Pot Roast Soup!

Oh people, I have outdone myself, if I do say so myself...and myself says so!  I started out making soup, then I thought that all of the ingredients were the same as my pot roast so I did the same seasoning, w/ a hoot and a hey and a HOPE SHA-NA!  No idea what it would taste like and then WOWWWZAAAA!! 

So since I wasn't planning on it becoming the extravaganza that it was, I didn't take pics along the way.  But lucky for you I dug all of the cans and wrappers and crap out of the trash.  :)  JUST FOR YOU!  I can't be responsible for the taste if you use lesser products.  I mean, I have standards.  Ok, so here goes...

Buy some meat.  :)  Chuck roast preferably, and I happened to find chuck roast boneless short ribs at Albertson's yesterday.  Never knew they existed!  But just a regular chuck roast is fine, and it doesn't have to be big.  Like 2 or 3 lbs is fine.  More if you have a bigger pot.  I would recommend cutting the roast into about 6 big pieces.  No need to cut it smaller, it will fall apart w/ your spoon when it is done.

There's a printable recipe at the bottom of the page. (I hope!)  This is my trial run with that thing so we will see how it goes!

But basically this recipe has all of the pot roast fixin's, carrots, onions, celery, mushrooms, garlic.  I threw in some stewed tomatoes just because my grandma used to put them in her veggie soup so I did too.  They are big enough to not eat if you don't like them, but they really add a good flavor. 

So here are the pics of the good stuff, besides the veggies...

This is the freakin' bomb diggity!  It's the seasoning I use for my regular pot roast (which starts out FROZEN by the way!)  So I added it to the soup!

Have you seen this man?  This is STOCK, not broth!  Stock has more flavor because it is cooked w/ the beef AND tons of veggies.  Broth just uses the beef or chicken and is more bland.  I used one box, plus a little from the second box.

Here's the finished product.  Not Martha Stewart, but it is real.  You won't wonder why yours looks like this and the pic is so perty!

See that large piece of meat?  Thought it would be a problem, but nope!  Just falls apart, even with a spoon!! :)  My little ones even ate it, THAT is how good it is.  Ok, gonna shut up about it's amazing goodness because I hate to get your hopes up, but really...it's like a pot roast and gravy on a spoon!!  Do yourself a favor and chase it w/ a biscuit!!  You'll be glad you did.
  Printer friendly recipe

It. Must. Be. Mine.

Be still my heart.  The excitement...so intense...I can barely breathe. 

When a friend posted a picture of her cute Halloween Cupcake Cookie Jar, I literally think my heart stopped.  INSTANTLY, I had to gurgle it and there it was...cute as it wants to be...at Kohl's.  "Ferb, I know what we're gonna do today!"  Cut to...me and 2 kids at Kohl's within 20 minutes. :)  Best part?  It was on sale AND I had $10 Kohl's giftcard.  $30 cookie jar = $7.99, BABY!!

Look at this preciousness!  Can you stand it?! (If only I could remember the Ode to a Candy Corn that I wrote last year, I would insert it here.)  :)  Instead, let us have a moment of silence to reflect upon this treasure.

I mean, really.  Its cuteness cannot be measured.   

Now some would chastise and say, "Shari, have you nothing better to do on a Thursday afternoon than go in search of a cookie jar?"  My answer?...No.  No I don't.  I see a shoppertunity and I grab it, mister!  And it isn't JUST the cuteness in all its glory...let's take a moment and gaze, shall we?...it's the adventure, the search, the hunt!! ~cue Miley Cyrus~  "It's the cliiiiiiiiiimb!" 

To the critics, those who do not understand,  I say, "Good day.  I SAID GOOD DAY!"

Four more years...

What, in the name of all that is pure and holy, am I going to do with myself in 4 more years when Adam is in kindergarten?!!!  The thought just makes me GIDDY!  Here I sit in this peace and quiet while he is napping and sister is in preschool (mind you, I only have about 90 minutes of this) and I am so happy I'm literally tingling.  Literally.  Feeling tingles as we speak...uh, type...or I type and you listen, if you are reading out loud...but only do that if you are alone or people will think you're a freak and well...speaking of freaks...MOVING ON!

Where was I?  Oh yes, tingles! :)  So when Mr. Adam starts kindergarten, what to do...what to DO?!!  First I shall go to Starbucks.  I believe that's the proper 'kids in school' etiquette for moms.  Maybe I'll go with another mom!  We could chat.  Actually complete a sentence without interjecting with "I'm TALKING!  Stop interrupting!  Put that DOWN!"  Just a nice, quiet chat.  Aaaaaah.  Then perhaps I will go to Target.  Yes, people, it just might get that crazy. :)  And then possibly go for a run, then a shower and maybe off for a mani/pedi?  Or a nap?  I'll clean the house eventually, once the 'new' wears off.  Might take a week or so.  It's been a long 5 years.  Mama's earned it.  Hubby made the comment once that when the kids were in school he would retire and I could go back to working full time.  I didn't speak to him for 2 weeks.  No one did.  I forbid it.  Sent flyers around the neighborhood informing the mothers of what he said to me.  They united, supported, and glared appropriately.  He came to his senses and realized he wanted to live.

I had a plan...

