Search This Blog

Friday, April 26, 2013

McDonald's vs Homemade

I think my least favorite time of the year is science fair time.  I was never much of a "science" person but Claire finds it facinating.  She takes this opportunity to do gross things all in the name of science.  Last year it was "What's growing on your stuff", gag!  I wouldn't let her swab my cell phone because I prefer not to know, but the other stuff, ummmm, yeah, GROSS!

She was feeling a little tired after history day which just ended so this year it is, "McDonalds vs Homemade".  We picked up a chicken nugget happy meal and I made the exact same thing at home.  We left it on the counter for a few weeks to see what would happen.  Her one regret is that she didn't weigh the food because the homemade meal shrunk quite a bit.

This is how it started

15 days later this is how it ended.  The one on the top is the McDonalds meal.  We never figured out why the apples turned red.
The fat and calories were half for homemade and the sodium was a quarter of what the McDonald's meal contained.  I might add that the McDonald's nuggets looked almost EXACTLY like the day we bought them as did the fries.  Seriously, YUCK!  I think I'll let her swab my cell phone next year it would be less disturbing;)


Wednesday, April 24, 2013

How to do DisneyWorld

We have been to DisneyWorld A lot.  We didn't miss a year from 1999-2007 and we loved every minute of it.  Then life got busy and it's an expensive trip so sadly, we haven't been back.  I heard REpeatedly over the years, "why are you going back there again"?  "Your kids aren't going to remember it"?  "Don't you want to try somewhere different"?  "I HATE Disney".  And, the answers are..we loved it, the kids DO remember it, the trip was different everytime and how can you hate Disney?? 

After listening to their horror stories and some were horror stories, I found the common denominator was they didn't know how to relax and just have fun.  It's an expensive trip so they crammed every second of everyday with an activity and that isn't fun on a beach or at a cabin, it's really not going to be fun at a theme park.  It reminded me of something my Dad overheard a guy say to his 5 year old, "We paid a lot of money for this trip and you are going to have fun if I have to beat you"!  That's our weird family joke, but we don't think this guy was kidding and we felt bad for his whole family, him included.

A few years later a friend at work was leaving for Disney and she was like a deer in headlights.  She was completely dreading the trip.  So, I compiled our, "How to have fun at DisneyWorld list" and gave it to her.  Her and her family had a fabulous time.  I've given it to a few people and always hear back how much fun they had.  Someone that I gave the list to, passed it on to someone else and I ran into that person last Sunday.  She pulled me aside and said, "Thank you so much for the Disney list.  We had an absolute blast".  So, I thought maybe I should share with all of you:)  Remember, my last trip was awhile ago but not much changes around there so it should be pretty close. 

Let me start with my honest and best advice...have everyone pick one thing that is a MUST do for the day.  Depending on how many people you're traveling with, you might have to adjust a little bit but say 4-6 people are going, 6 things are not overwhelming and anything else you get to do is a bonus.  NO ONE can complain about the things chosen or you lose your choice.  Anything you missed, well, you missed it and it's OK!  It's OK to go back to your hotel and enjoy the sunshine by the pool.  It's OK to pull the plug because the kids or you are tired.  This is a vacation and just because you're at Disney does not mean you HAVE to be doing something every minute just because it's available.  Give yourself permission to relax!

If you can take the kids out of school and travel during non-peak times, like early December, you'll enjoy your trip that much more.

If you're not morning people, don't get up at the crack of dawn to "beat the crowds".  Everyone will be cranky because they got up early and guess what, if it's going to be crowded, it's going to be crowded.  Isn't it better to face the day well rested?  Other than Animal Kingdom, we sleep until we wake up.

I love the Disney hotels.  They're just fun and I don't have to worry about driving around or fighting traffic after a long day.  But if it's not your thing, I get it.  BUT, if you have small children, stay on the grounds.  It is SO much easier to pack up a tired 2 year old for a short bus ride back to the hotel.  It's worth it, I PROMISE.

I’d eat breakfast at your hotel because it’s hard to find food in the morning anywhere.    And, because my son is a "lay in bed and watch cartoons to wake up kid", I actually packed single serving cereal and Pop Tarts that he ate in the room.

NEVER go to the park that allows Disney guests early entrance, those parks are always the most crowded for the day.

