Garage Sale and Banana Bread

Yesterday, we had our badly needed garage sale. We got our butts up at 5 a.m. to set everything up and fried out in the sun till 2 p.m. (even though we had SPF 50 on). BUT the good news is we made just under $400 and still have a few items we can put up on Craigslist to see if we can sell them there.

Afterwards, we got a truck and hauled everything to Goodwill and Habitat for Humanity. I took about a gazillion books we were trying to sell to a used bookstore to resell and donate to the Iraqi Veterans Hospital. Plus, we were selling cold drinks, Lemon Pound Cake, and Banana Nut Bread at the sale, so I took the leftovers to the Central Fla. SPCA to give to the staff. I sometimes do that as an appreciation for what they do everyday. Afterwards, we were pooped!

Good karma, we haz it!

Now about those cakes. We sold quite a bit of it and got some wonderful comments. The banana nut bread is a recipe from Southern Living that took me FOREVER to find. It seems all other banana nut breads I tried were too dense and dry, so I went of a quest one year to find THE RECIPE. When I first made this, I knew it was going to be a hit just by the way the batter tasted. Now, normally I am not a batter licker, but it smelled so good I couldn't help myself!

Cream Cheese Banana Nut Bread
Recipe source: Southern Living

3/4 cup butter, softened
1 (8 oz.) packaged of cream cheese
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
3 cups All purp. flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (I use over ripe bananas)
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted

Beat butter and cream cheese together until creamy. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, and beat until blended. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture until blended. Mix in bananas and vanilla until blended. Hand mix in pecans.

Preheat oven to 350. Spoon batter into two, greased & floured 8 x 4 inch loaf pans and bake for approximately 1 hour or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. When finished, cool in pans for 10 minutes, then remove and cool for 30 minutes before slicing (it's hard to do, I know!)

The Lemon Pound Cake is an Ina Garten recipe and I adore her. If she were so hopelessly devoted to Jeffrey, I'd marry her and have her babies. Every recipe I've ever made of hers has been a pure #1 hit. Again, the batter was a dead give away. I'll have to post that another time, cuz it's late and I'm still recovering.

Paradise Lost

Well, hubs and I made our hit-and-run to Key West this past weekend. We drove down on Friday, stayed Saturday, and drove back on Sunday. It's about an 8 hour drive from Orlando...or close to 6 if I drive.

When hubs tells people that he's from Key West, he inevitably gets some sort of response asking WHY in the WORLD would he ever move from such a wonderful place? Well, unless you have a major drinking problem or enjoy working three jobs to stay afloat, Key West isn't all that or a bag of chips. But, it's fun to visit every now and again.

Whenever we go down there, we HAVE to visit Sandy's and either drink a Buche or Colada Cuban coffee. Sandy's is both a laundry mat and a Cuban Deli, but they serve the best damn Cuban sandwiches and Cuban coffee on the island. Basically, Buches are served in the leetle, leetle 1 oz. cups because they are the equivalent of Cuban speed. Over the years, hubs and I have built up a tolerance for Coladas, which are about 4 or 5 Buches in one glass. After one Colada, we're flying for the rest of the day. Don't tell my cardiologist.

Saturday night, we went to dinner with his family for his mom's 85th birthday party. It was really interesting to listen to some of the old "Conchs" talk about what Key West was like back in the 70's and 80's. Waiters and waitresses used to get tipped in cocaine instead of money and the clubs had parties that were basically free-for-all orgies. Good times!

And of course, no visit to Key West would be complete without a picture of a chicken.

Off to Margaritaville

Well, we’re off this weekend to Key West for hubby’s family reunion, or as he likes to call it, “A Dysfunctional Odyssey”.

Hubby is from Key West and still has a good majority of his family living down there. They are a bunch of “conch-heads” and you would think living down there is da’ bomb, but alas, it is not. It fails.

It’s one thing to visit down there for a wild weekend or Fantasy Fest, but another if you live down there. Actually, it’s pretty boring and the locals avoid Duval Street like Mike Tyson taking a SAT.

BUT, we know of all the good local places for NOMs and good Cuban coffee. Mostly, it will be quasi relaxing and quiet. Oh wait, did I tell you that it’s ALSO Bike Week down there this weekend too? No? I did not?

