This morning for breakfast, we made bagel bites in the instant pot.  My 5 year old daughter, Jane loves to make these and has gotten really good at making them herself.  We get pizza dough and cut it into about 20 squares.  We also cut about 20 squares of cream cheese.  We wrap the pizza dough around the cream cheese and then roll into the everything bagel seasoning.  I have a silicone egg cup tray for my instant pot that fits each bagel bite perfectly.  Place the bagel bites into the instant pot and then we bake into the oven to toast them.  They taste exactly like a bagel! 

 For dinner tonight, I made Instant pot meatloaf.  I've been trying to use up all of the chicken in my freezer, so we were definitely ready for beef today.  This is one of my favorite recipes, its so delicious and the leftovers are just as good.  I buy a McCormick meat loaf package and use Italian sausage, ground beef, half and half, egg, ketchup, and ritz crackers.  I form into a loaf and place into the instant pot.  If you are only making one loaf, then you can add your diced potatoes in the bottom of the instant pot with 2 cups of water and then add the loaf on top.  I wrap the meat loafs into foil and I usually make two loafs and stack on top of each other in the instant pot.  Turn to custom and cook for 25 min, then top with ketchup and broil.  (Adding to instant pot recipes) 

Form the loaf and then fold in the sides

Wrap loaf completely and place into instant pot with 2 cups of water on top of the trivet. 

If only cooking 1 loaf you can add chopped potatoes on the bottom and then add the trivet on top of the potatoes, then add loaf to cook everything at the same time.  I made two loafs so I did not have room to do that and made my mashed potatoes on the stove. 

Cook on custom and 25 min on high for the meatloaf in the instant pot. 

Once the instant pot has cooked the loafs, mix ketchup and brown sugar and brush on top.  Broil until bubbly.  Enjoy with mashed potatoes and mixed veggies. 

 Yesterday, I made lazy lasagna in my instant pot.  If you do not have an instant pot, I highly recommend it!  It really makes life a lot easier.  

This recipe is a favorite because I can cook everything fast on a busy day.  Only a few ingredients too which I love.  Onions, garlic, Italian sausage, marinara sauce, chicken broth, lasagna noodles, and ricotta cheese.  I also love that you can cook everything in one pot, so you don't have a load of dishes to wash.  I turned my instant pot on saute to cook the onions and sausage and then poured the rest of the ingredients and cooked for 5 min.  So easy!  

Turn your instant pot to Sauté and cook onions, garlic, and Italian sausage until sausage is browned, 

Crunch up the lasagna noodles and add to the instant pot with the marinara / chicken broth covering them

Turn instant pot on for custom 5 min on high and then enjoy!  I add a dollop of ricotta cheese on top.  You could also add to a casserole dish when finished with shredded mozzarella cheese on top and pop in the oven on broil until cheese is melted. Such an easy dinner!  

I'm adding this recipe into Instant pot recipes 

 Yesterday I made some bone in chicken leg quarters in the slow cooker with some salsa for Mexican food dishes this week.  I was going to make burritos using the chicken and made my Spanish rice in the instant pot.  For the burritos I was going to use corn, refried beans, large flour tortillas, cheese, sour cream, etc and then crisp up in the air fryer.  My plans quickly changed, when David came home with some masa flour.  Instead we decided to make tamales!!  

I've always heard that making tamales is labor intensive, and steered away, but honestly it wasn't any worse than making a batch of cookies.  The instant pot also helped cut the time of steaming the tamales. 

For the Masa dough, we used David's Nana Chavez's recipe which included lard, broth from the chicken, masa flour, baking powder, and salt.  We shredded the chicken and added herdez salsa ranchero and blended into the food processor.  As we were doing all of this, the corn husks were soaking in warm water to make them more pliable.  

We added a small amount of the masa dough into the corn husk and topped with the chicken, then rolled the corn husks and placed into the trivet in the instant pot with 2 cups of water.  

