Apple Butter

I'm actually surprised that I'm posting this recipe. It is usually my gifts in the fall..but what kind of southerner would I be if I didn't share a delicious recipe?! 

APPLE BUTTER

15-20 medium size apples: peeled, cored, and cut into small pieces. (we like a softer apple such as gala, rome, etc. and will sometimes do a combo. They seem to "break down" faster)

3 1/2 cups of sugar

3 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

dash of salt

Put in crock pot and cover. Cook on high for 1 hour. Reduce heat to low and let simmer (stirring occasionally) for 12 hours or until thick and dark/golden in color. (the color will sometimes be darker depending on the apples)

*I just ran into the kitchen and snapped a few shots..this is what it looks like when its almost finished!*

We put it on at night a lot and wake up to the smell of fall. ahh!! You can experiment with different apples as well. Thats just what we've come to notice over the years. We'll wait for apple season and find a ton of "as is" apples. They don't have to be perfect for apple butter! 

*Side note: We use an apple peeler we bought at a kitchen store for around $12 dollars! AMAZING. We then put the apple slices in our "vidala onion as seen on tv but i bought at bed bath and beyond chopper" ...it makes your life much easier! :) 

Sorry for rambling on...let me know if you have any questions and most importantly:
ENJOY!!!

STEP AWAY FROM THE SWEET TEA...

In true "southern girl" fashion, I make my own sweet tea. It's my momma's recipe. I go through phases where this is ALL I want to drink.

Here's the recipe:
1 (or 2) cups of sugar
6-7 (small) lipton or tetley tea bags
1 medium sauce pan filled with water

Place the sugar in the sauce pan filled with water. Put over high heat and "stir" into sugar is dissolved. Once it starts to boil, remove it from heat. Put the tea bags in the pot and let sit for 30 mins. Once the 30 mins is up, remove the tea bags and pour the tea into a pitcher of your choice. Fill the rest of the pitcher with cold water and stir.  Refrigerate and enjoy!!!

Scary Storms!

My prayers are with everyone that is being affected by this today: 

This has been the scene for our area all last night and today. I was awake every other hour by the clap of thunder or flash of light through our bedroom window. Since I live with a "wanna be storm chaser" he kept saying, (as I shot straight up in bed every. single. time.) "We are fine. Don't worry. I'm right here. Enjoy it." Enjoy it?! I have never once enjoyed a "storm" ..a nice rain while I'm sleeping, yes. A storm, no! 

I've been watching the news all day, and it looks like we have been lucky so far. As bad as it seems during times here, the damage everywhere else is horrible! My prayers are with everyone affected by these storms. I pray God protects you and your families! 

Last Nights Dinner

Yesterday, Jordan asked that I make something that his co-worker's wife makes...I was so relieved to have him make a suggestion for once! I know, I shouldn't complain. Some wives have a hard time fixing meals for their husbands BECAUSE they are picky. I just like to have suggestions thrown at me every once in a while! He doesn't have a picky food bone in his body so when he makes a recommendation, I jump on it! 


Slow Cooker Pulled Pork 
(Gotta' love his heart for picking a dish with 3 ingredients and a slow cooker! )


1 (2 lb.) pork tenderloin
1 (12 ounce) can or bottle of root beer
1 (18 ounce) bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce
Hamburger buns


Place the pork tenderloin in a slow cooker; pour the root beer over the meat. (I poked holes in the pork tenderloin with a fork first so the marinade would absorb good) Cover and cook on low for about 6-7 hours or until well cooked and the pork shreds easily. Drain and stir in BBQ sauce. Serve over hamburger buns. 


Yummy! We added a little bit of mustard with the BBQ sauce and it turned out great! Enjoy! 

LAST WEEKS FAVORITE DISH

Sorry it has been a while since I've posted a "normal" menu. Life has been super busy. Here was our favorite dish  from this past week.

