Sunday and Weekly Recap

Here we are and it’s another beautiful sunny Sunday in Ohio. We have been so blessed with a fabulous spring so far. The last few days have been virtually cloudless. I have been so busy trying  to do many things and still spend lots of time outside. I have  been able to spend some time in the garden. My brother gave me some vegetables to plant in my garden that he grew from seeds. A friend also gave me some vegetables and flowers for my garden that she grew from seeds.
   I am so fortunate to have plants that have been grown and tended with love from the very beginning.

I spent a couple days with my grandkids. We would start our day with a walk to the local park. Katie enjoyed playing.
 
Tyler seemed to like eating dirt and sucking on rocks best.
 
We had so much fun.

I am part of a large giveaway at Little Becky Homecky. Go here to enter for a chance to win one of 9 prizes. I am giving away a jar of lingonberries.

The Bithday Bash contest is still open until the end of the month. Make sure you enter
to win the $150.00 Paypal cash. Go here to enter.

Another fabulous week at The Gathering Spot. I had 29 link up this week. Make sure you go check them out there are lots of great ideas.

Make sure you check out my recipe for making a Whole Chicken in the Slow Cooker with Garlic and Thyme. It is a great recipe for a super moist chicken. Don’t Throw Those Bones Away tells you how to use the leftover bones to make stock or broth.

This e-books are still free RV cooking,

I hope everyone has a wonderful Sunday. Take some time for yourself. Relax, enjoy your family. Get recharged for the coming week. Peace and Love to all :)

 

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Don’t Throw Those Bones Away!

After I made my Whole Chicken in the Slow Cooker with Garlic and Thyme, I cleaned off all the meat and put the bones in a bag until I have time to make stock with it. So instead of throwing those bones away you can give them a second life and make some broth. Here’s what you’ll need.

Chicken bones
onion
carrot
garlic
celery ( I didn’t have any this time)
Put the bones in a large pot.

Cover with water. Fill the pot up 3/4 full.

Add Onion.

Garlic.

Carrots.

Bring to a boil.

Simmer on low for at least a couple hours. I simmered mine 6 hours.

Remove from heat and let broth cool down a bit. Strain broth. I use a large bowl and place a colander over it and strain it. This will get out the big stuff. You can strain it further with a fine mess strainer or cheese cloth.


You can put the broth/stock in whatever container works for you. I use freezer bags, plastic bowls or mason jars. Measure it in convenient usable portions. That way when you need broth all you have to do is grab the size you need. I also freeze some in ice cube trays. After they freeze you can pop them into a larger container and use as needed.

Shared at: Real Food Whole Health , My Turn for Us , Premeditated Leftovers , Little Becky Homecky , Here Comes the Sun , One Artsy Mama , Be Different Act Normal , Too Much Time , Just Winging It , Addicted to Recipes

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Free E-cookbook ~ 33 Great Camping Recipes

33 Great Camping Recipes: Simple, Fun, Easy & Fast!
Amazon is offering another free e-book. 33 Great Camping Recipes: Simple, Fun, Easy & Fast! [Kindle Edition]. Go here. Make sure you check the price before you download your free copy. Prices change quickly so hurry and grab yours now!

Don’t own a kindle? Amazon offers a free reader app. Go here. to download the app.

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Free E-cookbook ~ 30 Delicious Cake Recipes From Scratch

30 Delicious Cake Recipes From Scratch - Cake Recipes For All Occasions
Amazon is offering another free e-book. 30 Delicious Cake Recipes From Scratch – Cake Recipes For All Occasions [Kindle Edition]. Go here. Make sure you check the price before you download your free copy. Prices change quickly so hurry and grab yours now!

Don’t own a kindle? Amazon offers a free reader app. Go here. to download the app.

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The Gathering Spot # 4

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Welcome to The Gathering Spot . This is a blog hop. I hope everyone had a wonderful  Mother’s Day weekend and is ready to share all the things they have been doing this past week.

This weeks featured link is Taco Cups by What’s cooking in the burbs. You can grab a button if you have been featured. Thanks to all who linked up for last weeks blog hop. 27 total link ups! That’s great. So many different ideas. If you didn’t get a chance to check out last week at The Gathering Spot you can go here and check them out.

Feel free to share your recipes, crafts or whatever it is you have been doing the past week from your blog with my followers. If you are not a blogger feel free to leave comments with your ideas. Each week I will feature the link that had the most clicks from the week before. I will also be featuring posts through out the week on my facebook page, and twitter. All I ask is that you follow my blog by any of the ways I have listed, or on my side bar. Leave a comment and let me know you are a new follower and I will follow you back. Please link your post back to the blog hop. You can grab my button from the sidebar or simply add a text link somewhere on your blog. With all that being said…Let’s Party


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( Submissions will close in 15h 31m )
Link tool by Inlinkz
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Free E-cookbook ~ RV Cooking Cookbook

RV Cooking Cookbook
Amazon is offering another free e-book. RV Cooking Cookbook [Kindle Edition]. Go here. Make sure you check the price before you download your free copy. Prices change quickly so hurry and grab yours now!

