Homestyle Dinner

It's Monday and you know what that means....puppy school!  My favorite day of the week.  I haven't had a chance to update you on last week's puppy school, which I am happy to say was a massive improvement over the previous week's disaster.  Lola only had one minor discretion when she took a big poop in the middle of the ring while all the other dogs were heeling  made a tiny mistake.  Beyond that, she did fantastic.  She heeled.  She sat.  She downed.  And the nasty people that called her an out of control chocolate came up to me after class and raved about how much progress she made in one week.  

And I, being the mature, gracious, Chrisitan-woman that I am, forgave them.  I also gave them a sympathetic look when their dog took a wee that required an entire roll of paper towels to clean up while the rest of the dogs were obediently sitting.  Because, again, I am a mature, gracious, Christian-woman.

So tonight's dinner will be eaten in shifts as the members of the McGhee family come and go to our various activities.  On nights like tonight, I like to reach for my crockpot.

Crockpot BBQ chicken

• 4-6 pieces boneless skinless chicken breasts (i threw them in frozen... even easier!)
• 1 bottle BBQ sauce (you can make your own, or buy store-bought)
• 1/4 c vinegar
• 1 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1/4 c brown sugar
• 1/2 - 1 tsp. garlic powder

1.  Mix BBQ sauce with all other ingredients. 
2.  Place chicken in crockpot. pour sauce over it and cook on LOW for 4-6 hours. 

I mixed all my ingredients in the crockpot before adding the chicken.

You can eat this as whole breasts or you can shred it and serve it on buns.  And some of you crazy Southerners will probably choose to smother it with coleslaw.

I serve my crockpot BBQ chicken with loaded mashed potato casserole.  This can be made ahead of time and baked when ready to eat.  This chicken heats up wonderfully for leftovers.

Loaded Mashed Potato Casserole

• 5 pounds potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup milk
• 3 tablespoons butter
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 3 cups (12 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese blend, divided
• 1/2 pound sliced bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 3 green onions, sliced

1.  Place potatoes in a Dutch oven and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until tender. Drain and place in a large bowl. Add the sour cream, milk, butter, salt and pepper. Beat on medium-low speed until light and fluffy. Stir in 2 cups cheese, bacon and onions.

2.  Transfer to a greased 3-qt. baking dish. Top with remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 30 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted.  (I ommitted the remaining cheese on top.)

I did not beat my potatoes with a mixer.  I used a potato masher instead, since we prefer a more chunky-texture potato.

Add in your bacon, sour cream, cheese, and seasonings.  I ommitted the green onion since my minis don't like it and I live my life to please them.

This is super easy, delish, home-style meal.  Perfect for minis that are coming home starving from swim practice, perfect for the Mr. who is hungry after a long day of work, and perfect for the Heids McGhee, who is secretly praying her puppy doesn't embarrass her tonight!

Autumn Meal

This weekend was gorgeous.  In fact, this was such a perfect weekend that autumn may be replacing summer as my favorite season.  Here's a few snapshots to show you why.....

Picture overload.  I know, sorry!  But, when your 9 year old mini tells you many times throughout the day that this is "the best day of my life", you want to document that day properly.  And I'm a blogger, so this is how I document things.  And I also encourage everyone to set aside a day and spend it outdoors  with your family.  The exercise (6 miles!), the fresh air, the unplugged-ness, the adventure....it's incredible!

And of course, you will be HUNGRY afterwards!  And naturally, the only meal suitable for the McGhees was a bowl of warm chili.  We had our chili with grilled cheese (colby-jack on Great Harvest honey wheat bread) and served with a side of sweet potatoes.

• 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 2 large cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2-3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, finely grated
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• Salt and Pepper to taste

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees and position oven rack to middle position. Line the bottom of a large baking sheet with aluminum foil.

2.  In a medium sized bowl, place the prepared, cubed sweet potatoes, garlic, olive oil, Parmesan cheese, dried thyme. Distribute the ingredients evenly to cover the sweet potatoes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer the sweet potato mixture to the prepared baking sheet and spread out the potatoes so that they are in a single layer.

3.  Roast in oven for about 40 minutes -OR- until the sweet potatoes can be easily pierced with a sharp knife. Set the oven to broil and broil until the tops of the sweet potatoes start to brown, about 8-10 minutes (keep an eye on the potatoes when broiling, as your time may differ and you want to take care not to burn them).

Cut up your potatoes.

Season your potatoes.

Arrange on a baking sheet in a single layer.

Bake until soft and then broil until browned.

These were delish.  Seriously, seriously tasty.  Everyone in my family loved them.  Everyone except for my middle mini, who hates sweet potatoes.  However, he did mange to eat his portion of sweet potatoes by pretending his was spiderman and using his web-powers to shoot the potatoes directly into his stomach.  And I kind of believe that he could be spiderman....

.....and in case you were wondering, he landed on his feet......