Slow Cooking During a Recession

I'm hopping on a plane in a little bit to head to Chicago for the 5th annual BlogHer conference, where I'll be speaking on the "Food Blogging During a Recession" panel. I look forward to reconnecting with the talented women behind Simply Recipes, and Lunch in a Box, and meeting those behind Show Me the Curry, and Wine Girl.

I'm both excited and nervous. I'm excited to be going to another BlogHer conference---my first was last year, and I had a ball. I had more fun in 3 days at that conference than I had in all 5 years of college.

I'm nervous to leave the kids for so long. I'm not nervous for them---they'll have an absolute ball with my parents, I'm nervous about being so far away and missing them. Dreadfully.

hang on, I need to blow my nose.

I'm excited that Adam is coming with me. We haven't gone away alone for about 6 years. I love that Adam has agreed to share his birthday and our 10-year anniversary with 1500 women bloggers.

I'm nervous about flying. Super nervous.

I really shouldn't talk about it, or I'll hyperventilate.

I'm also kind of nervous to be around so many people, who all seem to know each other. I'm a fairly new blogger, and I definitely get butterflies in my stomach at blogging events.

I'm thrilled to be speaking on the Food Blogging panel, but I feel a bit like I'm cheating since it's about Food Blogging During a Recession. Slow Cooking is pretty much built for recession (I hate that word) eating.

I first started slow cooking as a newlywed to save time and money. I loved it that I could throw in some forgotten and frostbitten meat with a jar of pasta sauce and come home to a tasty meal with literally no work on my end. I love how you can save SO MUCH MONEY through slow cooking. It does take a bit of beforehand planning, I know, but the reward of not slitting your wrists at the end of the week is well worth it.

I've shared in the past that I didn't save any money last year with my year-long slow-cooking challenge. We knew that I would spend more money on groceries and planned accordingly. I'm so glad that last year was last year, because I'd have a hard time justifying the spices I bought last year and the duck and the haggis parts this year. It would just be wasteful.

Here are the top 10 ways that you can save money right this minute by slow cooking:

1) Plan your meals. Seriously. Take the time on Sunday night to plan your meals out. Many people do red meat on Monday, chicken on Tuesday, leftovers Wednesday, vegetarian on Thursday, and fish on Friday. It's up to you if you plan for the weekend days. We seem to always be out of the house for at least one of the weekend evenings, but I still try to have an idea for a dinner so we're not reaching for the take-out menus.

2) Use dried beans. They are filling, nutritious, freeze well, and are CHEAP.

3) Make your own yogurt. Yup, in the slow cooker. It totally works.

4) Make your own granola. Granola is wickedly expensive, and can be laden with preservatives and artificial sweeteners.

5) Make your own baby food. This is so easy, and really makes a whole lot of sense. The little jars are bad for the environment and your wallet.

6) Make your own take-out. In my book (have I mentioned the book? It's oh so pretty, and frugally priced, I might add) I have a chapter I've entitled Take Out Fake Out.

here are some of my absolute favorites:

Mongolian Beef
Lemon Chicken
Pho
Thai Curry
Indian Curry
Chicken Makhani (Indian Butter Chicken)
Thai Coconut Curry Soup
Fried Rice
Chow Mein (this is SO SO SO good! great, now I want this. Now. have I mentioned I'm pregnant?)
Gyros
Tamales
Philly Cheesesteaks

7) Cook the lazy way.

8) Re-purpose leftovers. Cook a Rotisserie-Style Chicken. Then make Barbecue Chicken and Cornbread Casserole the next night. Then make broth. Then make Clean-out-the-Pantry Minestrone Soup, or Chicken Noodle Soup.

9) Stretch your wine budget by making mulled wine.

10) If you, or someone you love, has allergies, cooking from scratch is a necessity to ensure that you have safe food. There is no easier way to cook than to slow cook. I'm a complete fool in the kitchen, yet I can work a slow cooker. You can too.

For further reading:
Save Money By Using Your Slow Cooker
Meal Planning with the Slow Cooker
Frequently Asked "A Year of Slow Cooking Questions"
Alphabetical Listing of All Recipes

There are so many other great ways to save money through slow cooking, and I'd love to hear other great ideas---feel free to leave as many as you'd like in the comments, or a link to your favorite budget-friendly recipe.

