Whats been going on

So what's been going on...

We're working on refinancing the house, which is kind of a pain. We didn't appraise for as high as we'd like and we're disputing it but I'd be kind of nice to drop our rate and lower our payments. The house is all decorated for all and now I have to work on Halloween. I have a tote sitting in my basement waiting for me.

Pregnancy is running through my office. Two people have had babies, One girl is due in November, my boss is having a baby in December and yesterday the other girl in my group just announced she's pregnant with baby #2 and due in April. My boss actually never told me his wife was pregnant, he just let it slip over lunch one day in the lunchroom with everyone. Now, I don't expect him to tell me everything about his life but don't you think something like that is big news you should share with the people on your team? Maybe I'm the weird one. The other girl in my group told our boss some time before she sent a mass email to people in the company announcing her pregnancy. I told my husband (and one of my co-workers) jokingly that when I get pregnant I'm just not going to say anything until...oh 5-6 months later. My husband thinks I'm weird, my worker thinks I'm brilliant.

Speaking of work, it's still problematic. People are still complaining to my boss about me and it's tough very tough. I take everything to heart so people not trusting me is problematic. Some of them are legitimate gripes (typos that go out to clients), some of them are stupid (catching me playing with my phone). People think I'm getting distracted by the internet at work (no, music actually helps me keep focused). It's frustrating to say the least. Part of me wants to leave because there's not much I can do to convince people I know what I am doing and part of me really likes the company and most of the people I work with. I have started looking a little here and there for places closer to home though.

I finally got with the times and I have a Kindle! I won it online. I have already bought a few books and a case. But I am also still reading physical books, I picked up 5 between yesterday and today. It's funny, I had one book on my request list and when I went into the library tonight to pick up another book that was on the list, the other book was sitting there on the shelf so a grabbed it up.  So many books to read...

I also can't believe we've also reached October already, the year is flying by but the older I get, the faster the time goes I swear.

Things that make you go hmm

I've been married for almost 4 years now and I have been with my husband for nearly 10 years and yet there are still some things that make me re-evaluate our relationship, and I don't mean in a bad way.

We met with a financial adviser last week. First, it was good confirmation that we're doing a pretty good job with our 401ks. I'm going to go boring here and say we don't max but we're putting away a good percentage. I also asked him questions about paying down my debt faster vs paying it down at the rate that I am. He sees no reason for me to do this.

He did discuss my husband large-ish cc debt. I made an off comment that it was his debt, not mine. He reminded me that we are a team and it's our job to take care of this. Whoa, you know what he's right. It started a conversation on the way home about a plan to take care of this by a set deadline. It was actually a good conversation for the two of us to work together as a team to take care of "our" debt. He's my husband, if he's struggling, than we're struggling and I need to remember this.  

Puerto Rico

Vacations are a wonderful thing, I must say. Husband and I just got back from a 5 day trip to Puerto Rico. We booked the trip about two weeks before we left. We had been wanting to go on vacation since I got my bonus back in March or April. One day at work I was looking at last minute vacation deals and saw Puerto Rico. It seemed like a great idea, affordable, no passport and we get to fly to an island!

Our hotel was really nice- we had a view of the Atlantic and it was just kind of nice to get away just the two of us. We went to Old San Juan one day and went to the Bacardi factory the next afternoon which meant free drinks! I also put on a bathing suit, twice! Unlike most people who hate wearing bathing suits around strangers, I am intimidated by wearing a bathing suit around my friends. One of my guy friends best explained it as "Strangers I'll never see again, my friends I'd hate to think that they thought 'ew'".

The food was really tasty too. I had rice and beans at least once a day the entire time we were there not counting the day we left. My mom said the locals must have thought I was really Spanish (which, well I kind of am). But I don't make them much at home so I have had my fill for a while. Although my husband did say he likes them more now so I can try and cook them for him sometime! 




The weather was basically the same as it is around here which was nice for packing clothes. The room was just very quiet! We're so use to sleeping with a fan and the a/c didn't make any noise so the first night we had a little trouble falling asleep. Most car trips we can just bring one with us but I am starting to think we need to find one we can put in a suitcase that won't take up a lot of room-haha. 

