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Tasty Tuesday: Slow Cooker Goulash – Make Ahead
I love Pinterest. Especially when I find something that looks doable and then I do it! I’ve been able to mark a few things completed. I cleaned out my sink-drains with baking soda and vinegar. We have turned an old dresser into storage shelves in our basement. Most recently I made Freezer-Ready Crock Pot Goulash, a great recipe for my family and also to give as a gift to a family with a new baby. This is a super easy recipe for goulash and I made three two-gallon freezer bags of it, each with 5 cups of prepared, but not cooked, goulash in it. I put it together this afternoon and then can cook it in…
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Personal Goals
New Years Resolutions. A yearly tradition. A list we come up with to make us feel good, look good but easy to forget all about come March or April. So instead of New Years Resolutions I have come with a list of Personal Goals. I make them and keep them for my work-life at MilitaryAvenue.com. It makes sense to do lay them out in my personal life; not just a way to make me feel better or look better but a means of lifting myself up. These are five of my personal goals for this year: 1. Stay in better touch with my grandparents. Send Pop an email every week. Send a letter to…
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Counter Top Cooking: Beef Stew
Winter comfort food fueled Jacob and Esther’s cooking skills with savory aroma and fantastic chunky beef stew.They pounded a thick round steak then I cut off the excess fat.They mixed the dredging flour and bread crumbs while I heated a heavy saute pan with butter.I cut the meat into small chunks and they rolled it in the flour mixture.They mounded the chunks on a platter so I could brown the beef.They washed the baby carrots, drained the canned mushrooms,decided how much of the chopped onion should go in, and took pinches of dried herbs then added them to the cooker. The joy of sticking a fork into a large jar…
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The Holiday Budget
It is that time of year again. Festive lights, decorated Christmas trees, homemade treats and the celebration of traditions with the promise of a bright future. It can also be a very stressful time of year. The focus has become retail. We spend our time fretting about the ‘perfect gift’, the ‘perfect meal’, the ‘perfect ensamble’ for the brigade or unit party. All of this when we should instead be focusing on what the holiday is about. We have found joy in spending, getting the biggest, best, most luxurious. The worst of it: the stress lasts well into the new year when we overspend, don’t budget and simply spend on impulse instead of planning. Want some simple tips on…
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Herb Pull Apart Yeast Rolls
There is nothing like fresh bread out of the oven to complete a meal. In the past my family has been big fans of frozen store bought rolls, like Pillsbury or Rhodes. However, I recently discovered how much more delicious made from scratch rolls can be. A perfect compliment to soups, steak, or chicken. This side-dish complements the senses. This easy recipe recipe makes 18 rolls, which would be perfect for a Thanksgiving get together but if you are making just for a family dinner you can freeze what you don’t plan on eating for another night. It’s a great way to save a little money and have homemade deliciousness on hand!…
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A Moment Out of the Norm Cooking with GrandBrat
Her name is *E*. She has eyes that shine, a mind that zooms, a sea of energy and a steel trap memory. She is my grandbrat: child of my Brat. Military kids pass on the zest of life and love of challenges.*E* loves action and is at home in the kitchen.After a trip to the farmer’s vegetable stand it was time to put up some tomatoes. Every tomato was washed… 67 tomatoes… 78 gazillion gallons of water.Step one: clean the sink. Scoured and ready to go without a trace of anything left in the drain… good job. Oh how affirmation is uplifting! *E* tenderly sponged all tomatoes. I stood next…
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We Are Grilling to Stay Cool!
It is hot, so we decided to stay out of the kitchen as much as possible at dinner time. Avoiding use of the oven will certainly keep the house cooler and keep that electricity bill down a few cents. So, with some fresh green beans picked from the garden (1.5 cups with ends picked off), a yellow onion sliced thin, olive oil, four chicken breasts, some “Sweet Baby Rays” sauce and some herbs (basil, parsley and rosemary) mixed into the sauce I headed out the door to the grill. Deb did make some very nice garlic potatoes on the stove but it was an on and off quickly. The chicken…
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Spinach on the Side Finland Style
It is almost dinner time and the idea of something a tad out of the ordinary just seems right!Pinaattiohokaiset: Finnish spinach pancakes… don’t jump away… spinach is no longer just for Popeye! My goodness, your children don’t even know who he is! Popeye’s can will never come near to the fresh ingredients that are available daily down the produce aisle.Serve these hot beauties with meat, and if you are serving a roast: with meat and gravy. If the oven was on, preheat a serving dish to present these warmed at the table. If not, turn oven to a low temp and place platter in to warm dish and hold pancakes…
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Child’s Play! Sprinkle Muffins
Tuesdays are one of my very favorite days. Esther and Jacob come to play with me. Drawers are opened, cabinets cleaned out, car ‘noise’ buzzes down the halls, Sesame Street is back on the TV after a 20+ year absence. All of those activities are out of my realm of influence. But let’s get to the kitchen! Let’s see what is cooking today!I asked Jacob… last week for Valentines’ Day we made a Rice Krispie heart. It was amazing. Almost as many sprinkles as marshmallows. But that was the beauty! It was a total Jacob creation.Today it will be muffins. I was thinking, apple or peach, or berry. NO… Sprinkle…
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Definition of Family
Family … it can have a lot of meanings. Moms, Dads, Children, Aunts, Uncles, Grandparents, Nieces, Nephews, Cousins. All are family… and over the past couple weeks I have seen them. Hugged them. Cherished them. We spent time at my folks’ house, over the river and through the woods. (It is not a road trip of epic miles … but with a family of six it can be a few hours, a bit of “Are we there yet?”, and quite a few “MOM, I have to go to the bathroom!”s. While we were at Mom and Dad’s the grandchildren put on their own nativity scene, we ate /too/ much (always…
