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Kamis, 31 Desember 2009

Happy New Year Black-Eyed Pea Soup

Happy New Year!

I'm excited about 2010 and all the fun and anticipation a New Year brings. It doesn't look like I'll be holding a baby on my lap while watching the ball drop, however. This new little one is not following the path my other two took of arriving at exactly 38 weeks, but instead is teasing with lots of contractions and then nothing for a few hours.

2010 may be the year I develop a great deal of patience.

or completely lose my marbles.

the jury's still deliberating.

I'm not bringing a slow cooker dish (shocking, I know!) to our friend's house tonight for New Years At 9 because I wasn't sure if we'd have a newborn or be in the hospital. Instead, the kids and I are going to make a fabulous apple pie thanks to the totally awesome gluten free pie shells from Whole Foods.

and tomorrow? Tomorrow we'll eat Black Eyed Pea soup. This is the recipe I used last year, and I'm looking forward to making it again. I'm going to re-print it the way it appeared a year ago.

Have an absolutely wonderful 2010 full of lots of love and hugs.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CrockPot Black Eyed Pea Soup


Day 366.
because it's Leap Year.

Happy New Year's Eve! I made the most rockingest black eyed pea soup yesterday, and I take back everything I said last year about black eyed peas. They aren't gross. I just didn't know what I was doing.
And thank you also for all of the emails explaining pig anatomy. I get it now.


Although this is the end of my year-long challenge, the blog will not die, and I will not go hide in a corner in the fetal position. I promise.

Eating black eyed peas on New Years Day is good luck and is said to bring prosperity which can't be a bad thing. Ring in 2009 on the right note. Make this soup.

The Ingredients.

--1 pound dried black eyed peas
--1 pound spicy sausage (I used Aidells chicken habanero and green chile)
--6 cups chicken broth
--1 yellow onion, diced

--1 cup diced carrots
--1 cup diced celery
--4 cloves garlic, diced

--1/2 tsp Italian seasoning (not pictured. I didn't know I needed it at first. But I did.)
--1 tsp kosher salt
--1/2 tsp black pepper
--
Tabasco sauce (to add at the end to taste)

The Directions.

Soak your beans overnight. Drain and pick out the undesirables (broken, discolored beans) in the morning.


Use a 5 to 6 quart crockpot. This will serve about 8 people. Dice the veggies, and dump them into your crockpot with the pre-soaked beans. Add sliced sausage. Pour in broth, and stir in Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.

Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or on high for about 6.
Before serving, use a stick blender to smash up about 1 cup of beans. If you don't have a stick blender, scoop out 1 cup of beans, blend them in a traditional blender, and add back to the soup. Don't blend too much---just enough to get the broth thicker and creamy-looking.

Ladle into bowls, and add
Tabasco sauce to taste.

The Verdict.


This tastes amazing. I am so glad that I tried cooking black eyed peas again---they are earthier than other beans and make a fantastic soup base. I've got a few different
tupperwares ready to go for lunches for the next few days. My brother and sister-in-law liked it too. The kids didn't taste it---they had spaghetti for dinner.

Selasa, 29 Desember 2009

Mengenal Windows 7 (seven)




Windows 7 (seven) merupakan sistem operasi yang dikembangkan oleh microsoft dari sistem operasi sebelumnya Microsoft Windows XP dan Vista.

Microsoft Windows 7 memiliki tampilan desktop yang tidak jauh berbeda dengan windows vista namun sudah lebih disempurnakan seperti tombol start yang terlihat lebih hidup.

Untuk melakukan installasi windows 7 pada komputer anda membutuhkan

Minggu, 27 Desember 2009

Membuat Memasang Tukar Link Banner Sesama Blogger


Artikel seperti ini sudah banyak sekali diposting oleh rekan-rekan senior blogger pada blognya masing-masing, namun karena ada sobat kita yang menanyakan maka saya juga ikutan posting artikel ini agar mempermudah para pengunjung blog BIK supaya tidak lagi mencari informasi tentang memasang Tukar Link dengan banner.


Dilihat dari judul artikel ini sebenarnya yang dimaksud adalah cara memasang

Rabu, 23 Desember 2009

Wrapping It Up


Merry Christmas Eve Eve!

Even though I didn't post daily in 2009 the way I did in 2008, this year has continued to be all slow cooker all the time in our house. It's been a glorious, energetic, nutty and somewhat surreal year.

