Tag Archives: crockpot

Sweet Salsa Slow Cooker Meatballs

Posted on July 6, 2015 by Veronica

I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe Independence Day! It was the best 4th of July of my whole life, and hands-down the best day Joshua’s ever had period. I want to share some photos but will be doing that tomorrow.

Today I have a simple crockpot meal that is great any time of year, because in summer, it doesn’t heat the kitchen, and in winter, it’s just nice to have something hot and ready at the end of a cold day. I got this recipe from my friend, Holly, who actually had posted it in response to a mutual friend’s request for crockpot recipes on Facebook. I nabbed it and made it soon after because I’d just made my own apricot jam. These were very satisfying and tasty. Hope you enjoy, and stay cool!

Sweet Salsa Slow Cooker Meatballs

Printable recipe
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1 (26 oz) bag frozen meatballs
3 bell peppers in different colors, sliced (optional)
1 (24 oz) jar salsa
1 (18 oz) jar apricot preserves

Place the meatballs in the bottom of your slow cooker and layer the bell peppers over, if you’re using them. Whisk the salsa and apricot preserves together in a bowl, and pour over the top. Cover and cook on low until heated through, 6-8 hours. Holly suggests serving over rice or with mashed potatoes and green beans.

Recipe source: adapted from Holly W.

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Posted in Meats, Slow-Cooker/Crockpot and tagged apricot preserves, crockpot, easy, fall, meatballs, peppers, recipe, salsa, simple, slow cooker, spring, summer, sweet, winter. Bookmark the permalink.

Smoky Baked Beans

Posted on June 30, 2014 by Veronica

Summertime is packed with barbecues and picnics, and I like to have an arsenal of crowd-pleasing recipes to bring. With Independence Day approaching, I thought I’d share one of my new favorites! I like to bring something that’s either OK at room temperature (because it’s hard to keep cold dishes cold), or something that can hang out in the crock pot without getting overcooked. Baked beans go great with any outdoor summer meal and these were a hit at our Mother’s Day picnic. I would definitely make these again, even as a summer meal in itself!

Smoky Baked Beans

Printable recipe
Printable recipe with picture

1 lb. bulk spicy pork sausage (I used Jimmy Dean)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 (31 oz) can pork and beans
1 (16 oz) can kidney beans
1 (16 oz) can black beans
1 (16 oz) can butter beans
1 (16 oz) can white beans (such as Navy, Northern or Canellini)
1 (10 oz) can tomatoes with green chiles (Rotel)
1/2 cup hickory-smoke flavored BBQ sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1 teaspoon steak seasoning
1 teaspoon liquid smoke

Brown sausage with onion in large skillet. Drain fat. Place in large slow cooker, add remaining ingredients and stir well. Cook on low for 4-8 hours.

Recipe source: Our Eating Habits

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Posted in Side Dishes, Slow-Cooker/Crockpot and tagged baked beans, barbecue, BBQ, crockpot, easy, picnic, potluck, slow cooker, smoky, summer. Bookmark the permalink.

German Baked Beans For a Crowd

Posted on September 18, 2013 by Veronica

~Photo by Jessica Rose~

Last Saturday was our 37th annual Davis Family Pig Roast. (My maiden name is Davis, FYI.) This family reunion was started four years before I was born, and now the responsibilities have been passed on to the next generation and I’m on the planning committee and have been in charge of creating & sending the invitations for the last five years.

The remaining Davis siblings (RIP Jimmy, Doris, and Mary): Margie, Nadene, Donnie (the one who started the pig roast), Ruby, and my Dad, Jon.

~Photo by Jessica Rose~

The younger generation that runs the roast nowadays.

~Photo by Jessica Rose~

The pig roast is an all day affair, starting early in the morning when a few good men get up at the crack of dawn to put the pig (prepped the night before) on our custom roaster, and it doesn’t end until well after dark, with everyone gathering around a bonfire to drink, chat, and roast hot dogs and marshmallows for s’mores.

~Photo by Jessica Rose~

We spend the day mostly talking, though there are things you can entertain yourself with, such as Bingo, swimming in the lake, bike riding, or walking. The main event however, is the afternoon meal, which we eat when the pig is done.

~Photo by Jessica Rose~

Dennis leads us in a prayer before the meal, and then it’s on. Well, after you stand in a really long line, then it’s on. :)

~Photo by Jessica Rose~

First we go inside where all the sides that family have brought are lined up on tables…

Then we go outside to the table where the meat has been cut up and laid out, along with garlic bread.