If you're headed to Chicago for the conference, please come by the Food Blogging During a Recession Panel and say Hi! I look forward to meeting new people, and reconnecting with those I met last year.

Me, writing elsewhere. But Most Importantly, a $200 Gift Card Give-Away!

I promise that when I don't post regularly it's not because I'm sitting around watching bad day time TV and eating bon-bons.

Although, I do secretly wish that was true.

maybe not so secretly.

Sometimes when you write on the internet for a while people want to give you stuff. Mostly I ignore the stuff that is offered, because it doesn't fit into slow-cooking, our particular lifestyle, it isn't gluten-free, or it's icky (think viagra).

But sometimes something comes along that is just-too-good-to-pass-up, and would directly benefit our family for the better.

And I feel like I'd be a do-do if I didn't say yes.

A few weeks ago was one of those times. I'd like to share with you our brand-new free thing, and the opportunity for you to win a $200 gift card so you, too, could have a brand-new free thing.

Just in time for the holidays! Although I promise not tell if you keep the card for yourself.

I'd also like to share a new post on Totally Together: The Art of Being Present
and
a write-up on BlogHer.com I did about Helping Children Express Feelings. (edited: I guess the link isn't live yet. When it is, I'll update. )

and that's it. Now go! Go win some of other people's money!

BlogHer Food '09

I had a lovely Saturday. I attended the first annual BlogHer Food conference, and it was fantastic.

I was actually a bit hesitant to attend, since I don't really consider myself a foodie, and although this is technically a food blog, and even though I've written about food for over a year and have a cookbook coming out (in a few weeks! squee!) I don't actually know that much about food.

And I will never, ever have a zen moment while cutting an onion.

shhh. don't tell anyone.

So I was a bit worried to go. I was worried that it might feel a bit snotty.

I was SO WAY WRONG.

I didn't bring my camera (Adam had it on the soccer field for the girls' game), so I don't have pictures of the lovely ladies I met, but I'd like to link to some extraordinary women (and Sean. Hi, Sean!) who you might or might not already know.

These are all real people who know about food. I had a real conversation with all of them, and guess what? No one was snotty. Yay!

And they all twitter. I've been super hesitant to jump on the twitter bandwagon because I'm terrified of time-suck. But I signed up, so I can keep in touch better with my peeps. I haven't actually tweeted anything yet, though, because I haven't figured it out. I think this is who I am: http://twitter.com/stephanieodea
well. I know WHO I am, but that doesn't mean I know what to do with this here account. I plan to put the kids to bed early and figure it out.

(psst, there is no order to these blogs. just how they happened to pop into my head just now.)

Shirley Braden, Gluten Free Easily
Diane Eblin, The W.H.O.L.E. (whole healthy organic living everyday) Gang
Alison St. Sure, Sure Foods Living
Elana Amsterdam, Elana's Pantry
Michelle Stern, What's Cooking Blog
Karen, Sassy Monkey
Kristen Doyle, Dine and Dish
Michelle Lentz, My Wine Education (wine-girl.net)
Book of Yum
Anne-Marie Nichols, This Mama Cooks
Shauna James Ahern, Gluten Free Girl
Kalyn Denny, Kalyn's Kitchen
Sean Timberlake, Hedonia
Stefania Pomponi Butler, City Mama
Lydia Walshin, The Perfect Pantry and Drop In and Decorate
Alana Kellogg, Kitchen Parade and A Veggie Venture
Jaden Hair, Steamy Kitchen
Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman Cooks
Elise Bauer, Simply Recipes

I enjoyed this conference so very much, and if I had a choice between attending the full BlogHer conference or BlogHer Food, I'd choose the smaller focus of the Food. While I always have a complete ball at the full conference, I really liked the smaller feel at Saturday's event.

I get overwhelmed easily.

There has been a bit of buzz throughout the blogosphere about lunch. Lunch was sponsored by Bertolli, and the wine served was from one of my favorite wineries: St. Supery. I was invited to an event Friday night at St. Supery winery, and although I originally RSVPd yes, I chickened out due to 1) being pregnant and 2) not wanting to stay out late (probably had lots to do with number 1!)
Adam and I served St. Supery's Sauvignon Blanc at our wedding, and I routinely give St. Supery as a gift. It's a great wine, a great price, and it's local.

As for the food, I didn't have it, because I ate the gluten free option, which was a fabulous risotto.
Which you can make in the slow cooker!

