Candace Ott
This crockpot recipe has been my biggest hit yet!  I got the recipe from www.sixsistersstuff.com.  It's really easy, and the compliments I received were endless!  The consistency is more like thick chili than soup.  Great for a party, or family dinner.

Picture belongs to Six Sister's Stuff
Ingredients:

  • 1 lb lean ground beef (or ground turkey works too!)
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 1 package mild taco seasoning mix
  • 1 (16 oz) bag frozen corn
  • 1 (16 oz) can black beans drained and rinsed (you could use kidney beans or pinto beans)
  • 2 (14 oz) cans stewed tomatoes
  • 1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
  • 1 (4 oz) can diced green chilis 

Directions:

  1. Brown meat and onion, drain. Let meat cool for a minute, then dump into a resealable gallon-sized freezer bag.
  2. Dump the remaining ingredients into the bag, mix together, and zip bag closed.
  3. When ready to eat, remove from freezer and thaw in fridge for 24 hours.
  4. Cook on HIGH for 1-2 hours or LOW for 2-3 1/2 hours.
  5. Serve with tortilla chips, cheese, sour cream, and guacamole.  Enjoy!
Candace Ott
My last crockpot recipe of BBQ pork ribs was an absolute success with my husband.  Only problem was there were no seconds!  

This will be my second new crockpot recipe attempt: a whole chicken.  I found this wonderful little recipe on thehappyhousewife.com. Photos are borrowed, as this is my first time trying it, and I just put my chicken in the pot.
INGREDIENTS:
  • 1 whole chicken
  • seasonings of choice (I used garlic powder, paprika, marjoram, rosemary and a little salt).
DIRECTIONS:
After rinsing the chicken place in a crock pot that has been sprayed with non-stick.
You do not need to put any liquid in the pot, just the chicken.
Then sprinkle your favorite spices on the chicken. 
Place the lid on the crock pot, set on low, and walk away for about 7 hours.
7 hours later you will have a beautiful cooked chicken ready to serve for dinner.
Remove the chicken from the crock pot, cut and serve. 
The recipe also provides a good way to turn the leftover juice into homemade broth.
Looking forward to how this will turn out!
Candace Ott
To all my married ladies:

We love our husbands.  They are our heroes, our knights, and best friends.  We love them unconditionally... but let's face it girls, our husbands do things that just downright annoy the crap out of us!  So here's just a little bit of good humored venting.

10 annoying things husbands do:
  1. Leaving dirty dishes: not in the dishwasher and not even in the sink, but on the counter or around the house. How about dishes with food still left on them?
  2. Blaming negative moods on PMS: just because women are the more emotional sex, does not make our feelings invalid. Also not sure why some guys think telling us we're PMSing is going to help the situation any.
  3. Not picking up after themselves: self-explanatory... who enjoys cleaning up after others?
  4. Dysfunctional planner: If it's not forgetting an event, it's not coordinating an event well (like inviting people last minute, or not making reservations). 
  5. Leaving the toilet seat up: self-explanatory... it's gross (or hazardous to someone who doesn't notice and goes to sit).
  6. Forgetting how to be romantic: Most men must suffer memory loss. The art of flattery and planning dates become faint memories that seem to resurface only on certain occasions like anniversaries and birthdays.
  7. Browsing their phone when out on a date: self-explanatory... it's rude! Can you hear me now?
  8. Pretending to listen/zoning out: ever had that conversation with your husband while the TV's on?  Yea me neither...
  9. Too much TV/Games/Internet: feel like your husbands hooked up to electronics sometimes?
  10. Expected to be a constant babysitter/housemaid: being left on baby/child duty or cleaning duty too much is a recipe for resentment. 
Anyway, not all men possess these traits.  These are only intended for light-hearted teasing.  We love our men.  Our husbands have many wonderful traits that won our hearts in the beginning, and keep warming our hearts throughout the years.  To all you husbands out there, thank you for being our providers, our strength, good fathers (to those with kids), and best friends.

* just be sure to wine and dine us sometimes.  :-)
Candace Ott
UPDATE:
This recipe was a success! My husband said this is his favorite crockpot recipe by far!  Just one little change I would make, is that 6 hours on LOW is the perfect timing - no longer.
.....................................................................

Time for a new recipe!  Being a mom to an 8-1/2 month old, my love for crockpot recipes has grown!  What's not better than dinner cooking itself, leaving you free to handle mom duties, or on rare occasions, relax.

Anyway, today I'm trying out a new recipe I found for slow cooked BBQ pork ribs.  I bought all the ingredients at Stater Brothers.

INGREDIENTS:
  • 1-2 lbs. pork ribs
  • 1-1/2 cups ketchup
  • 1-1/2 Tbsp seasoning salt
  • 1/2 tsp liquid smoke
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup white vinegar
Bottled BBQ sauce can be used I'm sure as well, to keep things even simpler.

DIRECTIONS:
  1. Cut pork ribs into reasonable parts (about 3-4 ribs per piece), and set aside.
  2. Mix remaining ingredients to make the BBQ sauce.  I mixed mine in a large freezer bag to save dirtying a bowl.
  3.  Place ribs inside the bag with the sauce, and let marinate in the fridge for a few hours, or overnight if you wish.
  4. When ready to cook, place entire contents into a crockpot and cook on HIGH for 3-4 hours, or on LOW for 6-7 hours.  I prefer the low cook setting.
  5. Enjoy!
 This recipe can also be frozen for a later date.  When ready to use, simply let it thaw in the fridge for 24 hours.