Then we go back inside (or take a chair outside) to chow down.

Some people bring the same thing every year, and I love that because it gives you something to look forward to. Like Aunt Ruby’s Garlic Salad. It just wouldn’t be the Pig Roast without her garlic salad (which she actually doesn’t even make herself any more, her son Tyson does it for her!). Then there’s people like me, who make something different every year. This year I decided to bring a big crockpot full of German Baked Beans, which I found the recipe for on The Better Baker’s blog. I knew when she posted it that it’d be perfect for our reunion, and I was right. It was devoured!

Dennis said he could taste the saurkraut (and liked it), but if I hadn’t made it and couldn’t see it in there, I would have had no clue. These beans are sweet and so good with the onion and sausage in them, but if you’d like more sass to them, you can try skipping the rinsing on the saurkraut and that might give them a bit of a zip. This is how I made them in the crockpot for a crowd. If you’d like the oven-baked, regular-sized recipe, you can click the link to Marsha’s blog at the end.

German Baked Beans For a Crowd

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2 (15 oz) cans pork and beans
2 (15 oz) cans baked beans
2 (14 oz) cans sauerkraut, rinsed and drained
2 cups unsweetened applesauce
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 small or 1 large onion, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1 (14 oz) package kielbasa sausage, sliced & quartered

Combine all ingredients in a 6 quart crockpot and cook on low for 4-5 hours, removing the cover during the last hour to let some of the liquid evaporate if desired.

Alternately, you can halve this recipe for a smaller crowd and bake it in the oven. To do this, preheat oven to 400F and combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Transfer to a 2-qt. baking dish, coated with nonstick cooking spray. Bake uncovered for 1 – 1-1/2 hours.

Recipe source: The Better Baker

I just love my family!

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Posted in Side Dishes, Slow-Cooker/Crockpot and tagged barbecue, crockpot, crowd, German baked beans, potluck, saurkraut, slow cooker. Bookmark the permalink.

Slow Cooker Moroccan Turkey Stew

Posted on December 10, 2012 by Veronica

Rhonda from Dining Alone has a “Best Thing I Ever Made” feature where she highlights a favorite recipe each week from her archives. In October, she shared this stew as the best soup she’s ever made. All I had to do was take one look at her totally delicious picture (please, go look, and grab a napkin to catch the drool) to know I had to make it.

My sister’s best friend, Margo, married a Moroccan man (that’s them up there with the Twinkies during a Toot and Twinkies game night…but that’s another story for a different day) and she introduced me to their cuisine after she learned to cook it from her sister-in-law. Her Moroccan Chicken Couscous is so so delicious, and this stew has very similar ingredients so I was fairly certain I would love it.

Love it? No, I’m obsessed with it. If this soup were a person, it would have filed a restraining order on me because I stalked it for three nights in a row, made inappropriate noises while eating it, and almost cried when it was gone. I might have separation anxiety. Moroccan Turkey Stew, please don’t leave me! Come back!

So anyway, you should try this stew. And please invite me over for dinner when you do. I promise I’ll keep the inappropriate noises to a minimum.

Slow Cooker Moroccan Turkey Stew

Printable recipe
Printable recipe with picture

1 teaspoon ground allspice
Kosher salt
4 skinless, bone-in turkey thighs (about 4 pounds)*
1/2 medium butternut squash, cut into 2-inch chunks
2 15.5-ounce cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes with juices, broken up
1 cup dried apricots
1/2 cup golden raisins
8 medium carrots, cut into 11/2-inch pieces
3 medium red onions, halved and cut into wedges
2 whole dried red chiles
1/2 lemon
2 cups fresh cilantro, including leaves and some stems
1 cup fresh parsley
1 clove garlic, smashed
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

*You can also use bone-in chicken thighs, which is what I opted to use since I couldn’t find turkey legs.

Combine the allspice and 3 teaspoons salt in a small bowl. Season the turkey thighs with half the salt mixture in a 5-quart slow cooker.

Toss the squash, chickpeas, tomatoes, apricots, raisins, carrots, onions and chiles with the remaining spiced salt. Pour the vegetables over the turkey (the cooker will be full; arrange the mixture so the lid fits. And don’t be like me and think you can fit extra veg in because you can’t–trust me.). Cover and cook on high for 6 hours or on low for 7 to 8 hours.

Spoon the vegetables and broth into bowls. Remove and discard the turkey bones and place the meat on top of the vegetables.