Because we're trying to be good and save money or at least spend less, this will probably end up being our last "fly somewhere" vacation for awhile and I'm ok with that. We're actually going to meet with a financial adviser later this week which I am kind of excited about. I need someone to tell us how we're doing and how we can improve and what areas we are lacking in.

Boston you're my home

To be technical, Boston you're where I work. I love working in the city. Commuting in has it's drawbacks of course. I leave my house at 6:30 in the morning and I don't get back home again until 6 or 7 at night (depends on the train I take). But the city is kind of fun and weird.

Earlier this week, as I was walking out of the station and towards my work there was someone video taping feet as we walked by. Absolutely no idea why and I didn't stop to ask. There is a guy who sells fruit out of boxes and he shouts to anyone who will listen about the fact that he can't have a stand. Some of the protesters from Occupy Boston were kind of fun too. The guy protesting the war everyday-annoying.

There are also the food trucks that serve anything from BBQ to cupcakes. It's also just a nice place to go walking around during lunch with all the shops we've got. It's also good for me because I can walk to the hospital where all my doctors are which means I take a slightly longer lunch break and go back to work afterwards.

After awhile you get use to people protesting or handing out flyers. But you do get free food and drink samples occasionally. Last year I tried humus for the first time and now I am a buyer for life. I love the stuff.

You also learn pretty quickly to ignore some of the homeless people. I am not completely heartless. I only get really annoyed with people shouting at people. I had a gift card in my wallet for Dunkin Donuts and since I already had my own auto-refilled one, I had no use for it. There is one woman who sits quietly with her sign so I gave the money to her. She doesn't bother people, she doesn't harass anyone and she gave me a genuine thank you when I gave her the gift card. Now, the guy who goes walking through the trains themselves, with a different story each week as to why he needs train fare and then starts crocodile tears when people don't pay attention to him, him I ignore.

All & all I do feel lucky that I get to work in a pretty awesome place even if it takes me awhile to get there. I don't have to sit in bumper to bumper traffic, just have to sit near the occasional loud person or the guy who snores. Attractive men in suits don't hurt either.

June 18

It took me all of 4 days but I finished the Stephen King novel and I loved it. Last night, while waiting for my husband's shoulder to get checked out at the hospital he glanced over at me reading. I had grabbed a light, fluffy chic-lit book before we left the house, so I was breezing through it pretty quickly. After about 2.5 hrs I read through all 350 pages and he called me a freak :-).


In an attempt to do more couple things, I went to see a soccer game on Saturday night with the husband. I'm still not a soccer freak like he is, but it's fun to go.

I realized the other day that I don't have one best friend. I have several friends but I don't have that one best friend that I can call all the time or that I hang out with all the time. I think the last time I had one was back in middle school. My mom had her best friend for almost 30 years and she was just like family to us. I see older couple all the time hanging out in pairs and you can tell they've been friends for years. I'm definitely a little jealous of these people. I'm not sure if it's just my personality or what. My group of friends tend to hang out in big groups. It's pretty rare to hang out as just one or two couples. I don't know if we just need to branch out and start being more sociable in smaller groups or what. But whose to say what really defines a best friend?

So it looks like our trip this summer will be to Puerto Rico. Neither one of us has been, it's off season, not too warm, reasonably priced and you don't need a passport to go. A win all around. I'm looking forward to getting away, even if it's just for 5 days.

Summertime

I'm definitely digging the summer hours in my office. On Friday's we shut down at 4 so tonight I got home at the same time I am usually boarding my train to come home.

For as much as I read, I've never read anything by Steven King. Well yesterday I started my first book of his. Granted it's not one of his spooky books but I am loving it so far. It's 11/22/63-the date JFK was assassinated. It's about a man who is discovers he is able to travel back in time and decided to try and stop Lee Harvey Oswalt. I've read almost 400 pages so far and I can't wait to read what happens. It's over 850 pages so when I finish it it'll be the longest book I have ever read.

I broke my nail pretty far down yesterday to the point where it bled a little. Thankfully my husband drinks tea because apparently the best way to patch it until the nail grows is a piece of the tea bag itself, covered in nail polish.