I usually budget $100 a day for the four of us and usually am pretty close. I started giving my kids, Disney Money (I think you have to get gift cards now) and they were to spend on whatever they wanted but when the money was gone no whining for more. It was their vacation money.  I got them at the Disney store (and people gave for birthday gifts), you can also get them at the hotel. Anyway, whenever they started in for something I didn’t want to buy (the $15 face paint at Animal Kingdom), I’d say, “Do you want to use your Disney dollars??” Whining was done and when the money was gone they didn’t ask for more.  It was pure genius!
 
If you have a little girl, bring her Princess outfit, she'll want to wear it at least once.  If you can get shirts on sale at the Disney store, BONUS less to buy and pack on the way home.  Here is one of my FAVorite photos.


I brought tons of snacks and carried some into the parks each day, including juice boxes (my kids are big snackers).

Pretty much all the food tastes the same at all the parks unless you are doing one of the special places or eating in a country at Epcot.

The children pasta meal is a decent size for an adult. Kids chicken nuggets are similar to McDonalds. Most pizzas are a large paper plate size.

You hardly EVER see fruit except at the hotels. It’s expensive, but if you want fruit and you see it, buy it, you don’t see it oftenJ

There is a McDonalds at Downtown Disney (used to give a 10% discount if you are staying on Disney property if you show your room card) and Wolfgang Pucks has specialty pizzas, salads and sandwiches and it’s one of my favorite places to eat.

 My cousins ate at the Chef Mickey breakfast (you need reservations) at the Contemporary and really liked it. There is also a metal Mickey sculpture thing in the back of the Contemporary that is fun to take pictures on. 
 
Magic Kingdom

 Our DON’T miss list

            Small World
            Haunted Mansion
            Pirates of Carribean
            Buzz Lightyear

If your child is a thrill seeker then I would add

            Runaway Train
            Splash Mountain
            Space Mountain

These are all rides that may need to be Fast Passed
 
We also enjoyed Monsters Inc, Laugh Floor.

Character Meals we’ve had that we made reservations the day before:

Crystal Palace with Pooh and the Gang is a good lunch buffet the characters come to each table and sign autographs. 

Liberty Tree Dinner with Minnie, Goofy and Pluto.  It was roast beef and ham with all the fixings (home cooking).  The characters came to the table and were around a lot.  Food was pretty good, kind of pricey though.  Had lunch there and the Clam Chowder was really yummy.

Spectra Magic…is the night parade.  It is my ABSOLUTE favorite parade.  It’s usually only two nights so be sure to check.  You need to get to a spot early 1-2 hours to save a spot.  We usually sit under the train station as you enter because the parade starts there and when it’s over you are one of the first to your bus to get home.

Epcot~Every Person Comes Out Tired
 
Here's a little secret.  This has been our favorite park for years.  Even when the kids were little, they loved Epcot.  I think it's because it's our Stop, Look and Listen park.  We chill out, look around, watch random shows, eat some great food, have a glass of wine or a beer if you want and just enjoy the day. 

We usually go at around noon and we do the countries first because the rides are less crowded in the afternoon.  In your first country look for the “Tot Spot” or ask, it’s easierJ  When you enter the World Showcase, if you go to the left, Mexico will be your first country and the “Tot Spot” is inside the building just at the bottom of the stairs.  The kids start a mask and then continue through all the countries to finish the mask.  Each country stamps the stick that holds the mask with that countries stamp.  There are always markers to color in every country (so you can move the kids along when you’re ready to go with the promise they can color more in 5 minutesJ) and some offer fun extras like stickers or bells. 

Mexico has a fun little ride inside the building, very tame but one of my kids favorites.  The fast food in Mexico (the outside restaurant) has a good combo platter if you like Mexican.  My son loves the churros.

Norway has an excellent Chocolate Mouse cake (Claire's favorite) in the bakery to the left as you enter.  The ride is fun, has a small flume, my 2 year old loved it, the 5 year old, did not??  At night we sat right by Norway (between Norway and Mexico along the fence, close to the water) to watch the evening Illuminations, great spot to see, watch out for trees, you need a direct view of the pond and above.

The Princess breakfast in Norway was also a hit with both of my kids.  They only serve breakfast food and pastries and if memory serves, it was family style.

China, I’ve only eaten at the “to go” and it was very tasty and the acrobat shows is one of my son’s favorite things to watch.

In Italy and France look for the human sculptures, not always out, but fun to see if they are.  And, Italy has Mimes and performers.  My kids LOVE Italy.
 
Stop in the bakery in France.  The loaves of french bread are my kids favorite.