And oh what a wonderful plan it was.  Mother of the Year worthy!! :)  Today is the day that we have been waiting for...Tinkerbell and the Great Fairy Rescue hits stores!!  So me and my chitlins were going to go out to breakfast and head over to Target to retrieve this glorious treasure.  It was 8:15 am and the store was empty.  Humming a happy tune, I found some Halloween candy dishes shaped like candy corn (candy corn will earn its very own post in the near future) and a pumpkin, and a little pumpkin headband for Kaitlyn.  Life was good and filled with promise.  "I love the smell of Target in the morniiiiing!!"

And then...uuhhhh...where's the movie?  Tag is there...several tags are there...no movie.  Hmmm...dvd...nothing, blue-ray...nothing, special deluxe edition complete w/ a ring, a bracelet, and a brand new car...nothing.  Ok, nobody panic.  Find Target person...ok, doesn't speak english, no problem...use broken spanglish and thank the Heavenly Father that Tinkerbell is the same in all languages.  Manager informs me that NO TARGET STORES have received the movie yet, check back later.  Whaaaaaaaaaaa?  Listen MISTER!  There IS NO 'check back later' in LittleGirlLand!!  Do you want to tell this to my 4 year old who is drooling all over herself w/ joyful anticipation?  I think not!  I had no choice.  Like a mother in the midst of combat, I knew what I had to do.  It wasn't going to be pretty, but I'm a mom.  And it ain't a pretty job most of the time.  So I muster up the courage and...off to WalMart we go. "I love the smell of ...um...Wal...errr...well...ok, I just can't do it... it smells like ass in here."   But they had the movie.  We got in, held our noses, and got out! 

I never understood the disdain people held for WalMart.  I got the fact that it put lots of mom & pop stores out of business, and that was a shame, but I tried to balance that w/ the fact that it employed a lot of people, gave them health benefits and provided the masses w/ cheap stuff.  This was my feeling until a dreaded Wednesday night a few months ago.  I was so disturbed that I whipped out a notebook to record my pain right there in the parking lot.  I am off to find that notebook because you must hear the story in the whipped-up, frenzied tone in which it was originally written.  Stay tuned...

My clicky pen...

Needed a little retail therapy today so I ventured to Target Fine Imports.  As I am perusing, finding tons of crap that I don't need...except that I DO...I remembered a little bug that my sister planted in my brain.  It was something she said brought her great joy.   I searched and searched, and there it was...feast your eyes...

Do you see this, because I'm not sure that you do.  Yes, it is the 4 color clicky pen, big whoop, but wait...look at the fine print...

That's right, FASHION COLORS!!!  Purple, pink, turquoise, and lime green!!  I bought 2. :)  Now I can share in that joy, too.  I shall die happy.  Oh what to write...what to write??!!  Except that I type...oh well, details!   I must now excuse myself to go caress all that is...the clicky pen. :)

Ruh Roh!

Now I've stepped in it!  Both literally and figuratively, but more on the literal later.  (It involves mud, and me hydroplaning across a planter at Target...and it ain't pretty...but I digress.)  Hubby informed me that the tire can't be fixed so it's going to cost $870 for 4 new tires.  Now all you ladies out there are thinking...just buy one damn tire!  And all the men have some super-duper reason why we can't.  Like they think THEY are the Nascar professionals...puh-leeeez!  When Jimmie Johnson tells me about it, I'll believe it!  First I would kiss him...then I'd believe him. :)

I have a thing w/ tires...

My entire life I have been plagued w/ flat tires and all sorts of tire issues.  Ask my dad, goes waaaaayyy back to my little bicycle w/ the flower basket and big orange flag on the back.  (That flag is still a sore spot for me so leave it alone!)  So today I get the kids ready and as I'm loading them in the car I notice that my right rear is flat. (don't be intimidated by my use of 'right rear'.  It comes from many years of Nascar, so don't beat yourself up over it.  I'm a professional.)  CRAP!!  Well, as I was walking back in the house to tell the hubster, I noticed something...something that brought me great joy w/ a side order of pride...don't ask me why, but it did.  I went from "Oh crap, this sucks!" , to "Hey honey!  Come look what I did!". :)   Take a gander at my tire...

Those are half of a pair of scissors in there.  But that is not what was so impressive.  HERE is what I'm talking about...

IN THE WHEEL WELL, PEOPLE!! :)  How cool am I?!!  Jealous, much? ;)  Now hubby will tell you that 'officially' he was aggravated...until he saw the VISION.  I caught a glimpse of that little smile.  He tried to hide it but I could see it, plain as day.  That was pride, my friend...pure pride.

It is but a symbol, given to me from the gods, of my recent mental struggle over how to get mine and Kaitlyn's haircut w/ this little boy in tow.  It is as if the universe is saying to me, "Yes, Shari, haircuts suck!"  or maybe just a simple "SCREW THE HAIRCUT!".  I am at peace.  Namaste'.

I should tell you that I once had a AAA tire man tell me that the pliers I ran over, that shaped themselves into a perfect "L", were the strangest thing he had seen in 20 years.  ~heavy sigh~...wish I had his number...

And then there was the time that all 4 wheels were stolen off of my new Honda Accord and I woke up to find my car sitting on blocks.  True story.  Try calling for a tow on that one!  Kept having to explain to the insurance guy that..."I HAVE NO WHEELS!!!  How can you tow me?!"  Had to get a ride to Honda, buy 4 new WHEELS (not just tires!), take them back to my car and THEN call the tow man to put them on the car.  I was amazed they could get the jack under the car!  Where's my pit crew when I need them?!