Crockpot bread

Several years ago our life was crazy busy with three small kids all in at least one sport and multiple after school activities. I started using crockpots to cook alot of our meals. Now I have three crockpots that hardly get used. I decided to either start using at least one or get rid of them.

I have seen several crockpot bread recipes and they show this golden brown top and I know for a fact that will not happen in your crockpot. But nowhere in the reciped does it say they brown it in the oven or with a blow torch. Yesterday I found one that does tell you to place it in the oven to brown the top under a broiler. Here is my experience.

Ingredients
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 packet of yeast
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons oil
1 cup warm water

Mix all dry ingredients together, mix the oil and water together, then mix everything together.

Mix until it starts to looks its stickiness. If it seems too sticky add a little bit of flour. Once its mix place on a table top dusted with flour and knead 5-6 minutes.

Line your crockpot with parchment paper, place dough ball in the bottom, put on lid and turn to high. Cook for 1 1/2 hours.

The recipe I followed said the bottom should start browning and thats when you take it out and place it on a baking sheet and place under broiler until brown. This will happen fast so dont walk away. My crockpot is older and I am guess like most things everyones in differnt. Mine had barely browned on the bottom so I left it a few minutes longer. I then took the bread out and put it on the baking sheet and popped it in a 350 degree oven. We like crusty bread. I brushed melted buttern on it at as well. I baked it for 10-15 minutes. I kept an eye on it.

We really loved the bread and the round rustic look to it. I will experiment more with this recipe.

Candle Holder Idea

When we bought our home I absolutely hated the light fixture in our hallway. It was actually the little globe but for some reason it drove me crazy. It was just round and glass. I think it was slightly tinted and gave the hallway a weird rosey yellow glow. But it worked and if it aint broke dont fix it. I did replace the globe a few times with ones from yard sales and Goodwills but never loved the thing. A few years ago a friend changed our her light fixtures and asked if I wanted one. I jumped on that deal quick.

Once my husband took the fixture down and placed in it my hands I couldnt get rid of it. It had been here since the house was built in the early 1950's. I had done a good job of lighting the way to the bathroom for over 60 years. I would certainly now want anyone to get rid of my after 60 years. Especially now with that age approaching faste every day.

Then one day it hit me. Its  a perfect candle holder.  A few years ago my sweetie bought me some natural beeswax sheets and wicks and I made lots little rolled candles that can fit perfectly in my little holder.

Some times shiny new things distract us and we overlook old fashioned things and ideas. I recently asked if anyone would like to learn how to make homemade soap and have been blown away by how many people want to learn. Its something so simple that use to be a pretty common thing to do. I was recently driving downtown and saw an outfit on an Urban Outfitter window. It was an outfit I had worn almost 30 years ago. A large flannel shirt with holey jeans. So maybe I will hold on to my candle holder a little longer and put it back in  its orginal place in the hallway when it comes back in fashion. For now it will be a useful little light for a candle lit dinner or a warm glow as the nights get colder and longer.

Maybe tomorrow I will show you the last wall we stripped all the paint off of but didnt have to heart to take down the last of the wall paper that was originally in the house.


Lots of Love

Mrs Ladybug

Repurposing

When people walk into my house for the first time, they either say this house is so you or they say nothing because their mommas have taught them manners and if you cant say nothing nice dont say nothing at all and they wonder why on earth I would do some of the things I do. I call my style ghetto chic. I know that sentence is all kinds of wrong but if you are southern you understand.

In my 27 years of marriage I have never owned a brand new couch. We bought one when my hubby first came back from Desert Storm but it wouldnt fit through our weird door way and we had to send it back. We bought another new couch and upon delivering they broke the legs off of it. After arguing with them for reimbursemnt we chose to not buy another one from them. We purchased a floor model couch that we had seen and once delivered it had a huge stain on it that was not there when we saw it last. We were told it was as it and blah blah blah. There were all from different companies over the span of 5-6 years.  We decided to just forget about funriture compaines all together and bought used couches from people we knew, were given a chouch from parents and finally the one you see right now.

This baby cost me $30 bucks mattress included. It came from a home of a relative of a friend and she would not have told me about it if she thought it was gross or anything.  With giant outdoor cushions for the back and an $80 comforter I got discounted for $30 6 years ago we have this couch and have for several years. When doggies run in from outside with dirty paws and run right for the couch I can just throw in the washer. When you and your hubby are sitting on it like last night reading a book or knitting and he spills coffee you dont freak out and end up divorced. It can sleep perfectly its a bed. When you dont have a guestroom its perfect for that too. There is a trundle for underneath so it can make a king size bed but I gave it and the extra mattress I had to a college kid who needed one. I used it for storage underneath. The coffee table in front is a $3 wooden toy box I bought a church rummage sale. I will talk about it another day.

I have friends with beautiful homes and beautiful furniture that look like something from a magazine. That is awesome for them. Thats what they like. But some of us like to create and repurpose and thats okay too. The important thing is that you have a place to gather with those you enjoy spending time with. It doesnt matter if your couch cost $30 or $5000. Seriously, there are couches that cost even more!

Your home should be what makes you happy not what magazines and tv shows tell you are in this year. Like I said if that makes you happy thats fine but if you find your house lacking when comparing it to others I encourage you to stop. Be unique, quirky, whimsical l and most importantly just be you.


