Melt it Down - Crazy Crayons

I don't know about you but I have a TON of broken crayons around the house. I was about to throw them away, but I thought about something I did a while ago. I took a small microwave safe glass and put the pieces in the bottom. I put several of the same color next to each other. I did stack a little so the dish wasn't a think pancake. I slowly melted the crayons in the microwave (10 seconds at a time). This allowed the crayons to melt, but still hold a lot of the original color. I do put in the freezer so I can pop them out easily. This little project I think I will do during nap time tomorrow. Then in the afternoon we can have "Crazy Crayons" to color and write with.

If you have cute glass or tin molds this would be a great little favor for the kids class. You could do shapes or letters and numbers. Think about making a set for your child's letter or number of the week and send to her classmates. Too cute!

King Ranch Chicken Casserole

Prep Time: 35 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Yield: Makes 6 to 8 servings - (Cara's note: I split this into two smaller casseroles. Eat one and freeze one.)

Ingredients

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 large green bell pepper, chopped
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 cups chopped cooked chicken
• 1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of chicken soup, undiluted
• 1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
• 1 (10-ounce) can diced tomato and green chiles (Cara's note - I use mild Rotel. The original is too spicy for the kids)
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 12 (6-inch) corn tortillas
• 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Cheddar cheese, divided (I use a ton more. Create a pretty thick topping.)

Preparation

Sauté onion and bell pepper in hot oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in chicken and next 7 ingredients; remove from heat.

Tear tortillas into 1-inch pieces; layer one-third of tortilla pieces in bottom of a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish. Top with one-third of chicken mixture and 2/3 cup cheese. Repeat layers twice.

Bake at 350° for 30 to 35 minutes.

Note: Freeze casserole up to 2 months, if desired. Thaw in refrigerator overnight, and bake as directed.

Southern Living, NOVEMBER 2000

Freezer Yummies

Over the next several days I am going to be adding some freezer friendly recipes. I will continue to add throughout the year, but these will be the ones we have eaten in the last 2 weeks. Freezer foods are great. Every so often I take a day, really a couple of hours in the day, and make 2 recipes. These recipes yield 2 frozen dinners each. Working full time these really help and are such a time saver. Stay tuned for the recipes to come!!!

Play Doh

I bought two cases of Play-Doh last Black Friday. One was a kit and the other contained 24 of the large cans. I have to say what an investment. Under $7.00 each and I can not count the number of hours spent in Play-Doh heaven. Well, heaven for my daughter. I am not a fan of picky up the gooey mess off of the floor.

Here is a suggestion. When you see Play-Doh go on super sale, go ahead and buy it. I did that and I am still able to get out fresh cans a year later. My daughter can honestly entertain herself for an hour when she plays with Play-Doh. It is so hot here that we have played a lot lately. Look for the sales and put it under the tree at Christmas. One of the most inexpensive yet best gifts ever.

Brown Sugar Cinnamon Bacon

I bought a new freezer meals cookbook this week and just had to try out some recipes. Here is one. I have altered it so the Taste of Home Freezer Pleasers cookbook was the inspiration.

You will need:

I lb. of bacon

1/2 cup brown sugar

3 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a sheet pan with foil. Mix the sugar and cinnamon together. Cut the bacon pieces in half and dip in the mixture. Twist the pieces as you place them on your sheet. Cook for 20 minutes. Take out of the over and get rid of grease. Turn the pieces over. Cook for another 5 minutes. Let cool and them place in freezer containers for up to a month. Microwave to reheat.

Labor Day

Do you ever have a day off and it not feel like a day off. Holidays seems to always be too busy, and you need a holiday from the holiday. This is what even basic holidays like Labor Day seem to be. Take a breath and relax. Get the house stuff done at a slow pace. Visit with the kids at home. Not everyone will like it, but you will be more refreshed when you go back to work Tuesday. Sometimes a little less to do will recharge the batteries. I am so going to try to follow my own guidelines. Tomorrow I have to grade papers and clean the house, but that will not take all day. I find cooking relaxing so I may even put a few dishes in the freezer. We will see where the day takes us and do what we can, but I will for sure make time for the kids.

Roast in the Crock Pot

Wednesday night was going to be super busy. Not only would I get home at 4:30, but we were going to have family over to relax before they had an even that night. What to fix to make everyone happy? Roast.

Easy Roast

First, I purchase an oven roast. I do whatever is on sale. The small package in the store easily feeds 5-6 people.

2 potatoes

1 onion

frozen carrots (in my freezer)

2 packets of gravy mix (I get McCormick Brown Gravy in the packet)

Open the two gravy packets in the crock pot. Add water into the crock pot. I fill the gravy packet up 4 times. Mix the gravy together.

Cute up the onion into wedges and put in the crock pot. Peel and cut the potato into cubes. Place it is the crock pot and toss in the gravy mix. Put a handful of frozen carrots into the pot as well. Place the roast on top and salt and pepper. Cover and cook on low. I end up leaving the meat in the pot for 9- 9.5 hours, not the usual 8 since I get home later. This seems to work even better.

Serve with saffron or yellow rice.