Summer Salad and BBQ in Crock-pot

SUMMER SALAD - CORN, AVOCADO, TOMATO, FETA, CUCUMBER & RED ONION WITH A CILANTRO VINAIGRETTE

- 4 ears corn, cooked ( put mine in oven on 350 for 25 minutes. Then let cool, shuck,and cut kernels off into the bowl)
- 2 avocados, diced
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes, quartered 
- 1/2 an English cucumber,diced, skin on
- 1/3  C. crumbled feta
- 1/2 red onion, finely diced

Cilantro Vinaigrette
- 1 tbsp. rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp. white wine vinegar
- 1/2 tsp. salt 
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp. cilantro, chopped
- 6 tbsp. EVOO

-Chop the avocados, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, and red onion, then add to the bowl. Add the feta.

-For the vinaigrette, combine the first 5 ingredients (so the seasonings react with the vinegar), then add the cilantro and the EVOO. Shake it up.

-Gently mix all the salad ingredients together. When ready to serve, add the dressing and stir to combine.

This is so good and a great cook-out side dish! 

**BBQ in Crock-pot**
 I wanted to make BBQ sandwiches to go with the salad. I got on Pinterest to find a recipe for BBQ Pork in the crock-pot and all I could find were ones that involved Root Beer,Dr Pepper, or Coke. I definitely wasn't doing that...

*I just put the pork roast in the crock pot, I had about 1/4 cup of BBQ sauce in the bottom of a bottle so I added a little water and shook it up and added that in with the pork. I let it cook all day (about 8 hours). 
Delicious!! Next time I think I will make it with Papas homemade BBQ sauce though! :-) 

YaYa's Tuna Casserole

Here is another comfort food for y'all! YaYa made this all the time when we were kids and now my kids love it. It's super easy and a great quick busy night meal!

Here is what you will need:

1 bag egg noodles
1 can tuna(2 if you want)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup milk
1/2 block of cream cheese
Salt and Pepper, to taste
Fried Onions for topping

*Boil Noodles according to direction on bag,drain

*Add cream cheese, cheese, tuna,milk, and soup to pot. Return to heat and let melt and combine.

*Add Noodles back in and stir until mixed well. Add Salt and Pepper.

*Pour into a casserole dish and top with fried onions.

*Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until onion are dark and crispy.

We usually have peas with ours

Making Slime

We loved this project and it was very simple!

Here is what you will need

Liquid Starch
2 Clear Glue
Food Coloring(only need 1 drop, per bowl...trust me)

Add the 2 bottles of glue to the bowl then fill a glue bottle up 2 times with the liquid starch and add those to the bowl.
Begin to stir together, then divide the mixture between 4 bowls, add the food coloring, and use your hands to squish(and squish and squish, this takes awhile) to the right consistency.

I then put it out on a aluminum foil covered sheet for them...

Stretchy

Brother wasn't a big fan because he isn't crazy with getting his hands wet or dirty... haha

Squishy!

"Look Ma! Lips!"

It gets smoother and firmer the longer it sits.

**Note- this is VERY messy if you have young kids you may want to mix it all together and then let them play with it after its mixed and had time to sit a few minutes. :-)

YaYa's Heluva Good Mac and Cheese

My Mom(YaYa as my kids call her) is from Sodus, New York also home to Heluva Good Cheese. When I was a kid we went to New York every other Christmas and the first stop(after Grandmas of course) was Lancaster's Stand. The trip was not complete with out Heluva Good Cheese!

We would all fight over the cheese and the chip dip through out the visit, and every year we would go to this cheese stand OR the Heluva Good Cheese Country Store before we left to get cheese to bring home with us. When we got home YaYa would make a big dish of Homemade Macaroni and Cheese made with the cheese we had bought. Talk about comfort food, this is it!

Now my parents usually go every summer and they bring us home cheese. This Summer being no different, I couldn't wait for them to get back this year with my cheese! (Yes we couldn't wait to see them too)

 This is the best mac and cheese because of the fresh off the wheel extra,extra,extra sharp cheese, mmm this Tennessee girl loves it! :-)

Today I finally got the recipe for YaYa's Homemade Mac and Cheese, but keep in mind folks, this is like a once a year type recipe! All things in moderation.

