Tag Archives: southern living

Autumn, blogging, Crockpot Cooking, Crocktober, Fall, Hardware Store Life, Home, recipe, Shop Local, southern cooking, southern living, supper

Crocktober

Leave a comment

There’s simply nothing better like the smell of dinner cooking as you walk through the front door.

Welcome home!

After a long day at work, the aroma welcomes you back home. But wait… Dinner is really almost ready??? You have been gone all day… yes, the Crock-Pot has magically been slowly simmering your dinner nonstop and the smell of a delicious dinner yet to come is wafting throughout your home. The aroma is welcoming you back, like two little, happy puppies wagging their tails anxiously awaiting to greet you as you enter the front door.

These two are waiting for their favorite humans to come back home!

Crock-Pot recipes are a mainstay in the playbook of comfort foods 101 in my opinion. The advantages of using a crock-pot or a slow cooker are plentiful. For one, the crock-pot will use less electricity than cooking a full meal on your stovetop.

Baked potatoes in crockpot??? Try it if you haven’t done that before. Yes, save electricity by using your crockpot and cook on high for 2-3 hours instead of using your oven. I brush mine with olive oil and salt pepper and cover it and walk away for a few hours.. dinner success!

Another advantage of using a crock-pot, Family evening meals can be prepared ahead of time… meaning that it can save you time, and of course, less dishes to clean up after the meal! If you are a meal planning cook, the crock-pot is for you! That’s a definite win in the family meal game plan!

This creamy chicken crock-pot recipe is one of the most versatile dishes that I make that can be used as a base for chicken pie, chicken casserole, or served over pasta. The leftovers can make a creamy chicken soup.

The last advantage of using a crock-pot is simply the monetary savings from each grocery store trip. When you slow cook in the crock-pot, you can buy a tougher cut of meat ( saving a bit of money) and it will come out tender after cooking low and slow all day long. Crock-pots are designed to tenderize and add complexity of flavors to your protein as it simmers low and slow. The slow cooking process helps to preserve the nutrients. In a higher heat setting, those nutrients can be rapidly broken down, reducing the flavor profile.

As I write this blog post, I realize that some are probably rolling their eyes saying, “good grief girl, get in the 21st century and buy an instant pot”. Here’s my reply… Well, honestly I don’t want one. I love the idea of prepping before I leave for the day, and simmering my food low and slow all day long… nothing beats spaghetti sauce that’s been cooking all day long in the crock-pot and we love it. I’m the “set it and forget it until later” meal game planner.

https://hardwarelifewife.com/2023/10/22/crocktober-recipes/

I don’t think of a crock-pot meal as a “boring meal” that is often repetitive… week after week… “Mom, we are eating the same old stuff” type meals… that’s the whole point of “Crocktober”. Thinking outside of the usual crock-pot mindset and experimenting with new ways to use the traditional slow cooker.

SO…. Here’s a sampling of some of the amazing products that Wilkes County Hardware has to offer you that could add some extra flavor to your favorite proteins or vegetables slowly simmering away in your crock-pot. Hopefully you can find a bit of inspiration for some new “Crocktober Recipes” to make for your family.

This rub is a great addition brings flavor to any type of steak, or beef roast in your crock-pot!
Hand choppers are great for making quick work of a large cooked pork lion, or even chicken as you make chopped BBQ or tacos in the crock-pot
The best BBQ sauce… AND it’s locally made!
Traeger sauces and rubs can add extra flavor to your crock-pot meals
Pick your favorite!
Use your imagination and available ingredients from your pantry and refrigerator and get cooking in your crock-pot for October! The options are endless!!! It’s Crocktober

Let’s celebrate the month of October with the Crock-pot… and get the slow simmer going … it’s Crocktober time!

FYI: Two recipes are linked in this blog post if y’all are curious… Happy slow cooking!

Autumn, Crockpot Cooking, Fall, family, Hardware Store Life, Home, recipe, southern cooking, southern living, supper

“Crocktober” Recipes

1 Comment

Sharing a few featured October favorites for the crockpot. These may not be new and different to you but they are well loved in “The Hardware Life” and easy to prep for any weeknight meal. Enjoy these Crocktober family favorites!

Creamy Crock-pot Chicken

Yummy Crock-pot Comfort Foods… Creamy Crockpot Chicken

Ingredients for Crock-pot Creamy Chicken:

2 Cans Campbell’s Cream of Chicken Soup

1 T butter

1 package chicken tenders

Note: You can use more chicken to adjust to your family size! I’m cooking for only two people right now.

1 cup chicken stock

Note: You can thin it as much as you like by adding more chicken stock, but I like to leave mine on the thicker side.

Get it Simmering in the Crock-pot:

1. Add chicken as the bottom layer first, season chicken as desired.

Note: ( I season my tenders with minced dried onion and black pepper )

2. Combine all other ingredients and stir into crockpot and cook on low for at least 6 hours or chicken throughly cooked. Mine usually cooks all day while I’m gone to work.

