Quick Fix Friday: Slow cooker pulled pork

As I was deciding what recipe to share with you this week, I realized that I keep giving you slow cooker recipes!  After this week, I'll try to shake things up a little and give you some fast, family friendly meals that don't involve a slow cooker.

This week, I'm sharing with you a very simple slow cooker recipe for pulled pork that my dear friend Christie shared with me.  As I write this, this recipe is simmering away in my kitchen, filling the house with the scent of cooking pork.  This recipe is so easy and sooooooooooooo tasty :-)  Enjoy!

Slow cooker pulled pork

Ingredients:

2 lbs pork loin/roast(thawed)
1 12 oz can of root beer
1 16 oz bottle of your favorite barbecue sauce
1 package of 8 hamburger buns

First, take your thawed pork and place it in the slow cooker.  Then pour the root beer over the pork and place the lid on your slow cooker.  Allow this to cook on low for 6-7 hours.  Once the meat is cooked through, drain off any remaining root beer.  Shred the pork using two forks.  Then add the bottle of barbecue sauce and mix thoroughly.  Serve on hamburger buns :-)



For His Glory,

Courtney

What you're doing is ministry...

This past week, my husband and I had the privilege to attend a pastors and leaders conference.  It was a powerful time spent in the Bible and in prayer, a time to fellowship with those who are like-minded and our family in Christ.  I have come away feeling so refreshed and encouraged.  Several ladies took time to talk with, encourage, and pray with me specifically.  The Lord used them to speak His truth into my life and my heart.  It has so encouraged me, I wanted to share with you in case you are in need of encouragement as well.

1.  If your husband is called, then so are you.

I have no doubt whatsoever that my husband needs to be doing ministry.  Sometimes I doubt absolutely that I'm qualified to hold the title "pastor's wife".  That title carries different expectations for different people and I've always struggled with wanting to please people.  I am learning more and more (and was encouraged to) remember that ministry in the church comes after my ministry in my home.  I need to be faithful to live the word out as well as teach it.  Yes, I do need to be faithful to give God's word out, but that starts at home with my husband and my children.

2.  Loving your husband and child(ren) is ministry.

In a society that diminishes that which is done at home, it is so easy to become discouraged.  I have found my self in that unlovely place of feeling like I am "just" a stay at home wife and mom, like what I'm doing is not enough.  My own mother has in encouraged me in the past and several ladies at the conference encouraged me as well in true Titus 2 fashion!  In a world full of hurting people and largely void of true love, allowing people to see my love for my husband and son is a silent witness for the gospel.  A huge part of my ministry is to love my husband and my son!

^"3 Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, ⁴ so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, ⁵  to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored."-Titus 2:3-5 NASB

3. Do not grow weary in well doing!

Any one in ministry will tell you there was some point where they felt discouraged.  They felt that maybe they should look for a new opportunity or that faithfully sharing the truth was just too hard or the hearts of the people too resistant or the finances too challenging, etc.  If we give up, the devil wins.  If we decide to stop ministering the gospel, it's one more victory for the evil one.  Several ladies shared with me the exhortation of Galatians 6:9

^"And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart."-Galatians 6:9 NKJV

Don't grow weary, don't lose heart!  Giving out the gospel is important and that starts with you ministry to your husband and children!  Be encouraged dear reader! I'm praying this would minister to your heart today!



For His Glory,



Courtney

 

Quick Fix Friday: Slow cooker chicken

This edition of Quick Fix Friday is going to be in a word, quick.  I love, love, love this recipe.  This is my very favorite recipe for chicken so far.  In fact, I may never cook a chicken on the oven ever again!  This chicken was moist, juicy, and literally falling off the bone.  I had zero trouble taking this chicken off of the bone, which is a pretty big deal considering it usually looks like I was trying to beat the chicken into submission while hacking it to bits (really, ask my husband) while failing miserably to separate meat from bone.  This recipe is like my chicken cooking BFF.  So, here it is:

Slow cooker chicken

1 whole 2-3lb chicken, thawed
Salt
Pepper
1Tbsp Garlic powder
2 Tbsp dried Parsley
Aluminum foil

First take aluminum foil and roll into 3 3-4 inch balls and place them in the bottom of your slow cooker.  Then take the thawed chicken and rinse it with cold water and pat dry with paper towels.  Place the now dry chicken inside the slow cooker on top of the aluminum foil balls.  Now season the chicken(to taste) inside and out with salt and pepper.  Finally sprinkle the garlic powder and dried parsley over the chicken and place the lid on your slow cooker.  Put the slow cooker on high for about one hour, then turn it down to low and let the chicken cook for 7-9 more hours until juices run clear.  Let cool a few minutes and enjoy :-)

For His Glory,

Courtney

So Blessed...

