Herbed Pork Loin and Potatoes

I love using my crockpot. It's so nice to throw ingredients together and have a wonderful meal by the end of the day with minimal effort. And this recipe requires minimal effort. It just doesn't get any easier.

Here's what you need:

1lb. pork loin, cut in half
1 1/2 lbs small red potatoes, halved
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teas dried rosemary, crushed
1 teas dried thyme
1 teas coarse salt
1/2 teas ground mustard
1/4 teas black pepper

Combine the olive oil and seasonings. Brush about half of the mixture over the pork loin. Place in a greased slow cooker. Arrange the potatoes around the pork. Drizzle the remaining olive oil mixture over all. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours until the pork is done and the potatoes are tender.


For more yummy recipes, head over to Blessed with Grace's Tempt My Tummy Tuesday.

Menu Plan Monday August 29- Sept. 4

September starts this week, so the official beginning of fall is right around the corner! Yay! I'm so looking forward to the cooler weather. Chili weather. Sweater weather. Whatever you want to call it, I'm glad it's on the way! We did get a much needed reprieve from the 90-plus temperatures this weekend, but I'm eagerly anticipating more!

Last week I tried a couple of new recipes. The Cheesy Chicken Lasagna was GOOD! I will definitely be making that one again soon. The Herbed Pork and Potatoes was a very simple crockpot meal that I'll be adding to our meal plans, too. I'll post a recipe for that later this week.

Now on to this week's menu:

Sunday
Grilled burgers, fries

Monday
Beef burritos, Mexican rice

Tuesday
Homemade pizza

Wednesday
Sloppy Joes

Thursday
Crockpot Chicken Cordon Bleu

Friday
Cheeseburger soup, homemade bread

Saturday
Leftover buffet

For more inspiring meal planning ideas, visit Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Monday.

Hands on History - Cuneiform Tablets

Okay, I'm a history geek. So of course, that's my favorite subject to teach the kids. I love the curriculum we're using, The Mystery of History, written by homeschool mom Linda Hobar. It's thorough without getting bogged down in minute details that bore students. And it's written from a Christian viewpoint, so it's easy to relate what we already know from the Bible to history.

This week we've been studying events after the Noahic flood. The first civilization to have a written language was the Sumerian empire. Their form of writing is known as cuneiform, or "wedge writing" because of the wedge-shaped instruments they used to carve symbols in clay tablets. Sumerian students had to learn over 600 symbols in order to read! My kids are VERY thankful that our alphabet contains only 26 letters!

We decided to make our own cuneiform tablets. I had some Sculpey modeling clay in my art supplies, so that's what we used. We simply flattened a lump of clay using the bottom of a jar to make a tablet. Using the ends of pencils and paint brushes, we carved our own designs in the clay.


I baked the tablets at 250 degrees for about 30 minutes so they would harden. After they cooled completely, we painted them with watered down brown paint to give them an aged look.


We left the tablets to dry overnight. Turned out nicely, I think.



While the kids had fun, they both agreed that school would take WAY too long if they had to carve every assignment into clay and bake it! They'll stick with paper and pencil.

Cheesy Chicken Lasagna

I found this recipe about a year ago on a blog and filed it away to try someday. Well, someday has come, but now I can't remember whose blog this recipe was posted on! I should have known better than to think I could remember. I can't even remember what I wore yesterday! Ugh!! So ten lashes with a wet lasagna noodle for me for not giving credit where it is due.

Now on to the recipe.

This was such a wonderful change from traditional lasagna. But like regular lasagna, it's even better the next day! Even my picky eater loved it and had seconds.

Here's what you need:

8-10 lasagna noodles, cooked and drained
2 cans evaporated milk
1 pkg ranch dressing mix (I make my own, see below)
3 cups cooked shredded chicken
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

In a saucepan, combine the canned milk and dressing mix. Stir over low heat until the dressing mix is dissolved. Add the chicken and simmer for 25 minutes, stirring often. The mixture should thicken up a bit. You can do this step early in the day if you want to.