Character Sightings (look for Mickey’s glove on the map to find them at any of the parks, it took us a few trips to catch this oneJ)

Beauty and the Beast is in France

The Genie from Aladdin is in Monocco as are belly dancers who Max thought were real life Jasmine's:)

Pooh and the Gang is in the UK

The Rides

Fast pass the Test Track and Soarin, it isn’t worth an hour wait in my opinion.  I’d go to Soarin fist thing when you get there.  You can only Fast pass one ride at a time and only one person needs to go to the ride with all the tickets (your ticket to get in is how you get the Fast pass and one person can feed all of them into the machine).  The line at Test Track tends to slow down closer to closing.

Body Wars is a fast ride in Wonders of Life building.  Cranium Command is also in Wonders of Life and another favorite of the kids.

LOVE Turtle Talk with Crush in the Living Seas.

Imagination is our favorite place to play.

I’ve never eaten at the sit down restaurants but Canada was recommended multiple times the last time we were there for having wonderful steak.
Animal Kingdom

This is the day you want to get up early.  Wear good shoes, it feels like you are walking uphill all dayJ, it’s very humid in there and it seems like you walk miles to get anywhere.

To avoid the wait, we get there when it opens and go to the Safari Ride first thing.  Awesome ride, especially if you like animals.

Pizzafari has good pizza and to the right of Pizzafari if you came out of the doors, Lilo and Stitch are usually signing autographs.

You would head up the hill from Lilo and Stitch to the Lion King show, it’s OUTSTANDING, don’t miss.

Great place to meet and greet Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Donald and Daisy is right outside the Lion King performance (We make sure we do this so that we don’t have to stand in the horrible lines at Magic Kingdom in Tune Town, same characters/hour wait sometimes).  The lines are almost non-existent especially if you go there when the show is about ½ over, get your autographs and then wait in line for the show, if you can get a front row seat, they pick kids from the audience to participate, but there really isn’t a “bad” seat.

Tough to Be a Bug was a new favorite.  3D thing, but if you’re scared of bugs I guess you shouldn’t go.

Expedition Everest is their roller coaster and it isn't for the faint of heart.  It goes backwards FAST and almost was a day wrecker for me because I had just eaten.

I also really enjoyed Finding Nemo AND it's air conditioned!!

There is a water ride here, you GET wet, can’t think of the name, Huge hit with the kids.

On your way to Dino-Land, on the right is Pooh and the gang.  It’s down a path (like I said, you walk a long way for everything) and you need to look for it.

Dino-Land is the place to dig for bones and a giant play area, our kids could have spent hours there.  Two fun rides, one very similar to the Dumbo ride at Magic Kingdom and one faster roller coaster/mad mouse type.  McDonalds chicken nugget happy meals can be found to the right as you enter Dino-Land, right past the ice cream stand.

MGM

There is a big chalk type board at the end of the main street when you walk in on the left side of the street by the bakery, it gives you wait times and meet and greet times.

Tower of Terror, LOVE this ride, you drop several times.

Hard to find food at MGM, lots of sit down restaurants (we haven’t eaten there but I guess there is a restaurant that is a 50’s type and the wait staff makes the visit, telling you to put your elbows on the table and such, if that interests you, you may want to ask when you check in because I think you need reservations a few days in advance).  Food place on left as you are walking to Tower of Terror, Burgers, turkey legs, fries and ice cream.

Rock and Roll Roller Coaster is a REALLY fast roller coaster and you have to be 48” to ride.  Takes off FAST so make sure you’re looking forward or you’ll wrench your neck (yep, learned that one by experienceJ).  You will probably want to Fast Pass this one when you get in.

Star Wars is another fast one, you are in the fighter jet.

Pizza Planet has a meet and greet with Woody and the gang.

Back Lot Tour is a must do, try to go there first thing to avoid lines at the end of the tour the kids can play in the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground.

Great Movie ride is fun.

Animation is a walking tour of how it all gets started, great for kids who like to draw.

Little Mermaid show, Beauty and the Beast and Indiana Jones are all good shows.  Lights, Camera, Action (stunt show), wasn’t my favorite but everyone else loved it. 

The Disney playhouse is fun for those under 10.  You’re sitting on the floor…so you’re warned.

Fantasmic is the evening thing, all the villains are there and at the end a boat comes around with all the characters waving.  You usually have to get in line an hour before it starts, I don’t think there is a bad seat but just so you get one.



