Special Holiday Planning Guides and Healthy Crockpot Chicken Lemon Recipe – HBHW Newsletter

November 17th, 2010

Editorial

Hello again and welcome to another edition of the Hillbilly Housewife Newsletter.

Our Holiday Recipe Contest is still going strong.  I’ve been enjoying the variety of dishes that everyone has been submitting.  Just a reminder to  include your email address in the submission form so I can find you if you are selected to receive one of our great prizes. Scroll down and learn more about the excitement we have in store for you during this contest.

Our featured article takes a little different look at crockpot cooking.  This time I have invited an expert in fitness and health to discuss how crockpot cooking can be healthy as well as time-saving and money-saving.  Please be sure to scroll down and click on the link to read more.

This week’s quote and story are about sharing; not just what we have but sharing ourselves, as well. I hope you’ll take a moment or two out of your busy day to read and reflect on today’s quote and story.

Just a reminder that my friend Christine Steendahl – “The Menu Mom” – is having a bit of fun on Facebook.  She started Oct. 23rd with 1200 Facebook Fans and is hoping to hit 10K by Thanksgiving!  Would you mind helping her out?  All you need to do is visit www.facebook.com/themenumom and click the “like” button on her page.  For every 500 new friends she has a little drawing and if she reaches 10K by Thanksgiving, she plans to give away $10,000 in Lifetime Memberships to her Menu Planning Central Meal Plans.  Anyone who is a fan at the time of the drawing will be entered.  Lots of fun!  Go check it out at www.facebook.com/themenumom and help her achieve her goal!

Those are my thoughts this week. As always, I welcome your comments and suggestions. Feel free to email me at susanne@hillbillyhousewife.com

Warm Regards,

Susanne – The Hillbilly Housewife

Inspirational Quote

Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.
~Buddha~

Sponsor

I Highly Recommend The Menu Planning Central’s Thanksgiving and Christmas Planning Guides

I can’t get over how fast the time is going!  We’re right on the heels of the busiest times of the year in our house.  I’m thinking a lot of you are also starting to feel the crunch coming.  Does planning your Thanksgiving and Christmas meals, decorations, and entertainment get you in a panic?

This year why not change all that.  You can enjoy a less stressful holiday season when you have a system and the tools you need to maneuver through the holiday planning. In these Thanksgiving and Christmas Planning Guides you’ll get step-by-step instructions to walk you right through the busiest days.  Here’s what you’ll get:

• The Thanksgiving Planning Guide with organizing and planning tips.
• A Complete Thanksgiving Menu with detailed recipes.
• A Shopping List with everything you need to prepare the recipes of the menu.
• A second Shopping List of non-perishable items you can buy ahead of time.
• Our original “To-Do” List to make sure you’re not forgetting anything.

• The Christmas Planning Guide with organizing and planning tips, decorating ideas, craft suggestions and more.
• A Complete Christmas Menu with detailed recipes.
• A Shopping List with everything you need to prepare the recipes of the menu.
• Our original “To-Do” List to make sure you’re not forgetting anything.

For ONLY $20 and a 14 day money back guarantee, this deal is too good to pass up!  Click on this link and order today so you can take advantage of all the great tips and ideas that these guides have to offer before you get tangled up in the stress of the holiday season.

Holiday Recipe Contest

Thank you to everyone who has already submitted their favorite recipe for the holiday season.  If you haven’t yet checked out our contest for the holiday seasons, be sure to click on here and see the details, as well as the recipe submission form.

Our Holiday Recipe Contest is a great way to share your favorite recipe and to gather a few new ones for your family holiday meals. I’ve already seen quite a few recipes that I’d like to try out next week for Thanksgiving.

When you submit your favorite recipe it will be posted here on HBHW and you’ll be entered to win one of the great prizes we have.  In addition to that, we’ll be including your recipe in a pretty little document for each participant.  Be sure to click on the following link and fill in the submission form with your very favorite holiday recipe and a chance to win.

http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/favorite-holiday-recipes-contest.htm

Here’s a peek at the prizes we’re offering so far for various categories:

From HillbillyHousewife.com

• A copy of the Crockpot Cooking Guide
• A copy of the Freezer Cooking Guide
• A copy of the Meal Planning Guide

From MealPlanningCentral.com

• Lifetime Membership
• Six Month Membership
• Three Month Membership

From DineWithoutWhine.com

• Lifetime Membership
• Six Month Membership
• Three Month Membership

From SavingDinner.com

3 month subscription (Value $15)

12 month subscription (Value $47)

Christmas for the Freezer menu (Value $10)

I’ll keep you updated as we find more prizes.  So, get your very favorite holiday recipe out and submit it to us here at HBHW.  Just click on the link here and look for the submission form.  It’s easy and fun… and you might just win a valuable prize!

