My face hurts

Oy. This morning I woke up with a huge sinus-pressure cold kind of thing.  I dosed myself with some Day-Quil to no avail.  I still have a majorly stuffy head.  I'm in misery I tell ya.

This is what I looked like when I got up this morning.  Pretty doggone scary, and yet, people wanted me to make them breakfast.

I could go on at length about how crummy I am feeling.  I could also go into how this weekend The Man has had occasion to invite a cornucopia of his family members over. Many people in and out of the house, and me sick and unshowered.

However, I am sucking it up, and am not going to whine and complain. I'm going to try an be like my blood type--B+  Reasons why things don't totally suck even though my face hurts.

1. It's just a cold, it will pass.
2. I didn't have any Tastefully Simple Parties on my schedule this weekend.  Given that, it was a good time to get sick, relatively speaking.
3. The man went to Walgreens and got me Original Halls, as I requested.  Not Honey Lemon, Sugar Free or Store Brand Cough Drops will do for me, I highly prefer good-old Halls Mentho-lyptus.
Click Here to Link Yourself to a Halls Coupon from Vicks.com
4. No school for kids 2morrow, So I can sleep in-ish.  You know I don't really get to sleep in, it's more of  a 'I choose not to open my eyes and leave bed for a while past when I can hear the kids are up' thing.
5. Well actually, I've got nothing for five. I do hope no one is going to expect me to make them dinner.

Too bad I haven't got my new Tastefully Simple Tonight Collection--7 products plus recipe cards/shopping list and freezer labels to make 10 meals.  If I have that I'd have 10 meals complete with cooking labels sitting in the freezer.

Then when The Man says "What is there to eat?" like he is wont to do on a daily basis, I could raise a weak and feeble hand and point to the freezer.  "Meals. In. Freezer." I would say, and then he would open the freezer, review his choices, and BAM! dinner-To-Done!

Can't wait to get the collection and put together my meals. Can't wait for my face to stop hurting!

The other day before I caught this cold I made a really good stew from Family Circle Magazine.  Two thumbs up for sure!

Beef Stew With Mushrooms, Rosemary and Tomatoes
Ingredients

• 4 pounds boneless beef chuck, well trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 cup olive oil   I used Tastefully Simple Roasted Garlic Infused Oil
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped I used Tastefully Simple Garlic Garlic
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 cup dry red wine
• 2 cups beef broth
• 4 medium carrots, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 1 cup chopped canned tomatoes
• 1 fresh rosemary sprig
• 1 bay leaf<< I dont like bay leaf at all, so I left that out.
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 pound white button mushrooms, quartered
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions

I followed the directions and then realized that I didn't have enough time to cook it in the slow cooker so I cooked the stew on the stove in a large stock pot for about 1 1/2 simmering and then added the mushrooms as per below.

End result very yummy!   Paired very nicely with Flip Flop Cabernet Sauvignon. Fun Flip Flop Fact: not only does it have a handy twist top, the company donates some of their profits to Soles4Souls.


1. Pat beef dry with paper towels. In a bowl, combine flour with salt and pepper to taste. Add beef, a few pieces at a time, and toss until lightly coated.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet. Add beef in batches and cook until browned on all sides, about 20 minutes total. Place meat in a large slow cooker.
3. Add onions to skillet and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and tomato paste. Add wine and cook, scraping the pan, until liquid comes to a simmer. Pour contents of skillet over meat. Add broth, carrots, tomatoes and herbs to slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours or until beef is tender when pierced with a fork.
4. When beef is almost ready, melt butter in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and salt and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring often, until mushrooms are golden, about 10 minutes.
5. Stir mushrooms into stew and discard bay leaf. Serve hot, sprinkled with parsley.