My heart is so full right now.  The Lord has so richly blessed me.  I have so much more than I ever could have asked for, so much more than I deserve.  I have a wonderful husband who loves me, who loves our son and is an amazing father, who cares enough to put God first, who has a deep passion for God's word and a great love for people.  I have a beautiful healthy son despite all that could have gone wrong during my pregnancy or just after his birth.  Every time I look into that precious face or hold him in my arms, I know I am holding a miracle. Most of all, though, I have a savior!  A savior named Jesus, who left heaven and came to earth as a man, who chose to suffer and die for all sin, who rose again on the third day, and who has forgiven my sins and allowed me to have a personal relationship with Him!

There are so many more things I could list.  I could give so many specific instances of God's goodness, mercy, grace, and love in my life.  Right now, my heart is so full I feel it could burst!  I just had to share with you how a small piece of how great my God is and how good He's been to me.  Yes, there are parts of my life that are hard, but I have so much more than I deserve.  I am a sinner and deserve no more than punishment and death, yet here I am.  I am alive, I have a wonderful husband, a beautiful son, a wonderful family, dear friends, a chance to minister to others, and most of all, I have a Savior!

I have to marvel at how great my God is, how much He's given me, how much He is teaching me through His word and in prayer!  I would encourage you, take a few minutes just to think about all He's done for you.  Remind yourself of His faithfulness.

And if you don't know Him, seek Him out.  Get a Bible and start reading the New Testament, find a Bible-believing church and get in touch with the pastor with your questions, or even leave me a comment.

For His Glory,

Courtney

Quick Fix Fridays: Mom's 4 Ingredient Chili

There are so many different schools of thought on what good chili is and isn't.  It varies from region to region and (as my husband and I have realized) from family to family.  While I enjoy my husband's favorite recipe, when I start to get hungry for chili this is what I'm hungry for.  I grew up with this recipe and I haven't tasted chili yet that can beat it.

You'll need:

1 Large can tomato puree
2 cans light red kidney beans
1 packet of your favorite chili seasoning
1 lb ground beef
1-5 quart soup pot

For this recipe I start by browning the ground beef (seasoning to taste)in the bottom of the pan.  If it is especially greasy or watery, drain the meat.  Next  I add the kidney beans, tomato puree, and chili seasoning and stir together.  I allow this to simmer on medium heat until it is heated through and the beans are tender.  I usually serve this with saltines and cheddar cheese, but it's also great with tortilla chips or for making chili dogs.

I love making this recipe! It's so fast and easy, plus it makes me feel a little less homesick when we haven't seen family in awhile.  If you want something a little more sophisticated this is also a great place to start.  You can add some onions while browning the hamburger, you can substitute ground turkey for ground beef, you can add about 1/2 a cup of your favorite salsa, etc.  The possibilities are endless.

For His Glory,

Courtney

Quick Fix Friday: Slow Cooker Beef Roast

If you're like me, you're looking for quick, easy recipes.  Starting this week I'm going to start sharing some of our go-to fast favorites.  For those of you who read my post earlier this week on Meal Planning  this is the same recipe I used this week to make the roast and carrots that was on our meal plan.  I love this recipe because I can put it in the slow cooker and forget about it and my husband loves the leftovers(since he is picky about leftovers this is a pretty big deal).

For this recipe you will need the following ingredients:

1-2 to 3 lb beef roast
2-envelopes of your favorite brown gravy mix
1-white onion, chopped
1-1 lb package of baby carrots
2-cloves of minced garlic
1-cup of water
salt
pepper

To make this recipe, I usually start the day before by getting the roast out of the freezer to thaw.  The next day I start by chopping up the onion.  I pour in the chopped onion and baby carrots in the bottom of the slow cooker and spread them out in an even layer.  Next I add the gravy mix, garlic, and water.  (The consistency and amount of gravy depends on how much water you use.  1 cup water=less, thicker gravy, 2 cups=more, broth-like gravy)  Then I place the roast on top of all this and season it with salt and pepper.  At this point it's time to put on the lid and start the cooking.  I turn my slow cooker on low and let it cook for 5 to 6 hours.

This meal is great on its own or with an extra side.  This week we ate ours with mashed potatoes. It is also tasty with some easy baking powder biscuits.  This hearty meal is a favorite in the wintertime, but I love it in the summer as well.  By using the slow cooker I don't have to heat up the house by using the oven. (This was extremely helpful since the temperature this week has ranged from 97 to 105 degrees) Hope you and your family enjoy this recipe as much as we do :-)

For His Glory,

Courtney

Using the Time I Have Part 1: Meal Planning

Right about now I'm feeling pretty good about the start of my latest adventure in meal planning.  I've made some failed attempts in the past, so I'm excited that I planned my 4th and 5th week of meals last weekend.  It takes time to do the planning, but it simplifies life so much that it's worth every minute.  I'm so excited to share my reasons for meal planning with you and to give you a look into what my process looks like when I write my meal plans.

