Starting the Weekend off with Monster Trucks & Top Shot

MJ is a very happy boy this weekend. Papa finally has a couple of days off and they both decided it was going to be a manly weekend.

Our weekend started on Friday with the Monster X Tour featuring the Metal Mulisha!

We all had a good time. I think MJ was just happy to have his Papa home and quite frankly so was I.

He has been spending many days/nights in his stores in California and working 6 day weeks in preparation for the Christmas season. We operate much better when he's home every night. I miss him when he's gone for too long.

Evidently the black and green tape going around the trucks meant we weren't supposed to be getting on the trucks. Well, we didn't pay any attention to that.

We were taking pics of the Monkey on all of the
trucks until the announcement over the loud speaker
said that kids are not allowed on the vehicles. So we shot a couple more pictures.

MJ doing the used car tire kick!

One last picture before we get booted for letting him
to close to the trucks!

Weren't supposed to be on the bikes either unless we asked first. MJ just climbed on one before we were able too. They were a friendly lot and didn't mind.



MJ and Papa enjoying the show!

Funny, this doesn't look like Tahoe!

We were thinking of taking a hike up Mt Rose and head to Tahoe. We ended up going to the Indian Reservation to play Top Shot. MJ's new favorite thing is shooting with the pops. Kinda the same thing, right?

Here are a few pics I took while they were shooting targets, clays and of course pumpkins.



MJ setting up his pumpkins



He did inquire a couple of times where his bud Mitchel was.

I guess kicking shot gun shells alone isn't as fun.



Of course, after every round they MJ had to go check his work!



MJ is now napping from his morning adventure and I am off to a craft fair. Being out numbered by my two men, I gotta get the girls stuff in when I can. Probably taking MJ to the movies tonight. 

Tomorrow  NASCAR and NFL all day! 

I will be busy baking for a baby shower on Monday.

~Life is Good~



Chilly Weather is Stew Weather!

Beef Stew

With the weather getting cold out I thought it would be a good time to break out the soups and stew recipes. One of my favs is beef stew. It is such a comfort food. The beef and taters fill your tummy with yummy goodness. I also love any food that you can cook in one pot. I still have not mastered the slow cooker. Word on the street is once you master it, you will never use the stove top again for soups/stews. Well I'm not there yet. Besides I love my dutch oven.

Ingredients:

Cast of Characters



3lbs stew beef or chuck roast

1 large yellow onion

3 carrots

4 celery ribs

3 garlic cloves

6 roma tomatoes

6 to 7 small red potatoes

6c beef stock

1/4c flour

3bay leaves

2T Worcester sauce

1T paprika

1T pepper flakes

1t thyme

1/4t cloves

salt/pepper to taste

First thing you want to do get all your chopping done. So chop your celery, onions, tomatoes and garlic, but in a bowl and set aside. Don't chop the carrots or potatoes just yet you are not going to need them until your stew has been cooking for about 2 hours. If you decide to chop them now keep them separate until it's time to use.

Trim the beef of all the big chunks of fat. Icky to bite into, but don't take off all the fat. Fat=Flavor. Remember this line when you think you are getting soft in the belly. It's not fat it's FLAVOR!

Season your beef with salt and pepper and place in a mixing bowl. Sprinkle the flour on top and mix so the beef is fully coated with flour. This is going to be the thickening agent for the stew. There are other ways to do this including using corn starch, but I like this method best.

Next get your pot with about 3T of oil very hot. Then add your beef. I do mine in batches (this took 3) so I can get the meat a nice and crispy. Once the last batch was finished I put all the beef back into the pot.

I could have just stopped here and ate this with a loaf of bread!

Then add all the fresh chopped veggies except for the carrots and taters.

Cook the veggies down for about 5 min. Then everyone else in the pool, except for the carrots and potatoes!

Make sure you use the spoon to scrape all the crusty goodness from the bottom!

Should look something like this. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer and let cook for about 2 hours.

Check in on it from time to time and give it a stir. Make sure you scrape the bottom again.

After about 2 hours the meat should be very tender. Add the potatoes and carrots. I would love to say that baby carrots taste better, but the truth is I use them in soups and stews cause I don't have to peel and chop them. I put in a small bag of baby carrots (1lb) instead of 3 regular carrots.
Give it a taste and this is where you will add more salt, if needed. Don't go crazy and add a lot in the beginning. Just a little, stir in, then retaste in 5 to 10min. Whenever you add salt you don't taste it as soon as you have added it. You need to wait at least 5min so the salt can break down and absorb in the food. If you taste right after adding, you may add more cause you think it needs it. Then when you taste it later, it may be too salty.
Anywho, after you add the taters and carrots let it cook another 35-45min so the taters are fork tender, but not mushy!