Should be good for major LOLs. I’ll bring the camera.

Meal in a What???

Wanna a great recipe that will not only use up leftovers, but is also an awesome meal/snack to serve during football season?

Make a Meal In a Loaf!

It's a meal!
It's a loaf!

It's delicious!

Yep, this is another keeper I snagged from my ever resourceful Cooking Forum. Thank you Katie for such an awesome idea!

I used the ham, swiss, and pickle mixture, which tasted amazingly like a Cuban sandwich sans the roast pork. But I could imagine it with:

- Steak/chopped, cooked roast, provolone, sautéed onions with a horseradish spread
- Pepperoni, mozzarella, and roasted veggies with pizza sauce
- Cooked, chopped turkey, swiss, chopped tomatoes with a Ranch dressing

The possibilities are endless!

And don't be afraid of the yeast people! I didn't use my Kitchenaide for this either. Just mix the dough in a bowl, then turn it out on a floured cutting board and knead.

Meal in a Loaf
Recipe By : Katie, from The Cooking Forum
Serving Size : 8

4 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 packages yeast
1 cup water
1/4 cup dijon mustard (I used an extra 1/4 cup to spread on dough)
2 tablespoons butter
1 - 2 cups chopped cooked ham -- (8 oz.)
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese -- or cheddar
1/2 - 1 cup chopped dill pickle
1 egg - beaten

Set aside 1 cup flour. Melt butter in a 2 cup, microwave safe measuring cup. Add water (hot tap is fine) to butter then add yeast and sugar. Mix well and let sit to activate the yeast. Mix water mixture into 3 cups of flour then add mustard and salt. Mix in enough reserved flour to make a soft dough and knead 4 minutes. *OR* Throw everything in the bread machine.

On a greased baking sheet, roll dough to 14"x12". Spread extra mustard down the center of dough, sprinkle ham, cheese, and pickle down 1/3 of dough length. Make cuts from filling to edges of dough at 1" intervals. Bring strips from opposite sides of filling together, twist, and place at an angle across filling. Cover. Let rise until almost double (about 1 hour). Brush loaf with egg. Bake @ 375° for 25 minutes or until browned (mine took about 45 minutes). Serve warm.

Oh, Snap!

I love food that fools you. Not in a bad way, mind you, but when your brain expects one thing and you’re delivered something else. It makes you think about expectations and perceptions. More importantly it lets the food you want to highlight really shine through.

These cookies are just the ticket. Oh yes, they’re gingersnaps alright, but just a little more “snappy” than what you’d expect. The kick comes from a touch of cayenne pepper, which really emphasizes the ginger’s finishing “snap”. Hence the extra snappy.

I make these every year for the holidays, but I’m careful of who I give these to. Some people are really sensitive to spicy food and don’t like them, but they really do rock. Or snap!

Extra Snappy Gingersnaps

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger, or more to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
8 tablespoons (1 stick) cool unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus extra for rolling
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup molasses (not blackstrap)
1/4 cup egg whites (from about 2 eggs)

Combine the flour, baking soda, and spices in a mixing bowl and set aside. Cream the butter until smooth and fluffy in a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or using a hand mixer). Add the sugars and mix. Add the molasses and mix. Add the egg whites
in 2 batches, mixing to combine after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in three batches, mixing to combine after each addition. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Spread a few tablespoons of granulated sugar on a small plate. Roll the dough into 3/4-inch balls, then roll each ball in the sugar until lightly coated. Transfer to parchment lined cookie sheets, leaving 1-inch of space between the cookies. Bake until browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool on wire racks and store in an airtight
container. Yield: 60 cookies.

Projectus Interruptus

“By this time next week, things will be back to normal”
“We’ll have this all done by next month”
“By next Friday, all of these boxes will be outta here!”
“By this time next month, we’ll have our house back”

I’ve been spouting crap like that for the past 3 months! From July until this very moment, our life has been a non-stop project. And I know we bring it on ourselves; life wouldn’t be the same for hubs and me if we weren't tackling something major at least ONCE a year. :-)

So we decided to take the money we saved from our “stimulization” check and buy some badly needed office furniture. It came in this weekend (of course), which meant we had to rent a truck to go pick up the furniture. Oh, and while we were at it, let’s use said truck to haul all the crap we don’t want any more out of the storage unit for a huge, huge HUGE garage sale on the 27th. As hubs quoted from CCR, “And when the tax man comes, lord don’t the house look like a rummage sale.” Our house looks like an inside-out yard sale and the garage is chock-a-block stuffed with furniture, books, and boxed things that have no description.

