Beer & Onion Crockpot Beef Roast

Since this summer has been so hot and humid I have resorted to cooking many a meals in my crockpot. I've tried lots ~ some we liked ~ some we didn't.
This one is a keeper!

Beer and Onion Crockpot Beef Roast

beef roast, trimmed of any fat
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp. minced garlic ( I used the stuff in a jar.)
1 tbsp. minced dried onion flakes
10 1/2 oz. can of Campbell's French Onion Soup
2 packets brown gravy mix
12 oz. bottle of beer

Coat roast with flour and then place in a greased crockpot.
In a medium bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients and pour over roast.
Place lid on crockpot and cook on high all day.
*I started mine around 7 a.m. and let it cook until 5 on High. The result was a super tender roast with lots of flavor.*
Enjoy!

Before I go I'll show you a few stitcheries that I completed. Dad got some frames cut for me this weekend so I was able to finish these up and begin on some new stitcheries :O)

Everyone *LOVES* this one!
      It's a Bird Brain Designs pattern.

Next is a favorite bible verse of my Mom's. I made it for her a good while ago and have been waiting for the right size frame to put it in.

The last one is for Christmas. It's a Chestnut Junction pattern.

Hope you all are having a great day!

Beautiful Start to a Busy Day

I quickly snapped this picture early this morning just as the sun was coming up. The fog was lifting from the hillsides and the shades of the pink and purple sky were beautiful.

Once I got the boys off to school Katie and I headed to the river trail for a bike ride with my Dad. It was a tad chilly ~ especially for tank tops so I made a mental note to take jackets the next time we go for an early morning ride.
Once we got that in we headed back home to begin our schoolwork.
We worked for a while and then I headed outdoors to cut the grass, back in for a shower and then we finished the rest of Katie's lessons.
All the while, supper was cooking in a crockpot ~ a beef roast cooked in french onion soup and beer. I'll have to share it with you all later.
Dinner and clean-up followed by a little playtime in the backyard.
Bath and bed time which is where I am now.
Good Night ~ Sleep Tight!

Shall I Keep it or Sell It?

I can't decide!
I've been stitching away in hopes of creating enough "things" to take to a fall craft show or maybe even sell through Ebay, Etsy or blogland.
However, I won't have anything to sell if I don't quit *liking* all the items that I complete.
Yesterday I got several more things finished up and my most favorite yet is this large 13 1/2" X 16 3/4" framed sunflower stitchery. I love it!

A few other small items that I finished are this small (9x5) pillow

and this mini Halloween stitchery.
(Robin~ I used crayons and love the added color that it gives them!)

I have so much fun stitching these. The worst part is finishing them. I have a stack that just need to be framed or made into pillows, bags or what ever else I can think of.  The framed items are my favorites but the right size frames are really hard to come by. For instance, I have searched the whole entire valley for a 5X12 frame and of course none can be found.
So I've asked Dad to cut me a plain and simple frame out of pine and then I will paint and finish it.  Then I can finally frame this one!

Did You Feel It?

Well did any of you on the east coast feel the earth a moving this afternoon?
I didn't feel a thing!
I had just stepped from the front door and sat down on the couch. The phone rang and it was my mom ( who just lives across the street from me). She wanted to know if my house just shook.  I told her no, I didn't feel a thing. She then told me how her house shook, the walls creaked and the clothes hanging in her closet were still swaying as she was talking to me. Hmmmm???
I went outside and looked around thinking maybe somewhere in the area something big had happened like an explosion.
Nope, nothing that I could see going on anywhere but another neighbor stepped outdoors and asked me the same thing.
Did your house just shake?
Ok...now I'm really wondering what is going on.
I called hubby at work (1/2 hour away in Ohio) and he said that they all felt it there too!
Time to turn the TV on.
It took about 10 minutes but finally the news stations started breaking through programming to announce that a 5.9 earthquake hit the Richmond, Virginia area.
Wow!
Not a big quake compared to what those out west are used to but for us on the east coast...well earthquakes just don't happen very often.
The last time I can remember feeling the ground shake was when I was in Jr. High school some 25 years ago.
Today, no damages were reported in  our area that I have heard of. Just a lot of people left in awe because they could feel the earth moving under their shoes! :0)