Traditional Risotto
Corn Risotto
Breakfast Risotto

Thank you to Lisa, Elisa, and Jory for this wonderful event. I'm looking forward to next year!

Drop In and Decorate---Cookies for Donation

I first heard of this fantastic organization about a year ago. I was smack dab in the end-of-the-year craziness in the slow cooking challenge, and instead of jumping in to help, I merely bookmarked the website.

This year is different. This year I look forward to making a bunch of plain cookies, and working with our Girl Scout Troop to decorate them for a good cause. I used to run a child care center that served homeless families, and I'm looking forward to bundling our cookies up to bring to some very deserving children and families.

There are very few rules, which is why I really, really like this project. You don't need to bake (unless you want to). You don't need to make your own icing (unless you want to). All you need is a few of your favorite friends, and an open and giving heart.

My friend, Lydia, started Drop in and Decorate in 2007. It has grown phenomenally. Here's a bit of background on this not-for-profit organization:

Drop In & Decorate is a tax-exempt nonprofit organization.

Founded by food writer Lydia Walshin of The Perfect Pantry. The idea behind Drop In & Decorate is simple: bake some cookies; gather a group of family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, your worship group or book group to decorate the cookies together; donate the cookies to a nonprofit agency serving basic human needs in your own community.

It’s a simple idea in a complicated world, and something anyone can do.

If you’d like to host your own Drop In & Decorate® event, Pillsbury and Wilton would like to help.

Pillsbury has donated 50 VIP coupons, worth $3.00 each, off any Pillsbury product -- including sugar cookie mix and icing -- to be distributed, first come, first served, while supply lasts, to anyone who plans to host a Drop In & Decorate event (max. 5 coupons per person). And we'll include a Comfort Grip cookie cutter, donated by Wilton, to people who plan to host cookies-for-donation events.

Write to lydia AT ninecooks DOT com for more info on how to get your free coupons and cookie cutters.

My girls are quite excited to participate in this event. While I type this, they're looking over my shoulder and would like to do it twice---once with the girl scouts, and again with friends and family.

Thank you to Lydia for this fantastic way to give back to the local community, and for providing a beautiful opportunity to make a difference while creating family memories.

PS. Today (November 15) at 5pm pacific, the $200 Best Buy Gift Card give-away over on my review blog will finally end. It's your last chance to throw your name in the pot.

xoxo steph

More Give-Aways! The Tassimo Hot Beverage System and the Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook

Good morning!

When I said I had more stuff to give away, I wasn't kidding.

I'm happy to share that I have two new review posts over at Totally Together Reviews.

The first is for a Tassimo Hot Beverage System---you can make a perfect coffee house drink in the comfort of your home or office whenever you'd like.

and what do you need with coffee?

pastries!

I have never tasted better pastries than those made with almond flour. I have 2 copies of Elana Amsterdam's The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook to give away over at Totally Together Reviews.

It's not too late for last-minute shopping or gift-making, either. How about:

Holiday Gifts to Support Bloggers
Roasted and Spiced Nuts
Peanut Clusters
Peanut (not brittle) Candy
Glycerin Soap
Recycled Candles
Salt Dough Ornaments
Apple Butter
Shrinky Dink Crafts
Playdough (fun gift for small kids---wrap in a cellophane bag, and tie on a cookie cutter)

have fun, good luck, and thank you for entering the contests! (not here---you need to click over to Totally Together Reviews. Comments left here are NOT counted.)

HP TouchSmart and $5 Dinner Mom Give-Away!

I've got a super cool computer I'm giving away, courtesy of HP and BlogHer. You can read all about it and enter for a chance to win over at Totally Together Reviews. The contest will run until 12/24/09, 5pm pacific.

I also have 3! copies of Erin Chase's soon-to-be-released cookbook, $5 Dinner Mom to give away also over at Totally Together Reviews. This contest is running until Jan 1, 2010.

and? more stuff is coming. Check back in a day or so, I'm working on some other freebie goodies to share with you!

xoxo steph

oh! and yes, I'm still pregnant. I'm about 35 weeks, which puts me in the eensy teensy tiny bit cranky all the time stage...

I'm home! PowerAde Play Review! Puffy Pizza Casserole on the Way!

It's 6:57 am, and I need to admit that I'm really, really tired.

