Too Hot to Cook - Crock Pot Chicken Wings

Summer Cooking on Planet Glurple

I have a few tricks for summer cooking. Fire up the grill or pull out the crock pot. I love crock pot cooking but the secret is all in the timing. If you do it right, plan what you will make, thaw any meat in the fridge over night, add ingredients in the morning, and you will eat a wonderful meal at dinner with little effort. This is great for the busy working parent and the stay at home mom who never really gets to stay home!!

So lets start of with something easy and fun!

Crock Pot Wings!!

This is a really flexible recipe and you can add to it as you see fit.
1-2 lbs. of Chicken Wings
1/3 Cup of Soy Sauce ( Wheat Free Brand for those that are on a gluten free diet)
2 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon of ginger (fresh or ground)
1 Tablespoon of Honey
1/3 Cup of minced onions (I used green onions)

Put it all in the crock pot cook on low for 6 -8 hours

Crock Pot Chicken Wings with a Side of Pan Fried Potatoes

Not Just Any Toy Storage

Since I have started making and collecting great hand made toys it is such a shame to just store them in some plastic bin. I wanted to find fun and functional ways to store the toys but also honor their "wholesomeness".

 Look at how sweet these toys are with little hands at play

Wooden Toys at play

First I started with some wooden cubes from my local unfinished furniture store ( they can also be found at most craft stores). I added colored canvas cube bins to hold the toys. Later I added recycled tags I found on Etsy.com

Red Bins full of Childhood Treasures

Wicker Baskets are also good for storage (found at local Craft Store)

Then I found and became a little obsessed with these great fabric storage bins. I found a wonderful shop that has worked to customize the size that I need. She even worked to make them nest inside each other so the store nicely when not in use. She has been great to work with and if she does not have the fabric I need she goes out of her way to find it. 

Fabric Storage Bins

From kathip22 of Etsy.com

Nice and Neat Toy Storage

Wooden Toys by:

The Enchanted Cupboard

Imagination Kids

Max in Space

Our adventure begins as Max has just finished Space Academy. He has been given his first spaceship named, The Friend Ship. His mission: to go out and make new friends. He will have to practice being a friend. Max will have to use all the things he learned in space school. Things like cooperation, sharing, listening, and being fair. He will be challenged along the way by meter showers, solving problems and learning the Golden Rule. He will be tested and have to follow the academy motto, The best way to make good friends is to be a good friend first. The Friend Ship is just the first playbox in a series that will take us to different planets, a crash landing on the moon, and needing to go to the space recycle center to find a needed part to save a friend. Let your kids join in all the adventure by bringing Max in Space home. Where will your child take him?

Max in space was lovingly created for my middle son, Max. Max loves robots, and I wanted to create something that he would cherish forever. I wanted to create toys that would be loved and passed down from parent to child for generations to come. With the dangers of plastic all over the news in the last year, we got rid of the playsets that had PVC in them. I didn't want my kids to lose out on the fun interactive play that playsets bring, so I started making my own. That first day when Max in Space was brought to life my kids could not put it down.
Find Max in space items here.

Fun With Food: Making Flat Bread

This summer we made a plan to go with out air conditioning for as long as we could. We made it till the very hot month parts of August and September but still used it sparingly when we did turn it on. The one downside to this plan was, baking bread in the hot days of summer.

I started About 2 years ago I started to grind my own wheat for our bread and baked goods. The benefits of fresh ground wheat are overwhelming and out weigh an extra work it makes. So now I was faced with over heating our house or giving up my baking. I was not prepared to do either and I researched other options.

When I first started my homestead green living lifestyle I was in love with the idea that I could make anything. Our own ketchup, hamburger buns, salad dressing, and laundry soap to name a few of the things we make for ourselves. It was so rewarding to know when we ran out it did not mean a trip to the grocery store but to mix a few ingredients already in my pantry.

I started researching other ways of making bread type items without the oven. I checked out bread makes and bought an inexpensive bread maker that is working out nicely and is great for mixing up dough that I may use for rolls or pizzas! I also found some great recipes that are for making flat breads on the stove top. The kids and I experimented and made a recipe that works for us. It has a good bit of oil in it but in makes a nice dough that is easy for kids to roll out.

Whole Wheat Flat Bread
2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
1.5 cups All Purpose Flour
0.5 t Baking powder
7 T Oil
1 cup very hot water


3 minute of kneading
15 minute to rest under wet warm towel
Form into Golf Ball size balls
Roll out and cook on a cast iron grill or non stick pan

ENJOY!!