And there you have it Beef Stew. Time to Eat!

                               

A Couple of Mom's Thanksgiving Recipes

Mom's Stuffing/Dressing and Giblet Gravy

There many things my Mom did right. Two at the top of my list were raising her children to be responsible and productive adults and cooking. Some of the stuff she made were stinkers (we all have those moments), but most of her food were home runs. Two of my fav things my Mom made were Thanksgiving Dinner and Tamales. Both I hope one day I will be able to make even half as good as she did.

Growing up with limited funds (poor), my mom did most of the cooking from scratch. Nowadays, cooking from scratch and with fresh product is more expensive then eating the crappy food you can get at the drive through. 

Shameful, isn't it?

Back then cooking was an event and something that tied family together. I love those memories. She was not the easiest person to learn from. She was not the most patient and a little hard core. She expected perfection and I think assumed we could read her mind. Her directions were vague, but I think she was teaching us how to figure things out on our own, not just have everything handed to us.

Well I paid attention and asked the right questions and learned a few of my favorite dishes that she made.



For the Dressing
The Ingredients:
2pkgs of seasoned croutons
1/2lb of giblets
2 carrots shredded
3 celery diced
4 scallions chopped
2 cans of chicken broth
1 bunch parsley
2 can blk olives
1 stick butter, not margarine!
1 bell pepper. I didn't cause I don't like em.
hand full diced yellow onion
2 garlic cloves
salt pepper to taste
Wine to sip while cooking, my choice tonight was a Sangiovese from Boger Winery from El Dorado Co. Mom had beer!
You may need extra thyme, sage and marjoram if the packets in the crouton bags don't season enough. I always add a little more.

In a large sauce pot put the giblets, 2 cans of broth, yellow onion, garlic, salt and pepper. You may need to add just a little water too. Bring to a boil and reduce to medium and cook for about 35min. When cooked drain the giblets, but DO NOT THROW OUT THE JUICE!

Dice the giblets into small pieces and set aside.

While the giblets are cooking, chop all the veggies and put in a bowl until ready to use. Take a sip of wine and continue.

Put an entire stick of butter in a large stock pot and when the butter is melted add all the veggies. Saute the veggies for about 10 minutes until they are reduced and translucent. Add about 3/4 of the chopped up giblets to the pot and cook for another 5 minutes. Lastly add the croutons and seasoning packets that come in the bag and mix, but not too much that the croutons break down too much.

Then add the juice from the gibbets you just cooked. Add a little at a time it doesn't take much about a cup? Nothing worse than soggy dressing. Should look kinda like this. Any extra juice you will use in the gravy, so no worries it won't go to waste.

Give it a taste and add more of these seasonings a teaspoon at at time until it's what you want it to taste like. Remember, the flavors will come out more when you bake it so don't over season.

Put it all in a cooking dish, cover with foil and bake for about 45min. Let set for 15min before serving. Now finish that glass of wine you have been working on and pour another.

For the Gravy

3T butter

3T flour

2c of the reserved giblet juice

salt/pepper to taste

When making gravy always remember that however much butter you use, use the same amount of flour, equal portions.

Melt the butter in a sauce pan and add the flour. Once the butter is totally melted start the timer for 2 minutes. Very important to cook the two for 2-3 minutes. It will have a floury taste if you don't

Add your reserved juice, salt and pepper. Another thing is any gravy you make needs to come to a full boil. This will ensure you gravy is at the maximum thickness. For this type of gravy, I don't make it very thick. It's a little on the runny side, but that's how Mom made it and that's how I like it. It is packed with lots of flavor!

Wasn't going to make the whole turkey dinner so Mark grilled up some chops and I made some fresh green beans and finished my second glass of wine to accompany the dressing and gravy. About Mark's grilled chops. He sears the chops for 3 min on each side with the grill turned on high. Then he reduces the temp. to medium to finish cooking. This was an additional 8 min a side. We both like a little char on the meat and he is a pro griller. He makes steak the same way.
Not as good as Moms, but gotta say it was tasty.