Juice the lemon; pulse with the cilantro, parsley, garlic, cumin and 1 teaspoon salt in a food processor. Add the oil and process until smooth. Serve the stew in bowls; drizzle with the cilantro sauce.

*Veronica’s note: your cilantro sauce will probably not be as green as mine (compare it with Rhonda’s picture) because I didn’t measure it and probably used twice as much as I was supposed to. I didn’t care, it was still phenomenal.

Recipe source: Food Network, as seen on Dining Alone

***

Disclaimer: I know I said I wasn’t going to apologize for my bad photos, but I do want to explain that I took these with zero natural light–all I had was the light from the light bulb overhead in the bedroom because for some reason, that is the brightest room in our house. So I think they’re pretty good, considering. Except for the swampy green blobs. That’s not cool, but hey, this is real life up in my kitchen and swampy green blobs happen.

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Posted in My Favorites, Slow-Cooker/Crockpot, Soups & Stews and tagged crockpot, cuisine, moroccan, slow cooker, stew, turkey. Bookmark the permalink.

Italian Roast Beef {crockpot recipe}

Posted on April 20, 2012 by Veronica

This Italian roast beef was inspired by Tami’s comment on my banana pepper roast, telling me she did the same thing but added a packet of dry Italian dressing mix, and that it made great sandwiches. Well, I’m all about making great things better, and all about sandwiches, so I decided to try it out. And it is even better than the banana pepper roast. And it does make killer sandwiches. Thanks, Tami!

Just as with the banana pepper roast, there is a pleasant piquant flavor from the peppers and the acid in the brine and the slow cooking makes the roast ultra-tender. The difference is that there’s even more flavor–garlic & onion and whatever else they put in those dressing mixes. I have tried making my own Italian dressing mix but I really want it to be exactly like the store-bought ones and so far, no luck. If you have one that’s close please let me know! I buy at least four of those packs a month (I make our Italian dressing with them, and things like parmesan garlic chicken) and I know it would be cheaper and probably healthier to make my own.

We ate the roast straight the first day (it’s so good with mashed or baked potatoes!), then made sandwiches with the leftovers. I’ll include my idea for sandwiches too, because it was so good! Can you tell I thought this roast was so good? ;)

Italian Roast Beef

Printable recipe
Printable recipe with picture

1 (5 lb) beef roast
1 (.7 oz) envelope dry Italian dressing mix
½ cup dehydrated red & green bell pepper (optional)
¼ cup dehydrated minced onion
1 (12 oz) jar banana pepper rings

Place beef roast in the bottom of a 6-quart crockpot. Sprinkle the dressing mix, red & green pepper (if using), and minced onion over it, then pour the jar of banana pepper rings over the top, juice and all. Cover and set to cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours.

Remove the roast onto a platter and shred with two forks. Return to the juices and mix well, then serve with mashed potatoes.

To make sandwiches, you’ll need:

Sandwich buns or rolls
Ranch dressing
Dried basil*
Italian roast beef, warmed
Fresh mozzarella or provolone cheese, thinly sliced
Tomatoes, thinly sliced
Other toppings of choice, such as shredded lettuce, sliced olives, chopped onion, etc.

To make sandwiches, split the buns and cover the insides with a generous smear of ranch dressing. Sprinkle with basil.*

*If you use fresh basil, add it along with the tomato at the end.

Doncha love those sweet Italian buns? ;)

Draining off as much juice as possible, put some roast beef on the bottom buns, then place a slice of mozzarella on top. Please slice your cheese thinner than this or you’ll have to practically burn the buns before it’s melted. Learn from my mistakes.

Broil open-faced on high, the top buns ranch-side up, until cheese is melted, 1-2 minutes. If your cheese is thicker *ahem*, it may take up to five minutes and you will want to remove the top buns before the bottom so that they don’t burn.

Even after five minutes, the cheese was barely melted. I have to show off the one I made when Dennis requested seconds. I got the cheese much thinner, so it only took about a minute for it to melt and I didn’t have to remove the top bun before the bottom was done. Look at this beautiful deliciousness!

Much better! OK, once it’s melted, top it with a slice of tomato, another sprinkle of basil, and any other toppings you’d like.

Cover with the top bun and enjoy warm.

It’s 3 AM as I finish this blog, and I nearly forgot to do the drawing for the cookbook. So without further ado….

Congratulations to Brandee Lake, you won P-Dub’s signed cookbook!