By this time next month, things will be back to normal.

And on top of that, we’re having the carpets cleaned either today or tomorrow. So, everything that’s on the carpet had to be moved onto the tile. Hey, did you know that an old computer (that’s not running) will condense water on the bottom metal panel and soak your carpet?

Yeah, we didn’t know either.

Sigh.

Hey, Nice Buns!

Whew! It's been catch-as-catch-can around here lately. Quite honestly, these past three or four weeks have been a mess...what with remodeling both bathrooms, getting the same cold/flu virus TWICE, an annoying amount of wind and rain, courtesy of Fay, and being transferred at my job.

There hasn't been much going on food-wise. In case you haven't noticed!

But, life is about to get back to normal (whatever that is!) and it's time to get back in the kitchen. Last nite, I made the most AMAZING dinner rolls/buns ever. And trust me, I've baked a lot of bread in my time.

These were so easy, I didn't even have to lug the trusty-ol' Kitchenmaid out and use the dough hook. I just mixed this all up in a big bowl, then used my hands to finish kneading in the same bowl. I ended up using just a touch more flour called for, as I found the dough to be very shaggy.

This recipe made 20 HUGE buns (we wanted to use them for sandwiches) or will make 36 nice-sided dinner rolls.

The Spicery Rolls
(Again, another keeper from the Cooking Forum!)

1 1/2 cups boiling water
1/2 cup margarine (I use butter)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups water (hot but not boiling)
6 ounces evaporated milk
1/4 cup yeast (yes, that is correct...Active Dry is fine)
9 1/8 cups flour

In a large bowl, pour boiling water over butter. Add salt and sugar and stir well. When butter is melted, mix in additional water. Stir in evaporated milk. Slowly add flour and yeast. Turn out onto floured board and knead for about 10 minutes. Next grease a large bowl thoroughly, put the dough in it and turn it over so the surface will be greased. Let rise in a warm place until doubled, punching down twice, about an hour. Form into dinner-size rolls. Let rise until doubled. Bake 20-25 minutes at 375 degrees. Makes 36 large rolls.

One Year Ago Today

One year ago today, I married the love of my life. What can I say about the past year except it’s been sweet, full of laughter, love, a few snarls, and wonderfully comforting. That last bit may not sound like much, but it’s felt like home: summer afternoons with the Rainbird sprinkler chattering away, giggling children on Halloween night, delicious homemade meals shared together and with friends, sleepy Sunday mornings, and stolen kisses.

Although we’ve been together for over 5 years, this past year has been a giddy new adventure. I still get proud goosebumps at calling him “my husband”, tax forms are different for me now, as well as the mail that arrives to our house under my new name. Things are more permanent and we both share the comfort knowing we are part of something bigger than ourselves.

We will celebrate by trying to recreate some of the amazing experiences we shared from our wedding day to our 2 week honeymoon on Vancouver Island, B.C. and in Washington state. We’ll have dinner at the kitschy German restaurant where we had our wedding reception, to include swinging beir steins and an oompa-om-pah-pah German band. We’ll defrost the wedding cake I made; a gift for both of us on our wedding day. We’ll drink champagne and eat triple cream cheese with fresh fruit. We’ll even order cheesecake from the most out-of-this-world confectional at Pike’s Market in Seattle.

Ooof, then we’ll diet! :-)

But most of all, we’ll hold each other close, steal a few more kisses, and be grateful for each and everyday we have with each other.

Something Other Than Fay

So, over lunch today, hubs and I discussed the dramz over Michael Phelps and his appearing on the Frosted Flakes cereal box versus Wheaties.

“Well you know people have their panties all in a knot over this. Frosted Flakes has all that sugar and only 1/3 of the fiber.”

“Fiber gooooooooo-ooood.”