Featured Article

We’ve been featuring crockpot cooking quite a bit here at HBHW for many reasons.  The two most popular reasons to cook with a crockpot is to save time and save money.  But, one area that concerns people is if the meals made in a crockpot can be healthy.  For the answer to that question I decided to ask an expert.  Not only is she a busy mom and entrepreneur, but she’s an expert in the field of physical fitness.  Please click on the link below to learn why crockpot cooking appeals to a fit and healthy family:

Healthy Crockpot Cooking

Recipe Sharing

This is one of the recipes I make in the crockpot that is a healthier choice. I hope you’ll give it a try:

Crockpot Lemon Chicken

• 4 chicken breast boneless skinless (about 25 oz)
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tblsp light oil
• 1/2 tblsp light butter (may replace with another 1/2 tblsp light oil)
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 3 tblsp lemon juice
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 tsp no soduim chicken bouillon granules

Start by cutting the chicken into bite sized pieces. Mine are roughly 1 inch square. The chicken will shrink as it cooks, so keep the chunks a little larger than you would like them to be in the end. As always when you are working with raw chicken, be sure to wipe down all surfaces, cutting boards and knifes well.

Get out a medium sized bowl and pour the flour and spices in it. Add the chicken pieces and cover them to coat all sides with the flour.

Get out a large pan and add the oil and butter. I’m using the butter for flavor and the oil for the higher cooking temperature. If you are watching your budget, you may omit the butter and use a little more oil instead. Put the pan on medium high until all the butter has melted.

Take the chicken out of the flour mixture, shaking off any extra flour as you go and drop them into the hot grease. I usually cook this in two batches. Cook the chicken for a few minutes until it had a chance to brown nicely on all sides. Remove the chicken from the pan and put it in your crockpot.

Pour the water and lemon juice in the pan you cooked the chicken in and add the garlic and bullion. Stir them to combine and use your spatula to scrape the bits of chicken and flour mixture off the bottom of the pan. They will help thicken the sauce as it cooks. Pour this mixture over the chicken in the crockpot.

Close the lid and cook everything on low for about 3 hours. Remove the lid and cook on high for 30 to 40 minutes to allow the sauce to thicken.

I serve this with brown rice and a green vegetable like broccoli or green beans. In the summer I serve it with a mixed salad.

Healthy Hillbilly Housewife

Here’s what’s new on the healthy hillbilly housewife section. You can also go straight to http://www.healthy.hillbillyhousewife.com

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Frugal Tips

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Do you have a tip to share? Fill out the submit a frugal tip form and I’ll be glad to add it to the site and share your tip in an upcoming edition of the newsletter.

Recipes

Here are some of the most recent recipes that have been added to the HBHW site. Enjoy!

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Do you have a recipe you would like to share? Click here to send it to me and I’ll be happy to add it to the website.

I’m Looking For:

This section is all about you. If you are looking for a particular recipe or a tip on how to do something, submit it here and I will post it in an upcoming newsletter. I’ll give you my input and other readers of the newsletter will have the opportunity to share their recipes and tips as well. So take a moment to post your questions and of course if you have a tip or idea for any question posted in this section feel free to leave a comment under the appropriate post.

I’m Looking For Requests
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I’m Looking For Responses
Below you will find some of the recent responses to the “I’m Looking For” Requests. You may also want to go directly to this section and browse through all the recent submissions and replies. To do so, click on “I’m Looking for” here, and start looking through them.
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Inspirational Story

When We Share
~author unknown~

When we share laughter, there’s twice the fun;
When we share success, we surpass what we’ve done.

When we share problems, there’s half the pain;
When we share tears, a rainbow follows rain.

When we share dreams, they become more real;
When we share secrets, it’s our hearts we reveal.

If we share a smile, then our love shows;
If we share a hug, then our love grows.

If we share with someone on whom we depend,
That person becomes family or friend.

And what draws us closer and makes us all care,
Is not what we have, but the things that we share.

Final Thought

That’s it for this edition of the Hillbilly Housewife Newsletter. I hope you’ve had as much fun reading it as I had creating it for you. I also hope that you have found the information helpful and useful. And by all means feel free to forward the newsletter to family and friends or even better, encourage them to subscribe to it.

Do you have a question, a tip, a recipe or a story you’d like to share with us? Email it to me and I’ll include it in a future issue. Can’t wait to see what you have to say.

Warm Wishes,

Susanne – The Hillbilly Housewife