P.S. Some people were asking me why she’s called P-Dub. Dude, it’s because she’s a straight up gangsta! lol. P is for Pioneer and Dub is short for the “double u” that Woman starts with. And in my cousin Andrea’s comment, she gave me a gangster name so I can be hip like the Pioneer Woman. You can now call me “V-Dawg.” My little sister gave me the name “Throwback Vrak,” which I LOVE, but that would require too much explaining in order for it to make sense. So V-Dawg it is. Until further notice. Peace out, yo.

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Posted in Burgers & Sandwiches, Italian, Meats, My Favorites and tagged banana peppers, crockpot, easy, Italian roast beef, recipe, sandwiches, slow cooker. Bookmark the permalink.

Crockpot Chicken Cacciatore

Posted on March 5, 2012 by Veronica

It’s Secret Recipe Club time again! I can’t tell you how thankful I am to Amanda for starting this club. The amount of fun I have with it is a little ridiculous. My favorite part is getting my blog assignment and stealthily stalking that blog, hunting down recipes that I want to make and post for reveal day. I always bookmark a million and it takes me an entire week to narrow down my choice to one recipe.

{You can find my past Secret Recipe Club posts here.}

This month I was assigned to A Little Nosh and unlike previous assignments, I knew which recipe I was going to make within a minute of clicking on her blog. I still went through Amy’s archives and bookmarked half her recipes, but did eventually return to the original that caught my eye and knew I couldn’t fight it. I had to make the crockpot chicken cacciatore because:

1) It’s beautiful and I like pretty food.

2) I’d never eaten or made it and thought it would be fun to try something new.

3) It fit perfectly in our diet plan while we were in the 2nd cycle of the 17 Day Diet.

4) I noticed the recipe originally came from one of my blogging buddies, Renee of My Kitchen Adventures, and it tickled me to think that I’d be making Amy’s and Renee’s recipe at the same time.

I changed the recipe to make it on a slightly larger scale with a higher ratio of veggies, and it completely filled my 6-quart crockpot to the brim. The leftovers were enough to last us all week, and what beautiful lunches we were bringing to work! The vegetables and sauce were such a tasty compliment to the tender chicken breast meat, which pretty much fell apart as soon as you touched it with a fork. So delicious.

Thanks, Amy, for sharing this great recipe. I never even saw it on Renee’s blog, so I’m glad to have gotten the opportunity through you and the SRC to try it!

Crockpot Garden Chicken Cacciatore

Printable recipe
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6 large skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 yellow or orange bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 large ribs of celery, diced
3 large carrots, diced
2 (4 oz) cans sliced mushrooms, drained
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 (14.5 oz) cans of diced tomatoes with basil, oregano and garlic
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
½ cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
¼ cup cornstarch
1-2 tablespoons water or chicken broth
Additional salt and pepper, to taste

Place chicken breasts inside the bottom of a 6-quart crockpot. Add in the bell peppers, onion, celery, carrots, mushrooms, and garlic. Pour the juice from the tomatoes into a medium bowl, then put the tomatoes into the crockpot.

Into the bowl with the tomato juice, add the tomato paste, chicken stock, and balsamic vinegar. Mix well, then pour on top of the tomatoes and vegetables. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours, or high for 4 hours, or until the chicken is tender.

Mix the cornstarch and water together until no lumps remain, then pour over the top of the vegetables. Stir, turn the crockpot to high, and allow to cook for another 20 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste.

Serve over brown rice or your choice of starch.

Recipe source: adapted from A Little Nosh, originally from My Kitchen Adventures

To check out the other submissions in Group A for The Secret Recipe Club, click on the Mr. Linky below!

18 Comments

Posted in Italian, Lighter Fare, Meats, Secret Recipe Club, Slow-Cooker/Crockpot and tagged chicken cacciatore, crockpot, diet-friendly, garden vegetables, healthy, low calorie, low carb, slow cooker. Bookmark the permalink.

Brown Sugar & Balsamic Glazed Pork Loin {Slow Cooker}

Posted on February 22, 2012 by Veronica

The crockpot is my cold-weather friend. I turn it on before work, and come home to a delicious-smelling house and a hot dinner ready and waiting. Usually I use it for soups & chili, but once in a while I get a little crazy and turn a big hunk of meat into something falling-apart tender and succulent. This is one of those rare times, and of course the husband rejoiced.