I can't even imagine what 2010 has in store, yet I'm ready. Bring it on!

Although she has been teasing me for weeks and weeks, I do think the newest addition to our family will NOT be making her presence before Christmas. She may arrive before New Year's---I just can't tell. Whoever said every pregnancy/delivery is different is right, although truth be told, I'm getting a little annoyed by that saying.

But I feel good, the kids are happy, family is close by, and we're all healthy. There is nothing left to ask for. I feel super lucky.

I'm going to take a bit of a break for the holidays, and am going to step away from the computer. If you need help with recipes/your slow cooker, hopefully your answer is provided in the
Frequently Asked Questions part 1
Frequently Asked Questions part 2

also, there are reader comments and suggestions underneath each recipe that you might find helpful. This is exceptionally true in the case of the Slow Cooker Yogurt Recipe.

If you are cooking for the holidays, the list of Slow Cooker Holiday food has you covered.

I've still got a few contests running over on Totally Together Reviews.

The Gluten Free Almond Flour Cookbook is over, and winners have been contacted, but if you didn't win, go ahead and pick yourself up a copy. It's a wonderful cookbook and resource.

The HP TouchSmart Computer giveaway will run until *tomorrow*, 12/24 at 5pm pacific.

The Tassimo Hot Beverage System
is running until 12/31, 5pm pacific,

and the

$5 Dollar Mom Cookbook giveaway will end on 1/1/10, 5pm pacific. Erin's book was just released, and it's fantastic. She has more opportunities to win copies over on her website.

I plan on hosting more reviews and giveaways in the New Year, and I also plan on getting on the ball with posting over at Totally Together Journal. I've really slacked at posting, but am feeling motivated to get that site more active. My thought is to go through the manuscript that I have and post a simple chore or family activity daily. I certainly look forward to getting our house back in shape this upcoming year, especially once I can bend again!

And lastly, I'd like to thank each and every single one of you for the overwhelming support, love, and kindness you've shared with me through the Make it Fast, Cook it Slow book launch. I am completely blown away by the touching emails I wake to each morning, and for all of your sweet words.
Not a day has passed in months, where I'm not moved to tears. Thank you so so much for being so wonderful.

The cookbook seems to be doing well, and I have all of you to thank. Your buzz to friends, family, and over the internet, has helped so very much. I am so beyond amazed that in the December 27 issue of the New York Times, Make it Fast has made the best seller's list at lucky #13.

Wow.

(updated. well, darn. That link worked yesterday, and now they are asking people to register in order to see it. I hate stuff like that. Here's a scanned image, although I think you'll have to click on it to make it bigger.)

Like last year, I promise that the website isn't going to vanish into thin air. It will still be here, and I'll continue to add to it when I can, because quite frankly, slow cooking is the only way I get dinner on the table! I think I'll continue with budget-friendly slow cooker meals for 2010. I've got quite a few I'm itching to try out, and would love any and all suggestions. I have always thought of this website as a group project.

Have an absolutely joyous Holiday Season and a fantastic 2010. It'll be a good one.

xoxoxo

Rabu, 16 Desember 2009

Slow Cooker Green Pepper Chicken Recipe

I've been inspired lately by reading $5 Dinner Mom and Family Feasts for $75, and have started to trim down our grocery bills. Meat is definitely the biggest expense on the shopping list, and I'm realizing that our family of four doesn't need to be eating quite as much as we do. I usually plop 4 chicken breast halves into the slow cooker without thinking, but for this dish I used 3.

Guess what? We still were full, and there was still some leftover for Adam to take to work the next day for lunch. Go figure. We ate our chicken tucked into corn tortillas and had a side of basmati rice to soak up the yummy juices.

The Ingredients.
serves 4.


3 chicken breast halves
2 large green bell peppers, seeded and chopped
1 (7-ounce) can whole or diced green chiles (mine were mild)
1/2 teaspoon basil
1 tablespoon dried minced onion, or 1 large yellow onion, diced finely
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup sour cream (to add before serving)
corn tortillas, optional

The Directions.

I used a 4 quart slow cooker. Put the chicken into the bottom of the cooker, and add the bell peppers and the whole can of chiles. Add basil, onion, salt, and pepper. Stir a bit to combine. Pour in the 1/4 cup of water. Cover and cook on low for about 6 hours, or on high for 3-4.

