it is missing a snap. 😉 I hope to keep this little outfit forever to remember just how small they were.

These days, Dreft is the most recommended laundry detergent by pediatricians. No wonder, it softens and cleans baby’s clothes gently while triumphantly getting rid of those stinkin’ green pea stains. My favorite part was always that the bottle lasted forever! You can wash like a billion pieces of baby clothes in one load. I never worried about my investment in Dreft because it went a long way for sure. And you know it’s good when a product has been around for over 75 years y’all!

Whether you’re a first timer or the greatest, grandest mother of them all, there’s on thing moms have agreed on for over 75 years- Dreft makes your little one’s fabric feel as clean and soft as can be.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Dreft. As a part of this program I received the product, the opinions and text are all mine.

Whether you’re a first timer or the greatest, grandest mother of them all, there’s on thing moms have agreed on for over 75 years- Dreft makes your little one’s fabric feel as clean and soft as can be.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Dreft. As a part of this program I received the product, the opinions and text are all mine.


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