Here is what you will need

• 2 cups dry elbow macaroni
• 1 stick of butter
• 1 can evaporated milk 
• 2 eggs
• 1 squirt of Dijon mustard 
• Cayenne Pepper 
• Grated Cheese- I used the XXX sharp Heluva Good cheese(about 1 cup or 1 1/2 cups to taste) with some Mozzarella(about 1/2 cup) mixed in to make it creamy.
• Shredded Parmesan for the top 
• Paprika (for the top) 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees 

Boil macaroni until tender, drain. 

Add butter to warm pot and melt, add macaroni back in and toss to coat the macaroni with butter. 

In a separate bowl mix the milk,eggs,mustard,cayenne pepper and grated cheese. 

Put your pot of macaroni back over low heat, add in your cheese mixture and let melt and incorporate for about 2 minutes or so.

Spray casserole dish with cooking spray and pour the macaroni in.

Top with shredded cheese and paprika.(Can also top with Tomatoes, Chips,Crackers, Fried Onions,etc..)

Bake for 45 minutes until starting to brown and is bubbly.

This is how we eat our Macaroni...with a Zweigles Pop Open Hot Dog (from Rochester,NY) with some spicy mustard! Yum-O!

Y'all try this Macaroni soon it is so good!

*If you are in the East TN area you can find Heluva good Cheese at most Food City stores. Also their website heluvagood.com has a section on where to buy.

Also wanted to point out my new(to me) casserole dish from Grandma Polka-Dotty...I LOVE IT!!

*Making Flubber*

**Let me first say, this is my 300th post on my Blog! Would like to thank all the ones that have kept coming back to see what we are up to and thank you to all the new visitors! :-) 

Now, we are moving right along with our Summer Activity List with a recipe for FLUBBER! 

You will need: 

3/4 cup cold water

1 cup Elmer’s glue

liquid food coloring

1/2 cup hot water

1 teaspoon borax (you can find this in a box in the laundry aisle)

directions:

step 1: in bowl 1 – mix together the cold water, glue, and food coloring. set aside.

step 2: in bowl 2 – mix together the hot water and borax, until the borax is completely dissolved.

step 3: slowly add glue mixture to borax mixture. mix well. pour off excess water.

Keep "kneading" the mixture until it is smooth and workable(its very wet at first) 

The kids used their play-dough toys with this cutters, scissors,etc... They stretched and pulled and tore, then put it all back in a ball. They had a blast with it! 

We even took it with us when we went on our picnic! 

Make it with your kids soon! It's so easy to put together and just simple, fun play for kids! 

And don't forget...the movie!! :-) 

Sweet Potato-Taco Foil Dinner

By:PerrysPlate.com

Ingredients:

1 Large Sweet Potato
1/2 lb ground turkey breast
1 can black beans
1/2 cup tomato sauce
Sea Salt
2 Tbsp Taco Seasoning
Spinach
Shredded Cheese
Garnish-Sour Cream,Avocado,Salsa,Tomato
Aluminum Foil

*Start by frying the ground turkey in a medium skillet(I used just 1 turn around the pan of olive oil)
  When the meat is cooked through add the black beans,tomato sauce, and taco seasoning.

* Get 4 pieces of 12 inch foil laid out, spray with cooking spray

* Add the cubed sweet Potatoes, top with 1 pat of butter(we use real butter)

*Add a pinch of sea salt to each and then sprinkle spinach over everything

*Add 1/3-1/2 cup of the taco mixture and top with cheese

*Fold the sides in and then the top and bottom to seal the packet

*Place the packets on a rimmed cookie sheet and put in 425 degree oven for 25-30 minutes
   Packets are done when sweet potatoes are tender.
    ( Be careful with the steam from the packets when opening)

*Add garnished of your choice

**Can freeze the feeling in portion sizes and serve over a baked sweet potato too :-)

Pipe Cleaners and a Colander

As much as I love playing with my kids and doing activities with them,I still have to get my house clean sometimes. Otherwise Big Daddy starts talking about trading me in for a new "model" and stuff.

I am always on the lookout for things that Brother can do with little to no help.
This was a great 20 minute activity for my 3 year old to do while I got laundry sorted and started and Sissy got her laundry put up.

All you need is Pipe Cleaners and a colander! Very simple yet fun!

When I got everything out Brother decided that this was to be his hat!

As you can see it's as simple as sticking the pipe cleaners in the holes of the colander!