SIDEBAR ON FAST PASS...You are allowed only one fast pass at a time.  You scan your park ticket to get your fast pass.  Sometimes the fast pass "time" isn't for hours.  So as an example.  You're traveling with 4 people and only 2 like fast rides.  Fast pass your first ride with 2 tickets, go and fast pass another with the other 2.  Also, one person can run with all the passes and do the fast passing.





So there you have it.  We've been to Disney with 20 people and we all had a good time because we just let the day take us where it needed to with a little bit of structure.  Relax and enjoy!!
 

Friday, April 19, 2013

Always the comedian

Another iPhone photo that made me smile. 

For one of our tournaments this year, Max HAD to have these PJs.  He was quite a hit sitting pool side.
The first comment when he woke up after sleeping in them, "My feet hurt".  I'm guessing footie PJs were not intended for boys with size 12 feet but that's just a guess since they were long enough for his 6 foot frame.

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Lemon Cake

Claire has been showing a little more interest in baking and that makes me happy.  I was getting worried that she would never learn until my Mom gently reminded me that I didn't spend anytime in the kitchen either unless it was to bake a cookie and I turned out ok;).  So, she asked to make a cake and I did my best to stay out of her way.  Alanna and a few friends from work said it was the best cake they've ever had.  Yes, I'm smiling as I type:)

What you'll need:

White Cake Mix
2 Eggs
3/4 C Lemon Juice
1/4 C powdered Lemonade Mix (You know, add water and you've got lemonade)
1/4 C Skim Milk
3/4 C lite Sour Cream
4 pack of Lemon Pudding
3/4 bag of Powdered Sugar
1 stick softened Butter
1 T Vanilla
1/4 C Lemon Juice
approx 1/4 C Milk

Mix the mixes, eggs, lemon juice, sour cream and milk with your hand mixer for 2 minutes.  Pour into prepared (sprayed and floured) pan, she chose springform pan but any round pan will do.  Bake according to box directions.  Cool for 10 minutes, invert on plate to finish cooling.

You are going to make a layer cake.  Slice cake in half with serated knife.  Gently life cake top and place to the side.  Squeeze all 4 pudding packs into the middle of the cake.  Spread out to within an inch of the outside.  Top with cake you removed. 

Frosting...Beat powdered Sugar, butter, vanilla, lemon juice.  Add milk slowly until you get desired consistency.  Claire wanted to use decorating bag so we made it a little stiffer.

Serve to your friends:)


I took a photo of her putting the pudding in the middle and accidentally deleted.



Monday, April 15, 2013

Breakfast Sandwich

I worked at a place called The Sandwich Factory back in the day.  Not my favorite job I might add because the customers kinda sucked. 

At any rate, we made a breakfast sandwich that consisted of a scrambled egg microwaved in a bowl or cup for a minute.  I thought it was kind of a slick trick but it also kinda grossed me out and I'm not sure why.  I worked there for almost a year and I never tasted one.

Flash forward 25 years, wait, what? 

25 years!  I'm not that old!!

Anyhoo....flash forward some years and thanks to their father, my children have decided that Bruegger's breakfast sandwiches are the thing to eat after church.  Did I mention that they are $5 each and Max can eat two?  Did I mention it's bacon, cheese and a microwaved egg on a bagel!!  Ok, I can't prove the microwaved egg but it sure looks pretty similar to the eggs from back in the day.  So, I decided to give it a whirl at home where it would cost $5 to make 6 of them and the result..the kids loved them!

Here's what you'll need

1 Bagel ~ fresh, refrigerator or toasted, your choice
2 slices of bacon ~ this can be made ahead of time and kept in fridge for easy assembly.
1 slice American Cheese ~ you can get fancy but my kids like good old cheese slices for this
1 Egg
Cooking Spray

Spray small microwavable bowl with cooking spray.  The one I used is about the size of my palm.  Crack egg, sprinkle with salt and pepper, whisk and throw in the microwave for 1 minute (you might have to adjust cooking time for your microwave) 

I toasted the bagel because they weren't fresh.  Sprayed a little spray butter on it.  Put bacon, cheese and topped with egg.  Cut, serve and put your money back in your pocket:)

You can use any kind of meat or cheese and if you really want to get crazy you could use an English muffin!

Personally, I'd throw some spinach on here too but this is "my" kid friendly today.

 
Here's how it looks coming out of the microwave.  That will be our little secret:)



Yum!

Seriously, how quick and easy was that!