We placed the tamales into the instant pot and cooked for 40 min on high.  They were the most tender and soft tamales I've ever had.  Usually when I've had tamales, I've had to drench in sauce because they were so dry, but these we ate all by themselves and they were amazing!  I'll add this recipe under instant pot recipes.  

 I have really been crafting lately and making a lot of bowl cozies.  They are so fun!

Bowl cozies are handy little pot holders that wrap around your bowl and are microwaveable to keep your food warm and your hands from burning. They are great for protecting table tops and can also be used for ice cream to keep your hands from freezing. Bowl cozies also make a cute addition to your table for parties to keep food bowls warm and tables decorative. 

I just got some new fabrics to work with and have enjoyed finding the right combinations to make them beautiful.  

My next project will be to make some tortilla warmers with the pepper fabric and taco fabric!  Sewing is my happy place.  I love the feeling of creating something new and beautiful, especially when it's handy! 

Here are some of my latest: 

Cute Farm fabric cozy with cow print 

Pioneer woman floral cozy with red 

Pioneer woman floral cozy in teal

Dessert Print cozy with purple flowers 

Cozy with my chicken and dumplings.  You can find the recipe in my Instant Pot section of this blog.  

All of my cozies are listed on my Easy shop - https://www.etsy.com/shop/SarahsCleverCrafts

If you are local, send me a message on which ones you like and we can work it out locally.  If you are not local, I ship anywhere in the US.  

 I've made a new section under Crafts called Bowl cozies.  Here I will be showing all of the different cozy projects I will be making.  

Bowl cozies are my new favorite sewing projects.  They are so handy, and now that I have some, we can't live without them.  They are potholders that fit around your bowl and are microwavable, so that when you take a hot bowl out of the microwave you don't burn your hands.  I have made many for family and friends and I just added them to my Etsy shop!  These make amazing gifts.  

The most popular is the Pioneer Woman fabric cozies.  I love that I can find her fabric so that it can match your kitchen decor!  This is my new favorite combo...so pretty!  You can find all of my new bowl cozy projects under the crafts section of my blog.  

You can find them on my Etsy shop here - https://www.etsy.com/shop/SarahsCleverCrafts

 For dinner last night, I used the leftover rotisserie chicken to make a Chicken spaghetti with a creamy white sauce.  David thought it was wonderful and went back for seconds.  He was really excited to eat it again for lunch, and requested that I make more!  

I diced some onion and then made a rue with butter, flour, and garlic.  Next I added white cooking wine and half and half, shredded chicken, parmesan cheese, diced tomatoes, chicken broth, and some pepper.  

I served with spaghetti noodles and Brussel sprouts. 

This is definitely a keeper!  

I'll add the recipe to the Dinner recipe section 

 Are you wondering what you could make with leftover rotisserie chicken?  Why don't you try this amazing appetizer!  These were incredible.  So many flavors!  I used the rotisserie chicken I made in the slow cooker yesterday, cream cheese, olive spread, and then crisped them up in the air fryer for 5 min and cut them into bite size pieces.  WOW! 

This is the olive spread I used, that I found at Walmart.  Here is one from Amazon though too - https://amzn.to/3W0yzGt

Here is the link for my air fryer as well - https://amzn.to/3vYlv9O

 One of my favorite easy dinners is to take bone in chicken leg quarters and place them in the slow cooker for shredded chicken.  I purchase the McCormick marinade packets and follow the directions to add water/oil/ vinegar and place in with the chicken.  It makes delicious rotisserie chicken that I can shred and eat with cheesy rice or use in additional recipes.  The marinate packets really add a lot of flavor.  Two packages is even better! 

I cook in the slow cooker on high for about 5 hours then turn to warm.  It is always fall off the bone delicious.  My favorite marinade packet flavors are Mesquite, zesty herb, and tomato basil.  

I made maple sausage, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwiches on rolls for this weeks breakfast.  I couldn't find the maple sausage, so I just added some maple syrup to regular breakfast sausage while it was cooking.  I try to make sure my daughter, Jane gets a hearty breakfast before school.  She loves these and will eat half and home and take the other half in the car to eat on the way to school.  She loves to put strawberry jelly on the rolls.   What are your favorite breakfasts?  

