Today has been one of those days...when I leave my house in the morning, expecting to be home around noon. Except I spent the afternoon taking my daughter for fun things like x-rays and lab tests. It was an unexpected sort of day for me (and my needle phobic baby girl), so I didn't crockpot anything for dinner in the morning. Which means we are stuck eating frozen burger patties, chips and apple slices. Not exactly my favorite, but my burgerholic boys are, no doubt, giving thanks to the heavens above, so there's your silver lining! Now I realize being gone all day is the norm for most of America, but since I'm a stay at home, (shockingly mainstream) homeschooling, homebody-type mom...I'm here pretty much all the time.
If I had known I would be removed from my household for the day, at the very least I would have thrown this into my crockpot. I usually keep a chuck roast in the freezer, and, although manufacturers of 'slow cookers' recommend you don't throw frozen hunks of meat into your crockpot, I will let you in on a little secret. I do it all the time, and we ain't died yet! I think they are CYAing to their litigation department's tune. But that's just me. You have to decide for yourself. (See, I can CMA too.) This is perhaps the most basic a crockpot recipe can get, but it has saved dinner more than once!
Crock'd Roast Beast
1 - 4-5 lb. chuck roast (you can adjust the size accordingly, this feeds our hungry family of 5, with leftovers that make great burritos, tacos, nachos and hot sandwiches for lunch)
Lawry's Seasoning Salt
1/2 cup leftover morning coffee
Season all sides of your roast and put it in your crockpot. Add the coffee. Cover and turn on low for all day cooking. If you happen to have a frozen roast, you might want to turn it on high for an hour before you leave, and then down to low, but it will cook the other way too, just taking a bit longer.
Feel free to slice onions, potatoes, carrots, celery and throw them in there if you like (the roast goes in last). While that does make a handy ENTIRE meal, my family doesn't like their potatoes and veggies this way. When I'm really pressed to get dinner on the table a bag of frozen broccoli and loaf of french bread go a long way towards completing a meal. This is also a great way to use up half empty bottles of sauces, marinades, salsa etc. Just eliminate the coffee and seasoning salt. If you have plenty of time, whip up some mashed potatoes, use the pan juices to make gravy and live large.
Well, the siren song of frozen sirloin patties from Sam's Club are calling...
xoxo
~S
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Fling them aside!
Cast them off!
Today, just this morning, I have flung Monkey #2 off my back. The TV issue, solved Monday, I guess has to qualify as #1. But really, this morning's, was so much more fulfilling. The details are boring, so I won't list them, but Bill and I are going to raise our glasses to taking care of bidness tonight!
And before anyone goes off getting all...I hate Sherri and her perfect, monkey flung off, life...just know there are plenty where that one came from. My life is by any measure NOT perfect.
One monkey at a time.
Even though I tend to want to take on the whole zoo in one massive, life altering, glorious, hard left turning change, the world in general, seems not to want to cooperate.
So I will settle for one at time, and be glad it's gone.
And really hope we didn't just make room for a new one. Hardee har har. That would be a drag!
So if you've been putting it off...just start. This particular monkey fling has been MONTHS in the making, but if we hadn't started...well I'd be carting that thing around my neck right now.
Love ya'!
~Sherri
P.S. My reward for this??? Spending the day at one of those tortuous kid places full of LOUD video games and go carts with my boys. They won a trip from our charter school. Good test scores or something useless like that. I'll be bringing the Advil. You can find me at the picnic bench in the shady corner.
Today, just this morning, I have flung Monkey #2 off my back. The TV issue, solved Monday, I guess has to qualify as #1. But really, this morning's, was so much more fulfilling. The details are boring, so I won't list them, but Bill and I are going to raise our glasses to taking care of bidness tonight!
And before anyone goes off getting all...I hate Sherri and her perfect, monkey flung off, life...just know there are plenty where that one came from. My life is by any measure NOT perfect.
One monkey at a time.
Even though I tend to want to take on the whole zoo in one massive, life altering, glorious, hard left turning change, the world in general, seems not to want to cooperate.
So I will settle for one at time, and be glad it's gone.
And really hope we didn't just make room for a new one. Hardee har har. That would be a drag!
So if you've been putting it off...just start. This particular monkey fling has been MONTHS in the making, but if we hadn't started...well I'd be carting that thing around my neck right now.
Love ya'!
~Sherri
P.S. My reward for this??? Spending the day at one of those tortuous kid places full of LOUD video games and go carts with my boys. They won a trip from our charter school. Good test scores or something useless like that. I'll be bringing the Advil. You can find me at the picnic bench in the shady corner.
Monday, October 25, 2010
cookie bars with a dash of paranoia
So today, I let 2 strange men into my home. It helped that they had been scheduled. That they were expected. Wearing uniforms and carrying a clipboard. That they were bringing a replacement TV for the piece of junk Samsung was passing off as a TV a year and a half ago. But still. I detest having people in my house for deliveries, repairs or installations. Cleaning, well, my tolerance shoots way up for that category.
