Winner Winner chicken Dinner...

Literally.

The winner of The Swenson Family Crock Pot contest is...

Yasemin Rice and her Chicken Cordon Bleu Recipe.

It was delicious.  The flavors went really well together.

Congratulations Yasemin!!

Thanks to all those who participated.

I just cleaned my...

crock pot for the last time this week.  I cooked, served, and cleaned up all four dishes, and they were all delicious.

I am seriously considering my crock pot for all of my cooking.  It made life so easy this week.  Plus, I have a gadzillion more recipes to try sent in by all of you.

Just wanted to share my results on the last two recipes.

Thursday, we enjoyed:

Chicken Lasagna by Camille Cordero

(who knew you could make lasagna in a crock pot, but it really worked)

I have never had Chicken Lasagna before so this was really fun.

How Easy? 7

This was a little bit more time consuming because you had to layer everything, but all in all I think it only took me about 25 minutes to put together, and then was nothing more to do.

Taste?  7

All of the flavors went well together.  I wonder how this would taste with some Alfredo sauce in it.  Stella loved it.

Appearance?  7

This didn't stay together all that well, or I am just a dork when it comes to serving it.  The spinach however gave it a pretty color.

Clean Up?  9

This was easy to clean up.  I used a crock pot liner so all I had to do was pull it out and dump the leftovers in a container.  There was no other sides to clean up.

Cost?  7

This meal cost around $11.00, but it made a lot.

Chicken Cordon Bleu by Yasemin Rice

We had this dish tonight.  It was great to throw it in before church, and have a meal when we got home.

I think Yasemin was at an advantage because Sunday dinner always tastes so good.  After 3 hours of church everything tastes better.

How Easy? 7

This took some time to coat all the breasts and wrap them up.  Next time, I am just going to add the seasonings to the sauce.  I also might try using breaded chicken tenders.

Taste? 9

This was great.  The flavors go so well together.  My hubby had seconds and he rarely does that.

Appearance?  9

It looked so beautiful served over the rice.  The ham gave the dish a nice punch of color.

Clean up?  8

Fairly simple to clean up.  You still have the rice pan, and whatever you cook the veggies in to clean up.  All in all very simple.

Cost?  6

This meal cost about $13 to make.  We have enough leftovers for one meal for Jonathan and myself.

I will share the winner tomorrow so stay tuned.

A little more about me.

For those of you who didn't know, my husband and I lived for  two years on an island in the Caribbean. 

It is the island of Saba.

I was pregnant with Stella when we moved there. 

Some of my greatest memories, best life lessons, and simplest times were spent there.

For a glimpse of our life there please visit Becky's Blog.  She is my friend who now lives there.  (look at older posts as well, she is doing it one village at a time.  keep checking back for windwardside; this is the village we lived in)

She is doing a great job of telling the story of Saba through pictures.

I sure miss that special place.

Enjoy!! 

Now you know one more thing about me.

What I have learned Thursday.

I am starting a new post.  I am going to try and share new ideas or thoughts that I have learned every Thursday.  (you know me, so don't hold your breath;but I will try)

Motherhood is my full time job.  I am always looking for new ways to improve and become better at my job.  Many times it is through reading blogs, chatting with a friend, or reading a magazine or book that I come up with new ideas.

I hope to share some of those thoughts here.

Today, I have 4 ideas that have helped me.

The first 2 come from my friend Jamie.

Stations:  every family member has a station.  ie: Jex/living room, Stella/playroom, Isaac/dining room, Mommy/kitchen, Daddy/trash cans, and outside, everyone/own bedroom.

At the end of the day or when I say, "Check your station."  Everyone must make sure that their station looks how we would want it to look if we were having company.(This includes straightening pillows, rugs, and chairs.  Also picking up toys.)

This has helped tremendously when we need to do a quick run through. It seems like we are all working together.  Even little Isaac understands and takes care of his station.  I have been so impressed.

Oh, and one more from my smart friend, Jamie(I would link to her blog, but it has been since HALLOWEEN since she posted) mmm hmm. Jamie get to work.  Stop coming up with these great ideas and start blogging.

Any hoo, at the end of the day her family shares something that made them happy.

We started doing it in our home  after family prayer. We each take a turn sharing what made us happy that day.

I have been so touched at how much it has affected our children.  They look forward to it.  Throughout the day Isaac will randomly ask me, "what makes you happy, mama?"  BTW, his response to that question is always, "Jesus."  Adorable.

Thanks for those ideas Jamie.

Here is one from my friend Krysta.

She sets her timer when she has work to do.  When it goes off, she is done.  This lets her know that she can't keep going on and on, and it also gets her butt in gear as she races against the clock.

I tried it today, and it really works.  I got so much done in 1 1/2 hours, and then no more cleaning, cooking, or laundry folding for me.

She is so smart!!

My last idea, I came up with in my own little head.

I write Jex's spelling words on the mirror in his bathroom.  That gives him 4 days to look them over, and also allows Stella to start reading them.  She is all the time asking me, "what does this spell?"

He was already getting 100 percent, but I know this has made it much easier on him to see the words on a regular basis.

What have you learned today?

P.S.  It is such a nice day outside.  I am beginning to think that spring might be on it's way.  I am still in my Yoga pants, but I am sporting my flip flops with them just so I can pretend spring is near.(I know I am a dork.)

The kids are enjoying the warmth outside today.  That gives me some time to blog.

Okay, I really better go, I have all of this to unload... and

I am teaching a bread class tonight.

Bye.

My Favorite Recipe

Do you feel like you are getting lots of recipes here?  Well here is one more. 

Tiffany over at Simply Modern Mom is looking for 365 of the best.  She wants the recipe that your family loves the most. Here is my little addition.

We call it Saba Salad.  It is a salad that I was introduced to when we lived on the island of Saba in the Caribbean.  I added a little spin to it, and started to cook the chicken they way that they would on the island of Trinidad.  My friend told me that they don't use oil, they use brown sugar.  So I tried it, and added it to the salad, and it is amazing.

Here is is:

Saba Salad

8-12 chicken tenders or 4 breasts

½ C. brown sugar

Green leaf lettuce 1 head

2 tomatoes

Can of corn

Can of black beans

2 avocados

Can of French’s onions

Cover bottom of frying pan with brown sugar. When any little piece starts to melt add defrosted chicken. Simmer chicken in brown sugar over medium heat until sugar turns dark and sticky. Could take 15-20 minutes. Drag the chicken around in the sticky syrup until it is coated. Remove from pan and cool. Then shred.

Cut up lettuce, add chopped tomatoes, chopped avocados, can of corn and beans drained and rinsed. Top with onions. Serve with chicken on top and BBQ ranch dressing.

BBQ Ranch Dressing

1 ranch packet

Mayo and milk to make it

BBQ sauce.

Mix the ranch together(must be homemade ranch or it is not good), and let sit in the fridge. Before serving add BBQ sauce. About ¼ BBQ sauce to the amount of ranch you have.

Now, go try my salad and head over to her blog, and add one of your own.