Crockpot Barbecue Chicken

I really love using  my crockpot, especially during the week, so when I found this recipe on Pinterest, I grabbed my phone (cuz that's where my pinterest app is).. and ran to my kitchen to throw this together for supper. It only took me about 5 minutes...(most of that time I was wrestling with a pan and a cupboard door, if I hadn't had that little problem it would have taken me hardly any time at all!) Then 6 hours later my family had a delicious supper and my kitchen didn't even look like a disaster.  I love that about crockpot cooking! This recipe came from forkinit.blogspot.com. Her chicken picture looked much yummier than mine, but you get the general idea.

Here's what you need for Crockpot Barbecue Chicken:

• 4-6 pieces boneless skinless chicken breasts, I threw them in half frozen...my crockpot manual said I could..so I did... check your manual, or defrost them first
• 1 bottle BBQ sauce, I used Sweet Baby Ray's 18 oz size, use what you like, it doesn't matter if you use more but I had plenty of sauce left and I used 6 breasts
• 1/4 c vinegar ( I used apple cider vinegar, but her recipe didn't say)
• 1 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1/4 c brown sugar
• 1/2-1 tsp. garlic powder, I used fresh minced

Mix BBQ sauce with all the ingredients. Put chicken in crockpot, pour sauce over it and cook on low 4-6 hours. Super simple!!  Mine was in there a little longer than 6 hours...I got too excited and realized after I threw it in my crockpot that it was only 10:30 in the morning- but it was still super moist and delicious! Served with a side of veggies and a batch of cornbread...that will be posted later  because it was eaten before I got a picture of it! Hope you love it!

~Simply Angie

Apple Syrup

Yes, I have to admit I'm already thinking about the holidays. The weather changed overnight in the Midwest and I think winter is on the way. And I love, love, love getting all of my little gift lists together! Personally, when someone gives me a gift that is homemade, homegrown, or hand-crafted, I am thrilled! It's one of my favorite things! And let's face it, some people just seem to have everything!
Here are a couple of gift ideas for you. If you haven't tried our Simply Homemade Apple Cinnamon Granola, the time is now! This is the best granola ever! So get your jars and ribbons ready for granola, a jar of our Simply Pancake Mix, and top it off with a jar of apple cider syrup. Who wouldn't love that?
In case you don't know this, my sister is a genius! She found an awesome recipe for Apple Cider Syrup at foodinjars.com which I was thrilled with because I didn't have to go shopping for apple syrup, one of my new favorite things!
Ingredients:
1 gallon apple cider
3 cinnamon sticks
2 c white sugar
Pour apple cider and cinnamon sticks in a large kettle or pan. Boil the apple cider until it reduces down to about half, it took mine about an hour or so. Remove the cinnamon sticks and add the sugar. Start the boiling process again until your cider reaches 218F. This took another 35 minutes for mine but it can depend on your stove heat and also the type of kettle you are using.
After it reached the 218F temperature, I ladled it into my prepared half pint canning jars. Put the lids and rings on and gave them a hot water bath for 10 minutes in the canner. This syrup is delicious - it tastes like apples with a hint of cinnamon! My sister said she stirs in a small amount of cornstarch to her jar prior to serving if you like your syrup thicker. I prefer mine on the thin side.
Now I know for some of our very observant followers, the apple cider syrup looks like the apple cider jelly, so make sure you label your jars! I haven't gotten to that part yet - guess I better find some free labels somewhere! Enjoy! Total cost was $5.22 for 2 pint jars and 5 half-pint jars! I love that!

Love and peace,
~ Simply Tammi

How to Distress Paper

I had this old bucket sitting outside for the summer with a plant in it and decided to bring it inside for the winter and do something decorative to it.  So I brought it in, cleaned it up and looked at it for a couple days, it seemed like a milk bucket to me-so I found a label in an old magazine (I'm sure you can get them off a website too). Mine was in color but I printed it black and white..it seemed like it would look older that way. It's hard to see the details in the picture but I glued it to the bucket then distressed it.  I realized later I probably did this in the wrong order but that's usually how I do projects...jump in then think later!  I used some strong coffee, you can also use strong tea, and brushed it on lightly with a small paint brush. While it was still a little damp I rubbed the edges and some of the front....I did it a little too much so there is more print missing than I wanted- what can i say I got carried away! Then let it dry and put a coat of mod podge over just to make sure it stayed on.
There you have it..a new, old bucket!

~Simply Angie

5 Ingredient Caramel Sauce

This recipe is from Pioneer Woman, on the Food Network Channel. It is an easy caramel sauce and only took about 20 minutes. I made it to eat with some apples..but frankly this tasted so good I could have just eaten it straight from the jar!

It would make a great topping for  fruit, cakes, brownies, fruit crisps, or with nothing...just on a spoon!

Here's what you need:

• 1 c packed brown sugar
• 1/2 c. half-and-half
• 4 Tablespoons butter
• pinch salt (I used salted butter so I omitted salt)
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

Mix the brown sugar, half and half, butter and pinch of salt in saucepan over medium-low heat, whisking gently for about 5-7 minutes until it starts getting thicker. (Mine was boiling gently the whole time) then whisk in the vanilla and cook another minute. Don't worry, it will get even thicker as it cools. Then turn off heat and let cool down a little bit. Pour into a jar or container with a lid, I used a canning jar - let come to room temperature before refrigerating. It makes about 1 1/2 cups. It will harden in the fridge, so you will need to warm it to make it pourable again. It got a little chewy on the ice cream, but we enjoyed it anyway...and still have all our teeth! It will keep up to 6 months in fridge...but I doubt you will have it around that long!

~Simply Angie