Friday, April 12, 2013

Strawberry Banana Smoothie

Max had braces put on last week.  He was not a happy camper.  His mouth hurt A lot.  I've never had braces so I did my best trying to make something the meat and bread kid would eat but he was getting sick of fried rice and scrambled eggs so I tried a smoothie.  I realize that a smoothie isn't rocket science but it's not something we make around our house and I didn't realize how truly easy they are.  Mr. Doesn't Like Much, liked this.  I'm hoping that this is the start of something healthier for him instead of the endless malts he drinks.

Here's what you'll need:

3/4 C Orange Juice
5 oz container Greek Yogurt ~ I used Strawberry
1 medium banana
1 1/2 C frozen Strawberries

Blend until smooth and serve to the crusty kid on the couch:)

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Book Club Pick

Book club picked a winner last month.  It's a modern classic according to Wikipedia.  And, Alfred Hitchcock made a movie about it years ago.  It started out a little slow but her style of writing drew you in and it was a page turner by the end.  It was also the best book discussion I think we've ever had.  So many different things to discuss and I thoroughly enjoyed it so I thought I'd pass it on.  OH and the bonus is, the library has several copies if you live locally.


Product Details
Thanks Amazon for the photo.

Monday, April 8, 2013

Berry Cheesecake Cobbler

A friend posted a cobbler recipe that looked REALLY familiar.  It was the recipe I've made for years and posted here a couple of times.  BUT she added cream cheese to the topping!!  Stop the madness!!  The girl is a genious!

Put it this way, it was 10 p.m. after a really tough day, I saw her post on FB and I needed to make it for a couple of reasons.  I had fresh strawberries that had only a day left for freshness so they had to be used.  I needed some comfort food.  Even though it's not my first choice for a dessert, cobbler always reminds me of my Dad and that made me feel better immediately. 

Bonus that this version of cobbler was YuMmY!!

Here's what you'll need:

Cobbler

1/2 C Butter
1 C Milk~I used skim
1 C Sugar
1 C self rising Flour (or 1 C regular Flour and 2 t Baking Powder~ edited to take out salt.  OR  1 C Flour, 1 1/2 t Baking Soda and 1/2 t Salt if you want regular recipe)
1 1/2 C Chopped fresh Strawberries
3/4 C Blueberies
1/2 brick (4 oz) Cream Cheese cut into small pieces

Melt butter in 13x9 cake pan in a 375 oven. Keep an eye on it~about 4 minutes, you just want to melt it. Mix right in the pan the milk, flour (salt and baking powder if not using self rising) and sugar. Mix it up. I think the word is slurry, it's like a pancake batter consistency. Or if you want to dirty another bowl, you can mix everything except butter and pour into pan.

Pile your fruit and cream cheese on top..DO NOT STIR in. Bake for about 40 minutes or until lightly browned on top. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.


Cut up your butter and melt while the oven is preheating.
Throw in everything except the fruit.
Here's the slurry you made. I just use a fork to mix it all up, make sure it's not clumpy.


 Ready for the oven. 

It was a hit at work!

Friday, April 5, 2013

Cranberry White Chocolate Cake

I made a homemade version of this a couple of years ago but last night I made an "almost" homemade version because the homemade version calls for "soft" butter and I didn't have any.  Improvisation, that's the name of this game.

It was pretty yummy and no one at work was the wiser.

What you'll need:

White Cake Mix
1 C Milk
2 Eggs
3/4 C Sour Cream ~ I used light
zest from one orange ~ should have used two
1 heaping C Frozen Cranberries
3/4 C White Choc Chips or finely chopped white chocolate bark

Mix the cake mix, milk, sour cream, eggs and zest at medium speed for about 2 minutes.  Fold in cranberries and white chocolate chips.  Pour into bundt or cake pan and bake for about 25-40 minutes (depends on what type of pan you use) or until toothpick tester comes out clean.

Cool, glaze and serve.


3/4 C White Chocolate Chips~I actually used finely chopped white almond bark but didn't take a photo

Zest of one or two oranges

Spread in the pan and put in 350 degree oven for about 40 minutes.

Glaze is 1-2T of Orange Juice and about 1/2 C Powdered Sugar
 
Ok, not my best photo but it was at work when I remembered to take a photo:)
 

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Thai Chicken Curry

My friend Lisa gave me this recipe.  She hadn't tried it but thought that it sounded like something I would like and it was "lite" so that was an added bonus. 

