SLOW COOKER TURKEY BREAST WITH GLUTEN FREE GRAVY

This year was all about side dishes. I was going to be very involved with all of my choices and knew I needed something simple, yet delicious for the turkey.

I wanted to try a slow cooker turkey. I do quite a lot of soups and pot roast in the slow cooker, so I'm very comfortable with it. 

We have a few family members that aren't big turkey fans, so we also cooked a pre-seasoned tri-tip roast from costco and a full-size turkey added to that would have been too much. The breast is really my favorite part anyway, so I chose a nice 7 pound breast with bones. 

This came out delicious!! I started it first thing in the morning, it cooked 7 hours and was so juicy and tender. Never has Thanksgiving turkey been so easy. 

PINOT POT ROAST

I love slow cooked meat. I especially love slow cooked meat with wine! This pot roast when paired with Pinot Noir and seasonings is delish! It's great when served with a side salad or potatoes and a nice glass of Pinot! Summer or not, slow cooker meals are easy and yummy!

BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP

This soup is my all-time favorite soup! I love soups, I make them all the time, but something about this one reallly gets me. It's super healthy and I make it in huge batches so I can freeze it in single servings so I am able to enjoy it anytime.

LUNCHMEAT LENTIL SOUP

It's a gloomy rainy June day here in Sunny California! Has me less than motivated. Great day for soup!! I just harvested and dried some basil from my garden and was looking for some inspiration from it. I glanced through the pantry and spotted the lentils. I love lentils. Here is an awesome soup I put together.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. I hope the sun comes back out soon!

RUSTIC PEA SOUP

Wow, it's been quite a while since I last posted on my blog. Not since cupcakes took over my life. For those of you that don't know, I opened a cupcake bakery (Copper Lantern Cupcakes) and had cupcakes and buttercream coming out of my ears! I was living out a dream and took a hobby of mine into a full time retail space! Exciting! Well, it was also more than what I and my family bargained for. Lots and lots of time away from home and too much stress to run a family full time and a business full time. I know I'm great at multi-tasking, but somewhere in there I ran out of hours in the day to get it all done and ultimately decided to close the retail space and concentrate on what I really loved to do. Cooking and baking and blogging! Yay!!  So, I'm back to cooking, baking, blogging, cleaning, yardwork, kids, homework, sports, etc and I LOVE IT!! (Gosh, that list is long)

WHITE BEAN SOUP WITH CHICKEN APPLE SAUSAGE

Fall weather is here and soup is calling!! I've been wanting to make this soup for a long time and finally got around to it the other day. I don't handle salt well and therefore, don't buy soups from the supermarket. I wanted to make a flavorful soup that tasted great, without all the salt. It was a success! I hope you enjoy this yummy soup. What I also love about it is that you can throw it all in the crock pot and when you get home, soups on!

PANTRY PRESSURE COOKER POT ROAST WITH GRAVY

If you're like me, you've got a pantry full of seasonings, boxed pasta and soups that just sit and sit. Here's a way to use up a whole bunch of those seasoning packets and make one of the best pot roasts you've ever had!

PULLED PORK SANDWICHES

My husband loves pulled pork sandwiches. I like just about anything that resembles barbecue, so this is a perfect match! I love the spicy and sweet balance this has. It does take an entire day to make, but it's a throw it in the pot and forget about it kind of thing. That's the stuff I love! There are many variations to try. I just used what I had on hand. The jalapeno jelly could be raspberry or grape and the pineapple balsamic is a little rare, so regular balsamic is fine too. Here's my take on pulled pork sandwiches.

HONEY BRAISED SHORT RIBS

I had no idea what a short rib even was until just a few years ago. Since I learned about this delicious protein, I've been experimenting with all sorts of recipes. I've simplified it and put my family through taste tests. This one makes the grade hands down. It's the easiest of them all and tastes yummy every time! You can use an iron pot, crock pot or pressure cooker depending on how much time you have. The pressure cooker is definitely the fastest way, cooking in about 2 hours, but there is something about slow cooking that I really like.