Ice Cream Sandwich Dessert

It's Monday and the start of the first full week of school. The boys had two days of school last week but today is Katie's first day of 2nd grade. I am still homeschooling her and wow was the day ever so easy with just one child to teach.
So far Gage is liking the middle school that he is enrolled in so that is a good thing. I'm still keeping my fingers crossed though that it stays that way and with no problems. No major happenings over the weekend. Just the usual cleaning, cooking and sewing. I did get two more stitcheries completed but I've yet to frame them. When I get them done I'll show you some pics.
Now are you ready for the dessert recipe??
My SIL gave this one to me several years ago and it's super yummy and so quick to put together.

Ice Cream Sandwich Dessert

24 ice cream sandwiches
16 oz. jar of Hot Fudge Topping
8 oz. Cool Whip
Sprinkles (optional)

Unwrap 12 ice cream sandwiches and place in the bottom of a 13X9 pan.
You will have to cut 3 of them so that they all fit into the pan. (Eat the leftover pieces as you work!) ☺
Spread the whole jar of hot fudge topping over sandwiches.
Next spread half of the Cool Whip over the fudge sauce.
Place the remaining 12 sandwiches over the Cool Whip layer and then spread the rest of the Cool Whip over top of that.
Decorate with sprinkles if you'd like and place in freezer until ready to serve.

Enjoy!

Canning Spaghetti Sauce

What to do with all those tomatoes?

My favorite way to use them up is by making my own homemade spaghetti sauce. This recipe is from my aunt and it's the one I've been using for years. Everyone loves it!

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

1/2 a bushel of tomatoes
4-5 cloves of garlic (I used minced out of a jar.)
6-7 onions
4 hot peppers ( I use mild banana peppers.)
1/2 cup olive oil
8 (6oz.) cans of tomato paste
1/4 cup salt
1 tsp. basil
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. italian seasoning
1 tsp. rosemary ( I leave this out!)
3/4 cup sugar (more or less depending on your taste)

Cook tomatoes in a large stockpot until tender.

Run tomatoes through a food mill to remove seeds and skins.
Measure out 10 quarts of juice into a large stockpot.
Add garlic and place back on stove to cook.
While juice is cooking, grind up the onions and peppers. (I use my mini-chopper for this.)
Place them in a small saucepan and add the olive oil.
Cook for about 1/2 hour until they are nice and tender.
Now you can add the pepper/onion/oil mixture to the juice but be careful so as to not splatter yourself!
Add the remaining ingredients and stir well.
It will take a bit of stirring to get all that paste mixed in good.
Boil all ingredients for 40 minutes without a lid on.

While waiting for sauce to cook down you can get your canning jars & utensils ready. (Clean & boil jars)
Ladle sauce into jars, add lids and place jars into a water bath canner.
Fill canner with water, making sure that it covers the tops of the jars by at least an inch.
Place lid on canner and bring to a boil.
Let boil for 40 minutes.
Remove jars and let cool.

A Finish, An Anniversary and a Count Down!

Hi all,
It's been a few days since I last posted so I thought I'd better pop in for a few.
As you can see from the above picture I am still working on my stitcheries. Actually, I stitched that one last year but never got around to framing it. So yesterday I painted a frame pink, sanded it and rubbed a bit of stain on it to tone it down a bit and wahla!
Valentine's day is a good ways off so I'll wrap it and put it up until then.

Oh, and speaking of Valentine's, this weekend marked our 17th wedding anniversary. ( Can't believe it's been that long!!) The kids spent the night at my parents on Saturday while hubby and I went out to dinner and then back home to an evening alone in peace and quiet

As for the countdown...only one more day until public school starts. BOOOOOO!!!!

