Sew God's Grace

So, I finally did it.  I got a picture of my beef stew so that I could get the recipe recorded on my blog.  Then when I went to edit it. . . wow! when you enlarge the image of your crock pot on your monitor, it doesn't look quite as great as you thought it did when you snapped the picture!  Alas, I am not a photographer.  In truth, a hurried snap on my phone is as good as you're going to get on this blog!  Please go ahead and try this recipe, though.  It really is delicious! Please note:  this makes a large amount.  Be prepared to freeze some or halve the recipe if you don't have a large crew to feed like I do!  Also, I do not cook with onion as my husband cannot tolerate it.  By all means, add some onion if you like! Hearty Beef Stew  (influenced by this recipe ) 3 pounds stew meat 4 cups beef broth 6 oz. can tomato paste 3-4 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped 20 or so baby carrots, chopped 4 celery stalks, chopped ...

     Wow, it's been a long time since my last post!  But, with baby number six on the way, I have had to cut out some activities, which has included blogging for the most part.  I'm realizing, too, with another one coming that I may not be posting as much to my blog.  But, when I have the chance, I hope to sneak one in here and there.      One of my friends has been working on eating a mostly Paleo diet, which I have been eating for almost three years (minus a couple of months at the beginning of this pregnancy!)  We had been talking about getting together for a Paleo meal, and we made it happen this week. It was a lot of fun, and really delicious, too!  For an appetizer, I made these delicious Bacon-wrapped Sweet Potato Bites.  You can find the recipe here .  I really love the Stir It Up site and have made several of her recipes including one of my favorite Paleo pancake recipes.        I softe...

So, I'm always looking for new ways to use my crock pot to make things easier for me.  Usually, if I want to cook hamburger, I will do it in my microwave.  However, I can only cook 2 pounds at a time.  As our family has grown and the kids get older, I have been trying to make large quantities of my recipes and then freeze half for later.  Also, 2 pounds of meat doesn't go as far as it used to! As I was getting ready to cook 6 pounds of hamburger for a triple batch of chili, I thought, "I wonder if I can do this in my crock pot?"  I did a search to see if any other bloggers had done it, and it turns out they had! I have done this several times now for tacos, soups, and more. Here's what I do: Place meat in crock pot.  (I usually thaw a bit in the microwave, but it can be partly frozen.)  Add 1/2 cup water and cook on high for 3 to 3 1/2 hours.  I have a chopper that I use to break up my meat.  Every now and again, I go by and chop u...

My husband jokes with me that I'm not happy unless I use my slow cooker at least twice a week.  While that may be an over-exaggeration, I do love my slow cooker.  I enjoy the feeling of knowing that supper is in the crock pot at home ready to go.  Right now my kitchen smells amazing because I mixed up some of this spaghetti sauce right after lunch and turned it on low.  That sauce is in there, getting all warm and bubbly and yummy.  For supper, I'll just cook up some pasta for the kids and some zucchini noodles for Matt and me.  Pass the parmesan, please! Easy Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce (adapted from this recipe) 2 pounds ground meat, cooked (use ground beef, pork, sausage, or any combination.  I keep thinking I will try half ground beef and half sausage) 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste 1 1/2 - 2 teaspoons garlic powder 1 1/2 teaspoons each dried ba...