Teacher Week: Make Ahead Meals

Hi!
Welcome to Teacher Week Tuesday's topic, Make Ahead Meals!

So, I really do love to cook...when I have unlimited time.  Fall tends to be the most stressful time for me, because 1- Back to School and 2- My husband has football practice til 6:30 every night.  Meal time falls completely on me.  Needless to say, it can be a little challenging to get dinner prepared with a 1 and 3 year old clinging to my legs running around.

I plan out a list of meals most weeks, but it's nothing fancy.  Just a list with four or five dinner ideas on a notepad.  One of these days, I'm going to make a month long plan with shopping lists...Goals!

Today I'm going to share two of my favorite Crock Pot recipes, which is ironic, because I actually hate using the Crock Pot.  The clean up is gross (thank God for those liner bags), and I think that the meal tastes muddy when it has many ingredients.  It just gets a weird Crock Pot-ish flavor...I don't know, maybe I'm the weird one.

 

(Photo c/o Emily Bites)
Shredded Buffalo Chicken- Crock Pot Meal  

• 2 lbs boneless chicken breasts (about 6-8 breasts)
• 1 c. buffalo hot sauce
• 2 c. chicken broth
• 1 packet of dry Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix
• 2 Tbsp. butter

 Put the chicken on the bottom of the Crock Pot.
Sprinkle it with the ranch mix.  Pour buffalo sauce on top.
Add butter and chicken broth.
Cook on low for 6 hours, 7.5 if chicken is frozen.
Remove the chicken from the Crock Pot, and discard the juices.
Shred the chicken and mix in about 1/2-1c. more of buffalo sauce.
Serve on buns.  I like to add blue cheese dressing to my sandwich. Yummmy!

I love to use the leftovers mixed with pasta, on salads, nachos, or to make a dip.  There are so many things you can do with this recipe.  My family loves it!

(Photo c/o Table for Two)

BBQ Pulled Pork

• 2-3 lb. pork tenderloin
• 1 c. cola (not diet) Dr. Pepper works well, too.
•  4 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar, divided
• 1 large onion
• salt, pepper, garlic powder, brown sugar
• 1 c. BBQ sauce

Mix the spices together, and rub them into the tenderloin.
Chop the onion and lay on the bottom of the Crock Pot.
Lay the roast on top of the onions.
Pour the cola over top of the roast.
Add 2 Tbsp. of vinegar.
Cover, and cook on low for 5 hours.
Remove roast from the Crock Pot, and pour the juices into a large, liquid measuring cup.  Remove the onion- Discard or save to top sandwiches.
Shred the pork, and return to the Crock Pot.
Stir in the BBQ sauce and the remaining 2 Tbsp. of vinegar.
Add 1/2 c. of the roast juices.
Keep warm until serving.  

Sweet Baby Rays is our favorite BBQ sauce.  I tend to like sauces that are spicier, and my husband likes sweet.  I love this pulled pork on crusty rolls. 

My family loves both of these recipes, and they are such time savers.  They're both really versatile and can be prepped quickly at night or before you leave for work in the morning.

I'm so glad that you stopped by!  Thanks to girls over at Blog Hoppin' for hosting Teacher Week!

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Teacher Week: 5 Fun Facts

Hey Everybody!
I'm so glad that you're here!  I know it's been a little quiet lately...August has been kicking my butt. 

 

It's Teacher Week over at Blog Hoppin', and today I'm sharing 5 Fun Facts about myself.

1.  I LOVE dogs.  Seriously, love dogs.  Big dogs are my favorite, especially big fluffy ones, like golden doodles!  My family has a 5 year old golden doodle named Reggie, and she is the best.dog.ever.  (Minus the occasional underwear eating.)  I'm also a big fan of Golden Retrievers, St. Bernards, Great Pyrenees, and Great Danes.  My husband laughs at me and is occasionally embarrassed, because I must pet adorable dogs whenever we see them out.  Dogs know a dog lover, and they are always excited to see me. He thinks I'm ridiculous.  LOL! My dream is to work with service dogs once I retire, about 25 years from now.

 

 

2. My family is my everything.  I'm a mama to two little ones.  Julia just turned 3 last Friday, and Bennett is 18 months.  They keep me on my toes and super busy, but they are the greatest.  My daughter looks a lot like me, and my son looks just like my husband.  Everyone seems to get a kick out of it- a little mini-me for each of us.  My husband, Chris, and I have been married for 4 years.  We were friends in college and eventually started dating after we graduated.  I was secretly in love with him for many years.  :)

3.  I'm a football coach's widow wife.  My husband has coached high school football for the past 12 years, and he is an excellent coach.  It is very time consuming and can be challenging during the season, especially now that we have Bennett and Julia.  I support him completely as a coach, and although I complain about it, I do love it.  I love seeing him in that role, because he is just so darn good.  The kids love going to see Daddy at football.  There's just something about Friday night football, right?  Football is a huge part of our lives.  Chris and I actually met through football in college- He played, and I worked in the athletic department.  We are big Philadelphia Eagles fans.

4. I am a clothes horse.  I just cannot help myself when it comes to shopping.  It is my very favorite hobby- It is a hobby, right?  I love participating in style challenges on Instagram.  It has challenged me to step outside of my box and really learn to remix my closet.  My budget is small, so remixing is really important.  I love planning my outfits out each week.  I do it every Sunday evening.  I'm thinking of stepping outside of my comfort zone to start a linky for teacher style/outfits.  Would any of you be interested in that? 

5. I am a huge advocate of breastfeeding (I'll spare you the photo on that one).  I have been fortunate to be able to nurse both of my babies for a combined total of 27 months.  It was not always easy or the most convenient---pumping 3x a day in my classroom with the shades pulled= not fun.  I loved nursing both of my kids, and I look forward to being able to do it again with any future babes that we may be blessed with.  I realize that breastfeeding isn't for everyone, nor does it work for everyone, but I love it and encourage all new moms to just give it a try.  I had no idea that I would become so passionate about it.

So, that's a little bit about me.  I hope you learned something new and were able to make a connection.
Thanks to Blog Hoppin' for the fun, fun linky this week.  Click here to see all of the blogs participating in Teacher Week.  I can't wait to find some new favorites and connect with all of you!!!

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