"Campfire Chicken"
2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 potato cut into pieces (or a few small red potatoes)
1/2 red or green pepper cut into strips
1/2 squash & zuccini cut into pieces
several mushrooms cut into pieces
2 TBS of cream of chicken (or cream of mushroom)
Salt & pepper (or poultry seasoning of your choice)

*The great thing about this dish is you can add YOUR favorite veggies and it always turns out great! We've used carrots, mushrooms, potatoes, peppers, squash ...you name it!*


Cut out 2 or 3 big squares of aluminum foil. I spray the pieces with PAM (so the chicken doesn't stick). Place each chicken breast onto a separate pice of foil. Put 1 TBS cream of chicken (or mushroom) on top of the chicken breast. Season with salt and pepper. Add different veggies around the outside of the chicken breast. Once you have the different veggies of your choice on and around the chicken breast, wrap the foil around the chicken. *It looks like you going to put it over a campfire*
Place in oven on 350 degrees and bake for 50 mins-1 hour. (I usually put them on a cookie sheet incase it bubbles over at all!)

Jordan's mom gave me this recipe a few years ago and it never disappoints! I usually use what veggies we have in the fridge and it always tastes great. It goes great served over rice or just by itself. With the veggies and potatoes already cooked with the chicken, it's a big meal in one! 

Every girl needs a little bling for her ring, right?!

While cleaning my rings this weekend, I realized this "best kept secret" should be told! As most of you know, I worked at the "GemStore by Jewelry Television" for several years. While working there I asked our jeweler what the best solution was for cleaning jewelry. It is so simple and AWSOME. I can actually see stuff floating around in the solution after I clean my rings ( I know, so gross but so cool at the same time!)

Ok here it is....

1/3 cup (green) Mr. Clean

1/3 cup ammonia 

1/3 cup water

TA DA!! 

My momma has her solution in a pretty glass jar and I keep mine in an old Jewelry cleaning jar. Every now and then I drop my rings down in the solution and will leave it all day or drop it in real quick if we are about to head out the door. It doesn't matter how long you leave them in it..it cleans it so good, every single time! Once you get your jewelry out of the solution...PLUG YOUR DRAIN!!! and then rinse with water. You'll be surprised at how much bling you will have! :)

I'M GOING TO BE AN AUNT, AGAIN!

I've already shouted it from the facebook rooftops, but forgot to tell the blog world. My brother and Azeobb are pregnant and are due in October! They told us several weeks ago, but we waited until she was 12 weeks to tell everyone else. Jordan and I feel so blessed! We have been wanting nieces and nephews FOREVER and in one year we are going to have two!! 


Simon was born in February and Baby Kingsmore is due in October...how fun will Christmas be this year?! Thank you, God! You are so good!! 

Foods to Freeze

While I was in DC, my mother-in-law and I decided to cook a few foods for Jesse and Rebecca to freeze and pull out later. We came up with: spaghetti sauce, chili, pork roast, meat loaf, and tortellini soup.


Spaghetti Sauce
2 lbs. ground beef
1/2 large green pepper (diced)
1 clove minced garlic
1/2 container of sliced mushrooms
2 jars of spaghetti sauce (your choice of brand)


Brown the beef in a pretty deep pan, drain fat, and leave in pan. In a small sauce pan sauté chopped green peppers for about 5 mins or until soft, add garlic to the peppers and continue sauteing for 3- 5 more minutes. Add the garlic and peppers to the meat. Add 2 jars of spaghetti sauce to the meat mixture and let simmer for as long as you need to cook noodles, bread etc. 


Chili 
My mother in law made this chili. If you want the recipe, I will be glad to ask her to type it out for us!


Pork Roast 
Again, my mother-in-law made this. She browned the roast for a few minutes before placing it in the crock pot. She said it added more flavor and by the smell of it...yum! She added carrots, onion, potatoes, and a bit of water. She cooked it in the crock pot on high for 4-6 hrs, let it cool, and then put it in a freezer safe container. Again, if you want specifics, I'll ask her. 


Tortellini Soup
I saw this on a friend's blog and thought it looked delicious. 


1 TBS. Olive Oil
1/2 cup onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ tsp. dried oregano
1 (15 oz.) can diced tomatoes, with juices
4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth (or chicken broth)
9 oz. tortellini, any variety (fresh or frozen) (we used italian sausage for them, I thought 4 cheese looked yummy!)
3 cups fresh baby spinach, loosely packed
Salt and pepper
Grated Parmesan, for serving

Directions:
In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions to the pan and cook until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Add in the garlic and cook, stirring frequently, just until fragrant, about 1 minute. Mix in the oregano and diced tomatoes. Add the broth to the pot. Bring the mixture to a boil. Add the tortellini to the pot and cook according to the package directions. One minute before the tortellini is fully cooked, stir in the spinach. Remove from the heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm with grated Parmesan as desired.


