Preview from Allie.. {I’m anxiously waiting for this post}

Anyways..

Since my last post about a dry tenderloin, I’ve redeemed myself. Yes, another crock pot trial! Who would guess that I just moved into a new house with a beautiful kitchen & received a registry full of kitchen utensils/cookware? I promise to take full advantage soon.

Whole {Crock Pot} Lemon Chicken

I started with a brined chicken from Trader Joe’s. I rubbed butter {use olive oil if it helps you sleep at night.. you people living in fear of butter} under & over the skin.
Then I carefully placed a few lemons under the skin as shown in the picture.
Last I sprinkled another favorite from TJ’s over the entire dish, 21 Seasoning Salute.
I placed carrots at the bottom of the crock pot and then laid the chicken on top.

Then.. {WARNING: Mason Rowing reference}

.. Set it & forget it! Well I didn’t totally forget it. Maybe “a few hours unattended”?
I was nervous about overcooking and left the chicken in for 3 and a half hours on low.

It was so tender – one of the wings slipped right off!
The carrots were delicious. Michael & I decided that although it looked cool,
the lemons would have been better left on top of the skin instead of under.
Still, no regrets.

Of course I had wine with dinner.
3 Girls Chardonnay. My sister {Cherise} bought this for me, since we have 3 sisters in the family. She’ll often buy me Middle Sister from Target {I am the lucky middle sister}.
This wine was delicious! The only downside was that I tried to enjoy a glass the night after and the wine did not stay well. Naturally I opened another bottle of Christa’s wedding wines, Kudos Pinot Noir. THAT wine was perfect. It was still good for the next two nights which is a big deal for me. I’m a one-glass-of-wine kind of girl. Anything more is excessive & I’ll have a massive headache the next day. If I can keep a {cheap} wine around,
I consider myself winning.

Frodo got a bath and haircut this weekend {old bath picture}
He misses his second mommy, Nicole.

Sundays have quickly filled up with football + family. It’s easily my favorite day of the week. My in-laws lost their heat this weekend so we took advantage of the fireplace and cuddling with handmade flannel cozies. It’s fun to have these experiences especially while I’m trying to figure out what “living within our means” means to us. I know we can do a lot more to simplify and I’m hoping that sharing these recipes will help me stay in and cook rather than go out. Because these moments are my absolute favorite..

On MLK day, I tried out a gluten free banana bread recipe.

I didn’t have 6 bananas as suggested because I made regular banana bread
beforehand for the glutenators {those who don’t believe in a life without gluten}. The lack of bananas made the bread crumble more than intended. I also added dark chocolate chips. Any opportunity to add chocolate, I take!

I’m bringing these banana breads over to a few critics tonight.
We’ll see what the panel says!