 Today I scrubbed the kitchen floor so I moved the kitchen chairs and the high chair into the living room. As I was working, I looked up and saw that my 2 year old had climbed into the high chair (in the living room) and was just hanging out. I couldn't help but laugh, so he started laughing too.
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 I posted this recipe almost a year ago on my website, but did not put the recipe on the blog. So hear it is for any new readers. This is one of my favorites. I love being able to put this in the crock pot in the morning and have an easy meal preparation at dinner time. Ingredients: One 3 lb. boneless chuck roast 1 1/2 tsp. House Seasoning* 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1 onion, thinly sliced 3 bay leaves 3 or 4 beef bouillon cubes, crushed (I have used beef base instead) 2 cloves garlic, crushed (you can use 1 tsp. jarred crushed garlic instead of 2 fresh cloves to save time) One 10 3/4 oz. can condensed cream of mushroom soup 1/4 to 1/2 cup Chardonnay wine (I have used Merlot when I have had it on hand) 1. Sprinkle roast on all sides with House Seasoning; season well. In moderately hot skillet, brown roast on all sides in oil. 2. Place roast in crock pot. On top of roast, layer onion, bay leaves, crushed beef bouillon cubes, crushed garlic, and cream of mushroom soup. Add Chardonnay. Cover with just enough water to cover all the ingredients sufficiently. Cook on low setting approximately 8 hours. *House Seasoning: 1 cup salt 1/4 cup black pepper 1/4 cup garlic powder Stir the ingredients together and store in shaker or other container. If you make other Paula Deen recipes, you will use this seasoning in many of her recipes. If not, you can reduce the amounts of your seasonings so that you will make a smaller amount. Here are the amounts you will need to make a 1/4 recipe of House Seasoning. Smaller recipe for House Seasoning: 1/4 cup salt 1 Tbsp. black pepper 1 Tbsp. garlic powder Pot Roast and House Seasoning Recipes are from Paula Deen's Kitchen Classics: The Lady & Son's Savannah Country Cookbook and The Lady and Son's, Too! This is one of my favorite cookbooks that I often go to when I want a good home cooked meal. Mashed Potatoes Several potatoes depending on how many people you are serving (I use 6 to 8 potatoes.) Russet potatoes or Yukon Gold are my favorites to mash. Half and Half or part cream & part milk (If all you have is milk, use straight milk) Butter Salt 1. Peel and chop potatoes into large chunks. 2. Put in a large covered pot, cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook until potatoes are tender. 3. When potatoes are tender, drain and mash them with a potato masher. If you don’t have a potato masher, you can use a mixer. 4. Add half and half or cream and milk or just milk to thin the potatoes. Stir in butter for flavor 3 to 4 Tablespoons should be good. Stir in salt for flavor. Continue to stir and mash until you get the consistency that you want. You can always thin with more half and half. Taste to make sure you get the flavor you want. Gravy from Beef Broth: 1/4 cup water 4 Tbsp. flour 1 1/2 cup broth (leftover from pot roast) 1. Mix 1/4 cup water with 4 Tbsp. flour. 2. Pour 1 1/2 cup broth into skillet. 3. Add water-flour mixture. 4. Cook and stir on medium heat until thickened. 5. Salt and pepper to taste.  He was so excited to have his birthday cake. He blew out his candles like such a big boy.  My little baby is growing up so fast.
 I wanted to make my son a special cake for his second birthday with a farm theme since he loves to sing E-I-E-I-O. I had very little time to decorate a cake with 3 young children. I used some farm toys we already had and was able to do this in about 30 minutes. The hay bales are Kraft German Chocolate Cake marshmallows. The cake was delicious and my son loved it. I adapted the recipe from momswhothink.com. The original recipe was for a three layer round cake so I changed the cooking time to accomidate a 13 X 9 baking pan. I also made the icing differently than the original recipe. This icing is really good! Thanks to my sister-in-law Stephanie for taking pictures!   Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Frosting
Cake Ingredients: 1 cup cocoa powder 2 cups boiling water 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened 2-1/2 cups sugar 4 eggs, at room temperature 2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking soda 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract Chocolate Cake Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 13 X 9 cake pan. 2. In a medium bowl, stir the boiling water into the cocoa until smooth, and set aside. 3. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt, and set aside. 4. At medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar for 4 to 5 minutes. 5. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. 6. Turn mixer down to low speed. Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture alternately with the cocoa mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. 7. Stir in the vanilla, and do not over-beat. 8. Pour batter into prepared pan. 9. Bake for aproximately 40 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. 10 Cool in pan, set on cooling rack for 10 minutes. Invert pan on rack, remove pan, and allow cake to cool completely before frosting. Chocolate Frosting Ingredients: 1 6-ounce package semi-sweet chocolate chips (1 cup) 1/2 cup half-and-half 3/4 cup butter (1-1/2 sticks) 2-1/2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar (powdered sugar) Chocolate Frosting Directions: 1. Combine the chocolate chips, half-and-half and butter in a heavy saucepan. 2. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until chocolate chips melt. Remove from heat. 3. Gradually add the confectioners' sugar, stirring well. 4. Put icing in mixing bowl and refrigerate until cold. Then mix with electric mixer until light and fluffy.  This is a simple crock pot recipe that is just delicious over mashed potatoes or egg noodles. I made a double recipe yesterday and we took dinner to our neighbors who just had a baby. You can leave the red wine out if you want. Your sauce will be thicker without the wine, but you can always add a little extra water. It doesn't really matter what kind you use. I used a merlot. I usually keep inexpensive wine around for cooking. I have included a basic recipe for mashed potatoes at the end of this post.