Don’t own a kindle? Amazon offers a free reader app. Go here. to download the app.

Thanks The Frugal Girls!

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Whole Chicken in the Slow Cooker with Garlic and Thyme

I had to share this picture of Emma my youngest. She found a use for my Easter center piece. I’ts her new outdoor lounger.

I love using my slow cooker anytime of the year. It’s so convenient. A whole chicken cooked slow is so moist and tender. Here is a simple fool proof way to make a chicken taste like you slaved for hours making it. Well… the slow cooker spent hours making it. So grab that chicken and lets get cooking.

You’ll need:

1 Whole chicken (size depends on slow cooker, mine’s fairly large so my chicken was a little over 4 pounds).

6 – 7 red potatoes cubed

1 onion (1/2 diced, 1/2 in larger chunks)

5 cloves garlic ( 2 minced, 3 smashed)

fresh thyme

cayenne pepper

paprika

Rinse and pat dry your chicken inside and out.

Cut up potatoes into small bite size pieces. Put in bottom of slow cooker.

Dice 1/2 of the onion and put in with potatoes.

Mince 2 cloves of garlic and put in slow cooker.

Cut up the other 1/2 onion into chunks, smash 3 cloves of garlic and grab 1 tbsp of fresh thyme.

Place inside the chicken.

Place the chicken on top of the potatoes, onion and garlic, sprinkle with cayenne pepper and paprika.

Cook  8 hours on low. Until internal temperature reaches at least 165 F.

Take out of slow cooker and let cool for 15 minutes before carving.
   
Take the potatoes out with a slotted spoon.

I use some of the juice to spoon over  the sliced chicken. If you want to crisp the skin up you can broil it for a few minutes. I don’t bother, I don’t eat the skin.

And don’t throw out the bones! Go here and I’ll show you what you can do with them:)

Shared at: Marvelously Messy , Make Ahead Meals For Busy Moms , The 21st Century Housewife , My Favorite Finds , Here Comes the Sun , Create With Joy , Cooking with Karyn , Life of a Not so Ordinary Wife , $5 Dollar Dinners , Mrs Dulls Kitchen , Linda Coastal Charm, Time Warp Wife , Learning the Frugal Life , Nature’s Nurture , Homemaker on a Dime , Thankful Homemaker , The DIY Dreamer , Kelly the Kitchen Kop , We Are That Family , Frugally Sustainable , Lady Behind the Curtain , Michelle’s Tasty Creations , Everyday Tastes , Miz Helen’s Country Cottage , Momnivore’s Dilemma , Raising Mighty Arrows , Simple Lives Thursday , Bear Rabbit Bear , The Frugal Girls , Happy Hour Projects , The Food Renegade , Comfy in the Kitchen

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Happy Mother’s Day!

While looking for something to write for Mother’s Day I came across this beautiful letter posted on Braxtron (Life) I had to re post it because it is perfect for how I feel.
So to all you beautiful, wonderful, giving, caring nurturing mother’s out there and especially for my mother and my daughter this is for you. I love you so very much.
Letter from a Mother to a Daughter
“My dear girl,
the day you see I’m getting …old,
I ask you to please be patient,
but most of all,
try to understand what I’m going through.
If when we talk,
I repeat the same thing a thousand times,
don’t interrupt to say:
“You said the same thing a minute ago”
… Just listen, please.
Try to remember the times when you were little
and I would read the same story
night after night until you would fall asleep.
When I don’t want to take a bath,
don’t be mad and
don’t embarrass me.
Remember
when I had to run after you making excuses
and trying to get you to take a shower
when you were just a girl?
When you see how ignorant I am
when it comes to new technology,
give me the time to learn and
don’t look at me that way…
remember, honey,
I patiently taught you how to do many things like:
eating appropriately,
getting dressed,
combing your hair and
dealing with life’s issues every day…
the day you see I’m getting old,
I ask you to please be patient,
but most of all,
try to understand what I’m going through.
If I occasionally lose track of what we’re talking about,
give me the time to remember,
and if I can’t,
don’t be nervous, impatient or arrogant.
Just know in your heart that the most important thing for me is to be with you.
And when my old, tired legs
don’t let me move as quickly as before,
give me your hand
the same way that I offered mine to you when you first walked.
When those days come,
don’t feel sad…
just be with me,
and understand me while I get to the end of my life
with love.
I’ll cherish and thank you
for the gift of time and joy we shared.
With a big smile and the huge love I’ve always had for you,
I just want to say,
I love you…
my darling daughter. “
HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!!!
-Author Unknown
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Guest Post: Welcome Domestic Randomness!