We spent the last 5 days in Disneyland, where I participated in the California Adventure's Food and Wine Festival. I don't think I could have possibly had any more fun---it was wonderful. I love Disney and all things Disney, and to pair Disney with food and wine? OH MY!

but I'm a wee bit tired.

It's a good thing I've got a bunch of PowerAde Play in the fridge. What's PowerAde Play, you might ask?

It's a brand new sports drink for children, and while I am usually *not* a fan of sugary colored drinks for children, or for anyone, really, I liked this stuff.

I really did.

I'm not even lying.

This has no high fructose corn syrup, and is much lower in calories than the competition.

Click over to Totally Together Reviews for my full take on this new drink, and for a chance to win $125 for your child's sports team.

I've got a fantastic Pizza Casserole I'm dying to share. Lemme get some (strong) coffee and start the laundry, and I'll type it right up.

Happy Crocktober!

There was some disagreement in the last post as to whether or not Fall has officially begun. I think we can all agree that since today marks the beginning of

CROCKTOBER

we're definitely in the clear.

whew!

psst, steph: did you put a plaster skull inside of a Little Dipper?

why yes, yes I did. I take my job very seriously...

In honor of this special occasion, I have some announcements.

1)  I will resume posting daily for the entire month, and maybe even longer. (don't tell Adam).

2)  My friend Ruth is hosting a virtual silent auction on her Lemonade & Kidneys blog. Ruth  became active in the PKD Foundation three years ago, after her oldest son became the third generation of her family to be diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease.

The hand-picked items are fantastic (I'm bidding on a super-cute necklace), and she will be auctioning off a signed unreleased advanced review copy (complete with typos!) of my More Make it Fast, Cook it Slow cookbook along with the first Make it Fast, Cook it Slow cookbook today and tomorrow (Oct 1 & 2). Please help Ruth meet her goal of raising research money for the Polycystic Kidney Disease Foundation.

3)  If you're coming to San Francisco for the BlogHer Food conference, look for me, and let me know so then I can look for you! Diane has done a fantastic job of putting together a Gluten Free dining guide to SF--great to bookmark for future visits.


4)  I have launched a message board, and I'd love for you to join me. I did this for a few reasons. Mainly, I would like there to be a place where you can help each other with some of the most common slow cooker and recipe questions. I feel like SUCH A HORRIBLE PERSON when I can't get to all of the mail in my inbox, and thought throwing questions out onto a group forum would be helpful instead of allowing them to become buried in the comment sections.

The message board also provides a place to chat about things that aren't really on topic. Like the DC Housewives. Seriously, what is up with the Sahalis? Tareq truly thinks an invitation to the White House is only "something to be framed?"

My hope is that this community becomes a meeting place for you to socialize and have fun. I love corresponding with you all through email and the comments, and while I don't plan on stopping, I think you'd all really like each other. You've got a lot in common!

5)  It's date night tonight, and we're going to see The Social Network. I think the last time Adam and I saw a movie on the day it was released was when we saw The Firm.

a hundred million years ago.

I'm excited!

6)  We haven't had a giveaway forever, so we should have one! Click on over to Totally Together Reviews for an opportunity to win one of five brand new PROGRAMMABLE 4-QUART slow cookers from Cuisinart.

this contest will run until Sunday, October 10 at 9pm pacific.

woooo hooooo!!!

HAPPY CROCKTOBER!

now go make a pumpkin spice latte.
or witch's brew.

.

Fruit and Horseradish Cream Cheese Appetizer Spread Slow Cooker Recipe

I'm not a foodie. I am perfectly happy with a can of EZ Cheese and a bag of Tostitos Scoops pretty much always. 

But.

Some of my friends are slightly more sophisticated than this and would prefer to steer clear from cheese in a can (I know, I know, they're missing out...)

so.

Save the canned cheese for another occasion and instead wow your friends with a terribly easy yet pretty-darn-impressive spread that you made all by yourself in your very own slow cooker.

The Ingredients.

serves 8

 

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese

1 tablespoon jarred horseradish

1/3 cup apricot preserves

1/4 cup dried cranberries (the mini boxes are perfect!)

crackers or salted corn chips for serving

The Directions.

Use a 2-quart slow cooker. Unwrap the cream cheese and put it into your cooker. Top with the horseradish and preserves. Pour in the dried cranberries. Cover and cook on low for 2-3 hours, or on high for 1-2. Serve with your favorite crackers (I used plain rice crackers, if you're gluten free, the Nut Thins by Blue Diamond are great, too) or corn chips. Pita chips (obviously not GF) would be good, too!