I am in no way ready to end the summer or to begin school again. Katie and I aren't starting her homeschooling until Monday so we get a few extra days but I hate that the boys have to go now.
I guess there is no use in complaining...it sure won't change anything so I might as well just dig in and begin school and the countdown to summer 2012.

Before I leave, check out these rain pics from yesterday. I was sitting on my porch and it was sunny to my left but just a short distance away (and looking in front of me) on the hillside you could see rain coming down in sheets. Just in one little spot.

                                              Sunny Skies to my left

               Just a little to the right where it's raining only in the hills
The humidity and the temperature continues to stay low here so it has been so pleasant. Night time temps. are in the low 60's which makes for a great night's sleep with the windows open. *Love It!*
Well that's all for now. I'm off to stitch a little before it's time to start supper.
Have a great day!

To Dye or Not to Dye??

Pattern is from Chestnut Junction

Hi all!
Here's a few more stitcheries that I've completed this week and thought I'd share them with you. My big question is whether to tea (or coffee) dye them or just leave them natural.
I really can't decide ~ I like them both ways!

             Flower Basket pattern by Chesnut Junction

                                 Summertime Picnic

 *Sorry~ I can't remember whose design these two are from. I'll have to look them up again.*

Other than stitching we've just been enjoying the last full week off before school starts on Thursday (Aug. 18).
I have entered Gage back into the public school system as he will enter the Jr. High and I feel that now is the time to do so. I'm keeping both fingers and toes crossed that I am making the right decision. :(
I have so many issues with the way our school system is run but as the kids get older I'm just not sure that I can do them a justice by teaching them the harder subjects. I would need to learn a foreign language, teach higher Math which is by far my best subject plus once they reach the high school they would be missing out on the vocational courses like mechanics, body shop, woodworking and much more.
I just have an unsettled feeling about it all but I'll take it day by day and see where it leads us.
Anyways, in preparation for school there has been vaccinations needed to re-enter school, school supply shopping and class schedules to pick up.
On top of that, hubby hurt his back the other day and is home trying to nurse it back to normal.
On the bright side though, the weather has been fabulous!
Today is the first day in a long time that we have been able to turn the A/C off and open the windows and actually be comfortable. It has been great!
Well that's all that has been going on here in my world. Hope all is well in your neck of the woods!

Kennywood Park 2011

*Click on pictures to enlarge*

Here are a few pictures from our trip this weekend to Kennywood Park. The morning started out cloudy but with no rain so it was pleasant. We stood in line for the rides but it really wasn't bad. I'm guessing that the cloudy day kept some people at home.

*Mark & Logan upside down*

By afternoon the clouds disappeared and the sun came out and so did the people. The lines were then long!

*The Racer*

My favorites are the old roller coasters like the Jack Rabbit and The Racer. I much prefer those to the new metal ones like the Phantom and The Sky Rocket.

*Phantom's Revenge ~the tall one in the distance*

And of course, you can't forget the Merry Go Round!

The kids  (big & little) always like to get wet on the water rides, especially on a hot and humid day like Sunday was.

*Log Jammer*

*Raging Rapids*

*After Raging Rapids*

They got wet all right!

I'm glad I stayed back to take pictures.

Cheeseburger Stromboli

Not the prettiest picture, I know!

Hi all!
Boy is time flying by. School begins in two weeks and I just can't believe that another summer has come and is almost gone. Not a whole lot to blog about as nothing interesting has been going on here lately. Just enjoying my last few weeks of summer break by keeping cool in the A/C while working on my stitching. We do have a trip planned to Kennywood Park this weekend and we are all looking forward to it. Just hope the weather cooperates!

