Crock Pot Baked Potatoes

My friend Pamela posted this recipe on a board we visit. Her description - A.W.E.S.O.M.E!!!! I agree. Super wonderful, especially in the blistering heat when you do not want to turn on your oven. 


CROCK POT BAKED POTATOES

Scrub potatoes
Soak potatoes overnight in water with sea salt
Poke holes in potatoes
Coat potatoes with olive oil
Stand potatoes up in crock pot on their ends

DO NOT ADD WATER to the crock pot
Put lid on crock pot
Cook on high for four hours

Seriously Good Food

Tuesday Ry & I had dinner out. We do not eat out (other than the occasional pizza from Sam's Club) so this was a treat. We went to the trendy Iguana Grill and had chips & salsa & $1.00 tacos and then walked next door and had cupcakes from Sara Sara Cupcakes for the Two Dollar Tuesdays. The tacos were a bit too trendy for Ry's tastes but I appreciated them. The cupcakes were divine. I licked the frosting off the cupcake wrappers. It is dangerous to take me out in public I know.

Every Wednesday my friend Alisa has a "What to Eat Wednesday." Last Fri. I ran by her house and they invited me to dinner. She had made the most wonderful burritos. I loved them so much I came home and from memory made it myself and have eaten it almost daily this week. Southwest Egg Roll with Avacado dressing. If I had all the ingredients, I would be eaten them now. Trust me - you need to make these for dinner.

Week in Review, a science project & recipes

Monday - Ry & I went with the sister Missionaries to teach a lesson to a family that will be baptized next weekend.

Tuesday - Our only night home all week long. Can we say homework?

Wednesday - Mutual (youth group) Ry learned about computer safety. I graded papers in the car.

Thurs. - We went to see the musical "Little House on the Prairie". It was ok. The script was good. The singing and dancing not so much. I will say I came away with a renewed appreciation for the talentof singing. Those who do Broadway all the time have amazing voices.

Friday - I was in charge of helping the 3rd graders (all 80 of them) make crystals. The kids LOVE them. They are pretty easy & make great science projects / Christmas ornaments.

Crystal Snowflakes:

First, make a snowflake out of a pipe cleaner (we took one, cut it into 3 pieces & then twisted it into a star. You can take thread or string and make it look like a spider's web for a more involved snowflake)

Second, take a clean jar and pour 1/2 - 1 c. of borax soap into it (laundry aisle - Walmart has it for about $3.50 a box.) Fill the jar with hot water (boiling is prefered, but very hot will work

too) Mix to dissolve the soap.

Third, hang the snowflake by string from a craft stick or spoon or pencil. Make sure that it is not touching the bottom of the jar & that you can easily remove it from the jar without it getting caught on the lip of the jar. Once the crystals have formed, it will not be flexible.

Fourth, leave it alone for a few days. You will start to see the crystals by the end of the day. The longer you leave it in the solution, the more that will grow. When you are ready, remove it from the jar and dry off. You have a beautiful, fun snowflake.

(We read a biography about Wilson "Snowflake" Bentley this week to go along with our project. He was a homeschooled boy who developed a way to photograph snowflakes. Our library has his book that was published 2 weeks before he died with thousands of his photos of snowflakes. Very cool!)

After school, we raced home to get Ry packed for his scout camp out to Red Rock. He had a blast hiking and rappelling. So much so that he came home, took a shower and crashed! He was so exhausted I could hardly get him in bed. He slept 13 hours.

After he left for camp, I raced around getting all the stuff for the Ward Thanksgiving dinner together. Left the kitchen in a disaster and went to the social. It went well. Good food, good people and good conversation.

Sat. was spent with produce co-op and then I worked for 5+ hours at the school. Lots of projects moved along. I was reading a few blogs this weekend that were talking about how they love lazy Saturdays. I am not sure that I know what that is. My parents mantra was "Saturday is a Work Day." The day usually started off early with my dad making pancakes followed by plenty of work. Sunday was the lazy day - although that one started early as well. Church always started at 9:00 and we lived 30 mins. away. 8 people & 1 bathroom. You do the math.

This morning - Ryan has been asking for pancakes for weeks, maybe even months. I have been persuading him to be satisfied with French Toast as I have been out of homemade pancake mix. After the millionth request, I finally made some this morning. Although he had to clean up his room first!

First, I had to find my kitchen. Easier said then done! Then I dug out the wheat grinder & ground wheat. Next, made some yummy pancakes. Here is the recipe - we LOVE these pancakes!

Jenni's Pancake Mix (I don't know who Jenni is but I will give her credit - I found these on a discussion board)

2c. Whole Wheat Flour

2c. Flour

1 Tblsp. Baking Powder

2 tsp. Baking Soda

1 tsp. Salt

Sift together and store in an air tight container

To make:

2c. pancake mix

4 eggs

2+ c. milk product (milk, yogurt, buttermilk, sour cream, pureed cottage cheese, etc. - I usually mix it up a bit)

Mix together & cook on a hot griddle. One batch = 16 lg. pancakes.

And you have to have this amazing syrup on your pancakes!

Yummy Homemade Syrup

1 1/2 c. sugar

3/4c. Milk

1/2 c. butter (this is a Pioneer Woman wannabe recipe)

Bring to boil in a large sauce pan and then add:

1 tsp. Baking Soda (watch this - it will rise quickly. Remove from heat when you add.)

2 tsp. flavoring (I use maple but vanilla is also good)

You won't need any butter on your pancakes it is so thick and yummy!

Enjoy!

Yummy Oatmeal

I really like this oatmeal recipe so I thought I would share:

1 c. Apple Juice
1 c. Water
1 tsp. cinnamon
Mix together, bring to boil & then add:
1 c. Old Fashioned Rolled Oats

Stir together, cover & turn off burner. Let set for 5 mins. Then stir in:
2-3 Tbsp. loose brown sugar (not packed.)

I make this on Monday & eat about 1/3 c. each day of the week.
Enjoy!

Meghan's Carmel Sauce

1 stick melted butter
1 c. sour cream
1 c. brown sugar

Oh. My. Goodness. Anything dipped in this tastes heavenly.