Roast Beast

Nothing is better than the Sunday roast. Unfortunately it took me years to figure out that I failed at roast beef. Two years ago I purchased a crock pot slow cooker, the kind with the removable crock. I had one of the crock pots that you had to get creative when it came to cleaning it, as the crock was permanently fixed to the heating business. I threw it away. Hated trying to clean it.
So got a nice new one and decided to try out a roast. Thanks to the slow cooker I am now a wizard with beef.

Any cut will do, I usually get what is cheapest and on sale. Salt and pepper the outside and brown all the sides in a skillet with vegetable oil.
Place browned meat into crock and add 2 cans french onion soup, 1 large carton of beef broth, 3 cloves of garlic, 1 large onion cut in large chunks. Cover, cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. You can also do 4 hours on high but the best is low and slow.
Once the meat is done gather it and place on platter, cover with foil to keep warm. I say gather because usually the meat falls apart at this point.
You can use a cup of the liquid left in the crock for gravy. You can strain it or not and place it in a small sauce pan. Heat liquid and in a separate cup or a small jar mix 2 heaping tablespoons of corn starch with cold water and stir. When liquid boils add corn starch and stir, it will thicken quickly so keep stirring. If it gets to thick add more liquid left over from roast.

( my camera doesn't do justice looks dry but it is not)

Ahh leftovers. In this economic time nothing gets discarded. Save the liquid and the meat separately and refrigerate over night. The next day shred enough beef for sandwiches about 1/2 cup per sandwich. Place in a pot with a small amount of the leftover liquid and bring to a boil. If you have a special desire for more or different season then add those to the pot. Once the meat is heated and softened then serve on buns with what ever side dishes or accoutrements you desire. I smear a small amount of mustard on my bun.

Soup time. Take the liquid and remove the globs of fat floating on top and discard. Place the liquid in a large pot. Chop up the remaining meat and place in pot. Add 1 can tomato sauce and one can each of whatever vegetables you like. Beans of all kinds, corn, peas, potatoes are good and hearty. If you want you can add fresh vegetables if you have them. Add whatever seasoning you desire. I usually add some salt, pepper, paprika, garlic, thyme, and a tablespoon of sugar. Cook covered for 15 minutes if the mixture is too thick add more beef broth or tomato sauce, you might need to add more seasoning to this. If too wet add a handful of macaroni, rice, or quinoa. You should wind up with a very tasty and hearty vegetable soup.

Side tracked

Sorry got really busy here trying to get information together for job hunting. I have been searching for my college transcripts and cannot find them. So I have been methodically tearing the house apart trying to find them.
I haven't found them yet.
I did find emails I printed out from a previous job where I am being berated for not going to work. At the time I was hemorrhaging and thought I was dying. Was waiting to see the doctor. Every time I stood up I felt like passing out. I should have quit that job then.
Found pictures of myself from happier times, skinnier times.
I saved some letters from my middle child. He ripped me apart in one for making his life miserable. I didn't hear from him for years then get a letter asking me for money. Sorry son it doesn't work that way. I will not be used.
I found my youngest son's report cards, academic tests, and other paperwork from his school years. It is a shame he never applied himself all his TAS tests and Stanford -Benet blew everybody out of the water. He almost had a perfect score on the ACT.
I have divorce degrees from poison people who waste oxygen on this earth. Death certificates from dead relatives. My fathers high school diploma.
I have a few more areas of paper to go through then I will be done. That $20 bill I found will probably go to obtaining another copy of my transcripts.
So back to digging.

