Crockpot Cooking

So one thing you should know about me is that I absolutely, positively HATE to cook. There is nothing about it that I like. It drives me nuts having to prepare everything, then cook it and then by the time it's done cooking, I'm really not hungry anymore or I'm just too frustrated to eat. And then on top of that I have to clean up the mess that I made in the kitchen while cooking dinner and clean the dishes. Just typing this and thinking about cooking is making me cringe.

Now here's another thing you should know about me. I am obsessed with Pinterest.com Greatest thing ever. So on one of my many searches I began to take notice of crock pot recipes. After a few discussions with my mom and some friends who use a crock pot I became intrigued and even went to buy one. (Of course Macy's was sold out of the one that I wanted) But my mom bought me one for Christmas, and I just so happened to have a bunch of recipes pinned. Super simple, throw all the ingredients into the crock pot, set the timer and basically forget about it until its time to eat. And the cleanup, just the one pot!! PERFECT!! Especially for someone like me. I am absolutely loving it!!

This is the crock pot that I have

Since I've gotten my crock pot I have used it 4x. 2 meals were great success's, which I am going to share with you today. 1 didn't work out (baked potato soup, but I am going to try and find a new recipe), and the last, Zesty Italian Chicken and Pasta was too flavorful for me, but my husband enjoyed it.



The first meal I made was Salsa Chicken.

- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (frozen is fine)
- 1 cup salsa
- 1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
- 1 packet taco seasoning
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 6 tortillas

Place the chicken in the bottom of the crock pot. Sprinkle taco seasoning on chicken. In a bowl combine the salsa and soup. Pour over the chicken. Cook on high for 4 hours. Shred the chicken with 2 forks and stir in the sour cream. Serve on tortillas as desired. ( I added cheddar cheese to my tortillas )

This meal was so simple, quick and delicious!!! I will definitely be making it again!



The second meal was Chicken and Dumplings.

- 1lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts (frozen is fine)
- 2 tablespoons of butter
- 2 cans (10.5oz) condensed cream of chicken soup
- 1 can (14oz) chicken broth
- 1 medium white onion, diced
- 4 large flaky refrigerator biscuits (1/2 a can) (I used Pillsbury)

Place the chicken into the crock pot.Top with butter and cream of chicken soup, chicken broth and onions. Cook on high 4-6 hours or on low for 8 hours. After the chicken has cooked, shred it with 2 forks. Cut each biscuit into small pieces (approx 9 each). Add biscuits, mix and continue to cook 30 mins to an hours longer, or until the biscuits are done. (This took an hour in my crock pot.) 

My husband said this tasted almost as good as Cracker Barrel's Chicken and Dumplings :) It was very, very yummy and was nice to eat on a cold night. Comfort food!!!

So there you go. If you have a crock pot, I deff recommend trying out these recipes. And if you don't have a crock pot, I also deff recommend that you go out and buy one!! Take it from the girl who hates to cook, its the most simple thing in the world and the food makes the house smell great all day. Turn it on and forget about it until its ready. You can even cook things over night and leave the house since once the time is up, the crock pot will turn itself off. Genuis!!! 

Happy Cooking! and keep checking the blog for new crock pot recipes!

Oh, and Happy New Year! Who knows what 2013 will bring. Very possibly some new crock pot recipes and a very happy husband who is now getting home cooked meals when he comes home from work!

2 Babies Later....

So I guess for my first "real" post, I'll start off with some thing about motherhood. The name of my blog is The Mommy Diary and what better way to introduce you to my world then to tell you the story of my kids!

Jordan, age 7 and Kinsley, 2 1/2 months

I have 2 children. My first is a boy, Jordan Raymond, who was born on December 23, 2005. My second is a girl, Kinsley Reese who was born on September 29, 2012. I could not have had 2 more different experiences, both with pregnancy and with labor and delivery. Overall, I absolutely love being pregnant. The baby bump, the kicks... Even through the bad, pregnancy is so amazing. Here are my stories with each of them, the good, bad, gory and painful :)

My Jordan Bug. 1 Day Old

My Kinsley Girl. 1 Day Old

I had Jordan when I was 18. My pregnancy was super easy. No aches or pains, no morning sickness. Other then gaining weight, I had no pregnancy symptoms. But oh my goodness, did I gain weight! I gained 50lbs, yes you read that right, 50lbs during my pregnancy. Now I don't recommend gaining that much weight, or just eating because your pregnant, which I obviously did. Ice cream, pizza, spaghetti and meatballs, the list goes on. I loved food and I loved being pregnant. I didn't love the maternity selection when it came to clothes though. So I buttoned my jeans below my belly and rocked yoga pants my entire pregnancy. 

With this pregnancy I found out that I was having a boy. My due date was January 15th. At my 36 week apt my doctor asked me if I was having any contractions. I was not feeling anything unusual, so I was shocked to hear that I was 5cm dilated. My doctor told me that she wanted to induce me 3 days later, so at 37 weeks on December 23, 2005 I went to St.Catherine of Sienna in Smithtown to welcome my little boy into the world.

