NKOTB
A couple of weeks ago, I made a sweet bread pudding in my mid-sized crockpot. One of my friends (Suzy) was aghast that I didn’t include raisins. I tried to explain to her that I did not include them because I don’t much like raisins in my baked goods* and I do like chocolate in my baked goods and, well, since I was the one making the baked good, I GOT MY WAY.
Some people just have very little sense. Those same people also don’t always want to hear it.
1.) I have had this blog for over a year and have yet to get in trouble for having it or anything on it. Additionally, I also am still writing on le blog. Yay committment!
2.) Copying (the most sincere form of flattery) a challenge KTB issued herself, I decided to crock once per week while home this winter. This week was my third consecutive week of crockery.
3.) I’m going to see my college friends in less than one week and my family in just over one week.
4.) I got a new computer cord! My old one broke, meaning computer down, meaning that’s why I’ve been so quiet.
5.) I bought new hair conditioner tonight. It’s medium fancy and smells pretty great. As much as I hate mornings, I’m almost excited to get up and shower.
These are leftovers, because I forgot to snap a picture during the original eating
The following is part recipe and part confession. The recipe part is super easy and yields delicious bread pudding. The confession aspect is more complicated…see, it turns out I am a total nana. Technically, I’m only nana-like, but if I started a promiscuous line or lived back in, say, Tudor England, I’m technically old enough to be an actual nana. Like, the sort of nana with grandchildren – the real sort. In actuality, I have two houseplants (one dead) and neither child nor grandchild. Scattered throughout this process were moments akin to what a grandmother might do, for which I (cringingly) awarded myself “nana points.”
I’m not exactly sure what compelled me to make bread pudding, but the need was strong. I’m not even a huge fan of bread pudding and I lack any emotional attachment to it. Growing up, we rarely had it as my mother classified it as soggy, old bread. That is a true statement, except you then cook – or crock – the soggy, old bread. Conveniently, I had a little over one-third of a baguette left over from earlier in the week. Completely stale, bread pudding or bread crumbs were probably the only practical purposes for it. If you are keeping track, that’s two nana points: one for bread pudding and one for salvaging old bread.
Continue reading ‘Crock Pot Bread Pudding, Recipe and Ramble’
1.) On Demand offers winning programs such as “Bear vs. Tiger,” in which they SCIENTIFICALLY DEDUCE who would trounce whom. (They ruled bear wins.)
2.) I did some crock pot experimenting and it wasn’t a disaster. Suprising, as it was totally a baking project. (More on this later this week.)
3.) Crockpotluck? Crockvention? Whatever term I make up and settle upon, I crocked some dessert up last night and KTB crocked up some dinner. Yum. Yay for neighbors and crock pots.
4.) The (free) outdoor skating rinks are open and the weather is cold enough that the ice should be decent. I loathe soft ice.
5.) I am full of SUPERFOOD! Kale was on sale and I know how to prepare it so that it is delicious…versus tough and kind of gross. I am a champ, a superchamp.
Yum. I a convert of making my own hot chocolate. My friend SB recently blogged about how “it’s basically as easy/quick, yet much tastier” to make one’s own hot chocolate. I’ll agree with her on the second point, but not the first. However, while it is significantly more involved and time consuming to make cocoa from scratch, it’s still super easy and super fast…and super worth it.
As per my usual, I didn’t actually measure anything. Thus, I can’t comment on her exact recipe. I CAN (and will!) say that it is a great guide. I really liked the kick from the cinnamon; it was NOT too much. Try it. You’ll love us both. Recipe is here .
This would probably work well in a crockpot, for a larger group or thirsty/cold friends. I would probably melt the chocolate in a saucepan, for faster results. It would require an extra pan, but I think that is worth it to avoid melting chocolate in a crock.
Warning: This is super rich and makes Swiss Miss look/taste/smell like dirty water.
Warning #2: NO RUM FOR KIDS.
The ingredients for...
The reason for the delay in results posting is threefold: overworked (me), overtired (me), overfailure (cake).
We determined that I needed to continue this challenge with traditional and legitimate Funfetti. This meant that I had to walk allllllllllll the way to the grocery store to pick up a box. I used that time to ponder my plan of attack, in which I would attack cake fails and potential food poisoning.