Today is the day that Amanda from Domestic Randomness is guest hosting. So please welcome her with open arms and enjoy her delicious recipe. ;)

First of all I want to to thank Diane for honoring me by allowing me to write a post for her wonderful blog! I can see that she has many great ideas and I will definitely have to take my time looking around and trying out some of her fabulous recipes and tips!

I’m Randomly Fascinated from Domestic Randomness. I am a new mom to My Little Guy who is almost 6 months old. At Domestic Randomness you can find me sharing my thoughts on all sorts of domestic topics. I have recently been writing a series comparing major diaper brands. I also like to discuss Recipes, Saving Money, Wedding Topics, Swagbucks, and other Random Thoughts. Please feel free to come visit me and let me know what you think of my random thoughts!

Anyways, on to the actual post :)

Absolutely Delicious Granola Bars

I asked my husband how he would describe these granola bars and he said “absolutely delicious”. I said “No, I mean what should the title be?” And he said “absolutely delicious granola bars, that’s what they are”. So here it is just for you, my absolutely delicious granola bars.

I do not know the origins of this granola bar recipe. I got the basic idea from my aunt years ago, I think that she got it from some cookbook somewhere, but  I don’t know what book it was so I’m sorry to the original author, I can’t give you credit for the idea because I don’t know who you are. I have adapted this recipe pretty liberally so I guess it is mine now.

This recipe is tripled because my husband and I LOVE these granola bars and if I made a small batch they are gone in just a few days and I would have to be making more constantly. If you would like to make a normal amount of granola bars simply divide the #s by 3. These measurements are not exact. Those of you who follow my blog know that I tend to just throw things in and not worry about exactness. As a courtesy to Mamal Diane’s readers I tried to measure before I threw things in :)

Ingredients:

3 cups Peanut Butter

1 cup Brown Sugar

1 cup Honey
1 1/2 cup corn syrup
4 cups oats
7 cups cereal (almost any rice
or crunchy cereal will work, I generally use the leftovers at the bottom of the
boxes, in whatever types I have on hand)
2 cups dried cranberries (any
dried fruit will work, I used to use raisins but found that I prefer
cranberries, I love the tart taste with the sweet granola bars)
2 cups peanuts (or any type
nuts, if using larger nuts chop them in smaller pieces)
1/2 cup chocolate chips
(whatever type you like best works, I used a smaller amount because I am not
super into chocolate, but chocolate lovers can feel free to add more :)
Any other add ins you think
would taste good in these. Some things I have tried – other nuts, seeds, other
dried fruit, protein powder, fiber powder, wheat germ, flax seed etc.

In a large (if using triple recipe, then a very, very large bowl, I used a roasting pan because I didn’t have anything else big enough) mix together oats, cereal, cranberries, peanuts, and any other dry add ins you want.

I used grape-nuts flakes, corn flakes, honey roasted honey bunches of oats, and wheaties for the cereals

 


Put peanut butter, brown sugar, honey, and corn syrup in a large glass (microwaveable) bowl. Microwave on high for several minutes (sorry I forgot to take note of time) until corn syrup is boiling.

Mix together.

Pour over dry mixture. (Be careful not to burn yourself on the bowl or mixture, both are very hot!)

Mix together.

Pour on wax paper lined cookie sheet. Wet hands. (helps mixture not stick to hands) Press mixture into an approximately square shape.

Freeze (this helps the sauce set faster, if you don’t mind waiting you could let it sit out or put in fridge)

After fully cooled take out of freezer and cut into squares

Store in airtight container. I like to store them in the freezer or fridge because I like them cool.

One of the things I love about this recipe is that it is so versatile.
You can adapt it almost any way you want and it will still turn out
fabulous as long as you use something sticky in the sauce. I haven’t tried it but I think you could probably use maple syrup also, or just use all honey and skip the corn syrup. You can use almost any add ins that sound yummy to you as long as they are in small enough pieces to mix in well. I think every batch of granola bars that I make is different, but so far they have all been great!

Thank you again to Mamal Diane and to her wonderful readers! I am very grateful to you for allowing me to post my random thoughts on your blog! I can’t wait to see what Diane has for us next!

I hope that you enjoyed my recipe! I would love it if you would come stop by and visit me at Domestic Randomness. If you want to stay a while you can subscribe by email, RSS feed, or Google Friend Connect.

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(EXPIRED) Free E-book ~ 35 Scrumptious Cookie & Bar Recipes

35 Scrumptious Cookie & Bar Recipes - Simple and Savory Recipes: From the Kitchen of Biddy Collection

Amazon is offering another free e-book. 35 Scrumptious Cookie & Bar Recipes – Simple and Savory Recipes: From the Kitchen of Biddy Collection.  [Kindle Edition]. Go here. Make sure you check the price before you download your free copy. Prices change quickly so hurry and grab yours now!

Don’t own a kindle? Amazon offers a free reader app. Go here. to download the app.

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