Day Seven

It was a little chilly this morning (I know it was warm for the rest of the country but for Southwest Florida it was only 53 degrees and that is chilly for us) so I decided to make chili, cornbread and peach cobbler. No shooting practice today oh well there is always tomorrow

Here is my chili recipe:

3 cups diced tomatoes (Not from a can - dice them yourself)
1 can of black beans (La Costena) (Do not drain I use this brand for the broth in the can)
1 can of pinto beans (La Costena) (Do not drain)
1 teaspoon dried oregano1 jalapeno pepper diced (optional or more if you like it really hot n spicy)3 cups yellow onion chopped2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 pound ground beef2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground mustard

In a 3 quart crock pot combine diced tomatoes, black beans, pinto beans, oregano, & jalapeno pepper. Put on low.

Saute onions in olive oil in large frying pan until almost brown over medium heat.  Add in minced garlic.  Saute till brown.  Stirring frequently.  Add in ground beef.  Keep stirring.  As beef browns add in dry spices one at a time stirring them into meat completely before adding in the next spice. (chili powder, cumin, mustard).  By now the meat should be completely browned and seasoned.

Drain (there shouldn't be too much to drain if you use lean ground beef) and add to crock pot.  Slow cook for about two to three hours. 

Here is the link to my Sweet Cornbread Recipe:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/golden-sweet-cornbread/

Here is the link to my Peach Cobbler Recipe: (as noted before I double the recipe for a 6qt crock pot, drain the peaches, let cool for an hour before serving, serve with Vanilla Bean ice cream):

http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/357/Easy_Peach_Cobbler56187.shtml

Day Three

Wow it was a busy day.  After getting kids off to school I:  Sent off another resume to Paychex. Prepared the Chicken n Dumplings and Biscuits (See Pics & Recipes Below).  Practiced Archery with my hubby as you can see we didn't do to shabby. Posted this Blog and trying to learn Pinterest. Not quite understanding that yet.  Well there is always tomorrow.

Picture of my Garden isn't showing up well on my background so here it is:

Archery Pics: (Pat's grouping is on the Left.  I'm on the Right.  He is much better.)

Todays Menu:

Chicken n Dumpling link:  (I doubled the receipe for a 6 qt crock-pot, used chicken broth instead of water, two tablespoons of onion powder instead of chopped onion and made my own bisquit dough not store bought) http://allrecipes.com/recipe/slow-cooker-chicken-and-dumplings/

Day Two

Today's agenda consisted of one resume submission to KForce for an accounting position. (Wish me luck) Then I started my cooking adventures for the day.  I didn't get to practice shooting today oh well there is always tomorrow.
Menu: Beef Roast, Mashed Potatoes, Gravy & Cornbread.  (See Pics).  I decided to abandon all of the recipes I found for the Beef Roast and created my own. The Cornbread recipe I used was from http://allrecipes.com/recipe/golden-sweet-cornbread/

Beef Roast Recipe:
  4 lb beef roast
  1 tablespoon Italian Spice
  1 tablespoon black pepper
  1 tablespoon salt
  1 tablespoon black pepper
  1 tablespoon onion powder
  1 tablespoon garlic powder
  2 cups beef broth

1.  Place beef roast in 6qt or larger crock-pot.

2.  Use half of the spices above and cover roast turn over and use the remainder of the
spices to cover other side of roast. Pour beef broth over roast.

3.  Cook on high for 5 hours.  (turn roast over mid-way)

4.  Remove roast and chop into desired portions.

5.  Prepare brown gravy by using 3 cups of the broth from the crock pot and your favorite brown gravy recipe.

6.  Place roast back in crock pot and cover with brown gravy.  (Note: leave some gravy to the side for the mashed potatoes)

7.  Put crock pot on low heat till tender.

Enjoy.