Meat Loaf
I'm not a big meat loaf fan, but my SIL requested it. I found this recipe, made a few modifications, and thought it actually looked quite delicious! 

• 
  
• 2 pounds ground beef
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1/2 green pepper, chopped
• 1 (10 ounce) package saltine crackers, crushed
• salt to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon steak sauce
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup water 
• 
  
• Directions:
• Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, combine the beef, onion, crushed crackers, salt, ground black pepper, steak sauce, eggs and water and mix well. Transfer to an ungreased 9x13 inch baking dish. Form into a loaf about 6x10 inches.Bake at 350 for 1 hour, or until center is completely cooked. *Add ketchup on top once baking is finished, if desired! 

*All of these foods froze great...I hope they are delicious and satisfying for weeks to come!*

Where have I been??

....Snuggling with my new baby nephew, Simon!
I create a blog and then abandon it for over a week! How terrible! But..I had the opportunity to head to DC with my in-laws (while my poor hubby stayed home and worked) so I jumped in the car and headed to see the newest member of the CZ family!

The week went by super fast and was jammed packed with:


 a "sip and see shower",

Craft making for my sister-in-law's business "Tea with Mrs. B",

Pulling all nigthers with Simon (My mother in law and I took turns having him during the night so Jesse and Becca could catch up on sleep) I will not post a pictures of me after an all nighter but I will post others of us together! :),

Going to see the gorgeous cherry blossoms,

Spending hours among hours looking at this adorable face!,

And enjoying quality time together! 

Thanks for such a fun week. Can't wait until we are together again!! xoxo

Healthy Dinner for One? Yes, Please!

Jordan called tonight and said that a scouting buddy of his called and wanted him to go check out a pitcher at the Lipscomb/UT baseball game. He wanted me to go with him and I was planning on it until he called back and said, "its raining so you don't have to come if you don't want to." I've reached my quota on sitting at rainy baseball games/rain delays so I passed on this opportunity! :) 
Anyway, all of that to say...instead of reaching for my keys (to go to Chic-fil-a, of course) or the box of lucky charms, which is usually the scene when the hubby is dinning out, I decided to try a healthy meal. I wanted to prove that I could cook just as good for one person, as I do for two! 


The result: Salmon, Rice, and broccoli/red peppers/carrots


Salmon
"Pure Catch" Wild Alaskan Seasoned Salmon (from Sam's frozen food section)
I'm telling ya'll...I don't normally like fish. This is delicious and super duper easy! 
I stick it in the oven for 30 mins and it's done!


Rice
One guess? Boil in a bag! 


Veggies
Green Giant Antioxidant Blend Mix
According to the Biggest Loser, frozen veggies are just as nutritious as fresh veggies. I had coupons for frozen veggies and this is by far my favorite kind. It comes in a box and inside the box is a steam bag, I stick it in the microwave for 4 mins. Broccoli, carrots, red and yellow peppers = yummy! 


The whole dinner took under 30 mins and was delicious! 
Bob and Jillian (and now Cara and Brett) would be so proud... :) 

1st Blog Post...this is harder than it looks!

So I guess I should start with a little bit about ourselves. 


Jordan: 

Jordan was born and raised in Anderson, Indiana. He grew up in a family full of strong values and lots of love. He developed an obsession for sports at an early age, especially baseball. He played baseball for the University of Tennessee. After college, he went on to play 7 years of professional baseball.  In 2010, Jordan retired from baseball. In December, he took a job with Aramark Uniform Services. Jordan's hobbies include: sports (especially UT), Colts football, being outdoors, finding a good deal, and being with family and friends.


Blaire:

Blaire was born in South Carolina and raised in Rutherfordton, North Carolina. She too grew up in a family of strong values and lots of love! She graduated from the University of Tennesse with a degree in Child and Family Studies. Her hobbies include: cooking, trying new recipes, photography, couponing, being outdoors on a gorgeous spring day, a good tv show, being with family, and living life to the fullest.


Blaire and Jordan:
What better way to explain "our story" than to show you our wedding, "how we met each other" video. ha! Here's to bringing back old times!!

We were married on October 18, 2008.


We currently live in Franklin, Tennessee. In December, Jordan took a job in Nashville...so we packed up and moved to "Music City!" So far, we love the area, we just wish we were closer to family!