Before serving, use tongs to remove the chicken, and set aside. Using an immersible blender, blend the peppers and sauce left at the bottom of the slow cooker. If you don't have an immersible blender, carefully(!) pour the slow cooker contents into a traditional stand blender and pulse until fully combined. Pour back into the cooker.

Stir in sour cream until melted. If you don't have sour cream in the house, plain yogurt or cream cheese would work just fine---this is only to thicken the sauce a bit and to mellow out the peppers and chile flavor.

Slice chicken, and return to the cooker. Set to high for 20-30 minutes, or until your dinner is fully hot. Serve the meat in corn tortillas, or over rice.

Or both!

The Verdict.

I've gone on the record saying I don't like green peppers. I really don't---they remind me of soggy cafeteria pizza. But they are MUCH less expensive than red, yellow, or orange peppers, and since the flavor is so pronounced a little goes a long way. Adam and the kids don't seem to mind the flavor, and the kids actually eat raw green pepper dipped in ranch, something I would never do. So I took one for the team.

I'm happy to report that I really liked the flavor when cooked like this, and when paired with the chiles. The chicken turned green, which the kids thought was neat. They happily ate their chicken over rice with a ladle full of sauce, but ate their corn tortilla as a quesadilla.

Senin, 14 Desember 2009

Menghilangkan Pilihan Sistem Operasi Windows Linux


Sebagai seorang yang ingin lebih mengenal tentang komputer, tentu banyak cara yang dicoba guna memenuhi keingintahuan sesorang, salah satunya dengan mengubah atau menambah sistem operasi pada komputer miliknya. Misalkan saja kita sedang memiliki komputer dengan sistem operasi yang terpasang adalah sistem operasi microsoft windows, kemudian kita juga ingin mempelajari sistem operasi linux atau

Kamis, 10 Desember 2009

More Give-Aways! The Tassimo Hot Beverage System and the Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook

Good morning!

When I said I had more stuff to give away, I wasn't kidding.

I'm happy to share that I have two new review posts over at Totally Together Reviews.

The first is for a Tassimo Hot Beverage System---you can make a perfect coffee house drink in the comfort of your home or office whenever you'd like.

and what do you need with coffee?

pastries!

I have never tasted better pastries than those made with almond flour. I have 2 copies of Elana Amsterdam's The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook to give away over at Totally Together Reviews.


It's not too late for last-minute shopping or gift-making, either. How about:

Holiday Gifts to Support Bloggers
Roasted and Spiced Nuts
Peanut Clusters
Peanut (not brittle) Candy
Glycerin Soap
Recycled Candles
Salt Dough Ornaments
Apple Butter
Shrinky Dink Crafts
Playdough (fun gift for small kids---wrap in a cellophane bag, and tie on a cookie cutter)

have fun, good luck, and thank you for entering the contests! (not here---you need to click over to Totally Together Reviews. Comments left here are NOT counted.)

Rabu, 09 Desember 2009

HP TouchSmart and $5 Dinner Mom Give-Away!

I've got a super cool computer I'm giving away, courtesy of HP and BlogHer. You can read all about it and enter for a chance to win over at Totally Together Reviews. The contest will run until 12/24/09, 5pm pacific.

I also have 3! copies of Erin Chase's soon-to-be-released cookbook, $5 Dinner Mom to give away also over at Totally Together Reviews. This contest is running until Jan 1, 2010.

and? more stuff is coming. Check back in a day or so, I'm working on some other freebie goodies to share with you!


xoxo steph


oh! and yes, I'm still pregnant. I'm about 35 weeks, which puts me in the eensy teensy tiny bit cranky all the time stage...

Selasa, 08 Desember 2009

Button Dengan 3D Button Creator Gold


Membuat button sendiri dengan memanfaatkan software 3D Button Creator Gold. Dengan 3D Button Creator Gold kita bisa dengan mudah membuat sebuah button yang bisa dimanfaatkan untuk membuat menu sebuah blog misalnya atau menu sebuah website. Button yang dibuat menggunakan 3D Button Creator Gold bisa berbentuk Rectangle (sudut tajam), elips (bentuk telur) dan RoundRec (segi empat dengan sudut

Sabtu, 05 Desember 2009

Super Simple Cranberry Roast (beef or pork) Slow Cooker Recipe

I threw together one of the simplest roasts last week, and it was wonderful. The meat was sweet without being icky sweet, it was tender and moist, and everyone at the table had seconds.

I used frozen beef chuck, but this would be fantastic with any hunk of meat you've got lying around----beef, pork, or venison.