“I heard General Mills couldn’t or wouldn’t cough up the dough, so that’s why he’s not on Wheaties.”

“Maybe Wheaties is old-skool. You know, like who eats Wheaties anymore?”

“But that’s not the point. It’s just AMERICAN for an Olympian to be on the Wheaties box. It shouldn’t be about the benajmins. He won’t need the money.”

“Maybe he doesn’t like the color orange?

(LOLz photo from: Iasshole)

Alright Fay, Go the Hell Away!

Day 3: Rains and wind gusts over 50 mph still continue to make life miserable.

Umbrella casualty = 1. Natives are getting restless (meaning me).

No moar!

Thinking of My Friends

This will be an interesting week for some people here in Florida. The "potential" hurricane Fay is set to bear down on my West Coast friends in the next 48 hours, and, well you know how that goes. Those of us that are more seasoned are planning for this to be a real rain-maker, which is good. We need the rain.

It's pretty bad when you wish for a Tropical Depression just to get the rain. Speaking of, why do they call it a Tropical "depression"? Shouldn't it be named something more appropriate like "Tropical Fury" or "Tropical Irritation", or even "Tropical PMS?" There doesn't seem to be anything depressing about it, except the long lines at Home Despot and the non-stop media frenzy.

Still, that doesn't take the edge off. We all know "it ain't over till the fat lady sings" and a "Tropical Pain-in-the-Ass" can turn into a nasty hurricane overnight. To all my friends out there on the West Coast: take care and be safe!

If You Like Pina Coladas

You can thank me later for that juicy little ear-worm I just planted in your right ear. Wrath of Kahn people!

I bought these cute, little popsicle molds from Bad Breath and Beyond last month and I totally thought they would rock with those sippy straws for leakage, but they don’t. But that didn’t stop me from rocking the blender with some fresh fruit. Dole, eat your heart out!

Pina Colada Popsicles (makes 8)

½ can of pineapple chunks with ½ of the juice
½ can of coconut milk
2 very ripe bananas
½ cup to 1 cup Pina Colada drink mixer

Blend all of the ingredients in a blender till smooth. Pour into popsicle molds and freeze for 8 hours. Slurp up!

**Note: If you don’t have popsicle molds, Dixie cups will work fine with a wooden popsicle stick inserted. Wait till the mixture is halfway frozen, but soft enough to insert the stick.

The Power of Compost

When moved into this tiny little starter-home over 4 years ago, we had big dreams. The house was on a cul-de-sac, with a big yard and a conservation area behind the property. It was perfect.

Even though the house was only 2 years old at the time, the previous owners left a lot of work for us to do. From painting every interior surface, to French drains, to tiling the whole house & new carpet (we actually had contractors show up for that one!), to resodding the lawn with an irrigation system last year, we’ve pretty much have touched, scrubbed, tilled, and handled every inch of this house. We’ve made it into our little paradise.

When we were settled, the first thing I wanted to do was start a compost pile at the edge of the conservation area. Take a look at this pathetic amaryllis on the bottom left of this photo.

After 2 years of a continuous diet of leaves, cow chips, grass clippings and kitchen scraps, this thing is almost as tall as I am! I’m 5’6”! The compost pile is behind the amaryllis and has turned this thing into a monster. Luckily, I was able to repay my cow chip supplier friend in Deland with big, healthy clumps of amaryllis for her garden.

Grow baby, grow!

Viola!

Well, we finally finished the guest bath! Just as promised, here are some pics of before, after, and during. I'm also putting in a collage of the "during" pics. Now granted, this is the FIRST time I've ever done anything like this ever; however, I'm pretty durned proud of myself! Hubby did help quite a bit; he did the plumbing, demolition, and mitre saw. We have a good system; I do the detail and he does the technical stuff. It took us a week to strip the bathroom down to the floor, scrape the sub-flooring, fix the mildew/mold issue (the previous owners had a leak at one time...nasty!), cut the tiles, do a dry run, set the tiles, grout, baseboards, caulking, new toilet, new vanity, new granite countertop/sink combo, new mirror, and I re-tailored the old shower curtain to be longer and make the room look bigger. WHEW!

