By:
On:
In: Tips, tricks & the truth
With: 0 Comments

Well Floggers, you know I love to crockpot!  So, when I got my new Black + Decker Portable Digital Slow Cooker model SCD4007, I was in heaven.  I picked up a family favorite, the Santa Maria Tri-Tip from a “localtarian” butcher shop, Hottingers located in Chino, California.  It’s like traveling back in time. My grandfather shopped there, my father shopped there, and now I shop there too.  I love it.  Great meats at mostly great prices. The Tri-Tip is super easy.  Just wash and cut up some potatoes then plop the delicious Tri-Tip into the slow cooker.  Now, I set the timer and I’m offRead More →

By:
On:
In: Tips, tricks & the truth
With: 0 Comments

Chili is one of those meals that you really can’t screw up, well, as long as you have the basic ingredients, that is.   It usually tastes pretty much the same each time if you have beans, stewed tomatoes, ground beef (or pork) and the chili seasonings. I love making chili in my crockpot. It’s easy to assemble and it makes enough for my whole family for pennies on the dollar.  So, what makes chili special in my house?   Well, it’s the toppings.  I usually make chili with a wide variety of toppings to choose from: cheese, onions, sour cream, avocado, croutons, crackers, hot sauce, etc.Read More →

By:
On:
In: Tips, tricks & the truth
With: 0 Comments

Growing up my mother would make strawberry shortcake for desert in the hot summer months.   I used to love it when she would make it because she always had the right amount of strawberries, short cake and ice cream.  That usually entailed drowning my cake in ice cream and berries.     All these many years later, I make this same desert for my boys.     It’s still my favorite desert. I craved it with all 4 of my pregnancies.   It has four simple ingredients: 1.   Strawberries (duh) 2.  Graduated sugar 3.  Short bread 4.  Vanilla ice cream. Now I’ve seenRead More →

By:
On:
In: Tips, tricks & the truth
With: 0 Comments

It was a lazy Sunday.  With not much going on, I decided to cook the ultimate dinner for my family.   I wanted something easy (my go to blackened salmon and garlic bread) and something so delicious and good that I would take it to work on Monday for lunch and enjoy every bite.   That something so delicious was Crawfish Baked Potato (http://acadianatable.com/2015/04/20/crawfish-baked-potato/).  Now, given I live in Southern California, crawfish is a little hard to come by.  However, an acceptable substitute is crab, which I always have in ample supply in my pantry.  I love me some potatoes and I love me some crab –Read More →

By:
On:
In: Product reviews, unboxings and reveals
With: 0 Comments

Hi Floggers!  Great news to report.  As you know, I’m tired of my old crockpot.  Don’t get me wrong, it served me well – very well, indeed.  Okay, I loved it.  But, it was time to move on to something bigger and better.  After a little research, I landed on the Black + Decker Portable Digital Slow Cooker model SCD4007.   I liked all of the features. It needed a timer. Check!  It needed to be bigger.  Check!  And, it needed to be reliable.  Check!  So, I took the plunge.  I’ve never been happier. Of course, who doesn’t love, love, love getting boxes from Amazon?  IRead More →

By:
On:
In: Tips, tricks & the truth
With: 0 Comments

One of my favorite things to do is to look at cook books.  Yes, actual real life paper books.  This recipe is from my Slow Cooker Bible (https://www.amazon.com/The-Slow-Cooker-Bible/dp/1412727790) cookbook.   I wanted a clam chowder recipe that was simple and had ingredients that we can easily have on hand and in the pantry.   I looked at many slow cooker clam chowder recipes on Pinterest.com and all the other recipes had more ingredients than this one.   I liked this recipe because it incorpora ted a lot of canned goods, like soup, evaporated milk and creamed corn.  This recipe can be easily stored in your pantry and madeRead More →

By:
On:
In: Tips, tricks & the truth
With: 0 Comments

I was very excited about the Maple Sausage Breakfast Slider recipe I found on Pinterest (http://cookiesandcups.com/maple-sausage-breakfast-sliders/), and I must say I’ve had 50/50 reviews from my family.  I originally made it for Christmas breakfast which I got ready the night before and popped it in when everyone was opening presents. Everyone loved them then.    I then made it for a brunch when my bestie came over with her kids.  Now my bestie and her kids, loved it and gave it rave reviews.  She compared these sliders to cake, where you eat a little bit at a time and realize you’ve had half the dish without knowingRead More →