To assemble, grease a 9x13 pan. Cover the bottom of the pan with noodles. Layer half the chicken mixture and half the cheeses over the noodles. Repeat layers. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. If you like your cheese a little browned and crispy, like I do, go for the longer time. Let sit for 10 minutes before cutting.



To make your own ranch dressing mix, here's what you need:

1 TBSP dried chives
1 TBSP dried parsley, crushed up
1 TBSP dried dill weed
2 teas onion powder
1 1/2 teas garlic powder
1 teas sea salt
1/2 teas ground black pepper

One tablespoon of this mix equals one envelope of the store bought stuff.

To make ranch dressing, combine 1 TBSP mix with 1/2 cup mayo and 1/2 cup sour cream. Add milk until the dressing is the consistency you want. Store in the fridge.

We have a winner!

The winner of the CSN Stores $50 giveaway is CarolSue! Here's what she plans to do with the $50 - "I just love the Whitehall Products Garden 30" Cat Weathervane."

Congratulations to CarolSue and thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

Kids love cupcakes. It's just a fact of life. There's just something about a little one-serving cake that appeals to children.

And let's not forget the appeal for adults, either. Who doesn't love cupcakes?

So I came up with a simple recipe that combined chocolate and peanut butter and satisfied everyone's sweet tooth. The hidden peanut butter surprise in each cupcake was a wonderful addition. And the frosting was so simple and tasty!

Here's what you need:

1 chocolate cake mix (and the ingredients to make it!)
24 mini Reese cups, unwrapped
1 can vanilla frosting (or you can make your own)
1/3 cup peanut butter
chocolate sprinkles, optional

Mix up the cake mix according to the directions on the package. Divide the batter between 24 cupcake liners (or grease 24 muffin cups). Place a Reese cup in each and cover with batter.

Bake at 350 degrees for 16-20 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.


While the cupcakes are cooling, make the peanut butter frosting. Place the vanilla frosting in a bowl. Beat in the peanut butter until well blended and smooth.


Frost each cupcake and top with sprinkles, if desired. The easiest way to put sprinkles on cupcakes is by dipping, not sprinkling. Maybe they should be called dippers instead of sprinkles?


Believe me, there is much less mess this way! And the sprinkles stick instead of tumbling off. Just pour some sprinkles into a shallow bowl and dip the cupcake into it. Easy and mess-free! The sprinkles are, of course, totally optional. But kids love 'em!


Now peel off the cupcake liner and enjoy!


For more yummy recipes, visit Blessed with Grace's Tempt My Tummy Tuesday.

Menu Plan August 22-28

Can y'all believe it's the last full week of August? This year is flying by so quickly! I, for one, am looking forward to the cooler weather of fall. I love the colors and smells of autumn in addition to the more moderate temps.

Tomorrow I have a ladies' night out with ladies from my church. We meet at a restaurant and share some encouragement and fellowship. Charles usually invites some of the husbands and kids over while we ladies go out. They generally settle for pizza, but I think I'll make some bread and put out some cold cuts and cheese for sandwiches. I always try to have a dessert or munchies on hand, too. So even though it's ladies' night out, I try to keep the men and kids happy.

Now on to the menu plan for the week. I'm going to try some new recipes.

Sunday
Sausage veggie calzones

Monday
Ladies' Night Out - sandwiches for the men

Tuesday
Cheesy Chicken Lasagna (new)

Wednesday
Herbed pork loin and potatoes in the crockpot (new)

Thursday
Meatloaf, mashed potatoes

Friday
Chicken fajitas

Saturday
Grilled portobellos and veggies

For more yummy menu ideas, head over to Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Monday. You'll find tons of inspiration there to jumpstart your own meal planning.

Also, don't forget to check out my CSN giveaway. It ends tomorrow!