First off, they are always MEN who are delivering, installing and repairing. Not once in the 25 years that I've been in charge of getting stuff done has it been a woman. Second, these things always have to occur during the week which means Bill is generally at work. What educated, savvy woman flings open her door to complete strange men types? Thirdly, they always expect me to know lots of things I don't. Like where was the last cable run? Where is your water main? Will it be okay to drill a hole through the wall? Fourth, they have occasionally been...condescending...like the water heater delivery/installation dude who wanted to just go ahead and flood my garage because he didn't want to wait for the thing to drain properly (and slowly) through a hose out into the gutter. He actually rolled his eyes when I said...'Uh, no? Let me call someone and see if that's okay.' Unable to get Bill on the phone, I was able to get my trusty brother-in-law on the phone who then chewed the guy a new one for me. Gotta love family. And finally, what if they're really casing the joint? Looking to see how to best get in later to murder us all in our sleep??? I'm just sayin'. A little paranoid. I think it's all those Ellery Queen Mystery shows my dad let me watch when I was little. Timothy Hutton's dad sure was handsome though. And I do go through my whole house afterwards making sure they didn't leave a window unlocked for later. Welcome to my little corner of insanity. It's cozy here. And why I told Evan to look Very Big while they were here.
AND, because Judy and I both feel guilty about throwing our recyclables into the trash...here's my blue ribbon winning Chocolate Chip Cookie Bar recipe. If there is someone who is just not letting you off the hook...make 'em some of these. It might help smooth things over.
I bake these in a 15" x 9 3/4"ish black jellyroll pan. It's one my grandma gave me one day, so I have no idea where it came from. I mention this only because some people swear the pan must be what makes these awesome. I'm not so sure because I've baked them in other pans too, you just have to sort of adjust your cooking time if the size is different.
You'll need:
2 1/4 cups flour (Don't just scoop it out with your measuring cup, that packs it in and then your cookies will be dough heavy. I'm all about less dough and MORE CHOCOLATE. Kind of fluff up your floor and then spoon it into the measuring cup with a big serving spoon like I do.)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened (Use regular, salted butter. Don't even think about margarine. It won't taste as good.)
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup PACKED dark brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract (Again, use the real stuff. It's probably the difference between blue ribbon and honorable mention.)
2 large eggs
2 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (I get mine in the huge bag at Sam's club so I have no idea if this translates handily into a smaller bag size from the grocery.)
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
Mix together the flour, baking soda and salt in a smallish bowl. Use a whisk to mix and sift the ingredients together.
In a different bowl (I use my Kitchen Aid mixer. I love that thing. Worth every cent it cost. Unlike the worthless TV...), beat together the butter, sugars and vanilla. Add the eggs and beat some more. Gradually beat in the flour. You can do all this by hand by the way, I have, and the cookies still rock. Stir in the chocolate chips.
Spread dough into a greased (I just use Pam) jelly roll pan. Bake for 15 minutes. They will be a nice golden/light brown all across. Cool, in pan, on a wire rack. Divide the pan up into however many servings you want and enjoy with some icy cold milk!
Love ya!
~S
First off, they are always MEN who are delivering, installing and repairing. Not once in the 25 years that I've been in charge of getting stuff done has it been a woman. Second, these things always have to occur during the week which means Bill is generally at work. What educated, savvy woman flings open her door to complete strange men types? Thirdly, they always expect me to know lots of things I don't. Like where was the last cable run? Where is your water main? Will it be okay to drill a hole through the wall? Fourth, they have occasionally been...condescending...like the water heater delivery/installation dude who wanted to just go ahead and flood my garage because he didn't want to wait for the thing to drain properly (and slowly) through a hose out into the gutter. He actually rolled his eyes when I said...'Uh, no? Let me call someone and see if that's okay.' Unable to get Bill on the phone, I was able to get my trusty brother-in-law on the phone who then chewed the guy a new one for me. Gotta love family. And finally, what if they're really casing the joint? Looking to see how to best get in later to murder us all in our sleep??? I'm just sayin'. A little paranoid. I think it's all those Ellery Queen Mystery shows my dad let me watch when I was little. Timothy Hutton's dad sure was handsome though. And I do go through my whole house afterwards making sure they didn't leave a window unlocked for later. Welcome to my little corner of insanity. It's cozy here. And why I told Evan to look Very Big while they were here.
AND, because Judy and I both feel guilty about throwing our recyclables into the trash...here's my blue ribbon winning Chocolate Chip Cookie Bar recipe. If there is someone who is just not letting you off the hook...make 'em some of these. It might help smooth things over.
I bake these in a 15" x 9 3/4"ish black jellyroll pan. It's one my grandma gave me one day, so I have no idea where it came from. I mention this only because some people swear the pan must be what makes these awesome. I'm not so sure because I've baked them in other pans too, you just have to sort of adjust your cooking time if the size is different.
You'll need:
2 1/4 cups flour (Don't just scoop it out with your measuring cup, that packs it in and then your cookies will be dough heavy. I'm all about less dough and MORE CHOCOLATE. Kind of fluff up your floor and then spoon it into the measuring cup with a big serving spoon like I do.)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened (Use regular, salted butter. Don't even think about margarine. It won't taste as good.)
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup PACKED dark brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract (Again, use the real stuff. It's probably the difference between blue ribbon and honorable mention.)
2 large eggs
2 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (I get mine in the huge bag at Sam's club so I have no idea if this translates handily into a smaller bag size from the grocery.)
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
Mix together the flour, baking soda and salt in a smallish bowl. Use a whisk to mix and sift the ingredients together.
In a different bowl (I use my Kitchen Aid mixer. I love that thing. Worth every cent it cost. Unlike the worthless TV...), beat together the butter, sugars and vanilla. Add the eggs and beat some more. Gradually beat in the flour. You can do all this by hand by the way, I have, and the cookies still rock. Stir in the chocolate chips.
Spread dough into a greased (I just use Pam) jelly roll pan. Bake for 15 minutes. They will be a nice golden/light brown all across. Cool, in pan, on a wire rack. Divide the pan up into however many servings you want and enjoy with some icy cold milk!
Love ya!
~S
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)