January - Crock Pot Beef Stew and Happy New Year!

Here we are in January and I am excitedly awaiting what I'm hoping will be a snowy storm in Atlanta.  For several months, we've had a lot of cold and a lot of rain, and finally the two are supposedly colliding tonight.  I continue to listen to Christmas music on Comcast channel 941 because I'm just not ready for the holidays to be over.  They went by too quickly, in my opinion.  I loved every moment of it but each day sped by faster than the day before and I felt a little like the season was like sand through my fingers.  I couldn't slow it down no matter how hard I tried.  Our kids were thrilled with their goodies on Christmas morning.  The boys' piles grow smaller but more expensive and Brooke's pile looked like a Disney store.  We have been busy over the break with a trip to the farm, birthday parties, an overnight stay at their grandparents' house (while Matt and I enjoyed a staycation), ice skating at the Park Tavern, fancy lunch, family dinners, a couple trips to the movie theater, and lots of football in the yard with neighbor friends.  

We enjoyed our regular holiday traditions.  My dad treated my sisters and me to our annual holiday lunch at Cherokee which is always so special.  I have a tremendous appreciation and love for these times.  As I approach the big 4-0, I can almost see time zooming past me and through me... I know these times won't last forever, so I really cherish these fleeting moments.  I adore my three sisters and dad and am thankful for such a special tradition. 

 

Here is our 2013 Santa picture.  Brooke refused to speak even a word to Santa and couldn't bring herself to look up.  Champ wore a pair of lovely bright Elite socks and Matthew donned his favorite shirt of all time.  This picture makes me smile.  Each to his own, I say...

 

And after it all, I feel a sadness that the holidays are behind us, but instead of wallowing in it, I'm consciously choosing to focus on the positive to come - like Spring weather and baseball and all the time we will all spend outside - like hot Summer days at the pool - like Spring Break at Disney World and the beach with friends - and I'd be lying if I didn't say that I'm already excited about the holiday season this year.  On the Friday after Christmas, I stocked up on about $400 worth of Christmas gifts for this year (and only paid $200 because of the sale prices).  I like to have a reservoir of hostess, teacher and neighbor gifts. 

Let's see... what have I cooked?  Not much, really... we've done some grilling, some fondue, lots of bacon and eggs, sandwiches, and salads. I did cook a very basic beef stew which my family ate and enjoyed.  I started to take pictures of the process and then got sidetracked.  Such is my life these days.

Crock pot Beef Stew

You don't need much for this one.  This came out of a Rachel Ray magazine so it took no time to prepare and because it cooked all day in the crock pot, the beef was tender and the flavor deep.  First, you brown the beef chuck (that you've already cut into 1 inch cubes) in a skillet until brown on all sides.  Then put the meat into the crock pot.  Then you add onions (I keep the onion pieces big so that Matt can pick them out), a couple small pats of butter and garlic to the skillet, season with salt and pepper and cook about 10 minutes. 

Then you pour in some chicken stock and 1/2 cup of dark beer. 

Stir that around for 2 minutes and then pour on top of the meat in the crock pot along with cut up potatoes and carrots.  Cook on low for 8 hours. 

YUM.  Perfect for a busy day because it takes only a few minutes to prepare in the morning - then the crock pot will do the rest! This is a comfort meal, for sure.  Click here for the recipe. 

Happy New Year!  May 2014 be your best year yet!