Sunday Night Dinner

Happy Monday Everyone!

Hope everyone is having a good start to the week. This weekend was a good one. Friday night we headed out to EA for the homecoming game because my brother Nathan and his girlfriend Hannah were nominated for homecoming court. Saturday morning we got up bright and early to go to the farmers market in North Tonawanda. It was a dreary start to the day but that meant less people at the market! After the market I went and got a massage from the NY Institute of Massage. It was wonderful! If you are looking for a cheap place to get a massage I definitely recommend it. $35 for a 50 minute massage and you aren't allowed to tip! Talk about a deal! The rest of Saturday we just hung out and relaxed. I caught up on some TV shows and then we watched the Notre Dame football game. They are having a great season. 

Yesterday I woke up really early like 7:30 and decided to prep and start the chicken for dinner. Friday was Pam's (Bob's mom) birthday and I had invited his family over for a birthday dinner celebrating. I made a roast chicken in the crock-pot, stuffing, mashed potatoes, corn, and a loaf of bread. The chicken is SO easy. Take it out of the wrapping, take out the giblets, rinse with cool water and pat dry with a paper towel. After it is dry, rub with a little olive oil and then put whatever spices you want on it. To crisp the outside of the chicken I put 4 or 5 balls of aluminum foil on the bottom of my crock-pot and place the chicken on top. I let it cook for about 8 hours on low. Yesterday I decided to try putting it on high for 2 hours and then on low for 6 hours but it overcooked the chicken to the point where it fell apart when I went to take it out so from now on I will stick to 8 hours on low. 

After I made the chicken and cleaned up from that I made the ice cream cake. I love ice cream cake and Carvel is great but I like to make my own. It is really easy to do. I take a package of Oreo's and smash them really well and mix them with butter. I put them in a greased 9 x 13 in pan and pack them down. Then I take a 1/2 gallon of chocolate ice cream and spread that on top of the Oreo's. I didn't use all of the ice cream because I was worried about how much room I would have for the other layers. Next I crushed chocolate graham crackers in place of the chocolate crunchies you would have in a Carvel cake. Next I heated up some hot fudge and spread that on top of the graham cracker crumbs. The next layer is vanilla ice cream. I spread that on top, put the lid over and stuck it in the freezer. Right before I served the ice cream cake I put a layer of whipped topping as the last layer. 

Everything was delicious! Easy meal to make! Below are pictures from almost every stage of the process for the chicken & cake. Enjoy! 

Aluminum Foil Balls in Crock-Pot

Chicken after washing (gross) 

Chicken on top of aluminum foil balls with seasoning

Chicken starting to cook

Chicken all done & falling apart. (Oops!) 

All the makings for the ice cream cake

Smashed up Oreo's

Oreo bottom & chocolate ice cream started on top

Smashed up chocolate graham crackers

Hot Fudge on top of graham crackers. 

(When you put the vanilla ice cream on top it will spread out)

Vanilla ice cream on top! 

Still looking for your favorite crock-pot recipes. Share them by commenting below! Today I made chili in the crock-pot, I will post about it tomorrow!  

Girls Night Out

Last night I went out with my friend Denise for dinner, drinks, and a movie. We went to Melting Pot for dinner and drinks because I had a livingsocial deal that had to be used by next week. We ordered the flatbreads and both were DELICIOUS! I had the Love Martini which was amazing and adorable. 

After dinner we went to see Pitch Perfect which was hilarious. I think I laughed almost the whole movie. Of course it had your typical love story in the plot but it wasn't a chick flick. I think most guys would really enjoy this movie. I look forward to renting it when it come out on DVD. 

Work is crazy this week because Corks & Forks (our major event) is a week from today! Our facebook contest ends tomorrow so if you haven't entered to win tickets yet do it today! It takes 30 seconds and you can enter here: 

http://heritagecenters.pgtb.me/zZWQrT

If you are interested in buying tickets for the event or $25 raffle tickets for a chance to win a trip to Rome, you can do both here: http://www.heritagecenters.org/foundation.php?id=9&cid=156

Please consider support this event. All the money raised stays right here in Western New York. Heritage Centers serves over 3,000 individuals in WNY with developmental disabilities. We do great work that I am lucky enough to see every day! 

Tonight we are having a dog over to play and see if he gets along with Manny because if he does we will be dog sitting next weekend! I am pretty excited which is silly because I don't get to keep the dog but it will be nice for Manny to have a friend to play with for a few days. I really want to get another dog but we can't because we don't have anyone who can watch/walk two dogs for us if we have something going on or if we are of town. :( One day we will get another one but now is not the time. 

Happy Thursday everyone! Only one day until the weekend, and for most of you it is a 3 day weekend! Lucky ducks! What are you up to this weekend? Anything fun going on? 

"If you always give, you will always have." -Chinese Proverb

The title of this post first perfectly for what I want to say. As you all know I am working for a non-profit and give my time to helping others and it is so rewarding knowing that my work helps so many people.

That is also true for my personal life. I have always given all that I can to help others and I feel it has made me a better person. Last night I spent the night baking chocolate chip cookies for a friend or maybe more of an acquaintance that I felt deserved a little treat. I sent them out yesterday and I hope they get there before they go bad! By the way, if you are sending anything within the US flat rate shipping boxes are the way to go. I stopped by the post office and grabbed three because they come in different sizes and prices because I didn't know what container would fit in the boxes. They are free to take, you pay for whichever size you use when you sent it out. The guy told me "take all you want, go home and make a fort for all I care, they are FREE!" He was also very helpful in my questions about how long it would take to get there. Probably one of the most friendly government workers I have ever encountered! 

As far as the cookies go I just use the Toll House cookie recipe and cook them for 9 minutes and 30 seconds. If you leave them in any longer they will be too crispy. Also I make sure that I cream the butter and sugars very well. In my opinion it makes them softer. Here are some pictures of making the cookies :)

Manny is all ready to bake some cookies

My set up

Ingredients  

 Making dinner & cookies 

 Cookie Dough! :) Yum!

 Making cookies & bacon simultaneously 

First batch of cookies done

While baking the cookies I also was making dinner. I was making BLT's so I had the bacon cooking while making the cookie dough. Then while the cookies were in the oven I cleaned off the counters and prepared the lettuce and tomato (with the help of Bob) and made some guacamole for a side dish! Everything tasted great & it wasn't a bad clean up.

Later this week I am making chili in the crock pot and Sunday I am making a chicken in the crock pot with mashed potatoes and stuffing. I will post about it later this week. 

Any favorite crock pot recipes you have? Let me know! I love using my cock pot during the fall and winter!