Aside from the reasons listed in my post Using the Time I Have: an Intro, there are three reasons that I decided I needed to get serious about meal planning:

1. Meal planning will save us money.

I don't know about you, but for me grocery shopping without a list can be a little dangerous for our budget.  Grocery shopping without a list while hungry is even more so.   This kind of shopping ends up with a cart half full of what we need and filled up with impulse items we don't.   I discovered both of these to be very true both for myself and my husband so I started making a list before grocery shopping. 

It was a step in the right direction, but we often ran out of what we needed for meal and were constantly making little trips to the store to pick up things we had forgotten.  This caused our grocery bill to slowly creep higher and higher.  Another flaw in the way I was constructing my lists was that I wasn't "shopping" in my pantry and fridge before going to the store so I would pick up duplicates of things we already had.  Honestly, one reason I decided to start meal planning is that I recently discovered we had not two, not three, but FOUR bottles of soy sauce.  While we definitely use soy sauce, there was absolutely no reason for us to have four bottles.  I ended up intentionally tracking down recipes that included soy sauce just to try and use some of it up.  

2. Meal planning will save me time.

At first, even I was skeptical that this would come to be a reason, but after having the last month of meals planned, I can honestly say it is definitely true.  It typically takes me about 1-2 hours to sit down and put together a 2 week meal plan and grocery list.  After it's put together though, I don't have to stress about what I'm going to make, what meat needs thawed, and I can work prep time into whatever the plan for the day is.  No more is "what's for dinner?" the all dreaded question.  I know already and I don't have to scurry about looking for a recipe and digging for ingredients in the cupboard before I can give an answer.  I can plan quick meals on the nights we will need to rush out the door, and the more complex meals can be planned for evenings that are more relaxed.     

3. Meal planning will help me feed my family better.

Living on our own and then working opposite shifts for a large part of our marriage has left both my husband and I with some very unhealthy eating habits.  We both want to eat healthier, but in order for any changes to take place I have to be intentional .  The biggest one I've been working at recently is making more fruits and vegetables a part of our diet.  If not during meal, at least having them in the house for snacks.(I especially love to get apples, we love them and they keep in the refrigerator for a relatively long time compared to other fresh fruit.)  We've also been trying to eat fewer frozen/prepackaged meals.  I won't claim we never do or promise that we're going to become a whole foods only household, but less sodium is definitely a good idea since high blood pressure runs in both of our families.  

Okay, now that you have my reasons I'll give you a quick play by play of what meal planning looks like for me.

First, I take a quick glance in the pantry and freezer to get a general picture of what we still have.  Then I gather up my favorite cookbooks and pull up my favorite websites to find recipes(allrecipes.com, foodnetwork.com, etc.) to scour for recipes.  I especially love Allrecipes because it allows you to add recipes to your list and will automatically make a grocery list of your ingredients in their exact measurements for you.

Once I've found enough recipes that sound good and that include ingredients within our budget I begin writing out 2 weeks worth of dinners. I do this with our weekly schedule in mind.  For instance, on Wednesday nights we have prayer meeting so I usually do something quick, on Fridays we rarely have any commitments so I can plan something that I know takes a little longer or something new that I'm not sure how long it will take me to pull together for the first time.  I also put breakfast and lunch options on my meal plan, but these aren't quite as much for specific days as they are a reminder of what we have in the house to eat.

After getting the meals planned out I go through each day at a time and write down all the ingredients I will need only omitting things I'm absolutely sure we have on hand.  Once this is completed I go into our kitchen and "shop" in our pantry, fridge, and freezer.  Any items on the list that we already have or that I need to modify quantities on are marked off or edited. After finishing the grocery part I go around the house and look to find out what other items need to be added to the list as well.

This is what one of my finished meal plans looks like:

Sunday-Tacotot casserole
Monday-Roast with onions, carrots, and potatoes
Tuesday-Spaghetti with meat sauce, garlic toast, and corn
Wednesday- Hamburgers and sweet potato fries
Thursday-Baked chicken breasts and couscous
Friday-Maple apple chicken burgers and baked beans
Saturday-Chicken fajitas with chips and salsa

Breakfast/snack Options:
Instant Oatmeal
Cereal
Granola bars
Pop-tarts
Apples
Baby carrots

Lunch Options:
Leftovers
Ramen noodles
PBJ sandwiches
Soup
Pintos beans with cheese and white rice

Finally all that's left is shopping at the store.  Having such a detailed list has really helped us stay in budget and cut down on impulse buys.  The first shopping trip we took after I started meal planning we saved nearly $100!

While I usually plan two weeks at a time, realize you could do this weekly or monthly as well depending on how it will work best with your family.  Also, remember to be flexible.  Life happens and even our best plans need to be modified.  Sometimes days need to be shuffled around or something needs to get dropped so leftovers don't go to waste.  I hope this will be as helpful to you as it has been for me!  

For His Glory

Courtney