Since I kinda had the stuff I needed in the house, I thought I'd give it a go and it was good.  I would have seasoned a bit differently and will add that in the recipe below.  It was only 6 points per serving too.  That's a great number to work with!!

What you'll need:

2 t Olive Oil
1 4-oz jar of RED curry paste
1 T Tumeric
1/3-1/2 bag baby Carrots chopped
1 medium Onion chopped
1 Red Bell Pepper chopped
3 Medium/Large Potatoes cut into bite size pieces
2 Large Chicken Breasts cut into bite size pieces
15 oz can Lite Coconut Milk
1 1/2 C Chicken Broth or water

Heat oil in wok or large pot over medium heat.  Add curry paste and tumeric and stir around for about a minute.  Add carrots, onion and peppers.  Season with a sprinkling of salt and pepper.  Cook, stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes. 

Add potatoes, chicken, coconut milk and 1 1/2 C broth.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until pototoes and chicken are cooked.  Taste as you go, I felt that I needed another sprinkling of salt.  About 20-30 minutes.  It isn't needed but you could serve over rice.  The 6 points is without.

Makes 5 servings.

A couple of notes...the recipe actually called for yellow curry paste.  I only had red so that's why I added the Tumeric. 

I chopped the carrots into 1/4" rounds and they still had a little crunch.  I was ok with that but if you aren't, chop thinner. 

For the chicken, I chopped into a bite size piece and just before I was going to dump it in, I panicked and chopped each piece in half again.  I was worried that it wouldn't be cooked but no worries, bite size pieces will cook through in the time allowed.

I felt the recipe was lacking in salt and that's why I suggested chicken broth for the next time.  If you want to make this vegetarian, just use vegetable broth and maybe garbonzo beans instead of chicken.

Here's your carrots, onions and peppers sweating it out with your curry paste and tumeric.

 
Add everything else, bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer.  Stir occasionally and it's done when your chicken and potatoes are. 
 
And after about 30 minutes, this is done.  Yummy! 

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Max

I just got the roster for Max's baseball team. He is one of three Max's on the team. It's not the first time this has happened. It's actually happened a handful of times. There were actually four Max's trying out for hockey this year, all his grade level!

Why I find it interesting is that I never thought to see if it was a "popular" name. When I was pregnant I remember commenting on the name Sam and someone said, "you can't name a child Sam. It's SUPER popular and when you yell his name, a dozen heads will turn".

It didn't really matter though because I picked Max's name back in 1990. Yep, Craig had little to do with his name. I pretended that he did but it was set, as was Claire Elizabeth which I also picked in 1990. I wanted to have a Max & Claire and I got very lucky that I got my wish. And honestly, I don't care that there are a ton of Max's running around. It's a cool name that fits him well and the bonus is that our last name is an easy alternative when he is one of three.

Monday, April 1, 2013

Ham Bone Soup

What are you going to do with the ham bone from dinner?!  I don't like peas so that means that I REALLY don't like split pea soup, a common soup to make with your ham bone.  Or we have just plain old bean soup, another one that's not my favorite.  So, I made this soup a couple of years ago and a few times since.  The original had dry black beans in case you want to go that route.   It's a yummy soup and it freezes well. 

What you'll need:

6 quart slow cooker

3 Cans Black Beans rinsed
6 C water
Ham bone ~ my ham was a 7 lb ham and there was still quite a bit of meat on it
1 Red Bell Pepper~chopped
1 Green Bell Pepper~chopped
1 Jalapeno Pepper~minced..I left in half the seeds for heat
1 Anaheim Pepper~minced ~ I left in all the seeds
2 Chipolte Peppers~minced I bought a can and used 2
1 Red Onion~chopped
2 cans Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilis
2 C Salsa ~ I used Medium
1 t Chili Powder
6 cloves Garlic~minced
1 t Kosher Salt
1/4 t Pepper

Place the ham bone in the crockpot. Add the beans and everything else on top except salt and pepper. Cover with water and cook on low for 10-12 hours.

Remove the ham bone, shred the ham that fell off the bone, nothing was left on my ham bone after that long.

I also want to explain the difference between chop and mince. Chop means a small size that you can bite, mince means small enough that you can barely detect it. When recipes call for mince, I use my mini food processor and give it a whirl.
Ham Bone
Chopped green and red
Anaheim pepper is the larger of the two
Can of Chipotle Peppers I bought
Ready to crock

Yum!