If you do not have a 2-quart slow cooker, that's okay! Put an oven safe dish directly into the stoneware insert--something like this or this or this. Then load your dip ingredients into it. Use oven mitts when removing the dish!

The Verdict.

These ingredients sound *so* wonky, but I promise they melt together into a really savory dip with a sweet kick from the cranberries and apricot jam. My kids ate kind of a lot more than I expected them to, and Adam and my grandma really enjoyed it.

I'm off to BlogHer Food for the weekend. I don't expect to find many cans of EZ Cheese... :-)

more fun dips:

brie with candied pecans and cranberries

artichoke dip

taco dip

sundried tomato dip

mommy crack

crab dip

super duper garlic dip

Guess what's new at BlogHer? Today, we're learning to decode your teen's texting lingo and how to dissuade bullying, gossip, and all around bad phone etiquette. There are five discussions happening and every comment left equals a $0.50 donation to DoSomething.org. What are your thoughts on teen texting/cell phone use? Share your thoughts, feelings, and opinions!
I am helping to promote this program because BlogHer is paying me GREAT GOBS OF MONEY to do so, and I  : 1) like BlogHer,  2) like money, and 3) DoSomething.org is a worthwhile organization that helps teens start or find a social cause and then go DO SOMETHING about it. win-win-win!!

two quick giveaways, a new recipe on the way!

How was your Thanksgiving? We had a great day. The food was perfect, the kids behaved, and all of the relatives got along.

win win win.

We're pretty much recovered, and the kids have begun decorating for Christmas. There is a garland of kid-cut snowflakes hanging over my head. I'm pretty sure our living room will never look like it was taken from the pages of a Pottery Barn catalog.

but it's perfect. I love it.

I do have a new slow cooker recipe to post----I made this chocolate creme concoction with a layer of ganache on top. IT'S WONDERFUL.

but the pictures are on the desktop, which is in the room where the baby is napping. And I'm not going to disturb that scenario for anything.

anything!

In the meantime, I've got two giveaways to share with you in honor of Cyber Monday. 

1) an Olay 7-in-1 review is up on Totally Together Reviews because I'm getting so old I now need an anti-aging moisturizer. And! Olay is giving away a $100 Visa giftcard just for reading all about it.

2) I'm done holiday shopping, thanks to Uncommon Goods. I fell in love with this catalog even before they decided to give me free products to host a giveaway. That's up on Totally Together Reviews, too.

Do you have  a turkey carcass in the house? (I type the word carcass way too often. It's kind of morbid.)

you should make turkey and wild rice soup! or turkey stew!

I will write about the crockpot chocolate pots de creme as soon as I can. 

maybe after the well-baby check up.

or clarinet lessons.

or the PTA silent auction meeting.

oh, that reminds me. Does anyone have any good ideas for silent auction items? Or how to best organize a silent auction? Or how to best not lose your mind while trying to organize a silent auction?

Happy Cyber Monday!


[If you read my site regularly through a feedreader or through email, you'll notice that I've enabled a shortened feed. I'm not happy about this. I HATE shortened feeds. I've done this because my site content has been taken directly from the feed and posted on other sites without my permission. The quickest and easiest way to keep content from being stolen is to no longer publish a full feed. The good news is that everything is still up on the website, and is only a click away.  I'm terribly sorry for any inconvenience, and greatly appreciate your support.]

Another compensated post. Don't get mad.

This is a compensated post. Coca-Cola is paying for my travel, lodging, and activities in Atlanta, and BlogHer is paying me to write this post. 

I know, I know. You hate it when bloggers get paid and "sell out." I get it. But some of these offers are so good I'd be stupid to pass them up, and I try my hardest not to be a stupid person.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I’m getting on a plane in a few days to fly to Atlanta, Georgia to attend the Conversations with Coca-Cola blogging leadership event that will be held at Coca-Cola’s national headquarters.

I’m kind of excited.

I’ve always been a Coke girl. When I order a Coke in a restaurant and the waiter asks, “is (insert competitive product) okay?” I say no and change the order to an iced tea. I don’t know if this is because of marketing prowess, stubborn tastebuds, or habit. I can’t think of another product I’m so brand loyal to--- usually I go for what’s on sale, or try something new/different upon recommendation or because of slick advertising.