You can find the "You are special today" plate here - https://amzn.to/3GRFnln

 Today I had some frozen shredded chicken in the freezer, so I pulled it out and decided to make some salsa verde chicken enchiladas with Spanish rice, beans, and roasted cauliflower.  For the sauce, I used salsa verde and added some chicken broth and chopped garlic.  Then boiled to cook the tomatoes to make enchilada sauce.  You could use green enchilada sauce if you want.  I honestly didn't have enchilada sauce on hand so I compromised and made my own by using what I had. 

When the sauce is finished cooking, I added some into the chicken and added some mozzarella cheese then mixed.  To make sure the corn tortillas didn't break apart and stay their shape, I added some olive oil into a pan and heated them up on each side. 

You can find my pan here- https://amzn.to/3imowOe

Once the tortillas are warm and soft, I add them into my handmade tortilla warmer.  

Don't have a tortilla warmer?  You should contact me and I can make you one!  They are so handy and keep the tortillas warm for a long time. I love mine! 

On each tortilla, I spread some sour cream, add the chicken mixture and place them into a casserole dish.  Pour the remaining salsa verde enchilada sauce and add shredded mozzarella cheese on top.  Broil until slightly brown and bubbly. 

You can find a great casserole dish here- https://amzn.to/3jZ7bey

I am going to add this recipe to the Mexican food section and the Spanish rice to the instant pot section.  Let me know how it turns out if you decide to make it!  

Have you been wondering if you should get an air fryer or an instantpot?  I have decided to make a youtube channel to give you reviews on items in my kitchen so that you can see why I like mine and if you should get one for yourself.  Check out the right side of my blog under "Videos".  Right now you'll see my review on the air fryer, and coming soon will be more kitchen gadgets.  Enjoy!  

 This morning I made little pigs in a blanket for breakfast.  I had some little smokies and pillsbury crescent dough, so I decided to have an easy breakfast this morning.  

For each of the little smokies you only need about 1/3 of the crescent triangle.  I topped it with some everything bagel seasoning.  I'll post a link for the seasoning in my "Items I love" section of my blog on the right if you want to get some.  This stuff is good on just about anything.  

Assembled and about to go into the oven 

                     Crescent dough and little smokies.  My favorite is using the Cheddar little smokies, 

                                         but Aldi didn't have them.  Walmart usually does tho!

                                                    Right out of the oven, hot and delicious 

You can order the seasoning here following my affiliate link:

Everything Bagel Seasoning  - https://amzn.to/3jQbRmQ

 Do any of you still have recipe cards like these?  I have several cherished cards with recipes from my Mom, Grandma, Aunt, and Granny who are all angels in Heaven.  This is Grandma's praline recipe.  She used to make these every year for Christmas and we couldn't stop eating them. They are delicious!  My family has been looking for this recipe and I happened to find it this morning!  I will be happy to share it with you as well.  

Did you know that you can actually still get recipe cards with boxes?  What a cute idea to write some of your favorite recipes down or family favorites for your children or family as a keepsake.  I know I cherish mine!  

You can find some here:  https://amzn.to/3ZnNj4Q

 First favorite recipe for 2023 is Chicken n' Dumplings!  I love this recipe especially because I can cook it in 5 min in my instantpot.  The flavors are so comforting on a cold day.  I also love it because I normally have all of the ingredients on hand.  Even though I usually cook in my instantpot, I'll see if I can find other instructions for stovetop and slow cooker for you my friends!  Seriously though, the instantpot is amazing and well worth every penny. 

I'm going to create a new "Instant Pot" section in recipes, so that is where I will add if you would like to try it.  Chicken, peas, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, thyme are some of the ingredients.  My daughter, Jane loves to help me make the dumplings!  I love when she gets excited about helping me in the kitchen.  This is one of her favorite recipes as well.  

