Beef Stew

I'm stuck at home during a Nor'Easter and I really have been craving a home-made beef stew. I found a really great recipe here, but I made a few tweaks to it because it didn't roast in my oven too well. In my pictures, you can see I started off cooking in an oven roasting pan, but just ignore that! It was taking way too long to cook, so put it on the stove in a stockpot instead of in the oven. 

Oregano and Red Wine Beef Stew
Serves 4

1 bag of cut and peeled baby carrots (16 ounces)
7 stalks of celery
1 pound fresh green beans (or one 14.5 ounce can of green beans)
1 whole onion (medium size)
2 large cloves garlic
1 jalapeno
1 can cut tomatoes (14.5 ounces)
3 whole potatoes (red or russet)
32 ounces of beef broth
1 cup of red wine
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 ½ pounds beef stew meat
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons ground pepper
2 teaspoons dried parsley
4 bay leaves
1 teaspoon salt (or salt to taste)

Directions:

Remember, although I put all of my ingredients into a roasting pan, you should put yours on the stovetop. I don't know how the original recipe was able to be cooked in the oven with a roasting pan...I used a cover on my roasting pan just like the original recipe, but the ingredients just weren't cooking for some weird reason. Oh well! Just cook it on the stove and you should be fine!

First, dump out your can of tomatoes into the pot and turn on the stove to medium-high heat.

Chop up all of your vegetables and add them to the pot.

Add everything else except for the olive oil and beef.

Let your stew cook on the stovetop (not oven--haha) while you prepare the beef.

In a separate pan, add your olive oil and beef, then cook throughly.

When the beef is browned, add all of the pan's contents (beef and liquid) to the large stock pot.

Let cook 2-4 hours, or until the vegetables and beef are soft enough to cut with a spoon.

This stew is SO good! Plus, it makes the house smell delicious! I think the red wine gives it some amazing flavor, and the jalapeno just gives it the right amount of heat! This is definitely a great stew for a cold day. Enjoy!

Green Onions: Day Ten

Look how these green onions have grown in ten days!

Very impressed with myself! Especially since I've been realizing how expensive produce is up here! I'm so glad mom and dad pay for my groceries, because with my tastes, I'd be broke if I had to buy my own food. I think I'll be eating lots of green onions when I'm out on my own to save money on the grocery bill! haha

Pathetic?

I just had a thought... it is sad I'm 22 years old and blogging about produce growing on my windowsill! Today I will make an effort to get out more and be interesting! haha

Green Onions: Day Two

At first, I thought these green onions grew about a half an inch overnight. After looking at the pictures from yesterday however, it doesn't look like they are growing as fast as I thought... that dark green growth is misleading!  

New Years Cards

I like making my own cards for the holidays, but this year I was just so busy I never got around to it!! :( So, I decided to make some cards for the new year rather than belated-holiday cards...thought it would be more thoughtful/less forgetful!

These are the cards I made-- they're really simple, but they kind of reminded me of champagne (which is probably why I like them... I love champagne!)

You'll need:
Plain Card-Stock 
Colorful Paper
1 inch circle craft punch
3/4 inch circle craft punch
Glue
Glitter



Here are the craft punches I used:

They are like big hole-punches-- you just squeeze the handle on them, and they punch out different shapes! I love them. Until I get myself a Cricut, these will have to do! :) (I'm not supposed to use my Cricut Cake for cutting paper because the chemicals in card-stock are not good for you.)

Punch out all different colors with both punches

After I punched out my circles, I put them in a jar and shook them up so I would be able to grab a random assortment each time I needed my circles

Glue on your circles in a random pattern. After they dry, add a little dollop of glue and some glitter so when the glue dries, there will only be the glitter showing.

Shake off your excess glitter and your cards are ready once the glue dries!

Seriously, I should be getting reimbursed for all of this product placement!! Haha. I need to learn how to make money on this blog so I don't have to get a real job!

Green Onions: Day One

I read somewhere that you can keep green onions indefinitely if you just keep the roots in water. Always up for the domestic challenge, I kept these green onions rather than throwing them out. I just put them in some water on a windowsill. The green stalk supposedly grows back. Hmm...I'll keep you all updated to see if this really works. It would be nice not to have to buy these things anymore! Fresh produce is just so expensive in Maine during the winter--plus it would be nice to: "reduce my carbon footprint" if this works out!

Candle Making

Okay readers-- I have made a large step out of my comfort zone and have made something flammable! Haha okay that makes me sound much more dangerous than I actually am-- I made some candles, and I'm quite proud of myself!

What You Will Need:
Glass Votives (I used Mason Jars)
Double Broiler

• You don't want your wax on a direct source of heat!

Essential Oil

• Use only if you want a scented candle
• You can buy essential oils online or at a health food store-- like Whole Foods
• I used grapefruit essential oil
• Take care-- if it isn't an essential oil, it will BURN!!

Beeswax

• You can buy this on Amazon for cheap-- shipping is what will cost you. I have a "Super Savers" account, so I got my shipping free! (Which I'm sure would've added up for a 10 pound block of wax).
• You can also buy wax at Michael's-- but it will probably be twice the price of what you could buy online

Cotton Wick Braided Spool
Wick Tabs

• These are fancy little metal tabs that hold the wick down
• It cost $8 for 150 of these little guys-- not unreasonable
• I've also seen people use metal washers instead of wick tabs, if that works for you-- by all means go for it!

Coffee Filters

• I just used these to pour my excess wax into
• When the wax cools, you can peel back your filters and your wax is nicely contained!

Crayola Crayons

• I used 3-4 crayons I thought would make a nice color for my candles

Pens/Pencils

• You will use these to tie your wicks around

Steps

• Gather your materials 

• Start by threading your cotton wick onto your wick tab and knot the end of your wick

• Now, determine how long your wick needs to be by putting it in your votive
• Make sure to leave your wick pretty long-- it needs to be a little longer than the height of the votive so that you can make a knot at the top

•  Tie the knot onto your pen or pencil and then leave it resting on the lip of your votive
• Make sure to try to place it as close to the center as you can

•  Set these guys aside until your wax is ready

•  Boil your water for the double broiler

•  Break off enough wax to either fill your pot or make the number of candles you want

•  Peel off the paper on your crayons, and add them to your pot full of wax

•  Place your pot full of wax on your double broiler and keep an eye on it-- you want your wax to melt, not boil

•  Stir your wax every once and a while after it starts to melt

•  Once your wax is melting, dip your cotton wick into the wax and then pull it out
• (You dip the wick in the wax so that the wick doesn't burn too quickly)
• After you've dipped your wicks into the wax, center them back on the lip of your votives

• Once your wax is completely melted, add your essential oils
• (I just dumped enough oil in until the wax smelled as strong as I wanted my candle to smell)

• Gently pour your wax into your votives
• (I didn't get a picture of this because it was messy and I was working fast so the wax wouldn't cool)
• This is what your candles should look like: 

• (P.S. Do NOT do what I did and put these guys in the freezer to cool down. I was in a hurry and wanted them to set fast, so I put them in the freezer. If you do this, the outside will cool faster than the inside does and the middle sinks in. Let your candles solidify at room temperature! I ended up having to put the candles in the oven to try to: "reset" the wax and it took me even longer if I had just let them settle at room temp in the first place! Haha I guess that's what I get for trying to take shortcuts in life!)
• Once your candles cool, cut the wick knot from your pen and they are ready to be used!!

Much easier than you thought right? Enjoy!!