Crockpot Cajun Roast (Clean) ****

This was really good.  Absolutely phenomenal.  I tried to pull the pork out of the crock to slice it for the kids, but it was so tender that it just fell apart.  I ended up just shredding it in the pot and adding 6 cups of cooked brown rice in with it.  I also just used a package of frozen sliced onion/peppers blend.  We all loved it.  It made a LOT, though.  I was able to put some up for hubby's lunch and still have enough for a weekend lunch for all of us.  Yay!  Definitely making this again.  The only change I might make is to add in more corn.  The kids and hubby all said they would have liked to have more corn in each bite.

CROCKPOT CAJUN ROAST (CLEAN)

(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ StacyMakesCents)

1 roast of your choice (2 to 2-1/2 pounds)

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups corn

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped green pepper

1 tomato diced

Rice to serve

Combine spices.

Put roast in greased crock pot. Pour half of your spices over the roast. Rub in. Flip roast and coat with remaining spices, rubbing in well.

Pour veggies (excluding corn) over the roast.

Layer the corn over the top.

Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or until temp reads 160+ degrees.

Serve over a bed of rice.

*luckymommy/Amy's notes: I shredded the pork and stirred in 6 cups of cooked brown rice before serving.   I also just used a package of frozen sliced onion/peppers blend.  Next time, I will add more corn.  

Crockpot Pizza ****

This is an old tried and true favorite for us.  I got it from Rachel years ago, and we've been enjoying it ever since.  I add black olives to mine, and since I can never find large jars of pizza sauce, I just use three of the medium-size jars.  Comes out perfect every time.  Our stores never carry rigatoni either, so I just use regular penne.  I've used the whole grain noodles in the past, and there's really not much of a difference, since it cooks for so long.  It's yummy either way.  :-)

CROCKPOT PIZZA
(Rachel ~ 4*Kowbabies)

1 box rigatoni, cooked
1 1/2 lbs ground chuck browned and drained
1 large pkg sliced pepperoni
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 pkg mozzarella cheese shredded
2 large jars of pizza sauce
1 med. onion chopped
(optional can of mushrooms)

Stir all ingredients together. Place in crockpot and cook on low for 5 hrs.
*luckymommy/Amy's notes: I use 3 small jars of pizza sauce, add a can of black olives, and sub penne noodles.

Two-Ingredient Banana Cookies **

Yet another review that I'm slow on posting.  We had these sometime over Christmas break, but I honestly can't even remember when.  I had some bananas to use up, so I whipped them up one night after supper.  They are probably the easiest cookies I've ever made in my life.  I added pecans and chocolate chips to ours. They were good.  Nothing fabulous, but a nice little sweet treat that wasn't too terribly unhealthy (would have obviously been much healthier without the chocolate, lol).  Everyone else said they really liked them, but I just thought they were okay.  They have a kind of mushy texture to them that I didn't really care for, but the flavor wasn't bad.  Kind of like banana bread, I guess.  

TWO INGREDIENT COOKIES

(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ TheBurlapBag via Pinterest)

2 large old bananas

1 cup of  oats (quick or regular! if you use regular, we’d suggest chopping them a little so everything holds together better)

Mix those two together. Old bananas are amazing for this, but you can use fresh ones too. I buy a bunch of bananas, let them get old on my counter, and then stick ‘em all in the freezer.

Then add in what sounds yummy to you! (or nothing!) We love: a handful of chocolate chips, crushed walnut pieces, cinnamon, raisins

Since all bananas are different sizes, the needed measurements can vary. If it seems too runny and the cookies would flatten out too much, add in more oatmeal. And make sure to not add in TOO many mix-ins as the cookies won’t hold together very well. The ones in these photos have a handful of chocolate chips, a teaspoon or two or cinnamon, and 1/4ish a cup of crushed walnuts.

We made 16 cookies with those measurements. We cook them at 350 degrees for 15 minutes on a GREASED cookie sheet. Don’t forget the greased part…. I did once and had to scrub my pan forever.

Bacon-Wrapped Water Chestnuts ****

These were actually really good.  Not that I had any doubts, lol.  It's bacon and water chestnuts.  What could possibly go wrong?  Hehehe.  I made this for our family Christmas Eve get-together, but I'm just now getting around to posting it (so sue me, we were enjoying our holidays, lol).  Every year, our family gathers at my parents' house, and we each bring 2-3 appetizers.  I adore appetizers.  I love being able to have just a little of this and a little of that, without having to commit to one main dish.  So needless to say, I look forward to Christmas Eve every year for this exact reason - it's the only time of year I get to experiment with appetizers.
So anyway, I chose this one based on the baby boy's (the 8-year-old) current obsession for bacon and his newfound love of water chestnuts.  I had every intention of using the homemade BBQ sauce on the included recipe, but time got away from me.  This was my last recipe of the day (since I wanted it to be served hot), so I used a bottle of our favorite BBQ sauce instead.  Our absolute favorite for the past few years is the Jack Daniels Hickory Maple Barbecue Sauce.  I normally can't stand BBQ sauce, but I could seriously drown my food in that stuff and be perfectly content.  It came out great.  I'm sure it's probably even better with the homemade version, but for a last-minute substitution, I was pretty pleased.  These were wonderful, though, and I would definitely make them again.