Alternate versions of Creamy Crock-pot Chicken:

1. Add frozen biscuits (cut into 4’s ) cook for about hour on high in crock-pot for chicken pie or dumplings type meal.

2. Use cooked creamy chicken as a base for chicken casserole and layer into casserole dish.

3. Creamy chicken & Pasta : Cook pasta and steam veggies and top the chicken with parmigiana cheese.

This pasta and chicken recipe make a hearty comfort dish meal. Ready to eat when you are hungry.

4. Creamy Chicken Soup: My Creamy Chicken leftovers and pasta combines to make a fantastic soup!!! Add a bit more chicken stock to thin if needed or another can cream of chicken soup and add your favorite vegetables or pasta. Simmer until vegetables/pasta is cooked.

Crock-pot Spaghetti Sauce

Crock-pot spaghetti sauce simmers and adds layers of flavors all day long!!! Your meat is tender and delicious.

Ingredients for Crock-pot Spaghetti Sauce:

1-2 pounds hamburger

1 container of fresh mushrooms (fine chop)

1/2 c Chopped carrots

2 T Italian seasoning

Fresh Herbs (Rosemary/oregano)

Spaghetti sauce base:

1. Shortcut- Add in favorite Jar Spaghetti sauce to your cooked hamburger, spices, and simmer away all day

OR….

2. Make your own spaghetti sauce base- 1 T tomato paste, splash of wine, crushed tomatoes with Italian seasoning, I usually add extra Italian seasoning( if using dried herbs, you will need to use less by 1/3 vs using fresh herbs… use more than dried)

Get Simmering in Crock-pot:

1. Brown Hamburger in crock-pot on low heat for 30-45 minutes. Chop hamburger into smaller pieces as it begins to cook down. Drain away any excess liquid.

The slow cooker hamburger browning process is slower but well worth it. I usually brown my meat as I am getting ready in morning and then head back to kitchen to add spices/sauce before I leave.

2. Add herbs and Red Wine(if desired)

3. Add chopped mushrooms and carrots

This is a good way to sneak in veggies into your sauce, a fine cop makes these pretty invisible in your cooked sauce.

4. Add Spaghetti Sauce base ingredients and stir well.

5. Top sauce with fresh herb bundle, cover and simmer 8 hours.

I tend to add spices and flavors as I cook. Please add your favorite Italian blended spices and flavors to your sauce. The process of cooking the sauce slowly is a definite step up from the rushed cooking process of making a “quick spaghetti sauce”. The flavor profile will be different from a skillet spaghetti sauce made quickly.

Enjoy these “Crocktober Recipes” and enjoy cooking low and slow adding a bit a flavor as you go!

almanac gardening, flowers, garden, gardening, Hardware Store Life, Natural World, southern living

Tutorial on How to Read The Blum’s Almanac

1 Comment

Do you know how to read an almanac??? This is one of the those things that was passed down to me. My Granny taught me how to use and read the Blum’s Almanac. I’m very thankful that she taught me how to do this. A part of my Granny’s legacy now can live on with me as I plant each season. I do plant and transplant by the almanac signs and use the Almanac prior to planting. It’s my “Gardening Bible”.

Here’s the signs I look for to plant or transplant
Full Month view by each day complete with moon phases
The signs to stay away from when you need to plant 🪴 but these are great for weeding or trimming.

I hope this is a helpful tutorial especially if you have never done or used this before via picture format. Wilkes County Hardware keeps the Blum’s Almanac in stock each year. Last year was the first year that we debuted the garden calendar. Look for the 2024 editions to arrive in November.

This is definitely the quick version of a plant guide!!! Love it 😍

FYI: Some folks will not get a haircut, have a dental procedures, or even have major surgery IF the sign isn’t correct. I have answered many questions for people when it was a good time to can, or what the correct body sign was because they had a medical procedure upcoming.

Dental procedures… wait for a sign that is below the waist for faster wound healing.

I am a firm believer in using this as my planting guide. I haven’t ever used the Almanac to plan a surgery or a haircut, so I can not speak to the effectiveness of this expertise… the Almanac does say it does not give medical advice, but provides advice on the best days to do such activities such as gardening, and cooking. The “Zodiac man signs” are included as the 12 signs dividing the human body into parts. Ancient astrologers believed that each sign influenced a certain portion of the body, so folks have used this for years seeking the “best days” medical advice.

almanac gardening, Autumn, Fall, gardening, Hardware Store Life, Natural World, Plant Lady, seaonal change, southern living

“Plant Lady”

Leave a comment

True confession time, I love plants. Now that the truth is out, and I’ve officially said it, “I’m a plant lady”, my green little plant heart is “rooting” for you to get on board with me! I must admit the presence of green plants in my home makes me smile on the dreary, dank, bitterly cold days of winter. Simply put, my Plants bring me joy.

Here’s to Going Green!

October has arrived!

