Kristen, over at We are that Family, has declared this wednesday to be a Backwards Works for Me. In other words, I'm asking for some advice on two issues that have been stumping me lately. Are you ready? Here it goes:
First of all, we have crockpot nights on Wednesdays. After a long day of volunteering at the Y and running kids to school and gymnastics, it's all I can do to put a decent meal on the table before small group. But I'm running out of ideas. Plus I'd like to start using my crockpot on Sundays more as well, in order to keep extending hospitality to other church members after service. So I'm looking for some great crockpot or make ahead freezer meals to pad my meal plans. Our family has two little ones, but both of them still enjoy flavorful, sometimes spicy, meals.
My second question involves planning a women's retreat. After a three year hiatus, I find myself planning our fall retreat and feeling as stumbled as ever. I'd love to hear any advice, ideas, or tips you have to offer. Books, articles, and websites are welcome as well. As well as any advice you have about building a vibrant women's ministry.
So there you have it. That's what's on my mind lately.
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9 comments:
I just made a great crockpot meal today.
Chicken (used 4 frozen breasts) with a can of cream of chicken soup and about 1/4 cup chopped onions. I put this in our mini dipper crock pot for 6-7 hours on high today (probably a little to long) and served on rice with carrots .. SO good and so easy.
Have you met http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/
Its a great resource for crockpot meals.
Good post! I crockpot alot. I work full-time outside the home so I need to in order to keep my family fed and keep up with their active schedules. I post a weekly menu plan that includes recipes - feel free to check them out. But my two favs are so easy.
Taco Chicken
Place 4 Frozen chicken breasts, 1/2 large jar of salsa, and one pouch of taco seasoning into your crockpot and cook on low for 8-10 hours. Shred the chicken with a fork and serve over rice, or on a wheat tortilla, or on a bed of lettuce. Toppings can be diced tomatoes, lettuce, sour cream, rice, corn, black beans, refried beans. It is very versitile and easy.
Pot Roast: Place rump roast in crockpot (usually around 3 lbs) top with a can of beef broth and a can of french onion soup and cook on low for 8-10 hours. Super tender and delicious.
As for ladies retreat ideas, we did a Beth Moore DVD series last year, it was really good and cheaper than having her come and speak. Also Girlfriend Unlimited has some great ideas and they provide the materials. http://www.girlfriendsunlimited.com
Taco Soup - very simple, but good and hearty, all my female co-workers make this for their families!
You can really vary the measurements to your liking or to fit your crockpot size:
1 large can Chili beans
1 lb ground beef, browned & drained (actually do half beef, half turkey meat here)
1 pkg ranch dressing mix
1 pkg onion soup mix
1 can corn w/juice
2 cans petite diced tomotoes w/juice
1 can tomatoes w/chiles
All you do is mix it all together in your crockpot and let it warm up for a couple hours and to let the flavors absorb. Season with salt & pepper and you're good to go. I serve this with a bowl of Tostitos Scoops and sour cream. It's really yummy--the hubby and I love it--it's the perfect after-church meal!
I would love to tell you some crockpot ideas..but then you could just look up allrecipes.com and find them yourself..so instead I wanted to remind you to
lift up your request before the Lord and ask HIM to show you whom you could ask for help and talents with your WM retreat..I know many hands make light the work and the more "indians" you have with their talents the more sucessful you will be! It's a blessing for others to be asked to help!
So don't fret by yourself..get others in your group involed..pray together have some planning meetings around the table!
Have fun!
one good crockpot recipe for a group is tacos - just have the meat and seasoning in the crockpot and have all the "fixings" in the fridge to pull out.
Women's retreat - pick a theme and plan around it. A spa theme fits with Esther or about resting in God. Really anything womanly goes with spa we had one at our church (that I didn't attend) that was Spiritual Purpose Awakening.
Plan for a main speaker, breakout sessions, quiet times, and fun times. You could have favors and door prizes to go with the theme. For our women's retreat this year, I was in charge of favors, so I could give you lots of ideas along those lines. If you want to tell me more about the things that are for sure (where you will be, how long the retreat will last, how many women, etc) I would be glad to email some other ideas.
These are some of my favorite crockpot recipes:
Mexican Chicken Tortilla Soup
Chicken Goop (or Chicken and Rice) and Salsa Chicken Tacos
I like to make BBQ pork roast to serve as sandwiches or next to potatoes in the crockpot...just buy a cheap pork roast and cook all day on low, add BBQ sauce after draining the fat and stir. We also do chili or make a suprise soup with bits of leftovers and broth. Or split pea soup, here: http://crosbeans.blogspot.com/2008/08/crockpot-split-pea-soup.html I love the convenience of the crockpot!
http://recipezaar.com is also an excellent resource - and you can enter what ingredients you have on hand and it will give you recipes for those ingredients. Awesome.
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