Crystal S
 Supporting Member (Click to learn more about Supporting Membership)
Home Town: Bakersfield, California, USA
Living In: Roseville, California, USA
Member Since: Jan. 2009
Cooking Level: Expert
Cooking Interests: Baking, Grilling & BBQ, Stir Frying, Slow Cooking, Asian, Mexican, Italian, Southern, Mediterranean
Hobbies: Gardening, Hiking/Camping, Camping, Boating, Biking, Photography, Reading Books, Music, Wine Tasting
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Oct. 8, 2011 10:13 pm 
Updated: Oct. 10, 2011 6:40 am
Looking for help on casserole's/dishes that freeze well.  Have a VERY hectic job and am always looking for ways to manage my calendar so my family recieves home cooked meals and I don't feel like a rotten mom for taking the easy way out and stopping for fast food out of sheer exhaustion.  I… MORE
 
 
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From The Blog:  Frozen Casserole Brigad
Thanksgiving in Tahoe
At the beach house, Cambria, CA
Wine tasting at Tobin James Winery/ Paso Robles Wine Region
San Jose del Cabo Trip
Whitewater rafting the American River
  
Entertaining at a Mardi Gras party
BBQing at the lake with friends
Girl's Weekend to see Wicked in SF
4 wheeling in Northern CA
On the boat during a club "cruise out".
About this Cook
Married, one son, and am a conference planner for groups ranging in size from 5 to 5,000 people for the Attorney General of California. I'm a curious mix of practical and dreamy..... My favorite activites range from looking for seashells along the tideline, travel/ explore new destinations, whitewater rafting, boating with our yacht club, gardening, reading, entertaining family and friends at home, wine tasting, Rat Pack music, croquet, picnics, 4x4 wheeling on No CA trails, camping, riding quads and girl's weekend away. But the most important thing to me is my husband who is my best friend. I love date night, get away weekends and private time with him more than anything else. After 10 years of marriage, I still love him madly, but most importantly I still like and respect him! We complement each other perfectly!
My favorite things to cook
To my family's dismay, I'll try cooking just about anything that looks interesting.....
My favorite family cooking traditions
Enjoy carrying on the traditions of my mom and grandmother's holiday meals.
My cooking triumphs
Absolutely love when a recipe turns out well....
My cooking tragedies
Don't ask - there have been a few that have been whoppers!!! :)
Recipe Reviews 157 reviews
Apricot Chicken I
In an effort to cut some of the sugar and based on another reviewers suggestion, I used fat free Catalina dressing and Smuckers reduced sugar apricot jam and it was still to sweet for my taste. However hubby loved this recipe as it definitely satisfied his sweet tooth. NOTE: This is an excellent crockpot recipe with cook time of approximately 6 hours on low. Serve on a bed of rice, sprinkle with crushed peanuts and it's dinner!

1 user found this review helpful
Reviewed On: Feb. 11, 2012
Super-Delicious Zuppa Toscana
This is a great soup. Use Kale in place of the spinach and voila, you have the original recipe! HELPFUL HINTS: To avoid orange soup, rinse your sausage in very HOT water; use 5 potatoes sliced thick and 2 potatoes sliced thin. The variation in the potato size allows the thinly sliced potatoes to cook down and thicken the broth; a mix of hot and mild sausage gives the soup more "zip", and last, use low sodium chicken broth. Serve with hot crusty bread for a great meal.

6 users found this review helpful
Reviewed On: Jan. 12, 2012
Slow Cooker Spicy Black-Eyed Peas
Great recipe for black eyed peas and one of the main reasons I love them is there is NO need to soak them. Gathering the ingredients, I realized I didn't have everything on hand and as I couldn't face going to the grocery store on New Years Eve (what a madhouse) I improvised..... I subbed low sodium chicken broth for the water and bouillon; no jalapeno, so I increased the cayenne to 1 tsp; no onion, so I subbed one packet of Lipton onion soup mixture; and no ham, so I subbed two country pork ribs, along with the bacon. Added an extra clove of garlic, 1 tsp of liquid smoke and increased the cumin to 2 tsps. Shredded the pork into the peas when finished.... Delicious!!! Husband who dislikes black eyed peas had two bowls! I realize I changed the recipe to fit what I had on hand, but I can only imagine the original was excellent as well. Definitely 5 stars!

8 users found this review helpful
Reviewed On: Jan. 1, 2012
 
 
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