There were some brilliant ones, colorful, different characters on them like Doc McStuffins, Princess etc, but they just didn't seem right, we went with some cute pink and white running shoes and a pair of black boots with a bow, she looks adorable in them and thoroughly enjoyed trying them all on. I let her out of the cart and she took off, with permission of course! It was pretty hard keeping up with her, makes me realize just how out of shape I am!
Side note, I love all of the Halloween stuff out on the shelves, all the fall colors and little things you know you don't need but want to buy (okay, did buy) anyway, it all looks so..... colorful!
We stopped by our new house, it's still under construction, should be getting our closing date on Monday (tomorrow!) I can't wait! There is so much to do, so much to think about, but I don't want to get too ahead of myself, we are starting to collect moving boxes and getting started on sorting things for packing up. My OCD will really come in handy for moving LOL. I won't babble on about the house, even though I could talk about it all day! More to come when we get another update.
Just a thought though, doing all of this, the milestones my babies hit, the new house etc, makes me wish my mum and dad were here to see it all in person, they are so far away and I sure do miss them a lot, most days I just get on with things and deal with it but certain days are harder, a song can come on the radio that me and my mum would sit and sing together, or a smell, her perfume, I smell that a lot and it's like she's sat right next to me (I wish!)
When I'm making a cuppa, I think of my dad in the kitchen making tea for them both or cooking sausage, chips and beans for my mum. I'm 26 but if I sit and think on it too long I turn into a little girl crying for her parents! I'm glad we get out weekly Skype sessions but it sure doesn't beat sitting on the couch with them while my mum knits, I crochet and my dad watches TV. Fingers crossed I get to visit them some time soon.
Wow, okay, depressing much! Let's move on. Oh! the cooking! I made a delicious meal (if I may say so myself?) tonight, a Beef Stew with English Dumplings, I have many go to Crock Pot meals and this is definitely one of my favorites. (recipe will be at the end)
I've been asked how I do my freezer meals or 'make ahead meals'. I'm sure other people have their own way of doing it but this is how I make it work for me. I'll use the stew I made as an example.
I cut up and prep all of the ingredients for the dish, say carrots need to be sliced, beef needs to be cut into smaller chunks, onions need to be sliced, gravy needs to be made, broth or stock to put in. I put it all into a freezer bag and it gets frozen (if I'm going to cook it the next day though or within a day or two it goes right into the fridge) I never add potatoes since they always turn an icky color in the freezer bag and when it's not it's fresh looking color, I don't want to eat it, even if there is nothing actually wrong with it. A lot of people just literally throw everything in together, I however have major OCD and have a particular way of setting things up, as you can see below....
So you can see I have a freezer bag with my sliced carrots and onion on the left, my freezer bag with the beef chunks in on the right and my pyrex bowl with my liquid (Gravy, Broth and Bouillon cubes. If your OCD doesn't make you keep these things separate, you may love doing these freezer meals even more than I do and not only that but all in one bag sure makes for less dishes and less space taken up in your fridge or freezer etc.
When you do put them in the freezer, don't forget to label each one, what's in it, what it's going to make in the end and what you need to add, if anything before you throw it all in the crock pot, of course, don't forget to add the date!
Grab some recipes, write down what you need for each one, do your shopping and get prepping and bagging! You won't believe how much time it will save you, specially with little ones running around and a house to keep in somewhat working order!
Did any of that make sense? Okay. Good!
Okay, here is the recipe for the Beef Stew and Dumplings. Enjoy! Let me know what you think.
Ingredients:
1lb Beef Chunks (cut in half if they are quite large, I go for 1" chunks or just over)
6 Carrots, peeled and sliced
1 Large onion, sliced
1 1/2 cups Beef Broth
2 cups Brown Gravy
2 Beef Bouillon cubes
1 pack Suet (optional)
4 large potatoes, peeled and cut in half
1/2 stick, unsalted butter or to taste
Instructions:
Prep crock pot with non stick cooking spray, add the carrots, onion, beef chunks, broth and gravy to the crock pot, mix well and set to low for 6-8 hours or on high for at least 4 hours if you're in a hurry.
Put on potatoes 30 or 40 minutes before the stew is done, bring them to a boil, bla bla bla, come on you know how to make mashed potatoes! lol, drain and add the butter to mash until creamy. Enjoy!
If you managed to get a hold of the Suet (I have only been able to get it because family get it from England for me and bring it back with them or my family ship it over to me, if you do find it somewhere here in the States, I wanna know about it! lol. The instructions on the box are simple enough, I follow those and then put the dumplings in with the stew until they are done (they shouldn't be sticky or too doughy in the center, don't forget to turn them every now and again too)
I hate taking pictures of food, does look good though no? he he
See how simple it is when the prepping is done?! You really do just throw it all in, you could of course cut up the potatoes into 1' or so chunks and add them to your stew but I prefer them on the side. One of the things I love is the liquid you add when cooking it turns into amazing gravy, much more flavor than you're regular gravy packets.
If you like the idea of prepping in advance and freezing your meals to throw in the crock pot I would definitely share some more of my favorite recipes!
Doing things this way saves me a lot of money when shopping for groceries too since I know exactly what I'm making for dinner each day and what I need for each one, I tend to just buy what I need instead of grabbing things as I go along which always ends up being a ton of things that will sit in the fridge unused or in the pantry.
So I know I enjoyed it, I asked the hubby and he loved it, but what about my baby girl?
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| The little spoon just wasn't cutting it...lol
After finishing what was on her plate, she got stuck into the leftovers! Success!
I have so much more to tell but it can wait until the next post. This one is already way too long!
So, after having such a nice weekend with the family, all that's left to say is....bring on Monday!
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What's the advantage of suet? I wonder if you could find it at a butcher.
ReplyDeleteWhen mixed properly with flour it makes a nice sticky paste to mould into dumplings, it's a great base to start from. I'll call around eventually but I can't honestly see finding it gee sadly.
DeleteThanks for the tips on crocking! I loved reading about your parents, you made me tear up!
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading! I think I might do a couple posts strictly on the crock pot topic instead of mixing with my regular posts, it got rather long LOL.
DeleteI was thinking about your parents as I was reading and I wasn't even to that part yet- it's something that you want to share with them. Do you have a coin jar or anything to start the savings to go over? Even if it were for a little bit sans children.
ReplyDeleteI forget that you and I are different sometimes. I literally just throw stuff into my crock pot as I find it. You crack me up separating it all. Whatever works!
I love the photo of Hales and her big spoon X)
Oh I'd love to just throw stuff in, my OCD simply will not allow it LOL.
ReplyDelete