What's For Dinner: Sweet & Sour BBQ Crock-Pot Riblets

I love anything that I can cook in a crock-pot!  I love being able to throw all of my ingredients in my crock pot in the morning, and by dinner time I have a full meal ready to go!  When planning a crock-pot meal, simplicity is the best policy.  The whole point of a no worry meal is keeping it simple. 

Another thing that I love is riblets!  My family is a huge fan of ribs (which I'd BBQ all summer long if I could afford to!).  Riblets are the ends that are cut off so that the racks of ribs are uniform.....so really, they are the scraps.  This is why you can buy a large family pack for super cheap!

How to make crock-pot riblets:

This morning I pulled out my pack of riblets from the fridge.  I seasoned them with salt and pepper (that's it!).  In my crock-pot I poured: 1 bottle of BBQ sauce (I like the honey flavored one), 1 bottle of sweet and sour sauce, 1 can of pineapple slices (I used half of the juices), and one bottle of sun dried tomato marinade that we picked up from the country store when we went apple picking last year!  I also added about 3 tablespoons of hot sauce (this is optional).  I stirred and then added my riblets.  Once I made sure they were all covered in sauce, I turned it on low. 

Viola!  So simple....so juicy....and so cost effective!

How To Get My Toddler To Kick The Bottle

This is by no means a how to guide for getting your toddler to give up his bottle.  This is the exact opposite.  My son will be 17 months old next week.  Now, he does not use a bottle during the day for any reason.  From sun up to sun down he's your average toddler.  But once it's bedtime, he's anything but. 

First of all, my son will not go down for bedtime without his bottle.  Don't you dare try to give him a sippy cup or water, he'll throw it and scream bloody murder!  It has to be a bottle with milk.  By 17 months, most moms don't have to worry about getting up in the middle of the night.  But I'm not most moms!  My little man finds it is necessary to wake me up every hour for a bottle.  Before you start asking why I bother giving into him......know this: I have a 7 year old whose room is right next to his and has to get up for school in the morning.  My husband also wakes up early for his 12 hour work shifts.  Now, with that said, I have tried other options that don't work out.  I have tried letting him cry it out (which only turns into a temper tantrum that includes screaming and jumping violently in his bed).  I have tried rocking him, reading, trying to soothe him, water.....nothing works but a new bottle to fill his belly.  His doctor recommended feeding him something filling before bed....oatmeal and bananas were his suggestion.  That did not work either. 
17 months old.  He will be 2 this August, and I would like one full nights rest before then.  So my plea as a very exhausted mother......what do you suggest?  Is there a method I haven't tried? 

DIY: T-Shirt Tote

I love to recycle whatever I can.  So it only makes sense to recycle your clothing too!  This DIY project is so simple and costs nothing!

Step 1:  Pick out a t-shirt!  Heavy cotton works best since the fabric is more sturdy.

Step 2: Cut off the sleeves.  I left the seems in tact to keep the handles sturdy.

Step 3:  Cut off the collar.  How you cut depends on how you want your tote to look. If you have a logo and want to showcase it, cut above the logo.  

(I cut deep and into the design since I want my tote made inside out.) 

Step 4: Turn your bag inside out.  Sew the bottom (excuse my sewing job, it wasn't until I took this picture that I realized I had my thread threaded incorrectly!)  You're gonna want to go back over your seem once you are finished in order to (once again) ensure that your bottom is sturdy.

Step 5: Turn your bag right side in!

There you go!  My finished tote bag!  I will be using this for my grocery shopping from now on!

What do you think?

DIY: Stick Vase

This isn't a new concept by any means!  However, I have always wanted to try this project!  So today, I picked up some twigs and sticks from the backyard (took forever thanks to the dog!).  I had an old baby food jar that I decided to use.  Now, this project can be used with cans as well.  Also, if you want to use it as a candle holder, use something with a bigger opening.

To make this more natural, I trimmed the sticks to different lengths, but kept them about the same height as the jar.

Glue a few sticks at a time.  Mix textures, colors, and size.  Once they are secure, you can continue.

Viola'!  I liked it, but it needed something more......

RIBBON!

It's January, so I don't have any flowers I can pick....however, I may put some rosemary from my garden (which seems to just keep growing!) in it for now!

Simple, natural, cute, and FREE!  What an awesome way to decorate and be green!  This took me about 10 minutes to complete!

 

 

Yahoo post on DIY Stick Vase