Yes the boys and I are reading the Strange Case of Origami Yoda. They love it. And Patrick is trying unsucessfully to make his own Origami Yoda.
The end of the Jewel-Osco Cookware for a penny with reward stickers was right around the bend, so Sunday night I went and spent my whole paycheck at Jewel. Well, not really the whole thing, it wasn't as if I was at Whole Foods, but I stocked up and earned enough stickers for my grill pan.
Since it was a Sunday and I had time to plan my purchases, I got everything needed to make a slew of Slow Cooker Recipes. Tonight on the menu is Chicken Cacciatore, which is a big fave of 4 of 5 members of our household and honestly, that's as good as it gets. I should start putting a star on the calendar anytime everyone likes dinner simultaneously. I splurged on Butoni whole wheat refrigerated linguini noodles for dinner. I will report back and let you know how that part of the meal goes---since I am too cheap normally to pay for the refrig. pasta.
I have been thinking for a good 2 years about how I would like to put together a Wine Pairing list to go with Tastefully Simple recipes. To that end, I really need to host a night at my house to practice and to get feedback on what I come up with for the pairings. Why am I writing that here? Now I feel more compelled to actually work on getting that together.
Now if you are looking for a good pairing. Try a nice Charles Shaw Merlot or Coopershawk Shiraz with this recipe from
http://www.tastefullysimple.com/web/vhamel
Merlot Beef Stew
Submitted by Dodi Kuehl (WI) Modified by me.
Ingredients
2 lbs. cubed boneless top round steak
(or chuck roast,it's cheaper)
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter Just use a tsp of olive oil to brown the meat.
4 medium peeled, sliced carrots
8 quartered small red potatoes
12 sliced mushrooms
1 chopped medium onion
I'd use a sliced parsnip as well --that's how I roll
1/2 cup Merlot Sauce
2 Tbsp. Bacon Bacon™ Shrug I's skip this and throw in a TBSP of Onion Onion (TM)
1 Tbsp. Garlic Garlic™
4 cups beefbroth
Directions
Coat beef with flour.
Melt butter in pan; Put Oil in pan heat up the pan and oil just a little then sauté beef in batches (don’t crowd),
add butter as needed. Layer carrots, potatoes, mushrooms, onions and beef in slow cooker. Sprinkle Garlic Garlic™ and Bacon Bacon™ over beef. Combine Merlot Sauce with beef broth, pour over slow cooker ingredients. Cover; cook on low for 8 hours. Makes 6-8 servings.
