Setting up for a Party

My friends are recently engaged and my girlfriend has decided to throw them an engagement soiree. She is so excited and she knows that their wedding them is going to be farm related since they are getting married in a large old barn on Tessa's family's farm. So I've been helping her track down items for the party.

To serve drinks we've invested in some glass milk bottles. We also purchased a few to use as vases. These will both serve as drinking glasses and as favors for the guests to take home.

For the vases, she's wanting to do something similar to this photo that she found on Flickr it is by ilovebutter.

For the cake she wants to have something farm themed, but not too cutesy. So we're still working on that. Burlap cloth is to be used as table cloth covers and red gingham for place mats. If you can't tell she loves to plan a great party and get me involved as much as possible. I'm not great at these types of things but I try for her.

Ice Cream for Spring

Spring will be here soon enough, well technically spring is here today, but it is too cold for me to consider it to be an official spring. But once the weather warms up I'm going to invite the family over, nieces, nephews, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, parents, well you get the idea.

We are going to have a huge cook-out just like we do every year to get the warm season started. It's hard to round everyone up once spring starts turning into summer, so I do this get together as soon as it is warm enough for the kids to play outside. It is a potluck event, I provide the burgers and hot dogs and everyone else brings sides and deserts.

For the kids, if they want ice cream...well I've invested in a hand crank ice cream maker for them to make their own. The ice cream is awesome, and it teaches the kids a lesson in working for what you want. Or at least I hope it does, it keeps them out of trouble for a little bit anyway.

Hmm...I might invest in some ice cream wafers for them too so they can make their own ice cream sandwiches.

Ah, I'm off to continue dreaming about warmer days and to give the ice cream maker a test run.

Photo by ralph and jenny on flickr

Cooking with a Crock Pot

I love using my crock pot when I'm working. It is nice to be able to come home to a meal that's waiting to be eaten up. Especially in the winter when I've been out in the cold all day, having a nice warm meal to come home to can make the afternoon more tolerable.

There are tons of recipes out there for using in a crock pot, but sometimes you just want to use a comfort food recipe that's been in your family for ages. But what do you do if this recipe isn't made for crock pot cooking? Well a lot of recipes can be converted for crock pot use, I found a great blog that explains how to do it. How to Convert Recipes to a Slow Cooker.

To summarize the aforementioned blog:

Most recipes will need the amount of liquid they call for to be reduced. Crock pots hold in moisture. However, if the recipe you are using has rice, beans, or pasta in it, you may want to leave the amount of liquid the same.

For raw meats, be sure that your kitchen thermometer reads the correct temperature to be sure that they are cooked through. Or you can brown the meat before putting into the crock pot.

Vegetables typically take longer to cook than meats do. Be sure to cut vegetables to a uniform size so that they cook more evenly. Vegetables will also cook better if they are in the bottom of the crock pot.

When converting recipes to your crock pot, it may take a few tries to get everything just right so do not get discouraged.

Time Chart for Crock Pot Cooking:

Oven/Stovetop Cook Time from orig. recipe	Cooking on Low Time Conversion	Cooking on High Time Conversion
15-30 min.	4-6 hours	1.5 - 2.5 hours
35-45 min.	6-8 hours	3 - 4 hours
50 min. to 3 hours	8-16 hours	4 - 6 hours