I was admitted at 5am to have my Strep B antibodic. Pitocin was started at 8am and my water was broken. The nurse asked me if I wanted an epidural and I told her that I could wait because I wasn't in much pain. She advised me that the anesthesiologist  was on the floor now and that when I was ready for the epidural I might not be able to get it as quickly as I would like. So I agreed to get it then. My nurse was great and super informative. The epidural was not painful, but it did feel strange, almost like that weird feeling you get when you hit your funny bone. I didn't feel a single contraction, no pain what so ever. Around 12:30pm I began to feel funny, kind of nauseous and lots of pressure. I told my nurse and sure enough, 10cm! Time to push! My little man entered the world at 12:45pm, 6lbs 10oz and 21.5 inches long!!

Jordan

My pregnancy with Kinsley was 100% different. This time around I was 25. Hello aches, pains and morning sickness. The list goes on and on. I was prescribed Zofran for my morning sickness. I had no appetite and slept most of my days away because staying awake just was not an option for me. I gained around 30lbs with this pregnancy, much better then 50!! I also jumped right on the band wagon with wearing maternity clothes. This time around I wanted comfort and the fashion of maternity clothes had improved much in 6 years. For the record though, I can not believe how expensive maternity clothes are! A whole new wardrobe and after 9 months none of it fits... You can bet I packed all those clothes away. So until next pregnancy..

This time around I decided that I wanted a totally different experience. We didn't find out the sex of the baby and since I had just moved and needed a new doctor, I decided on a midwife who a friend of mine had used and loved. She works in a practice with 2 OBGYN's and just has a more natural view on pregnancy and child birth. Nothing too drastic or out of the box. I can't believe that this time around I was considering natural childbirth and breast feeding. I do have to recommend a book for any soon to be mothers who are considering breast feeding, it's called The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, and it is written by the La Leche League International. Super, super informative and such an interesting and easy read.

Anyway, back to my complicated pregnancy. At 14 weeks I began to spot. We took a trip to the ER and within an hour it had progressed to flow blown bleeding. Scariest thing ever. An ultrasound was done and the baby's heartbeat was strong and the baby was moving around. I was sent home with the explanation that well, there really was no explanation. Wonderful! After about a week my spotting stopped. I had tons of pressure and pain, and was put on bed rest at 31 weeks since I was beginning to dilate. That was longest week of my life, only being allowed out of bed to shower or use the bathroom. At 37 weeks I was 3cm dilated and my midwife Melanie told me that if I didn't have the baby by the following Friday, she would induce me. Sure enough, that night I wasn't feeling right and my husband convinced me to call Melanie. She told me to meet her at the hospital. This time around I was delivering at Winthrop in Mineola (great hospital!) I got there around 11:30pm and was told she could break my water and we could could get this show on the road, or I could wait and see what happens.. Umm no. So she broke my water and I was 6cm dilated. My birth plan all around was no epidural, but once my water broke the contractions came on hard and I started to chicken out. Melanie told me no epidural and to go and walk around. We lapped the hallways 2x and I was done. I began to feel pressure and Melanie said it was time to push. I won't go into detail, but natural childbirth is by far the most painful thing I have ever experienced in my life. I can say though, that as soon as that baby was placed on my chest, I forgot all about the pain that I just experienced. I can also say that I can not wait to be pregnant and go through child birth, probably natural, again! So meet my little girl Kinsley, who was born at 1:45am, 7lbs, 20inches long.

Kinsley

She had some issues latching while we were first attempting breastfeeding, but I had a very helpful nurse in the hospital and a great friend at home to help support me. Exactly 3 months later, Kinsley is a breastfeeding champ and is gaining weight and growing beautifully. I never thought that I would enjoy breast feeding the way that I do. I absolutely love it. It's such an amazing bond and is so good for the baby's health.

So my advice on pregnancy and child birth... Do some research. Make sure that you love your doctor and are comfortable with them. Have a birth plan and don't doubt yourself. I am so glad that I listened to Melanie and stuck with my original plan. Every experience is different, you just read that for yourself with my 2 experiences. But they were both great in their own ways and I wouldn't change them for the world!!

The Mommy Diary is Born

Blogging has intrigued me for some time, however, I've just never sat down to make one. Until now!

I follow some other blogs. Blogs on motherhood, blogs on cooking, blogs on fashion. All that interests me obviously. My blog is dedicated to nothing specific. It's dedicated to everything. It will probably jump from topic to topic and just be a large jumble of things from my kids, to my husband, to my favorite hair and beauty products. If you know anything about motherhood and being a house wife, you will know there is nothing neat and organized about it. Its random and unexpected and messy. Yes, motherhood is messy! There will be crafts, since my new obsession is making things for my little girl and her room. And some funny stories. My son is after all 7 and quite the comedian. There will be some info on my favorite products, as well as some things I dislike as I discover myself as a home maker.

Hopefully you'll learn some things with me through this blog and I grow and learn myself. There's always room for improvement :)

So this is it. This is my life. This is my blog. Every messy, chaotic, fun, happy and interesting part of it. 

Feel free to leave me comments and feedback!!