I am pretty much incapable of turning down a personal challenge. I am completely incapable of shying away from a personal challenge that I KNOW I CAN WIN. This is one of those. The other night (Thursday) I invited two of my friends, Brooke and Ben over for dinner. The plan was to grill, a chore which I pretty much immediately thrust upon Ben. It isn’t that I don’t know how to grill, rather it was that I was feeling particularly lazy and it was muggy and buggy outside. By “delegating” the role of grillmaster, I enabled myself to sit far from the hot grill and close to the citronella candle.
While burning our food, Ben told me he didn’t think it was possible – for me or anyone – to make a Funfetti™ cake in a crockpot. Um, hello. CROCKPOTS CAN DO ANYTHING!!! (Except maybe ice cream.) Despite the fact that Benners burned the beejeebees out of dinner, I still felt obligated to respond to his challenge. (Face-saving aside: Ben usually does an excellent job. This is the sole miss I know of in his culinary life and his mixology record remains spotless.)
Another blog I read recently featured a post about saving money. The blogger, who seems pretty awesome, asked readers to share their tips for saving money. I started to reply in the comments, but um, I was going on a little long, so opted instead to just head over here and post myself.
WAYS I AM SAVING MONEY:
1.) I rock the crock (pot). Crock pots are great for saving time and money. Momtrolfreak says she doesn’t cook, but some CP recipes are pretty hard to mess up. One of my favorite CP recipes is also one of the cheapest to make; it’s almost always made out of produce I already bought, but wouldn’t get a chance to finish before they spoil. You can find the recipe at the bottom of this post. As a bonus, it freezes really well for things like packed lunches down the road. Six quarts of something cheap is still six quarts. Crock pots are remarkably energy efficient little buggers, so you won’t lose your savings to energy costs.
2.) I clip coupons. I get my coupons from the Sunday paper, store circulars, the mail, and the internet – one of my grocery stores also allows me to “clip” coupons on their website and add them to my store loyalty card. I also look through the ads for sales on products I buy most. I don’t have the space to stockpile for Armageddon and I abhor clutter, but I do have some storage/closet space and I try to use it wisely. I also know what a “good” price is for the products that I use most and try to combine the best prices with coupons.
3.) Weather, time, and geography permitting; I walk, bike, or take public transit. Parking and gas are both expensive. Since I do not buy a monthly pass, public transit is not always cheaper than driving for me. I hold an expectation that it ought to be and I want it to be, but sometimes I have to stop to think. “Stopping to think” is often a great way to save money.
Continue reading ‘A Penny Saved…Wait, Can I Even Get a Gumball With That?’
Not for eating...
Crock Pot Funfetti: I am convinced that I can make this work, despite the total failure of my first attempt – my “control” attempt. I think I know where I went wrong and I am determined to achieve success with my second attempt. Like bacon, the crock pot is not the most efficient way to cook a cake from a box, but it does fill your immediate world with hours of delicious smells. Smells of cake. Mmm…cake. I like cake.
I prepared the cake as directed by the box, and then dumped it into my big crock pot. I think that was error number one: I should have reduced the water. I’m not thinking of a reduction by a specific amount, just that next time after I measure out the proper amount, I’ll “whoops” a bit into the sink or a plant. I might do the same with the oil, except not into a plant, to keep the proportions around right. I use cruelty-free eggs (vegetarian, cage-free, antibiotic-free, free range, price not free) so I don’t think the failure was due to vengeance from some poultry god.
To Crock (v)
Tags: being pedantic, contemplations, crockpot, fun for me, judging, musings, reflections, reviews, skillz, that's just me
Recently, a friend hit me up for a definition of “crocking.” Most simply, crocking is the action of using a crockpot. Less simply, and more accurately, I gave her this response:
Some people might tell you that crocking isn’t really a word and that it’s the verbitizing of a brand name - a brand name which is probably trademarked. I’m here to tell you that those people are losers and pick their noses all the time. Crocking is the cool kids’ version of slow cooking. It’s a bit more extreme and requires a lot more passion. Fear not though! It’s still fantastically energy efficient.