As for the recipe!
I made this yesterday and it was so good.
I made several of them ~cheeseburger, 2 pepperoni & cheese and one for my Dad that I used vegetarian meat crumbles in place of the beef. My favorite was the cheeseburger!
Anyways, the recipe that I am sharing is only for the cheeseburger mixture which will only make one stromboli, yet the dough recipe is enough for 4 stromboli. So, you will either have to cut the dough recipe in half or have filling ingredients ready for the other 3 stromboli. (pepperoni & cheese, ham and cheese or whatever other combinations you can come up with.)

Cheeseburger Stromboli

Dough: (enough to make 4 stromboli)
1/4 cup warm water
1/2 tsp. sugar
1 tbsp. yeast
2 cups warm water
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup melted butter
1/4 cup oil
1/8 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
6 cups flour
Dissolve 1/2 tsp. sugar and the yeast in the 1/4 cup of warm water. Let set 5-10 minutes.
Next mix the 2 cups water, egg, butter and oil in a seperate bowl and then add it to the yeast mixture.
Stir in the 1/8 cup of sugar and 1/2 tsp. salt and 3 cups of flour.
Using a dough hook, begin kneading the dough and add the rest of the flour. Continue kneading until dough is smooth.
(Dough will be sticky!)
Place dough in a greased bowl, turning to coat all sides of dough. Place towel over bowl and allow to sit in a warm area until dough has doubled in size.
Meanwhile, begin preparing the filling ingredients.

Filling: (enough for 1 stromboli)
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 tsp. seasoned salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
2 tbsp. dried minced onion flakes
dill pickle relish
tomato slices
ketchup
mustard
shredded cheddar cheese

Brown ground beef, onion, salt and pepper and drain.
Divide dough into 4 sections.
Take one section and roll out into a 10X13 rectangle.
Spread beef mixture on top.
Add tomato slices, shredded cheese  & dill pickle relish.
Top with ketchup and mustard.
Roll up lengthwisewise in a jelly roll fashion.
Bake at 350° on a greased cookie sheet for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
Enjoy!

I'm off to get some house cleaning out of the way so that I can spend a little time this afternoon stitching. Hope to have some Kennywood pictures to share with you next week and I also just realized that I still have pictures from our spring school fieldtrip that I never finished sharing with you all. I'll have to do that soon too!
Have a great day and a relaxing weekend!

Finally....A Few Finishes to Share with You!

Here are a few projects that I've been working on lately. I *love love love* to start new things but *sometimes* am horrible at getting them all finished.
There is just too much to do in a days worth of time so often my hobbies of sewing and crafting get put on the back burner so that the things that NEED done can get done.
Which is why I am always sooo happy to finally complete a project. ( Oh, and to finish 3 in one weekend is almost unheard of !)

You may remember a month or so ago I was working on this stitchery.

I had finished it but wasn't sure what I wanted to do with it.
Well, yesterday I quickly hand stitched this little bag from some homespun that I had laying around, sewed my stitchery on to the front of it, stuffed it with some stuffing and tied it shut with a homespun ribbon.

I also finished this yesterday evening.

The design comes from Bird Brain Design and I love it. So simple and clean looking stitched all in blackwork. I planned on framing it this morning in a black frame but after an hour of searching for the frame I finally gave up. It's got to be around here somewhere and I'm sure it will turn up just as soon as I go to the store to by a new one. That's just the way things work for me!

The last item that I accomplished over the weekend was this purse.

Click on picture to enlarge!

I love brown cows (and collect them) so when I found this fabric a few years ago I had to have it. I used all but one little piece of it when I was making and selling purses. So I decided I'd use that last little piece and make myself a purse. I love it!  It's just the right size for me and the straps are the perfect length but most of all I love all the little brown cows that are on it!
Well that's all of the goodies I have to share today.
Since I cut the grass this morning before it got hot out and
dinner is all planned plus dessert is baked (Zucchini Brownies), I think I'll spend the rest of my afternoon working on some more stitcheries.
Stay cool and have a great day!