 I packed David's lunch today in his portable heating lunch box that we gave him for Christmas.  He said yesterday that he really loves this warmer and that it's better than the microwave.  He thought the food tasted just as good as when I made it.  The lunch box plugs into his car and in 20 minutes he has a hot meal.  We are trying to save money and eat healthier by only eating food from home, so this definitely is a winner.  Sometimes on a job he's in the middle of something and is hungry, but wants to finish, so he can go to his car to plug in and come back to a hot meal instead of needing to leave to grab a bite.  I used to pack cold lunches, but sandwiches and wraps get boring after having them all the time.  I love that I can pack him leftovers that I know he will love.  

Today, I was able to pack some salsa verde chicken enchiladas, cheesy rice, black refried beans, and cauliflower.  The directions say to add a little bit of water, and I always add a couple tablespoons of butter for added flavor.  We love how big it is!  We can fit a great portion for his lunch so he can get full and continue with his work feeling energized and happy.  

I'm telling all of my friends about this amazing lunch box, because I feel like it's a lifesaver for us and maybe it could help you too!  Who do you know that could benefit from one? 

If you want the link it's in my "Items I love" section on the right of my blog.  

You can also find it here:  https://amzn.to/3ijXLKi

Crafting is another passion of mine.  I love sewing and making jewelry.  Lately, my new favorite activity is making bowl cozies.  Have you heard of them?  They are becoming very popular.  I received one from my bonus mom Dianne a couple years ago for Christmas and now we can't live without them.  It's a pot holder that fits around your bowl.  You are able to microwave your bowl with it on and it keeps your hands from burning when you take out a hot bowl of soup.  I learned how to make them, and they are so much fun to sew!  I've had a few requests for me to make some for friends, so I've really enjoyed creating them according to their home decor and personalizing.  Something about sewing relaxes me, especially when it's an easy project and I don't have to spend too much time focusing on stitches and can just go with the flow.  

Here is the latest set I created: 

Walmart has pioneer woman fabric, which has become very popular.  

If you have a sewing machine and have never sewn or afraid to use it, you should get it out and just start practicing with straight stitching.  Go slow and maybe create a pillow at first.  Super easy, and then you can start on something a little bit more complicated as you get that down.  I'm thinking about making a video on how to sew some easy projects.  What do you think?  

Here are some cute fabrics you can find on Amazon: 

Cute Coffee print -https://amzn.to/3CxxIWE

Cute baking print - https://amzn.to/3IvczAn

Hamburgers & hotdogs - https://amzn.to/3GQjQtc

Microwave safe 100% cotton batting- https://amzn.to/3IyR1CY

Birthday Cookie Cakes

One of my favorite things to do is make handmade cookie cakes for birthdays.  Starting with Jane's second birthday I have made a cookie cake for each year along with the theme of the party.  Jane and Luke really enjoy helping me and it's fun to see the progress each year.  Luke loves M&M's so in his one year I added those along with the chocolate chips.  Jane wanted white chocolate chips in hers.  It makes the birthday special and they are so much fun to make!  For the frosting I get store bought and add food coloring and add to piping bags for designs.  I'll share the cookie cake recipe I use in the desserts section.  

Don't be afraid to try the designs with frosting.  As you can see, my first one verses my latest one has greatly improved.  Practicing helps when it comes to the lettering.  You can get a piece of parchment paper and write on it with the frosting until you feel comfortable writing on the cake.  Also, wait until the cake is cooled before adding any frosting or it could melt on the cake and look runny.  You'll definitely want a spring form pan to bake it in the oven, that way when its cooled you can take off the sides without destroying the cake.

Jane's Baby shark Cake with chocolate chips - Vanilla frosting 

Luke's Uno fiesta party with chocolate chips - Vanilla frosting 

Jane's Genie cake from Aladdin with chocolate chips - Vanilla frosting 

Luke's dinosaur cake with m&m's inside and on top - Chocolate frosting 

Luke's train cake with chocolate chips - Vanilla and chocolate frosting 

Grandma Jan's birthday cake with chocolate chips and white chocolate - Vanilla and chocolate frosting 

Jane's Foxy cake with white chocolate chips - vanilla and chocolate frosting 

Cousin Troy's (Boo nickname) football cake with cream cheese and chocolate frosting and chocolate chips 

Happy 2023!