Although it wasn't a big area, it was a major PITA, mostly because we didn't know what to expect and what "we would do different". Fortunately, we get to do this all over again this week on the master bath; however, the tiled area is much smaller (toilet, shower, and vanity are in separate areas). We're ready!!

LWOP

I’ve been out sick this week. Only one day from work, but it still was enough to zap most of my energy for the week. What is it with that fine line you draw when calling in sick to work? You don’t want people to think you’re a slacker, but on the other hand, they need you to come into work, but don’t want you there at the same time!

Personally, I don’t want my coworkers even NEAR me if they’re sick. Go home! Don’t come to work with your germs and spread them around (like one of my coworkers did to me). You don’t have to prove how dedicated you are by dragging your wheezing, sneezing, coughing, snotty, mucous-laden arse into the workplace! I’m no martyr by any stretch and will stay home even if I have a bad headache (sinus migraine), because I know I’m not doing anyone any good by being miserable.

Those are what sick days are for! O.k., off soapbox for now…

In other news, the guest bathroom is done and looks wonderful! I will post pics after this weekend when we have all the extra pieces-parts put back together again. Next week, the master bath gets done, which should be easier since it is smaller (go figure).

In other, other news, I made German Potato salad this week and it was divine! The only thing I remember my father knowing how to cook was German Potato salad, and it was always a special treat.

German Potato Salad
(my way)

8 – 10 medium potatoes, peeled & cut into bite sized chunks (I used Yukon Gold)
5-7 strips of bacon, diced into small pieces
1 onion, chopped
½ cup apple cider vinegar
2-3 tablespoons sugar
Salt & Pepper

Cook potatoes in boiling/simmering water till fork tender, drain and return to pot. In a sautee pan, cook bacon over med-high heat till golden brown, add onions. Cook onions with bacon till both are nicely browned, set aside. Mix apple cider with sugar in a microwave safe container and heat, stirring regularly, till sugar is dissolved. Pour cider vinegar mixture, and onion mixture over potatoes, stir gently. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve warm.

Just Peachy, or was it a Pear?

I actually got a little time to play in the kitchen this evening and I only had one thing on my mind: Vanilla Pear Cardamom

You see, ever since Ohiomom at Cooking in Cleveland mentioned her Cardamom Pear freezer jam, I've wanted to make it. It just sounded...so good! But life, jobs, and remodels all got into the way.

But being me, I wanted to tweek Ohiomom's recipe a little by adding a scraped vanilla bean into the mix. I was sure the results would be deeply vanilla, with a slight tang, then an exotic spiciness. But I was disappointed. The jam was just too vanilla-y and cardamom-y, and all over just too much "y". I think I've just discovered that I don't like cardamom. Oh, well...I'm sure I'll find somethind to do with 6 half pints!

Back to Wine

We bottled my Lemongrass Mint wine this weekend and it has turned out to be a wonderful surprise. It's a very light, refreshing summer sipper, not hot at all (not too much alcohol). I'm very impressed and think it would be devine with some sort of spicy Thai dish. Each batch of wine I make gets better and better.

Just in case you're wondering, we don't have 500 bottles of wine stacked up in the spare bedroom or anything. So far, the most wine I've gotten from a batch was about 12 to 15 bottles. We do give a lot away, and in fact have to be careful we save some for us!

The Most Amazing Soup!

Have you ever eaten something that was EXACTLY what you’ve been craving? You know the dance; you’re hungry, don’t know what you want. You think of all your options at home or even from a restaurant or takeout. Two hours later, you still haven’t pin-pointed what it is you want. You end up eating something else, but it’s a bit depressing. You might even go through this same cycle for a few days afterwards.

And then, there’s the chance that you are in touch with yourself enough to know what you want, and you eat it. It’s more than just the physical or sensory satisfaction, there’s something else. There’s the spiritual or soulful satisfaction that you are listening to your body and you give it what it wants, or even needs.

Last night (a night of rest), I got back in the kitchen and made the most amazing soup ever! I had a craving for some sort of vegetable soup, and found this gem of course, on the Cooking Forum. I think what really threw this recipe over the edge was that I used 1 ½ pints of my homemade Chunky Basil Pasta Sauce instead of the canned tomato sauce called for in the recipe.
It was sublime.

