Thursday, January 29, 2009

Crock pot Rotisserie-Style Chicken


Have you discovered the blog A Year of Crockpotting? I found it by visiting one of the blogs on the Tapestry of Grace blog roll (I can't remember which one right now). I'm always looking for a good chicken recipe, and found one for Crock pot Rotisserie-Style Chicken on the site and thought I would give it a try.

I did tweak the ingredients a bit - adding more cayenne pepper, thyme, black pepper and chili powder (I recipe calls for chili peppers I used powder), also I used a oven stuffer roaster. I had never used a whole chicken in the crock pot before, but this will be one recipe that I will make again and again. Very tasty, my crew really enjoyed it, I served roasted potatoes and green beans to go with our meal.

You can do all the prep work the night before by cleaning the chicken, and peeling the garlic and onion and measuring and putting all the dry ingredients in a glass container. The next day you would only need to do the rub process, stuff with the onion and garlic, turn on the crock pot and go do your thing. Give it a try and let me know how you enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to checking out more on the blog and spicing up my cooking skills.

Here is my version of the recipe:


Crock Pot Rotisserie-Style Chicken

1 whole chicken (I used a oven stuffer roaster)
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp chili powder (I used Hot-Mexican Style)

4 whole garlic cloves
1 yellow onion, quartered

Directions:
In a bowl, combine all of dried spices. Rub the spice mixture all over the bird, inside and out.

Put the 4 whole garlic cloves and a quartered onion inside the bird.

Tuck the wings behind, put the chicken breast-side down into the crock pot.

Do not add water.

Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours, or on low for 8 hours. The meat is done when it is fully cooked and has reached desired tenderness. The longer you cook it, the more tender the meat.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

It Snowed!



Yesterday we had our first snow! I was beginning to think that we would not get any snow this winter but finally it came and talk about beautiful! Of course we didn't get just snow, had to have that nasty ice in the mix, so many accidents occurred yesterday.


The kids didn't go out and play in the snow yesterday, they were not feeling well. We all have been sick. I took the children to the doctor Monday because they have this dry cough that would not go away. The doctor said all sound and looks well, just a dry cough and recommended some over-the-counter cough syrup, and told me to also try giving them honey to coat the throat. Hopefully this thing will run its course and my home will be a healthy once again.



We are back in the groove of school after our wonderful three week break for Christmas and New Year. Our first week back we started our Tapestry of Grace, Unit 2, and thankfully we have had a pretty light schedule for the first three weeks.

Gene is two weeks away from completing his Teaching Textbooks Math 7, once he is finished with that he will start Pre-Algebra. I tell you I love, love, love this curriculum! It has turned my struggling in math child who would take for EVER to complete his math assignments, and barely made a C, to one who enjoys and is confident in math and is now a A/B student. Now, he did have a couple of weeks were his grades dropped dramatically, I think he was down in the basement playing instead of working but thankfully he has come to himself and is back making excellent grades in math!


The kids have started taking a Beginning Stings class, and are learning how to play the viola. We had major drama getting an instrument, they both wanted to play guitar, but the music stores do not rent guitars, and Eric and I didn't want to invest that much money on two guitars not sure if they would want to continue with the lessons and practice. The second choice was the violin, but we couldn't find their size to rent, so our third option was the viola and the third try was a winner. If you are not familiar with a viola it looks like a violin, only larger, I will post pictures later.

They are enjoying the music class, and are really into the learning process, and remember what the instructor tells them, which is always a good thing, and practice about 30 minutes each day.


As you can see from the pictures, we have many bird come to our feeders yesterday. We normally have five doves visit, but yesterday I counted 11 all gathered under the feeders! I just saw a beautiful male cardinal, he was so lovely with his bright feathers against the white snow - I missed the shot because my camera batteries are charging up (argh!).


I'm off to get a cup of tea, hope you enjoy the pictures of our feathered friends. I do get a kick out of watching them! Be blessed.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Stylish Time Pieces

I truly love the classic combination of black and pearl, and so does my friend Tracy who commissioned me to make a black and pearl watch for her mother as a Christmas present.

The material used in the watch are large Czech faceted beads, Swarovoski cream pearls, black faceted beads, Bali silver flat and rondelles beads, and a sterling silver lobster claw.

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After Tracy ordered a watch for her mother she hinted to her husband that she hoped Santa would bring her a watch just like it for Christmas. Being the great hubby that he is, David contacted me and ordered one for her! Here is the watch for Tracy, just slightly different, from her mother's, both are lovely.

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The material used in the watch are large Czech faceted beads, Swarovoski cream pearls, black faceted beads, seed beads, Bali silver flat and rondelles beads, sterling silver lobster claw.


Friday, January 9, 2009

90th Birthday Bash

This past Saturday we had the pleasure of attending Eric's Great Aunt Mary Jane's surprise 90th birthday party!

Mary Jane is very spry and looks great. Her children showered her with pink and white roses - a couple of the grands were in tears. The food was delicious, the fellowship wonderful, we even saw someone who we attended church with years ago, that was an unexpected treat.

My mother-in-law Jane who is Mary Jane's oldest niece, got up and shared words of love for Mary Jane. Jane is not one to get up in front of others to speak, so this was huge for her, and not only did she do an excellent job, her words were elegant.


Here are a few pictures for the birthday party...




Happy birthday Mary Jane!

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Lovely Aqua and Blue

Here is my Christmas day project, this 18" necklace features faceted aqua quartz gemstones, Czech glass beads, berry colored freshwater pearls, Bali silver flat beads and sterling silver round beads and a sterling silver clasp.

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I bought a necklace display to aid in taking better pictures of the jewelry, but the one I choose gives off a nasty glare, I bet I took about 50 shots and this is the better one. I'm sure if I was more camera savvy this would not be a problem, but since I'm not - I will improvise!

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Here is another look of the necklace on a different background...

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And the matching earrings, dangling from a Christmas bow...

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I made the next necklace set for Eric's great aunt for her birthday present. The necklace is made with sodalite gemstones in ovals and round, Czech glass beads, Swarovski white pearls, and a sterling silver clasp.

Did you notice my little improvisation with the necklace display, I used one of Nicole's shirts - no glare!

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The matching earrings with the oval gemstone, sterling silver round beads all wire wrapped on a silver plated clip-on earring wire...
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Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Fruit of the Spirit Bracelet

Nicole ordered this beautiful Fruit of the Spirit bracelet for her mother. The bracelet stars nine 6mm cube Swarovski crystals, sterling silver round beads, Bali silver flat beads and a sterling silver heart toggle clasp.


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Here is what each color of the bracelet represents:


Love - Red



Joy - Purple



Peace - Blue



Patience - Pink



Kindness - White



Goodness - Light Pink



Faithfulness - Dark Green



Gentleness - Light Green



Self-control - Yellow


Thank you Nicole, I'm sure your mother will love her new bracelet!

I Won!

Happy New Year!

Rejoice with me, I won the BeadL*Jewlz Bead Challenge! And yes, I'm still grinning from ear to ear!!!

My bracelet was paw selected by Boscoe the cat! I already received a 20% coupon for entering the contest and the grand prize is a $25 gift certificate. Oh my - free money to buy more beads, this is a dream come true! I'm making a list of beads I've had my eye on for my shopping spree!


Here is another look at the bracelet I designed....

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Blessings from the Lord!
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