I wish I could have gotten a picture of this as soon as we took it out of the crock, but due to the early sunset in winter, there was no light left to take a photo by. So you get a picture of the leftovers, which were also delicious, but this doesn’t quite represent how beautiful the meat was after it finished cooking. But I figure a photo taken of leftovers by daylight is better than a grainy, dark photo of perfect meat.

What makes this dish remarkable isn’t so much the tender, juicy pork (that always happens to meat in the crockpot, right?), but the sauce. It reminds me of barbecue sauce, but it is more like barbecue sauce’s wealthy cousin that travels abroad 3 months out of the year and has great taste in hats. Or something like that.

Anyway, the sauce is amazing. The meat is amazing. Together, well, duh, they are amazing. Make it and feel the amazement in your own kitchen.

Brown Sugar & Balsamic Glazed Pork Loin

Printable recipe
Printable recipe with picture

1 (2 pound) boneless pork tenderloin (or regular pork loin)
1 teaspoon ground sage
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 cup water

Glaze
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons soy sauce

Combine sage, salt, pepper and garlic. Rub over roast. Place in slow cooker with 1/2 cup water. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. About 1 hour before roast is done, combine ingredients for glaze in small sauce pan. Heat and stir until mixture thickens. Brush roast with glaze 2 or 3 times during the last hour of cooking. Serve with remaining glaze on the side.

Recipe source: C & C Marriage Factory

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Posted in Meats, Slow-Cooker/Crockpot and tagged Balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, crock pot, crockpot, easy, pork, Pork loin, sauce, slow cooker. Bookmark the permalink.

Classic Chili

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Veronica

First of all, I apologize to those of you who have me in a reader. I’ve started updated my posts from 2009 because the photos went missing from most of them, and I’m afraid I’ll be junking up your readers with all these old “new” posts for the next week or so. Thank you for bearing with me.

Second, remember that snow I mentioned last week? Well, it didn’t stick but it’s snowing like cuh-razy as I type this on Sunday night. And it’s sticking! We took a long walk in the middle of it and Jessie was in HEAVEN. Snow walks are her absolute favorite. She’s definitely got some husky in her blood. Thank goodness she’s past her “pulling” phase where she’d pretend Dennis was her sled and try to drag him by the leash! lol

Anyway, I’m hoping it’s arctic where you live too, not because I wish you ill, but if there is one good thing about cold weather days, it’s the hot and delicious foods you can fill them with. Like this classic chili. I grew up eating plain beans and cornbread every winter and now I don’t feel right unless I make chili or beans and cornbread at least once every winter. I’ve made many recipes, and never the same one twice, but I wanted to track down a recipe that had a classic flavor that would please kids and adults alike (for family gatherings) and that I could rely on as my go-to recipe. I knew that Mel would probably have one for me (she has a whole collection of best recipes and she’s never let me down), and I was right! I knew when I found her momma’s chili recipe this would probably be the one I was looking for.

We all have our different preferences when it comes to chili. I love a lot of veggies–bring on the celery, tomatoes, onion, green pepper (and red, yellow, and orange pepper, for that matter) and lots of beans. I do like some ground beef and spiciness, but it’s not essential. But I think this is a chili that anyone would like, which is exactly what I was looking for. I do believe this is my favorite chili now, even without an over-abundance of veg! So delicious.

The original recipe doesn’t have any veggies save the onions in it, but I’m a big Wendy’s chili fan, so I went ahead and added some celery and green pepper to mine to give it a similar feel. Though I thought the taste was excellent with them in, I’m sure it’s just as excellent without so leave them out if veggies in chili isn’t your thing. I also adapted the recipe for the crockpot (less liquid so it doesn’t get too runny), but if you want the stovetop directions you can get them from Mel’s site here.

Oh, and by the way, guess what I did with the leftovers? I added some more cans of stuff to bulk up the amount (canned chili, salsa-style roasted tomatoes) and stirred in some chopped all-beef hot dogs, then sent it with Dennis to the family Christmas party along with shredded cheddar cheese to garnish it. I didn’t get to attend due to my work schedule, but Dennis brought home an empty crock so I guess the “chili dog chili” went over well! :)

Classic Chili

Printable recipe
Printable recipe with picture

2 medium onions, diced
2 teaspoons salt
2 to 2 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 green pepper, seeded and chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
3 large cans (29 ounces each) pinto beans, drained
46 oz. (one large can) tomato juice
1 cup ketchup
2 bay leaves
3/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons cumin
1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar

Brown the hamburger and onion in a large skillet with the salt. Drain grease. Add to a large 6-quart crockpot, then stir in the remaining ingredients until well combined. Cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 3-4.