Because of this brand loyalty, I immediately said YES, PLEASE when asked if I’d like to attend the event.

That, and it’s a free trip. F.R.E.E.

I’ve always been one to embrace the free.

The focus for this upcoming conversation is Living Positively, which is something I definitely try to do on an (almost (--- because really. this is real life, here.)) daily basis. I try to Live Positively by remembering to take time to be thankful. to breathe. to listen more than I speak. to cut myself slack. to model wise choices for my girls. to help when needed, yet refrain from doling out the assvice.

I’ve always been a big reader of personal development and self-help books. I believe that one of life’s meanings (of which I believe there are many) is to continuously self-reflect. to grow. to try to understand different perspectives. to learn something new everyday.

and evidently to use lots and lots of uncapitalized prepositional phrases!

I want to ask about getting Coke products in our school district. Not the actual soda, but perhaps Minute Maid, Odwalla, or Dasani water. This is a rather tight rope to walk, since many of my peers are against any advertising in schools, but our school district needs funds, badly. We no longer have PE, music, summer school, or any enrichment programs. Our classrooms are badly overcrowded, and I’m worried the teachers are beginning to “phone it in” in some cases. I, too, worry about advertising directly to kids, but I also worry about my kid getting lost in the shuffle because of over-crowding.

Do you have any questions for the Coca-Cola corporation that you’d like me to ask?

Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff Recipe

This is a sponsored review from BlogHer and Kraft.

This is a compensated post by BlogHer and PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese and is part of the Real Women of Philadelphia project. This is the second out of four recipes.

Guess what? I have over 500 recipes for the slow cooker, but not one for Beef Stroganoff.

How on earth did this happen?

I really don't have an explanation--- somehow this household staple completely flew off my radar.

I'm actually kind of embarrassed.

This is a great beef stroganoff recipe, and it couldn't be simpler.

You can fancy it up by adding a sliced onion or two and a pound of sliced (or button) mushrooms. I didn't, and it still worked beautifully, but I think I would add some veggies next time-- it felt a bit meat heavy to me.

and? no cream-of-something soup required!

The Ingredients.
serves 6 2-3 pounds beef stew meat (my meat was fresh)
1 (10-ounce) container PHILADELPHIA Cooking Creme -- savory garlic flavor

optional: 2 sliced yellow onions, 1 pound mushrooms (sliced, or whole button) sliced bell pepper, etc.
hot cooked pasta for serving (I used brown rice fusilli)


The Directions.
Use a 4-quart slow cooker. Place the meat into the bottom of your pot. Add the Cooking Creme.

If you'd like to throw in onion and mushroom, go for it.

That's it!
Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or until meat shreds easily with a fork. Stir well and serve over hot cooked pasta.

Enjoy!

The Verdict.

I love dump and go recipes. I made this on one of our crazy end-of-the-school-year nights when we were only home together for about 20 minutes before heading back out the door. This made us ALL happy, and the baby probably at a good half-pound of meat herself. 

As I said up above, I'd add some vegetables next time to round out the meal. The morning I threw this in the pot was terribly hectic, and I truly didn't have the time to dig  out a cutting board. I  bet sliced red bell pepper would be lovely...

The garlicy flavor from the Cooking Creme was lovely, and provided a beautiful sauce for the pasta. The leftovers freeze and reheat well!

PS: I've contacted the folks at PHILADELPHIA regarding gluten, and the company does not hide gluten in "natural flavorings." As always, please do your own research and use your best judgment when using packaged products.



Want to read more? Visit the Promotions & Prizes section of BlogHer.com for more PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese and Cooking Creme recipes and reviews.

also, all of the Real Women of Philadelphia finalist recipes are available to peruse/test out online at the Real Women of Philadelphia's Recipe Page. 

What looks good to you?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I've got a new webTV video up of Laura, from I'm an Organizing Junkie. Laura hosts Meal Planning Monday each and every week on her site and is one of the most lovely people in the world. I love her, and you will too.

Slow Cooker Creamy Tacos Recipe

This is a sponsored review from BlogHer and Kraft.

This is a compensated post by BlogHer and PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese and is part of the Real Women of Philadelphia project. This is the first out of four recipes.  

Raise your hand if you're a pretty lazy cook.

Raise your hand if you don't really like to cook.

ME! I'm raising two hands! pick ME! ME! ME!  