Great fun, and gives you time to make dinner, fold clothes,etc..
My 8 year old also liked doing this, although it obviously didn't hold her attention as long. :-)

Pork,Kraut, and Taters in the Crock-Pot

This is one of the simplest recipes I make, and it's one of our favorites! Talk about comfort food!

When I was a kid my mom worked at the school we went to, she would often put stuff in the Crock-Pot to make life easier on busy days! She made this a lot and I was not a fan of it when I was a kid, I liked the 3 individual ingredients but, back then I couldn't figure out why I didn't like them all together.
 I didn't have it for years, then one day I was trying to come up with some easy meals and this came to mind.
I made this the first time just like Momma does, and that first time I made it, the mystery was solved!
 I do NOT like short ribs,or bone-in meats in the Crock-Pot(at all).
So I fixed it, these are made with boneless pork chops! It's so good, my 8 year old begs me to make it!

Pork,Kraut, and Taters 

*Crock-Pot
*Boneless Pork Chops: Amount depends on your family
*Sauerkraut: I suggest the bags, sold in the deli section or the jars of authentic sauerkraut
*Taters- I use whatever I have on hand, red taters are our favorite though

You are going to layer the ingredients in the Crock-Pot

• Start with a little sauerkraut on the bottom. 
• Then add the boneless pork chops on top of that
• Then taters
• Finish with the rest of the sauerkraut on top 
• Turn on low and let go for about 8 hours or so. 

When it's done, I just stir everything together and serve in large bowls.

How easy is that y'all? This is a great rainy or cold day meal! I also have made this with smoked sausage as well and we love that too!

What are some easy Crock-Pot recipes that you have, that contain only a few ingredients?

What's the Password?

It is a parents worst nightmare to think of anything happening to our children,but we see it on the news every day! So we have to do our part to be prepared! 

We teach our kids about not going anywhere with strangers but what if someone they know shows up at their school and says they were sent by a parent to pick them up? (Even if they weren't) 
What if someone shows up at your house to sell something or is looking for someone that doesn't live there,etc.. and you need a way to let your kids know that you are not comfortable with this person/situation and they need to go to their room. 

A Family Password (Codeword) is a great security measure you can take to protect your children. Only people in immediate family,grandparents,and those you trust most should know this word! 
If a familiar face knew the password, the child could feel safe going with them, because it’s a word that has been shared only with the people you trust the most. 

Your Family Password can be a phrase or a word – whatever works best for you. It needs to be kept secret between you and your family and never given out lightly to anyone.

This password needs to be practiced in safe situations, so the kids aren't startled by the first use of it.  We ask our daughter the password often to make sure she remembers with no hesitation and remind her it's not to be shared with extended family, friends at school,teachers,etc...

My husband recently went to pick up our daughter from school in a different vehicle than what he normally drives, he pulled through the line and when he got up to a teacher he said her name and then pulled up to let her in. The teacher got my daughter and started walking towards the car and my daughter stopped(planting her feet firmly on the ground) and told the teacher "That's not my car, that's not my parents!" So of course she had the teacher concerned and my husband could see in the mirror that something was going on so he opened the door and stepped out, which of course my daughter,very innocently, said "Oh! Hi Daddy!" The teacher looked at my husband and said "Good Job Daddy, we do not have to worry about her going with a stranger!"  

So tonight, at dinner, why not talk about safety? Create a code word.  Make a game out of it, and role play it.
Ask your kids about certain situations and how they would handle them. 

Some other things that we do for safety: 
*Our daughter has her own State issued ID card. 

*We carry cards in our wallets(that are laminated) that say: 
In Case of Emergency  
Name and Number
Address
*Plus 1 other person in case they can not answer. 

We also have ICE(In case of Emergency) in our cell phones, with each others numbers. 

What are some other security measures you take with your family? 

Menu 6-10/6-16-13

Monday:
Biscuit and Gravy Casserole
Salad
Sweet Potato Taco Packet with Corn

Tuesday:
Smoothie
*Daddys Choice*
?

Wednesday:
Cereal with Fruit
Creamy Avocado Chicken Salad
?

Thursday:
Smoothie
*Daddys Choice*
Fish with Rice and Veggies

Friday:
Muffins with Yogurt and Fruit
Sandwiches
Marinated Chicken with Roasted Veggies

Saturday:
?
Buffalo Chicken Rolls
?

Sunday:
Pancakes,Eggs, Bacon, and Sausage
?
Steak,Baked Potato, and Baked Beans

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