The Ingredients.
serves 4


2-3 pounds beef or pork roast or stew chunks
1 tablespoon dried onion flakes, or 1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 tablespoons soy sauce (La Choy and Tamari wheat-free are gluten free)
1 (16-ounce) whole berry cranberry sauce (or 2 cups homemade!)

that's it!

The Directions.

Use a 4-quart slow cooker. Plop in the meat (frozen is fine), and add the onion and soy sauce. Pour in the entire can of cranberry sauce over the top. Do not add water. Cover and cook on low for 7-9 hours, or on high for 5-6. If you are cooking on high, you may need to "help" the meat break apart by taking it out an hour or so before serving by cutting it into chunks, then returning to the sauce. I like it when the meat is tender and the juice has fully soaked in.

Serve over mashed potatoes, and with a green salad.

The Verdict.

This was a fantastic dinner, and since everything was already in the house, it was free!

PS: if you're around this weekend, there's a thread on the Barnes and Noble.com message boards where I'm answering any and all slow cooker questions!

Kamis, 03 Desember 2009

Meraih Puluhan Dolar Dengan Jual Link



Setelah mencari tau kemana-mana di dunia maya diantar ama mbah google untuk mencari tau informasi tentang cara menjual link akhirnya terdampar juga dibeberapa situs yang menjelaskan cara menjual link melalui web atau blog.


Untuk Memasang Link di web atau blog kita tentu ada persyaratannya yaitu harus memiliki ranking web blog minimum adalah dua (PR2) sedangkan untuk page rank masih di bawah 2

Rabu, 02 Desember 2009

Menerima Pembayaran Kedua AdsenseCamp


Dunia maya memang benar-benar menyediakan lahan atau tempat kerja yang cukup menggembirakan, didukung dengan perkembangan teknologi komputer dengan jaringan internetnya dan semakin luas penggunaan internet sehingga semakin banyak pengusaha untuk mempromosikan hasil produksinya melalui dunia internet.



Iklan-iklan yang dipromosikan melalui internet memang sangat efektif karena mudahnya

Selasa, 01 Desember 2009

Slow Cooker Turkey Stew Recipe

I made the most delicious turkey stew over the weekend. I've never actually had turkey stew, so I don't know if it's the best that exists, but it's definitely the best I've ever had. And, since I used leftover food from Thanksgiving, it was free!

I'm kind of bummed Adam took the leftovers to work to eat for lunch, because now I'm forced to eat peanut butter on an apple-cinnamon rice cake. Again.

The Ingredients.
serves 8

There are two parts, here. The first part is to make broth with your leftover turkey carcass. If you don't have a carcass on hand, and would still like to make this soup, jump to the next step and use 8 cups of chicken broth and 2-3 cups chopped turkey.

for broth:
use a 6 quart slow cooker.

turkey carcass, or rib cage bone-sets from 2 turkey breasts
9 cups of water
2 tablespoons granulated chicken bouillon (read label carefully for msg and gluten, I used the Herb Ox brand)
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (this takes the meat flavor out of the bones, and creates a beautiful color and flavor)
1 large onion, finely diced OR 1 tablespoon dried onion flakes

cook on low overnight, or for about 8 hours. Unplug, and remove stoneware from cooking element. Uncover and let cool. When cool enough to "go fishing," remove all bones from broth, leaving meat inside the pot.

note: if your slow cooker releases a bunch of steam and condensation while cooking, put a layer of foil or parchment paper down over the top, then put the lid on so you don't lose your cooking liquid.

for stew, add the following:

2 cups peeled and diced sweet potato
1 (28-ounce) can diced or stewed Italian style tomatoes
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon coriander
1 tablespoon chile powder
1 (15-ounce) can corn, and juice
4 cloves chopped garlic OR 1 teaspoon dried garlic powder

The Directions.

Combine all ingredients in a 6 quart slow cooker and cook on low for 6-7 hours, or until sweet potatoes have reached desired tenderness and flavors have melded.

The Verdict.

We all really liked this a lot. The girls were slow to warm up because they thought the name "turkey stew" was weird and didn't like that the broth wasn't clear, but I didn't offer them anything else to eat. When they finally tasted it, they happily finished their bowls. Adam said he liked it even better than our normal turkey soup, which is pretty high praise, since that soup is fantastic. I really liked the deep color and the sweet potatoes in contrast to the tomato base. This did not have any spicy taste, just lots of flavor.