Mmmmm...

What an appropriate comment for a mummy.

Yummm

This is the dinner I made for Dad's birthday. The recipe came from Allrecipies - huge number of reviews and ratings (I think the highest I've seen) and VERY simple... Taste was so good I'll actually make it again! You can also make this in a pressure cooker if you didn't get it done earlier! I think I like it that way the best.

1 chuck roast 5-6 lb. fat trimmed (this really is the best cut of meat, but others will work, too)

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1/2 can water

1 bouillon cube or1 t. beef soup base

sliced mushrooms (my choice) - mushrooms really deepen the flavor of the gravy! Don't omit!!

1 pkg onion soup mix

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Combine all ingredients in bottom of crock pot. Add roast and spoon "gravy" on top of it. Cover and cook for hours! I like to cook it at least 12 hours.

1 onion quartered

1 bag baby carrots

yukon gold potatoes, quartered (as many as you want)

Veggies I cooked separately in the pressure cooker.

** I personally don't really like the way the gravy tastes when the carrots are cooked with the meat. I think it gets a little sweet and not as rich and savory. That's why I cooked them separately, but that's strictly my personal preference.

If the gravy is too thin, add a little slurry of cornstarch and water to thicken it up.

Wonderful!!!!!

Blog Stalking

My search for the perfect rama chicken recipe was put on hold after discovering this beauty of a website. It isn't necessarily a great resource for us unless we suddenly find ourselves in the Chicago area, but it's still a fun idea. I was thinking we could do something similar, allowing our own recipes to count as well. What do you guys think?

Temptation

For some unexplainable reason, I was trying to divert my attention from my chocolate craving by reading blog posts about chocolate. Crazy, I know. Nevertheless, I just discovered the single most incredible thing in the universe. Homemade chocolate hazelnut spread. I repeat, homemade chocolate hazelnut spread.

http://phemomenon.blogspot.com/2009/10/homemade-chocolate-hazelnut-spread.html

She says it's tastier than nutella. More flavorful. I don't even know what to do with this information. Who wants to fly out and try this recipe with me??? Any takers? It won't be the same without you.

Deck the Halls. You heard me - deck those halls!

Thought you might like to see some pics of our festive Christmas tree.

We decided to do something different this year - a bit more contemporary, but it looks quite traditional to me now!



We got new ribbon (olive/lime green with silver glitter swirls) and some new ornaments (glass - yikes! gold and silver with beautiful decorations, so that part is new and fancy!

We've also broken down and added lots of our old glass ornaments, too. They're also quite be-u-ti-ful (read this in the voice of Miss Piggy).

Popcorn treat that smells so sweet

Two weeks, two tries, and several successful popcorn balls. I realized recently that when we vowed to experiment to the point of perfection with popcorn ball recipes, it meant I would actually have to start trying. Discovering how easy they are has only made me sad we didn't get into them sooner.
Surprisingly, Dad has made for an excellent kitchen companion. We used the Jell-o recipe on Allrecipes. It's quite easy, but we increased the amount of popcorn called for on the second round we made. The aren't quite so sweet when there is more popcorn to spread the sauce around. We also tried some lightly salted air popped corn in place of microwave bags and the result was very desirable! Now it's your turn!