It’s a beautiful time of the year, but the reality for a “Plant Lady” living in western North Carolina, means a significant dip in nighttime outdoor temperatures. Nighttime temperatures can begin to dip into the 50’s some nights. The daytime temperatures are still quite gorgeous with ample, warm sunshine all day. Dare I say, the word FROST! But alas, Frost will be expected by the end of October, if not before. All that being said, my green, tender, warm-natured plants must find residence back inside, as they have enjoyed basking in the summer warmth on the back porch steps for the last few months.

Frosty Fall mornings will be coming soon!

For me, as a “plant mama” who enjoys her houseplants flourishing outdoors during the late spring and summer months, knows the time of change is arriving. I must prepare for the transition from the shaded back porch steps to life indoors for the late Fall and Winter months.

These beauties will be headed inside by the end of this week. Low temperatures are expected to be in the 40’s by Saturday night.

So how do I prep these “green little goddesses” for the adjustment indoors??? AND keep them “growing”all year long. Here’s my step by step guide that I have been using the last few years for moving my cherished plants back inside.

1. Evaluate each plant. Repot if necessary. I tend to repot plants before moving indoors and allow a few days of adjustment before moving inside.

This year, I’m in the process of repotting a few plants prior to moving them indoors.

2. Consult your almanac planting calendar and be a weather watcher!!!! Weather can change quickly and cooler nights are a given in October. Be proactive and begin working towards moving your plant babies back inside in late September or early October before the cold weather hits. I never transplant until it’s a good time to do so! I’m a firm believer in this step! Unsure how to use an almanac??? Click the link below to learn more!

https://hardwarelifewife.com/2023/10/03/tutorial-on-how-to-read-the-blums-almanac/

3. Remove any damaged leaves, or dead areas of the plant. Take additional rootings if possible to begin new plants! “Get growing”! What type of plant lady would I be if I didn’t root my own plants 😂.

My kitchen window is my rooting station for my newest plants. The sunlight is perfect for them to root beautifully and flourish into a newly established plant.
For plant roots that take a little bit of extra work… stocked inside Wilkes County Hardware

4. Spray each plant you plan to move indoors with insecticidal soap. This will help prevent bugs from making their way inside with your plants. I also spray the soil as well. Reapply as needed if pests appear during the fall or winter.

Insecticidal soap sold at Wilkes County Hardware
For the DIYer… I’m sure you can find a homemade version of Insect soap on the internet. Spray bottles are a essential item stocked inside Wilkes County Hardware.

5. Clean pot to remove surface dirt prior to moving indoors.

6. Call in the “troops for assistance” if needed… to help move your plants inside. Make it a family project! Get everyone involved!

7. Find the sweet spots… where are these plants going to thrive and have the correct light requirements. Take note to keep plants away from heat registers, drafts to maximize the plants potential.

8. Find your joy in planting! I do have plants that I haven’t been able to get “growing”. But, I haven’t given up on all plants. Take the time to grow what you love and find your joy! Final plant motivation thoughts… “I beleaf” in you! Take a “leaf of faith”! You can do this! I’m “rooting” for you!

Hardware Store Life, Morning Coffee, Pancakes, recipe, southern cooking, southern living

Making Pancakes

2 Comments

One of my favorite old black and white Christmas movies has a scene where the star, Barbara Stanwyck, is asked to flip a pancake high in the air as she is making her trademark pancakes for breakfast for a group of House guests that have gathered in her kitchen.

She is terrified that she will be unable to make the flip high in the air because truly she isn’t a cook, unbeknownst to her House guests. After encouragement, she goes for it, eyes closed and the flipped pancake somehow leaps back into the pan. The room is filled with joy and laughter as the completed pancakes are laid out for the breakfast bounty.

Christmas in Connecticut, Making Pancakes for the first time

Pancakes have to be one of the best meals for morning or even a special evening meal. Whether you are a novice or a cooking pro in the kitchen, I hope this recipe that I found a few years ago for making pancakes, will inspire y’all to “flip them high” as you make the lightest, fluffiest pancakes ever.

Stack them high… For National Pancake Day or just any day…
Dry mix ingredients… this can be prepared ahead of time and stored in pantry, ready to go when you are all set to make pancakes or even waffles. The basic recipe calls for 2 cups of the combined dry ingredients with wet ingredients added.
Wet ingredients… FYI: A dash of vanilla is always a good addition to your wet ingredients, which I usually add into my pancake batter.
Combine wet ingredients with the dry mix
I use my favorite skillet or waffle maker to make these. OR
Try something new!!! Make the Pinterest version of sheet pan pancakes!!! Find your favorite baking pan, spray with baking spray, or butter well. Preheat oven to 425. Add in pancake batter as an even layer across baking pan. Sprinkle in fruit or other toppings if desired. Bake 15 minutes.

The potential is endless! Y’all might just “flip out a bit” over how easy this recipe truly is once you make it.

Making a basic pancake or adding in a sweet addition… sprinkles, chocolate chips, or blueberries. Take your pancakes from basic to simply light and delicious with this recipe the next time you are in the mood for this breakfast treat.