Lots of Love,

Mrs Ladybug

One Chicken, three meals.

I was at Walmart and walked by the deli and they had a rotisserie chicken marked down to $2.99. That was too hard to pass up. I took it home and cut off most of the meat from one side and chopped it up, reheated it and put it on corn tortillas with black beans corn, chopped cilantro, onions and sour cream. One of us is a vegetarian so three of us had the chicken on our tacos and all four of us ate for less than $5.


I cut the meat off the other side of the chicken and put it in a freezer bag. placed the rest of the chicken, bones and all in another freezer bag and froze them until I wanted to use them. A few days later I thawed the chicken without the bones and heated it up along with some cooked rice I seasoned with garlic, onions and chilli powder, I topped the rice with the chicken, black beans, avacado, cheese, sour cream and a heated tortilla. Another meal for 4 people for less than $5.

Finally I grabbed the bag of chicken bones with some meat still on and I placed all of it in a large stock, 8-10 cups of water, carrots, onions. garlic, green pepper salt and pepper. I placed a lid on it and simmered for a few hours. I strained the whole thing and picked out all the chicken. I placed the chicken back in the broth added mixed veggies and egg noodles and cooked for about 15 minute until noodles were done. Of course the vegetarian did not eat this soup but there were enough leftovers for the hubby and I to have it for lunch the next day. Once again under $5 for a meal.

Today I will be cooking a big pot of rice. I will throw in whole carrots, onion. garlic and peppers all from the garden and freeze the rice in bags. I will use them later this month for fried rice, beef with broccoli, mushrooms and gravy, some sort of soups and whatever pops into my head.

Lots of Love

Mrs Ladybug

Gearing up for the holidays

From now until Thanksgiving our lives will move in fast forward. After the turkeys eaten and we are all sitting around like a stuffed bird ourselves we start to freak out at how busy life gets and the million things to be done for Christmas. That use to be me. We dont get all crazy and bent our of shape anymore. Christmas is the season to think about why you celebrate the season to begin with and to be with those you love and help those  you can. Basically its suppose to be Christmas all year long but I wont lecture you on that.

One of the things I started doing a few years back is doubling all my dinner recipes from around Halloween until Thanksgiving. I just figured it out and starting today that would give me 24 meals. Thanksgiving will be 4 days of how to get creative and use up all those leftovers. So from November 25th-December 23 that will give me 27 days all of which would be covered with a meal except for 3 which I am sure will have some sort of celebrations and not dining at home going on.

I will try to post what I am making every day. Tonight I will be making and freezing spaghetti sauce. We arent even going to be eating spaghetti tonight We are all out of the house this evening scattered in different directions but I didnt want to day to be wasted while home plus I am making a few dinners for a friend. I will just take a few 32 oz cans of crushed tomatoes, add a little salt, sugar, pepper, italian seasoning and simmer. I will add cooked ground been and put all in  a ziplock. On the evening we will be eating it while I am heating up the sauce I will boil the water and cooke the pasta. Easy peasy

Remember like the picture at the top of this post, this is what works best for you. Dont worry if my ideas seem crazy. This is what works best for my family. If you dont do it just like me it doesnt mean you are doing it wrong.

I will also be working on homemade gift ideas people can make or buy from me. Which brings me to something else I need to do. I need to set up a little work space that is just my own. Kind of like an office. Unfortunately I have no extra rooms. I need to do some rearranging. This is my setup when I need to blog. A tv table with my tea and breakfast in my bedroom. My kids also think I need to get something better than my Kindle and a wireless keyboard. It works for me though.

I also plan on trying out a new deodorant recipe and will let you know if it works or if people avoid me.

Have a great Monday


Lots of Love,

Mrs Ladybug

Dream Your Big

As the garden is winding down and the last of the harvest is in I started feeling a little disappointed. I had wanted to do more. We grew 30 pounds of potatoes, more tomatoes than last year, onions like crazy, tripple the garlic yet that wasn't enough. Why?

I think it's because when I think of what it means to be an urban farmer it means being more self sustained. Even though we expand every year. I look on the internet at all these other people nailing it and feel inferior. That's actually insanity.

Isn't this what we do in lots of other things? We want to workout but our friends are posting pics of themselves at the gym every day. We only made it once around the neighborhood. We want a tidier home but ours looks nothing like the unlived in magazine covers?  Date nights, game nights, family time, vacations.....everyone else's always looks better.

STOP LOOKING AT EVERYONE  ELSES LIFE AND NOT LIVING AND LOVING YOURS!


The first egg, green bean and tomato I got from my garden made me an urban farmer. The rest is icing on the cake. Today I am going to work on my next dream. If I don't out it out there tomorrow someone remind me of my words today.

Lots of Love

Mrs Ladybug

Weeds Feeds the Bees

Everyone say it with me "weeds feeds the bees". The weed in the above photo is called Aster. There are very many kinds but this one grows in my yard. Its one of the last blooming weeds in my area and its always covered with pollinators. Bees of all shapes and sizes. If you love fruits and veggies and you love the bees don't just leave this plant be, leave it for the bees. I spotted some purple aster near a camping ground near by. You can bet I am googling how to seed that one in my yard.

I love how this one posed perfectly while I snapped this with my phone.

Lots of Love

Mrs Ladybug and the bees