Last weekend I made a lemonade pie. When I first glanced at the recipe it called for half a can of frozen lemonade concentrate so I thought that I would just double the recipe and make two pies. Nope, one recipe makes two pies so doubling it made 4 pies. Needless to say, we have a lot of pie in my house. I know people say you can never have too much pie, but I think they may be wrong.

Also, Dawson's Creek is on Netflix streaming. I've been slowly making my way through all the seasons and reverting back to being a teenager. It almost makes me wish I was back in high school except for the fact that my high school experience was nothing like theirs.

Does anyone else make their own candles from the leftover wax or is that just taking frugality to an extreme? When I see a bunch of wax left over from a really yummy scented candle I hate to throw it away so I melt it down and put it in a smaller sampler size candle holder. I even have a package of wicks to put in them so I can burn them. This is about as crafty as I get folks.

Husbands

Husbands are a funny sort of thing. They drive us crazy but at the same time, we do love them. I know my husband can drive me a little batty sometimes. For as many decisions as he is able to make throughout the day, he still wants me to go shopping with him to buy clothing and shoes. I have yet to figure out why he needs my opinion on the matter but I grumble and go...most of the time. We got into a small spat earlier this week because I wanted to stay home and dry my hair and he wanted me to go shopping for shoes with him. Thinking about it now, I realize how ridiculous this sounds so I know I can drive him just as crazy.

We rotate our mattress every 6 months because of something he read online. This is something I never did before. Also, how do you make your bed? He insists that sleeping with the pattern side down is the way to go because it's softer. I think he's weird but again, it's a small thing in the grand scheme of things so I just let it go. However, I win when it comes with watching tv most nights :-)

He's currently away and I hate it. I'm no good on my own, I've never really had to deal with it. We've been together for almost 10 years now so it's been awhile since it was just me. And the thing is, I live on the busiest street in town. At any given time, someone is driving by. I also have a very long driveway. As someone once told me, you'd have to be really determined to want to break in. Still though, I think there should be rental guard dogs. Last night I left on all the outside lights...like I could see them come on should anyone approach once I go to bed.

Also, have I mentioned that I'm just a little bit strange? We've been together for nearly 10 years and I am still uncomfortable asking him for money when I need it. I suppose it's a reason to add as to why we should just combine everything because at the end of the day, it is "our" household and we both work for "our" family. And he has never given me any grief when I need something from him.

As much as I like having the full control of the remote for a few days and being able to make whatever I want for dinner (he doesn't like certain meals that I love), I can't wait for him to be home.

Friday stream of consciousness

I think one of the things I look forward to most about Fridays is catching up on all the shows we tape during the week. Our DVR was at about 90% capacity earlier.

Even though I have been married for almost 4 years now, I still enjoy watching wedding shows-especially Say Yes to the Dress and Four Weddings

I have pictures from my wedding in frames! Now I just need to actually get this on the walls.

I've become such a sap lately. I find myself crying at tv shows, commercials and movies lately. I watched a clip of the series finale of Boy Meets World and started crying. I tried listening to Beloved Wife by Natalie Merchant and couldn't make it all the way through without crying. Mainly things with husbands and wives or families can get me weapy.

I'm going to be 30 this year and I have no idea how to dress like an adult. Most of my work clothes I've had for at least 6 years, with the exception of having to buy bigger pants. I don't know where to shop and I also don't know how to dress myself. It's starting to get a little frustrating because I know I'm now a grown woman but I don't feel like it. I need someone to take me shopping, preferably someone rich who will pay for all the clothes :-)

I use to like watching Hoarders but now it just makes me very uncomfortable. Partly because of how disgusting the houses get and partly because of all the money they have spent on things that don't get used. All I can think is how much money they'd have in savings and I realize this isn't the point of the show.

I think I am one of the few people who watched Grey's Anatomy and didn't hate Shondra Rhimes.

Roommate?

A friend of ours recently had a fire in his kitchen and needs a place to stay for two months. My husband and I have our spare bedroom, complete with a big closet and plenty of space. He's also offered to pay rent and help with chores. Not that the money is important but we've offered to let him stay with us. I can't decide if we're just really good friends or really stupid.