Jungle Bread

I have a habit of changing recipes constantly. I use things I have on hand and so sometimes it comes out very different. This is one of those recipes that even if I change stuff up always taste the same.
1 1/2 c flour (I used 1 cup all purpose and 1/2 c whole wheat)
1 c quick cooking oats
1/2 c sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c flaked coconut
1/2 c toasted nuts ( I don't use these)
1 c mashed bananas
1 (8 oz) can crushed pineapple with juice (for some reason I always wind up with a 20 oz can so it's 1 cup)
1/4 c vegetable oil 2 eggs

Stir first 9 ingredients together in a bowl. In a separate bowl mix bananas, pineapple, oil and eggs; add all at once to dry ingredients and till all are moistened. Do not over stir. Pour in greased loaf pan and bake at 350 for 50 minutes. Cool and remove from pan.

GLAZE
1/2 c powdered sugar
1 T butter
1/2 tsp coconut or vanilla extract
1 to 2 tsp milk to desired consistency

Very dense and naturally sweet.

Alright

I was able to save several of my posts. This is what happens when you allow someone to pull your chain. Lesson learned, those you think are your friend are not. I learned that someone was a really shallow hateful person who was not my friend. I am not saying I am perfect. I did however say somethings that were not communicated properly. I am not an eloquent writer and the message was not as it should have been. I am sorry for that.
It is anew day and life is good.

A day with mom

My mother has been in a nursing home for a couple of years. She has an advanced case of Macular Degeneration, hard of hearing, and many psychiatric problems. She wound up in the nursing home because of frequent falls, inability to fix food for herself, mismanaging her meds, poor hygiene, and very poor decision-making.

She had been residing in an independent living apartment. It was a cute apartment that even I would live in. They had a schedule of activities that were geared for active older adults. The best thing was they provided 2 meals a day except weekends. Breakfast and lunch were served in a gracious dinning room. The chink in the chain was when mother got on the phone and had some nurse practitioner come to her apartment that was going to write her scraps for such things as Xanax and Ativan.

I had spent 6 months tapering her off the Xanax, yes it is addicting, along with several medications that she did not need. The only thing I could not remedy was the psych issues and her obsession.

Two years ago Christmas mother fell. One time while out with a very irresponsible aunt who never even reported to the nursing home she had fallen. She fell again while wearing a pair of shoes she was unfamiliar with and did not fit her feet. She was allowed to walk in her with these on and she fell breaking her hand.

Any such trauma to someone of advanced age will set him or her back. No matter how trivial a small adventure places them in a spin. Of course this resulted in a wound to the top of her hand and required wound care as well as a splint to her right hand.

Because of this injury she slowly just stopped getting out of bed or doing anything for herself. If you don't use it you loose it. She can no longer walk, sit up, has difficulty feeding herself and doing simple things for herself.

Well yesterday on my visit 2 young ladies had managed to talk her into getting up. It was also a day when I just happened to show up. I got to spend 2 hrs with my mom while she was up and out of the bed. I fed her lunch, combed her hair, and helped her brush her teeth. She spoke about stuff, other than her obsessions, and it was an enjoyable day. There haven't been too many of those for a while.

Diet time

Well I have sat on butt sort of since last summer and with all this inactivity I am packing on the pounds. So today I am going to go on a diet. So the plan of choice here is Weight Watchers. I have done this before and lost a few pounds and hopefully can do this again.

If I succeed I'll post picture when I get to my 10% goal.

So keep your fingers crossed. Oh and free gym membership would be nice.

Dog Breath

Yorkies get something called Stinky teeth. They require frequent cleaning from the vet that can be really expensive. In between times he still has the breath of a dragon. I have tried numerous commercial preparations for the stench and they don't work. So today I made my own dog breath biscuits.

2 cups whole-wheat flour or brown rice flour

1 egg

2/3 cup of milk

1/2-cup fresh mint

1/2-cup fresh parsley

1 cube beef bullion low sodium version melted in a small amount of water or use beef broth 1 or 2 T

Place parsley and mint leaves in food processor and pulse till chopped. Add the rest of the ingredients and pulse till it forms a ball. Roll dough on floured surface to 1/2 inch or less cut in strips 1/2 inch to 3 or 4 inches long twist like you would a bread stick or use a cookie cutter. Place on greased baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes.

Dog likes them and he smells better.