Ingredients: 1 1/2 to 2 lb round steak 1 can cream of mushroom soup 1 small can mushroom pieces and stems 1 pouch Lipton Beefy Onion soup and dip mix 1 cup red wine* Directions: Cut steak into 5 or 6 pieces and put in crock pot. Put the other ingredients in crock pot on top of the meat. Cook on low about 8 hours or until meat is tender. The meat will still be in chunks. You can serve it in chunks and individuals can break it up themselves on their mashed potatoes. Serve over mashed potatoes or egg noodles. *You can use broth or water in place of the red wine, but the wine adds the most flavor. Mashed Potatoes Several potatoes depending on how many people you are serving (I use 6 to 8 potatoes.) Russet potatoes or Yukon Gold are my favorites to mash. Half and Half or part cream & part milk (If all you have is milk, use straight milk) Butter Salt 1. Peel and chop potatoes into large chunks. 2. Put in a large covered pot, cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook until potatoes are tender. 3. When potatoes are tender, drain and mash them with a potato masher. If you don’t have a potato masher, you can use a mixer. 4. Add half and half or cream and milk or just milk to thin the potatoes. Stir in butter for flavor 3 to 4 Tablespoons should be good. Stir in salt for flavor. Continue to stir and mash until you get the consistency that you want. You can always thin with more half and half. Taste to make sure you get the flavor you want.  I recently had the opportunity to try Rockin Green Laundry detergent. This stuff is amazing. You have to see for yourself all the ways people have used it (other than for washing clothes). "Rockin’ Green is: Dye free, Comes in several yummy scents (& an unscented version for sensitive skin), No fillers, No enzymes or optical brighteners, 100% Phosphate free, Vegan, Great for sensitive skin." Rockin Green also works well on cloth diapers. I put it to the test with cloth diapers and training pants and they came out clean and smelling fresh. It comes in three different formulas Hard Rock, Classic Rock, and Soft Rock. I used Classic Rock. It is best to look at a map on the Rockin Green site to determine which formula will work best with your water type. One of the really cool things about this detergent is that it comes in several fabulous scents. I tried Smashing Watermelons, Rage against the Rasberry, and Bare Naked Babies. I loved each one. They were not overpowering, they had just the right amount of scent and made for wonderfully fresh clean clothes. I would love to try the other scents too. Try it for yourself. You can check it out at Rockin Green and You can win a 45/90 load bag of Rockin Green in the scent of your choice.
 Enter to win a 45/90 load bag of Rockin Green in the scent and formula of your choice. Winner will be selected using random.org.
Here’s How To Enter: NOTE: Beneath this posting is the word “Comments.” This is where you’ll put your entries. Only entries on this posting will be counted. 1) To enter the giveaway tell me which scent and formula you would like to try. You can visit Rockin Green to figure out which formula is best for your water type. After you have commented, here are some other ways to enter: (Please, make sure that you submit extra comments if you do these.) 2) For three extra entries, subscribe to my email newsletter or RSS Feed and leave separate comments letting me know that you have done this. Leave a separate comment for each entry (3 comments). If you are already subscribed, thank you and make sure you leave comments letting me know. You will need to activate your subscription by clicking on the link in the email that feedburner sends you. 3) Blog, Tweet or Share on Facebook about this giveaway . Make sure you come back and leave a separate comment letting me know that you’ve done this. Entry is open to US residents only through 11:59PM on Sunday, September 25, 2011. Winner will be chosen using random.org and contacted by email. If you’re the winner, you’ll have only 48 hours to respond or an alternate will be chosen. Good luck to all of you who enter! Disclosure: I was provided the product for review, but was not compensated for writing this post. All opinions are honest and are my own. |
Welcome to Home Ec @ HomeHi, I'm Faith, a former Family and Consumer Science teacher turned work at home Mom blogger. I love God, my family, and food. You can usually find me in the kitchen preparing family friendly, homemade recipes and taking lots of pictures.  Fan Favorites
 Balsamic Roasted Chicken with Brussels Sprouts and Bacon
 Dehydrating Pears and Apples in the Instant Pot Duo Crisp
Low Carb Million Dollar Spaghetti Squash Casserole
 
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