Out of all our friends, he's the only one I think we could live with. I love my friends but there are some people I just couldn't be with for that long a period of time. Also, with us going on vacation for a week in the summer, I kind of like the idea of having someone here. Plus, like I said, we have the room. I don't know if I'll be cooking dinner for him as well but cooking for one extra adult isn't a huge deal. We told him how much we'd like him to pay us, which really isn't much, but asked that he throw in money for food if he chooses to eat with us.

He hasn't made a decision yet (he might just stay with his girlfriend) and really, two months isn't a huge deal is the grand scheme of things so we'll see. I've only told two or three other people what we've done and the reaction generally is "Really??" with a "look" so for now I'm keeping my mouth shut...except for writing this of course.

Cinco de Mayo

Yesterday we went to a Cinco de Mayo party at a friend's house. Instead of my usual salsa rollups that I make for just about every party, I made Mexican wedding cookies which were quite tasty. Of course when you combine 2 sticks of butter and sugar together, it's bound to taste good. They were also covered in sugar after baking as well.

This morning I made biscuits and gravy for breakfast while I watched Hart of Dixie. I may not be southern, but I can eat southern for breakfast. The biscuits aren't homemade but the gravy is. There's nothing like a lazy Sunday morning to start the day off right.

Dispite the fact that my husband and I have been married for nearly 4 years now, we don't have any wedding pictures of us out anywhere. I think that's going to be my goal for this month. I have the CD of all the images and I have a couple nice picture frames I could be using but I haven't printed them. Pictures of friends and family just seem to make a house warmer. I think I may just have to upload them to CVS and get it done. 

That's one goal and the second is to finally get a second bookshelf in our spare bedroom. Even when we have kids, that bed room is big enough to keep the extra bed and both bookshelves and make a nursery. Our second floor is just two bedrooms and a bathroom. I'd been wanting to take on the book shelves and a DIY project but considering the prices I have seen of unfinished bookshelves it may be cheaper to just go looking to Craigslist. Currently I have close to 100 books sitting on the floor next to my bookshelf that is already full. Every time I get a new book it just gets added to the piles. And no the solution isn't to get rid of the books ;-)

May

With the seasons winding down, I am partly looking forward to the season finales and slightly sad that the seasons and series are ending. I haven't decided if this is pathetic or not.

Also, the more I wear pants lately, the more I like skirts and dresses more. I noticed today at work I had a small hole in the front of my pants, just below the zipper. It's one reason I am looking forward to the summer-I can wear them all the time. Now the warm weather just needs to get here. The 80 degree temps in March were flukes so I am hoping this doesn't mean summer is delayed.

I think I'm finally ready for kids. Phew, it feels kind of good to say that out loud. I'm not sure I am ready to throw caution to the wind just yet, but several of my friends are having babies and I am starting to get baby fever. My mom is retiring next year and she has told me she can babysit for us two days a week. That is a load off my mind in terms of paying for daycare.

I ordered one of my mom's mother's day gifts the other day, I just hope it makes it in time. She's a big fan of my beer bread. She keeps asking me for the recipe. My recipe? Tastefully simple's mix lol. So I bought her her own box.

I'm also starting to get more comfortable spending money in general. The other night I went online and bought a couple more Second Base cami's. They were on sale Buy Two, get one Free last weekend so I ordered some pretty new colors. I love being able to mix and match colors under my dresses. Plus there's that whole, not looking inappropriate for work thing.

And now it's time to hit the gym for tonight...

One Year

I've officially been at my job for a year now. It was a fast year too. My CEO sent me an email today congratulating me on my first year and thanking me for my contributions. Granted he probably has no idea what I have actually done but just has the general knowledge of what my department does, but it still made me feel good.

My job isn't always fantastic, but the company itself is a great place to work. The flexibility, my boss and most of the people I work with are all positives. Overall I am a much happier person than I was last winter.

Singing

Singing has always been a part of my life. I'm one of those obnoxious people who sings along with every song on car radio and 90% of the time I actually do know the lyrics to the songs. I've sung in my church choir as a child, I did choir in high school and did musicals. As an adult one of the main draws to going back to church was so I could get back to singing again. I'm no Carrie Underwood but I can carry a tune.

