Week 7 Monday (2/17/14)

Recipe Review

Today’s Recipe and Location:  Drip Beef

         Found in: The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food From my Frontier

                           Pages 64 - 65      Copyright:  2012  Harper Collins

Calories will vary depending on the size of the chuck roast. I used one that was 3.6 lbs. and the calories with the deli roll were 510 calories. (Please note that the calorie counts vary depending on the specific brands of ingredients that you choose to use.)

Look at those peperocinis!

         I am in love with this drip beef.  I always called this type of sammy an Italian beef.  These sandwiches are something I could eat every day for lunch. There is so much flavor here. In fact, I think that I had this for three days in a row.  One day, I forgot my slices of bread.  Jenny was going home so I asked her to bring me back some bread.  She did and it just completed the meal.  Yeah, for drip beef with peperoncinis! A true success.

        

Today’s critics: 

       Brandy:  Drip Beef - We loved it! I will be making this again for sure. Great little sandwiches and very filling.

         Nicole:  We liked that one.  Joe and I liked it.  I think only Gianna was here to eat it on that night.

        

Craft Corner

         I love scrapbooking. This is another creative outlet for me. Today, most people seem to use the internet and create books on line.  I have to say they are beautiful but I haven’t ventured into this area yet.  I do like the creative aspect of the old way of scrapbooking, but I bet it doesn’t last as long as the beautiful books I have looked at that held pictures.

         One thing those books do not allow for as actual memorabilia like letters and such. I guess you could take a picture but actually seeing the real thing is sometimes better.  I am wavering on this area and may have to investigate how to do these beautiful books – who knows maybe I can be converted to the new way.

Random Reflections

         I love T.V.  We were a television watching family when I grew up. Of course in those days the only channels were 2,5,7,9,11, and 32.  Today, you can watch T.V. 24/7. I always knew it was time to go to bed in the old days when the National Anthem played and the screen went blank.  No wonder there are so many sleep deprived people out there today.

         My favorite show was The Closer. Kyra Sedgwick is a phenomenal actress and I loved her in the role of Brenda Lee Johnson. Unfortunately, the original show ended but most of the cast returned in a new favorite of mine called Major Crimes. I love a good police show and this one has great humor. 

         I discovered Ree Drummond and Pioneer Woman two years ago. I love her show because it gives you glimpses into her life as well as wonderful cooking tips and recipes. This is where this entire blog came from. I love watching Ree and her family and wish I could see her beautiful ranch. What a breath-taking place to live and have her kids grow up.

         I also love the show 19 Kids and Counting. I hear people make a lot of comments on how they should not have that many kids, and la de da, but I love this family. They have solid family values, are debt-free and seem to have raised wonderful kids.  Who am I to judge their life choices?  The show is always light and fun and just lifts my spirits. I love to see how they organize their home and the things they do as a family for other people. They are teaching their children to have a giving heart and to act on it. I bet many of their critics don’t think of others as much as this family does each day.  Before we judge the choices of others, maybe we should look at ourselves and our choices.

         A new favorite show is Downton Abbey. I love the setting and the drama this family experiences. In the past, I did not always enjoy this type of historical drama but this one is so well written and acted that it hooked me in right away. If you have never watched this one – check it out.

         I love Project Runway. This show inspires me to begin creating clothes again. I have not done that since college. This is a show that inspires creativity. I love to watch the show and become a judge of what I like and dislike.  Who knows, maybe there is more sewing in my future.

Wants and Wishes

         For one day, I want a house that has every shelf, drawer and closet perfect and is clean and neat. One of my first goals for retirement is to work to make my home absolutely perfect. Every drawer, closet, and room will be organized, cleaned, and straightened.  That of course, should take a full year.  Now I am already pretty organized but there is room for improvement.  I will need to purge a tremendous amount of school paraphernalia to begin with and then move on to struggling through everything in the craft room.  I have so many crafts that I love to work on that it will be difficult to figure what I need and what I should let go of then.  Maybe I just need to make a schedule for the year and vary each month the type of projects that I tackle. 

         I would love to do that now, but my life is so full with school, teaching at the university, cooking, and this blog that spring break and summer are my best shot at beginning some of those challenges. 

         Well, the sun is up and the days are beginning to lengthen so each day will give me a little more light to work in.  I am just going to continue to tackle each project as it comes and enjoy every day.