Recipe source: adapted from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe

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Posted in Main Dishes, Soups & Stews and tagged best chili, classic chili, crock pot, crockpot, delicious, easy. Bookmark the permalink.

Banana Pepper Roast

Posted on November 2, 2011 by Veronica

Our friends Joe and Marissa (of the “good peas” fame) invited us to lunch after church one day a million years ago, and she served a roast along with many delightful sides. I only took a small portion of the roast ,being much more interested in the salad, her mashed potato casserole, and butternut squash bread, but once I took a bite, I was going back for more. I’m not much of a meat eater, so when I found her roast irresistible, I asked her what her secret was.

“Banana Peppers.”

“Banana peppers?” I repeated, surprised. “What else did you use?”

“That’s it. I just poured a jar of banana peppers over the roast in the crockpot. The acid from the brine really helps tenderize the meat.”

This was so simple, I had to try it at home. I’m just surprised it took me so long! But I’ve made it twice in the past month, to make up for lost time. :)

I adore the salty, piquant flavor the banana peppers & juice impart to the beef, and it really is melt-in-your mouth tender after roasting all day in the slow cooker. And talk about easy! Although Teri taught me to sear the outside of a roast before sticking it in the crockpot, I didn’t even do that. Easy peasy & delicious…squeezy?

I know this combo sounds a bit odd, but you’ve got to try it to believe it! It goes really well with mashed potatoes topped with a pat of butter and garlic salt, as I discovered after taking this picture. :)

Banana Pepper Roast

Printable recipe
Printable recipe with picture

1 (3-5 lb) beef roast
1 (16 oz) jar mild banana pepper rings

Place roast in a crock pot and pour the jar of banana peppers, juice and all, over the top. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or until tender.

30 Comments

Posted in Meats, Slow-Cooker/Crockpot, Uncategorized and tagged banana pepper, beef roast, cooking, crockpot, delicious, easy, recipe, simple, slow cooker, winter. Bookmark the permalink.

Thankful Thursdays #45: I saw daylight! {singing video bonus}

Posted on October 6, 2011 by Veronica

I made a thanksgiving resolution to find something to be thankful for every day until next Thanksgiving. Here’s what I am thankful for this week!

Thursday: Hot pads. When I remember to use them. ;)

Friday: My crockpot! I have a feeling it’s going to get me through the winter with meals because I’m no longer home to cook dinner (or do you call it supper? My in-laws call the evening meal supper–I think it’s a regional thing but they only live two hours from us!). It’s nice coming home to the smell of beef stew and knowing my husband had something nutritious, rather than the jalapeño potato chips and Coke he’s been known to eat in place of a decent meal.

Saturday: Seeing daylight after getting off work. On weekdays I work second shift, but on weekends it’s first shift and it’s always nice to get off on Saturday and see a blue sky.

Sunday: For weeks I was angry (angry, angry, angry, guilty, and sad–it was probably unhealthy) that I couldn’t make the morning worship services because I had to work, but now I’m focusing on being thankful that I at least get off in time to make it to the evening service.

Monday: OK, I have conflicting feelings about Pinterest (I’m addicted) but I’m mostly thankful for it. It has been so much more helpful than bookmarking things and I’m actually making the recipes I’m saving now.

Tuesday: A wonderful dinner with a visiting preacher and his wife (here for a gospel meeting), our regular preacher and his wife, and the dear friend that first started the ball rolling in us becoming Christians by inviting us to church. We all met at Bagatelle Bakery, a new-to-me French bakery & restaurant, before the meeting. Good company, good food. It’s aaaaaaall good. :)

Wednesday: For my voice. I’m not the next American Idol, but I think I have a fairly nice voice and I really love to belt out hymns at church with it (though I do have to hold back from going all Mariah Carey on the hymns as I have a tendency to ride all over the scale when I’m singing slower songs at home). We don’t need a beautiful voice to please God when we sing his praises, but I do appreciate that I was blessed with one.

This is an old video I uploaded to MySpace a few years ago, and it is so NOT me, but if you want to hear my voice, hear you go. The goofyness is all me, but rarely can I pull off this attitude without laughing. Watching it, I am shocked that I didn’t even pull a single smile! I think Iwas able to act like I thought I was “all that” without cracking up because I was only singing for a camera and not a live audience!

Vodpod videos no longer available.

Some Shania with Attitude Video by Veronica – M…, posted with vodpod