I'm the youngest person in my church choir by about 20 years. The other day one of my fellow choir members told me she missed me at practice (I'd been sick) because I have a nice voice. That just about made my day. She also asked if I had ever considered being a cantor. The thing is, she's not the first person to tell me this. My husband tells me I have a nice voice and so have some of my other friends. So I know when I sing to my babies in the future, they won't cry harder from my horrible voice lol. The only problem is I have horrible stage fright. I could never be a soloist. All those eyes on me and I'd be terribly nervous. My husband thinks I'm wasting my gift by not sharing it with others and I just need to get over this. I say singing in a choir is sharing just fine and stage fright isn't just something you get over.

I'd like to resign...if possible

Is it possible to “quit” members of your own family? I’m getting pretty close to wanting to with my sister. I love her to death however I’m growing very tired of always being the one to ask to see her (and my niece). I think the last time she suggested getting together, just us was when she was 16 or 17 and I was about 8. And it’s not that she doesn’t want to see me (or at least I hope that’s not the case), it’s just that whenever I bring up the subject I am the one to ask her about it. 

We had a discussion about 2 years ago where we decided we wanted to be closer as sisters. Especially with the birth of my niece, I’m the only real aunt my niece has on this side of the family (my BIL has a sister). I just don’t know what to do anymore. She really hurt my feelings when she didn’t send me a birthday card this past year. As we are getting older, I don’t really expect a gift from her. I don’t always get her something if I can’t come up with anything but at the very least, I send her a card. 

Do I send her a long email explain how she’s making me feel? Do I call and talk to her? Do I just stop trying? Stop emailing her and asking to get together and just see her when I see her? Or, do I just resign myself to the fact that she and I will never have the type of relationship that I want and just accept what I have? 

Conflicted, am I.

Hello poor blog!

Hello poor neglected blog!

Not too much new to report. The warm weather last week was fantastic! I got to wear skirts/dresses 3 days last week. I've missed feeling girlie and feminine. Although I have wore tights under my dresses on the days when it's not too freezing. I'm also looking forward to the summer because we have a horseshoe pit in the back and people have said they like coming over and playing so I think on Fridays we are just going to send out emails and say "hey, come over and play". No need to plan a big party, we can just feed people with beer and chips.

Babies are everywhere in our circle. One friend had a baby a month ago, one is due in June and a third just announced her pregnancy last week. A fourth friend of mine is due in 6 weeks. Husband has been starting to ask me when we are going to have kids. I think I am finally getting ready. My biggest hang up has really been affording them. And yes, I know if you wait until you can afford them you never will but at the same time, I can't fathom how we'll come up with the money for daycare. Husband says he spends more money than he really needs to and he can easily come up with what we need. So we'll see.

My friend who just had her baby is the type of mom I want to be someday. Her life hasn't changed much since the baby. Every year she does a St Patty Day dinner-still hosted it with a two week old. They go out to dinner with us and just bring the baby with them. It's kind of nice actually. 

So I downloaded Draw Something. Very addicting game but playing with people who don't respond is getting annoying. Especially when people say they are addicted to the game. Arg! Also, my index finger nail is kind of long making it hard to draw.

And now for something blasphemous, I read Hunger Games and I wasn't that impressed. Yes, I know-the girl who read a lot. But while the book was good, I wasn't as impressed as everyone else who has read the book has been. I still want to see the movie because visually it looks amazing but the story line itself is just kind of eh.

And finally-so glad Mad Men is back on

Monday brain dump

This year I turn 30 and thanks to one of my favorite bloggers, Katie @ marriageconfessions I have started to think about my next decade. I've been thinking a lot about my job and my career and what I want to be doing. I like my job, I like pleasing people and I like making people happy. The company I work for is fantastic and I work with some great people. I've started thinking about where I want to be and how I want to grow in my career.

I work in finance and the career path for company means meeting with clients and building relationships. This seems great to me however, I don't have a feeling for the market, watching performance, or crunching the numbers. This is a being piece of the job being an investment manager.