Warning: My picture does not do it justice.  I didn't think to snap one until they were almost gone, so it's a pretty lame representation of the final product.  Do yourself a favor and click on the link in the recipe to see her picture.  It's much prettier than mine. :-)

BACON-WRAPPED WATER CHESTNUTS
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ ClawsonLive via Pinterest)

Chestnuts
2-3 cans whole water chestnuts drained
1 (1 lb) package of bacon

Homemade BBQ Sauce
1-2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup brown sugar
squirt of mustard
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
vinegar splash

I usually place the bacon in the freezer for a few minutes to really get it firm. I then cut the slices into 3 pieces right through the plastic. You're going to need a lot of toothpicks. Wrap each little chestnut in a coat of bacon and secure it with a toothpick. Place the chestnuts in a 9 x 13 inch pan. Once all of your chestnuts are wrapped top with BBQ sauce or make your own like we do.
If making your own BBQ sauce: Stir all ingredients together and pour over the chestnuts.
Bake in a 375* F oven for 30-45 minutes (or until the bacon is done). The tops of the toothpicks will turn brown so watch out for that. Enjoy every New Years Eve or Day for the rest of your life.

Two-Ingredient Fruit Dip (Fat Free) ***

We actually got this recipe at the 8-year-old's school Christmas party.  Someone else had brought it in, and he just fell in love and insisted on making it at home.  I freaked out when we first mixed it up, because the Cool Whip was so cold that it stiffened the marshmallow creme up quite a bit and left a lot of marshmallow chunks.  They all combine well once refrigerated, though, and it was definitely a hit with our kiddos.  They were practically licking their plates afterwards, lol.

TWO-INGREDIENT FRUIT DIP (FAT FREE)
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy)

16 oz tub Fat-Free Cool Whip, thawed
7 oz jar Jet-Puffed Marshmallow Creme
Assorted fruits, sliced

Combine Cool Whip and Marshmallow Creme in medium-sized bowl.  Use mixer to blend well (there will still be some lumps - this is okay).  Refrigerate overnight.  Serve with sliced apples, strawberries, raspberries, or any other fruits that you prefer.

Gluten-Free Crockpot Chex Mix (Gluten Free) *

This was just okay, in my opinion.  It was a little too buttery, though.  It's a basic mix, but it just didn't taste right, for some reason.  It was also REALLY salty.  I'm going to keep looking for a better one.

GLUTEN-FREE CROCKPOT CHEX MIX
(BakingWithLove)

4 cups rice chex cereal
4 cups corn chex cereal
4 cups pretzels (GF)
2 cups bagel chips (GF)
1 cup mixed nuts
6 T unsalted butter
2 T worcestershire sauce (GF)
2 t salt
2 t garlic powder
1 t onion powder
1/2 t sugar

Add first 5 ingredients to a crockpot. Melt the butter & worcestershire sauce in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir in salt, garlic powder, onion powder & sugar. Pour mixture over ingredients in crockpot. Mix well until chex mix is coated. Cook on low for 2.5 hours, stirring every 30 minutes. When the chex mix is done cooking, spread it out to cool. Store in an air-tight container.
Yield: 15 cups

Pickle Wrap Dip ***

First off, sorry for the crappy picture.  I forgot to take one when I was making it, so I had to grab one at the last second.  It's blurry and hard to see much detail.  Maybe I can get a better one next time.

We absolutely adore the Dill Pickle Roll-'Em-Ups, but they take forever to make.  As soon as this popped up on Pinterest, I knew I had to try it.  The flavor in this is really wonderful.  I did the ham and pickles in my food processor, but that actually makes them a bit too small.  It makes the texture more like that of a ham salad.  Next time, I would use the dill pickle relish and just chop the ham by hand.  Either way, though, it was really good!

PICKLE WRAP DIP
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ via KeyIngredient)

16-oz cream cheese, softened
12-oz deli-sliced ham, chopped
16-oz baby dill pickles, drained, diced
Ritz crackers

In a large mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, chopped ham, and diced pickles; mix well.
Place mixture in the refrigerator for 1 hour, before serving.
Serve chilled, with crackers.