HELP!

I am determined to get this cooking thing down. It seriously can't be that hard. If anybody out there has any good recipes please send them my way. The recipes have to be easy, no more than 5 or 6 ingredients and if the meal has a little bit of color that would be nice too. I'm making a grocery run this weekend so post those recipes now!

Food Quiz

What is it?

a) a new brand of dog food
b) last night's dinner
c) last night's dinner thrown back up
d) a good reason to go on a hunger strike

And the answer....ALL OF THE ABOVE!

You Say Potato

Who can't cook a potato in the microwave? This girl apparently. My first clue that something was wrong was the loud popping noise coming from the microwave. The second clue, the horrible burnt smell. It was awful! Made the whole house stink and made me sick to my stomach. I guess 15 minutes in the microwave was too long.....

And The Color Is....

And tonight's dinner color of choice...ORANGE. Baked chicken with Italian dressing, mac and cheese and salad.
The girls made me promise to take a break from the crockpot for awhile. When I called them down for dinner Kayla came into the kitchen to see what I made. Then I heard her yell up the stairs to Anna...."It's ok...she didn't use the crockpot. We've had this before and it's edible." I might be offended except for the fact that she's right. Sigh!

New Food Trend

Got a text from my friend Mari this weekend with this picture and message.



Beige chicken enchiladas in honor of Stacy Goebel.
Aww...sweet! Maybe I started a new food trend.



P.S.- stay tuned for more crockpot chronicles

Crock Pot Chronicles Episode #4- Update

Well no one puked, pooped or died from last night's dinner so I am considering it a successful meal. My crockpot is taking the night off, but stay tuned for more of the Crock Pot Chronicles and other exciting food fun on the Beige Plate.

Crock Pot Chronicles Episode #4- Easy Roast

Considering the fiasco of the last 2 nights, I decided to go with a no brainer today... Easy Roast. I was hoping it would live up to it's name, but with me wearing the apron you just never know. The recipe only required a few ingredients...roast, one can of Coke, a packet of Lipton onion soup mix, some baby carrots and potatoes.






I decided to set the table with the fine china. I figured if the food looked bad at least the table would look nice.

Anna to Friend from school. "We are having roast for dinner. Pray for us!"

I am happy to report that those prayers were answered. Not only did the table look good, but the food was colorful and the roast tasted fantastic!





Kayla's contribution to the meal.


I am going to give it 24 hours before I render a final verdict on this meal. If no one has puked, had a bad experience in the bathroom or gotten food poisoning....then and only then will I consider this meal a success.

Crock Pot Chronicles Episode #3- Mexican Monday

So tonight's crockpot meal- Enchilada casserole. Besides the fact that it cooked a little too fast it turned out to be a halfway decent dish. It was colorful, tasty. Hey, maybe I'm finally getting the hang of this cooking thing....or so I thought until...

(Anna- 3 hours later)- "Don't ever feed me what was in that crockpot again. I just went to the bathroom and had the worst experience of my life. My butt is on FIRE! I was in there for thirty minutes and seriously thought I was going to die!"

Crock Pot Enchilada Casserole = Epic Fail!

Crock Pot Chronicles Episode #2- That's Not Cat Puke It's Your Dinner

After my first successful attempt at crockpot cooking I decided I was ready to try something bigger...Italian chicken. The recipe was simple...chicken, cream cheese, butter and a packet of italian seasoning then cook on high for 4 hours. It smelled delicious. The girls kept coming downstairs asking when dinner would be ready. I am ashamed to say that this is what I fed my children for dinner last night.



No girls, that's not cat puke it's your dinner. TASTY right? And it was BEIGE! Not sure how you can screw up a recipe with only 4 ingredients but I did. The flavors actually weren't that bad, but you had to wear a blindfold to eat it. To make it worse I made instant mashed potatoes to go with the chicken (beige) and served it with a roll (beige). Even the apple juice the girls had to drink was beige. When the girls asked how come I wasn't eating, I told them that I was full from lunch. The truth is...I couldn't get past how gross it looked.

Crock Pot Chronicles Episode #1- Minister's Delight

When I got home from my initial trip to the grocery store I was excited to try out a new crock pot recipe. Since we had already eaten dinner I decided to try a dessert. I picked Minister's Delight which is basically just dump cake in a crock pot. Cherries, yellow cake mix and butter. Put it on high for about 3 hours and viola! Yummy delicious goodness! It actually turned out pretty darn good if I do say so myself. The best part...it wasn't beige!

Crock Pot Chronicles

I call this first series of blogs the Crock Pot Chronicles. Our family is constantly on the go. I work full time and have 2 teenage daughters that are competitive soccer players. We eat out a lot, mostly because we aren't home long enough to cook something. The other day I came across a website that was loaded with crockpot recipes. I figured that maybe this crockpot thing would work for us. I mean how hard can it be to use a crockpot?! Dump stuff in the pot in the morning, come home after school/work and it's ready to eat. So I drug out my crockpot (yes, I do have a crockpot) cleaned off the layer of dust and decided to give it a try. Then I went to the website and pulled off a few recipes that looked pretty easy to make. Next, I made a list of ingredients I would need and went to the store. Making a list is HUGE for me. Usually I just grab stuff off the shelves and come home with only about half of what I need.




When I got home I planned out my menu for the week. Another big step for me. ..planning a menu. Follow the Crock Pot Chronicles and read all about my adventures in the world of Crock Pot cooking.