What do I love? I love cooking a great meal or baking something awesome and people telling me I did a great job. That makes me happy. We went on vacation this past weekend and I woke up early to make breakfast for all the skiers/snowboarders before they hit the slopes in the morning. Why, because making pancakes and hearing people tell me "Jenn, these are fantastic" makes me truly happy. I'm a pretty picky eater so I could never be a chef. I'm really good at following a recipe but not so much knowing what flavors go together. But how do you combine a love for making people happy, building relationships with people/families and creating great meals that make people say "wow"? Can you even do that? I can't quit my job and be a stay at home wife so that option is out. I pray occasionally for some sort of direction but at the same I'm quite happy that I at least can get up in the morning and say I go to a job I like.

So where do I go from here? I don't know. I just have to get up, go to work and wait for something to hit me and say "do this".

A dilemma

So I've got an interesting dilemma. Back when I was interviewing for my job, one of the guys who interviewed me was telling me all about the culture of the company and happened to mention in passing that bonuses weren't that much but they did get bonuses. Truth be told I didn't really care because I was so desperate to get out of my job that as long as my salary was more, bonuses weren't a priority to me. Fast forward a year and at my review my boss was discussing the bonus pool, he didn't know what it was going to be but he thought it might not be much. So I set my standards pretty low but I figured what ever I was given would be fine.

Well, my bosses idea of not much and mine are two completely different things. My bonus is 2-3x as much as any previous bonus I have received and he told me he wanted to get me more and he hoped it was acceptable but my bonus was also pro-rated since I started in April. My husband and I have decided to save at least half and spend half. Actually, when I told him how much I would be receiving he jokingly asked "so what are we going to do with your bonus" and I promptly responded "we're spending some on a vacation". We've been taking about it for so long and now we finally can go and we need it. 

So here comes the dilemma-my husband and I haven't been on a real vacation in over 3 years, our honeymoon to be exact. We've done weekend trips but that's about it. We have no idea where to go. I don't want to spend more than $1,000 for a flight and hotel (per person). We don't care where we go but we've been to DC so that's out and Disney was where our honeymoon was. We also don't have any restrictions as to when we go. You would think this much freedom to making plans would be helpful but it's not. So any ideas?

Done!

The finished project. Total work time? Probably two to three hours. I ended up with one extra print stripe but after going around the blanket twice and not finding it's match I gave up.

Romance

My husband are coming up on a decade of togetherness this year and we're not exactly the most romantic people. We show each other we care by doing nice things for one another but grand romantic gestures don't really exist. I think we got anniversary cards for one another this year past year but honestly I am not positive. One year I made dinner at home and I picked up red plates from Target and made heart shaped cheeseburgers for dinner. He has started to listen a little bit because 2 years ago and again this year Valentine's Days he's taking me out to dinner and not telling me where we are going. I understand Valentine's Day is for both of you so for years my husband argued that if we went out we should plan it together. Well, darn it I want to be surprised!

This year I am making him a gift. He plays soccer at least once a week and he's been playing on an indoor league for over a year now. So when I was out this past weekend at a fabric store, I spied a red fleece with soccer balls all over it. Since red is his favorite color and they had a nice solid black fleece as well I decided to pick up a couple yards and make him tie fleece blanket. He's always stealing mine so I thought I would surprise him with one of his own. I'm not exactly the most crafty person in the world so hopefully he appreciates this.

Since I can only work on it when he's not home I started it tonight. It's already half done and easier than I thought it would be. I had to go and hide it a little while ago since I do not know when he will be home. It's a suitcase in our closet, hopefully it's safe. I'll post a picture when it's done.

Crock Pot Sundays week 3

Ok so technically last week was week 3 but my husband went to the Pats game so I didn't make a crock pot meal.