This is also a really great option for using all those yummy summer veggies that are starting to ripen!

Jamie's Minestrone
Yields: 8 servings
NOTE: This original recipe would make a HUGE amount of soup, so I halved all the ingredients called for and had plenty

INGREDIENTS:
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 onions, chopped
2 cups chopped celery
5 carrots, sliced
2 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth
2 cups water
4 cups tomato sauce (I used homemade pasta sauce)
1/2 cup red wine (optional)
1 cup canned kidney beans, drained
1 (15 ounce) can green beans
2 cups baby spinach, rinsed
3 zucchinis, quartered and sliced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup seashell pasta
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese for topping (I think Gruyere would be amazing!)
1 tablespoon olive oil

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a large stock pot, over medium-low heat, heat olive oil and saute garlic for 2 to 3 minutes. Add onion and saute for 4 to 5 minutes. Add celery and carrots, saute for 1 to 2 minutes.

2. Add chicken broth, water and tomato sauce, bring to boil, stirring frequently. If desired add red wine at this point. Reduce heat to low and add kidney beans, green beans, spinach leaves, zucchini, oregano, basil, salt and pepper. Simmer for 30 to 40 minutes, the longer the better.

3. Fill a medium saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Add macaroni and cook until tender. Drain water and set aside.

4. Once pasta is cooked and soup is heated through place 2 tablespoons cooked pasta into individual serving bowls. Ladle soup on top of pasta and sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top. Drizzle with olive oil and serve.

E-mail Conversation

Me: So, what do you think about buying a nail gun?

Hubs: I am not a fan of nail guns (I will caveat this prejudice may be a result of witnessing their poor use in home construction, see Hurricane Andrew).

Me: You're funny!

Hubs: Funny as in "ha-ha" or funny "strange"?

Me: Does it matter?

Sweetness, I was only joking

On top of laying tile in a bathroom remodel, I’m still able to throw a fabulous meal together, dust the furniture, bake cookies, iron underwear, and twirl around the house in my stylish shirtdress and conservative sling-back heels. Bling!

HAH!

We still have to eat around here, even if a good portion of the house is in chaos and life is all about waiting for things to dry. Actually, I believe that all major projects shouldn’t begin without a good meal. It helps if you’re not already cranky from hunger.

Believe it or not, hubs is becoming quite adept at using my pressure cooker. I sent him instructions on how to throw this pot-roast together and he did a spot-on job of it. See, we’re all learning new things around here!

3 Envelope Pot Roast

1 pkg. ranch dressing mix - the dry mix
1 pkg. Italian dressing mix - "
1 pkg. brown gravy mix - also dry

Mix them all together in a bowl.

With 2 tablespoons of olive oil, brown pot-roast on all sides on med-high heat. You can brown the meat in your pressure cooker pot and save on making another dirty dish. Take pot roast out of pressure cooker, place on plate, and sprinkle about 1/2 to 2/3 of the dried mix (you are supposed to use the entire amount, but most find that too salty) on both sides of the roast. Place pot roast back in pressure cooker, add 1 cup of water. Put lid on, wait for pressure to come up, and cook per time for your make of PC for a pot roast.

When finished cooking, remove pot-roast and add a slurry of cornstarch and water to the gravy and thicken.

**Note: If you don’t have a pressure cooker, simply follow the same instructions except place pot-roast in a dutch oven with one cup of water. Cook in 300° oven for approximately 90 minutes, or until it reaches your desired tenderness.

This pot-roast was actually VERY good and had a very good flavor. We served it with some good-ole’ fashioned mashed taters, and beans. It came with high reviews from the Cooking Forum. Yum!

Pray the Anger Away

Wanna know what we’re fighting about? The plastic, crapass miter box you can buy at either Home Despot or Lowes. We’re doing the baseboards now and hubs says, “I don’t know how the Amish do it, but my last name isn’t Yoder!” We sweated, cursed, and called it a night when things got ugly. “I wonder how the Amish deal with crap like baseboards?” Hubs replies, “They pray the anger away.”

We deal with it by drinking heavily. Seriously, a miter saw is in the works TODAY. Nothing fancy, schmancy, but mid-to-upper range. I don’t need something that will build a barn.