 Hello friends!  I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!  Our family enjoyed the winter break we got to spend with our daughter out of school.  We had family here and also family from out of town visiting.  It was so much fun to spend time together.  The kids are still young and I really enjoy seeing their faces light up on Christmas morning.  For Dinner, David made his famous bacon wrapped turkey courtesy of Gordon Ramsey.  It turned out so amazing.  I made mashed potatoes with deviled eggs, Mimi made cornbread casserole with Mac and cheese, and Grandma made creamed peas with cranberry sauce.  We were all so stuffed.  Our favorite Christmas movie is National Lampoons Christmas Vacation, so we had to watch that afterwards.  It was a wonderful Christmas!    

Every year, we get together with the girls of the family on my husband's side to bake Christmas cookies.  I believe this was my 14th year baking with them!  This year I decided to make S'mores cookies, and sugar cookies with white chocolate chips and sprinkles.  I think my favorite was the sugar cookies.  I ran out of time and just bought Pillsbury sugar cookie mix and added the white chocolate chips and sprinkles, but wow they were really good.  It was easy and delicious!  The kids really liked rolling the cookie dough in the sprinkles and we found white chocolate red and green Christmas trees/ stockings which made it even more fun.  

This year, I decided to made fudge.  I searched for a really recipe that didn't use a candy thermometer, and it turned out nicely.  This recipe included marshmallows, evaporated milk, chocolate chips, and vanilla.   I decided to make with nuts and without nuts for those that have allergies.  Both were delightful.  

One thing I really enjoyed over the holiday was trying out my new air fryer.  Have you ever tried one or seen one before?  I had heard of them, but really didn't know exactly how they worked.  I thought it really fried the food somehow but definitely was curious to see how it did it with air.  The air fryer is like a broiler, but instead of only getting the top of the food crisp and then needing to flip it, it circulates air all around the food to crisp every side.  Its really neat and does it in a short amount of time.  My new favorite recipe is a sandwich crisp wrap.  It has turkey, salami, mayonnaise, banana peppers, spinach, mozzarella cheese on a tortilla and then gets crisped in the air fryer.  SO GOOD!

My next favorite is my instantpot.  I've had this for a couple of years now and I absolutely love it and can't live without it now.  If you are a mom, its a LIFESAVER!  It has helped me to prepare meals in about 15 min or even shorter.  It's amazing and I feel like the food turns out even better cooked in the instantpot verses the slow cooker.  If you do have one and haven't tried it yet, you should bring it out!  Find a soup recipe and just try it.  You'll be glad you did.  The only thing I wish is that mine was bigger, but I could always upgrade one day.  I have several recipes to share with you!  Stay tuned! 

What are some of your favorite kitchen gadgets?  What do you feel like you can't live without?  

I have two favorite kitchen gadgets that I gifted to my husband David this year.  One was a lunch box that he can take with him to work and it will actually heat up his food for him in the car!  It comes with a plug made for your vehicle and also a regular plug if he is working inside a house for handyman projects.  I can pack him leftovers and he can plug it in when he's ready to eat it and it will warm it up a little bit like a small slow cooker.  So neat!  He's trying it out today, so I'll let you know what he thinks.  You can check it out on Amazon on the right side of my page.  This is the exact one I bought for him.  

**Update- David tried out this portable heated lunch box and loved it.  He said he plugged it in and went about his work and came back to a hot lunch.  It was a little too hot, but he left it in for about 35 min and the instructions say ready in 20, so next time he will set a timer and then unplug.  He thought it was awesome and is excited that he can heat his lunch up on the go-  He messaged me today 1/5 and said "I really love this lunch warmer, it's better than the microwave.  Tastes just as good as last night!"

The next gadget was a guacamole keeper.  David makes a lot of guacamole and it always turns brown quickly before we are able to eat it all.  I found a guacamole keeper that gets all of the air out and keeps it green.