This Sunday's meal of choice? Swiss steaks with mushrooms & onions

Ingredients:

2 onions sliced
1/4 cup dry sherry
1/4 cup flour
3/4 cup low sodium chicken broth
2.5-3lbs of skirt steak sliced into 6-8oz pieces (I've just about given up on finding beef blade)
1/4 cup of heavy cream
1/4 tsp salt
1.5 tsp of paprika
1 tsp of dried tyme
1 lb of white mushrooms

Take a skillet and heat vegetable oil on medium high heat. Add in the mushrooms & salt and cover for 5 mins. Uncover and cook the mushrooms until brown (anywhere from 5-10 mins). Add to the crock pot. In a separate skillet (or the same one once the mushrooms are done), add 2 tsp of vegetable oil and throw in your onions. thyme and paprika. Cook for about 8-10 mins until onions are soft and brown. Considering the paprika makes everything redish, I couldn't tell when the onions were brown so I went with soft.  Stir in the flour and cook for a minute. Wisk in the broth and sherry, getting rid of any lumps.

At this point, I couldn't believe how this recipe was going to work with so little liquid but it does.

Add onions to the crock pot. Salt and pepper the meat and add to the crock pot. Cover and cook on low for 9-10 hours or high for 5-7. Again, with my small 4 quart cookbook dinner was ready faster. I only had to cook mine of low for 5 hours.

I had a bunch of oil sitting on top of all the food in the crock pot so I took some sliced bread to soak it up. Bread is an amazing little sponge. Once the meat is cooked and fall apart-y, remove it from the crock pot. Add in the heavy cream, salt & pepper to taste and serve over the steak. I served the steak with white rice. My husband was a little skeptical of this meal about halfway through the cooking process because it didn't look all that appetizing but by the time it was done it was a whole lot better looking (and smelling)

Another winner in our book!

Crock Pot Sundays week 2

Week two of making a slow cooker meal and another successful choice. This week?

Easy Taco Chili

Two medium onions (minced)- I cried a lot doing this)
1lb ground beef (85% lean or less)
1 15oz can tomato sauce
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
2 tbs tomato paste
2 tbs vegetable oil
1 tbs brown sugar
1 can beans (I used Goya red beans) drained and rinsed
1.5 tsp garlic powder
1 taco seasoning packet
1 tbs milk
1 piece of white bread

Combine the garlic powder, taco seasoning packet, tomato paste, oil, and onions together. Microwave until onions are soft and throw into the crockpot. Add in the beans, tomatoes and tomato sauce and mix. Tear the bread in a bowl into pieces and mush together with the milk using a fork. Add in the meat and mix with your hands. Add the meat to the crockpot and break apart the big pieces of meat. Cook in low for 6-8hrs or high from 3-5. It doesn't look all that appealing but it tastes fantastic!

Crock Pot Sundays

I made my first crock pot meal with my new cookbook this weekend. I forgot to take a picture but it did come out mighty tasty! This week we made Beef & Noodle soup

I have a 4 quart crockpot so my cook times were a little different than the original recipe so I'll include both.

Cast of characters:


1 onion cut up small
4 cloves of garlic (I use the stuff from a jar)
1 tbs tomato paste
1 tbs vegetable oil
1/2 tsp of dried thyme
1 box & 1 can of beef broth
8 oz of baby bella mushrooms (the recipe said cremini but my store didn't have any)
3 carrots peeled and chopped (or a handful of baby carrots)
2 pieces of celery chopped
2 tbs soy sauce
2 bay leaves
1.5 lbs beef blade steak, trim some of the fat*
a little salt & pepper for seasoning
2 cups of wide egg noodles


*my store didn't have beef blade so i used chuck. I want to try again with the right cut of meat to see if there is a difference

microwave the onions, garlic, tomato paste, oil & thyme in a bowl. You're trying to get the onions softened. It took me 2 mins but adjust as necessary. Stir and throw in the crockpot.

Add the broth, soy sauce, carrots, celery, mushrooms and bay leaves to the slow cooker. Season the meat with some salt and pepper and add it to the crock pot. The recipe says on low 9 hrs and high 5 to 7 hours. I think the creators of the cookbook had a larger crock pot. Mine took 4 hrs on high to cook up. Once the meat is cooked & tender, remove the meat, take out the bay leaves, turn off the crockpot for about 5 mins.  Shred the beef, get rid of any excess fat that may be on top of the liquid in the crockpot (I didn't have any).  Once you turn off the crockpot, you'll want to cook the egg noodles. The egg noodles cook separately and once drained, you'll add them to the crockpot along with the shredded beef. Enjoy!