Whenever I speak to groups of people, the audience acts surprised when I admit that I don't really like cooking. 

Don't get me wrong--- I cook daily, read cookbooks faithfully, watch Food TV constantly, and enjoy exploring new recipes and flavor combinations.  

But the actual act of cooking? The dicing, slicing, preparing, and handling?

not my favorite.  *

This is why I like love my slow cookers so much. I love that I can toss food in, push a button and walk away.  

And when you pair PHILADELPHIA's new Cooking Creme with the slow cooker, you've got the ultimate in lazy cooking.

Life just couldn't be better.  

* much of this probably stems from the fact that I've got a toddler firmly attached to my leg while I'm trying to chop, and can usually overhear the other two arguing in the living room.
Zen Cooking? it just doesn't happen in our house.


The Ingredients.
serves 4-6 2 pounds chicken breast pieces (mine were frozen solid)  
1 (14.5-ounce) can fire roasted tomatoes (you can use garlic-seasoned, or plain in a pinch. I wouldn't do tomatoes with chiles if feeding kids)  
1 (10-ounce) container PHILADELPHIA Cooking Creme--- Santa Fe flavor
taco shells or corn tortillas

optional fixins': sour cream, avocado slices  
optional add-ins to stretch the meal to feed more people: 1 cup frozen corn, or 1 can corn, drained, 1 can black or pinto beans, drained and rinsed  


The Directions.  

Use a 4-quart slow cooker (if adding the optional add-ins, a 6-quart might be a better fit). 

Put the chicken into your cooker. Add the entire can of tomatoes. Scrape out all the Cooking Creme (lick the container. It's GOOD!)  
Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or until chicken shreds easily with a fork. Stir well and serve in taco shells or corn tortillas with your favorite toppings.  

The Verdict.  

Okay. These are delicious. I love, love, love that I can get dinner done within 6-and-a-half minutes in the early morning without needing to put on my contacts. 

This seriously couldn't be easier to throw together and I love not dirtying up a cutting board. The kids ate everything on their plate and my nine-year-old had seconds (Adam had thirds).

The Santa Fe Cooking Creme has a fantastic flavor--there is no need to add any additional seasoning. There's definitely a kick, but not enough to bother kid tongues. I do think it would be too much for us with added chiles (if you wanted to use tomatoes and chiles).
 

I will make this again. Happily.  

Here's a snaphsot of the ingredient label (click on the photo to make it larger). 

Have you heard of the Real Women of Philadelphia? It's a play on the Real Housewives tv show franchise (I got sucked into the Beverly Hills and the DC Housewives, but then canceled the extended cable and now no longer get that channel. probably a good thing.)

Anyway--it is/was a cooking contest sponsored by PHILADELPHIA and the finalists have been selected. the winner will be announced during a Streaming Online Live Event on June 30th hosted by Paula Deen.


All of the finalist recipes are available to peruse/test out online at the Real Women of Philadelphia's Recipe Page. 

Which looks good to you?

Want to read more? Visit the Promotions & Prizes section of BlogHer.com for more PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese and Cooking Creme recipes and reviews.

also, over on Totally Together I wrote a bit about starting a family game night. It's not all sunshine and roses (in fact, last night's Apples to Apples ended up in crumpled cards and an early bedtime...) but lots of great life lessons can be learned through card/board games. 

Have a fantastic day!

Slow Cooker Vegetarian Chili Shepherd's Pie

 

I got an email yesterday from Donna who asked if I had a recipe that used leftover chili and it dawned on me that I hadn't ever posted the vegetarian chili shepherd's pie I included in the second book.

This recipe first has you make some chili, but if you made 3 crockpots-worth of chili for Father's Day weekend, definitely feel free to use that as the filling!

The Ingredients.

serves 6

 

1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

don't want to use canned beans? Here's how to cook dried beans.

 

1 (16-ounce) package frozen corn

1 small onion, diced

1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

2 cups mashed potatoes (leftover, fresh, from a box-- your choice!)

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

The Directions.

Use a 4-quart slow cooker. Drain and rinse the beans, and add to the crockpot. Add corn and diced onion. Pour in the tomato sauce, and add cumin, salt, pepper. Stir well to combine. Sprinkle the shredded cheese evenly over the top.

Squish the 2 cups of mashed potatoes down on your chili with the back of a wooden spoon. Now dust with the smoked paprika.

Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours, or on high for 3-4. Uncover the slow cooker near serving time and let cook uncovered on high for 20-30 minutes to cook away any collected condensation. The potatoes will brown on top a tiny bit and begin to pull from the sides.

The Verdict.

This is a fantastic was to either use up already-made chili, or clean out your pantry! The touch of smoked paprika at the end is my favorite part, it gives a bit of something special to the mashed potatoes. If you'd like a traditional shepherd's pie (well, sort of traditional. you'd need to use ground lamb to make it really truly traditional), here's a recipe for you.

I'm getting an awful lot of questions about the sponsored posts. No, I will not do only sponsored posts from now on. The timing with the Coca-Cola event and the Philadelphia cream cheese posts was/is unfortunate--and I can see how it would look that way. I spend a lot of time on the internet, and need to compensate myself for the time spent. 

I also need to sell books, or the publishers will not continue to allow me to write for them. It's just how it all works. I'm immensely fortunate I have the opportunity to work from home while being full-time with my children. But I can't ignore the bills or the mortgage, and it isn't fair to me to work for free.

I've put the recap post for Coca-Cola over on the Totally Together website because I needed to put up a cream cheese post here yesterday (only one more of those to go!)--- the most valuable information I learned at the Coke event was that women need to help women.

I’m in the midst of a new site redesign (nothing will change, but it will all be different. don’t freak out.) and would like to start an everyone-is-included blog/website roll. If you have a site that you’d like included and you’re a REAL person and not some spam monster, please email me at contact@stephanieodea.com (I’m the contact!) with the subject line: blogroll and I’ll get you on the list. This roll will constantly be updated—it’s time we reach out and support one another.

Thank you for being so wonderful. Have a fantastic day.

Corn Chowder with PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese Slow Cooker Recipe

This is a sponsored review from BlogHer and Kraft.

This is a compensated post by BlogHer and PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese and is part of the Real Women of Philadelphia project. This is the third out of four recipes.

The kids are officially out of school for the summer, which means that 4/5 of us are home for a sitdown lunch.

I like this.

I find the kids are easier to please in the middle-of-the-day and are more willing to try new things. I regularly tease our nightly meal right afterschool, when I know they’re famished.

mean? Maybe.

But I prefer crafty.

This is a great lunchtime soup. It’s not as heavy as some chowders can be, and the kids each ate their whole servings.

The Ingredients.

serves 6

1 (16-ounce) bag frozen white corn

1 (15.5-ounce) can cut corn (and juice)

1 quart chicken broth

1 small onion, diced finely (or 1 tablespoon onion flakes)

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

4 ounces (1/2 block) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese

salt to taste at the table

The Directions.

I used a 4-quart slow cooker, but a 6-quart would work just fine. Empty the frozen corn bag and the can of corn into your crockpot. Add chicken broth, onion, and pepper. Drop in Cream Cheese. Cover and cook on low for about 6 hours, or until onion is translucent and the soup is fully heated. 

Stir well.

Now, carefully use a hand-held stick blender and pulse to chowderify.

I didn’t add any salt to the kid servings, but salted my bowl when no one was looking. It needed a bit for my tastebuds, but the kids were fine.

Now for some fun!

There is a GREAT BIG HUGE HONKING LIVE EVENT on June 30^th that you should all know about.

For the last few months, women all over the country have been submitting videos and original PHILLY Cream Cheese and Cooking Creme recipes to Real WomenofPhiladelphia.com in the hopes of competing in a live judging event hosted by none other, than Ms. Paula Deen.

The showdown will occur at the Lucas Theatre in Downtown Savannah at 7pm (eastern) on June 30^th, and will stream live on RealWomenof Philadelphia.com (I did not enter this contest). Winning this event is a big deal: winners receive a cash prize of $25,000, recipes featured in cookbooks, online cooking videos, and will participate in publicity appearances.

The good news for you/us is that all of the finalist recipes are available online, for free on the Real Women of Philadelphia website. Click on over and see which one you should try with your family (slow cooker optional.  :-)  )

Mark the 30^th on your calendar--- it’s always fun to witness live events in action, and you can participate in the action by joining the online community at Real Women of Phildelphia.

(I bet there will probably be a twitter party, too.)

Want even more? Visit the Promotions and Prizes section at BlogHer.com for a complete blogger round-up. Long live Cream Cheese!