Crockpot Burrito Roast

Easy Burritos - from Southern Living, February 2004

1 large onion, sliced into rings
1 (3-4 lb) sirloin beef roast
1/2 c. water
2 (1.25 oz) envelopes taco seasoning mix, divided (or 4 Tbsp. homemade fajita seasoning mix, divided)
flour tortillas

Place onion in a crock pot; add roast and 1/2 cup water.  Sprinkle 1 package (or 2 Tbsp) seasoning mix over top of roast.
Cover and cook on high 5 hours (this is what the original recipe says.  What I did instead is cook it on high for 3 hours, and then cook it on low for another 11 hours - which was overnight + church).  Remove roast, and shred with 2 forks.  Return to slow cooker, and stir in remaining taco seasoning mix.  Cover and cook on high 30 more minutes or until boiling.

To serve, spoon seasoned roast evenly down center of flour tortillas.  Top with tomatoes, onions, lettuce, salsa, sour cream, and/or cheese.

This has been a special weekend for our family - the baptism of our sweet daughter.  We celebrated today with our loving family and friends - both at church, and at a luncheon afterwards where we had burritos.  You might be thinking "Hm.  Burritos for Sunday Lunch?  Never."  Well, I happen to know that tex-mex is always a favorite for our families/friends, and that it was the one kind of food I could prepare 100% ahead, so I wouldn't be rushing about the kitchen while I should be enjoying fellowship instead.

I diced all my veggies on Friday (tomatoes, peppers, onions, and lettuce), bought shredded cheese so I wouldn't have to bother with that, and cooked giant batches of seasoned rice and black beans.  On Saturday, I prepared the roast.  Sunday morning, I put the rice and beans in the oven to warm during church, and the roast stayed hot in the crock-pot.  Besides pulling out the sour cream, cheese, and guacamole from the fridge, it was all done.  Amazing.

And now, some pictures.

Our sweetheart

Thanks for being here, grandparents!

maybe my favorite picture from the whole day

she passed out in the nursery afterwards ... she's NEVER done that before!

vintage quilt winner

Congrats to Cat in Berlin ... she wins the vintage quilt, and soon will be doing her part to spread American Antiquities all over Europe.  Hooray to you!

And stay tuned, folks ... for more news and information (and cute baby pictures) from here!

Vintage Quilt + Giveaway!

Today, I came in possession of an old, hand-sewn star quilt.  Sah-weet!  I'm a sucker for antique patchwork.  This is so awesome!

But I have to confess: I do not have the time to fix the places where seams have come apart, nor do I have the energy to be that particular.  So, I opted for the quick-and-awesome choice: wall hanging!

That's right.  Those are embroidery hoops, and I cut up (gasp!) the quilt to fit the hoops.  This way, I get to enjoy their handmade beauty every day, and didn't have to do any fixing of seams.  Furthermore, when I have a house with my own sewing room (cough IhopeyoureadthisMr.rhymeswithsmile cough), these can go on the walls of that room.  Until then, they're next to my side of the bed.  So I get to see them first thing every morning!

And, next ... a little bit of fun.  I only cut up half the quilt to use in my wall hangings.  So, I still have half the quilt that I'd like to pass along to someone who wants it.  It's 18 squares (3x6) and three of the sides are hemmed (it's pictured above ... the second picture from the top is a pretty good view of what's there).  Measures maybe 30"x60".  So, leave a comment, and tell me why you want it.  I'll randomly pick someone next Wednesday at 5:00.  I hope it's you!

Finally - Little Girl!  Look how precious.

Maybe she looks like me?

She really is happy most of the time.

something in the basket was funny, I guess.

It has been determined:
She looks like her dad (and I believe
she's wearing one of his old shirts)

Square in a square

First: tear blank paper from the mister's journal.
Second: Doodle.

Third: Cut fabric, and lay it out in desirable pattern.

Fourth: write down some instructions.  But not a ton of them.  Assume the blog reader is smart and capable.

Fifth: Snap a picture of the backing for the quilt - wide yellow happy bright stripes!  Use quarter for scale.  Then use quarter to start a load of laundry.

Sixth: Sit on the couch and catch up on Hulu instead of sewing through the night.

What a great Friday.

MK's birthday quilt

I have a friend named MK.  She's fabulous, and she's one of the big reasons why I love the community and town I live in.  We first met three years ago, and our first friend date involved me dragging her around from store to store in search of the perfect black dress (note: we both hate to shop.  and it was raining.).  I'm happy to say it's all be uphill since then: no more shopping, and lots of blueberry and raspberry picking.

She's a gem - really, absolutely, awesomely so.  I'm thankful for this gal in my life!

So, as the world's smallest token of friendship and birthday love, I made her a birthday quilt!  I'm excited at the final product, though I did run into some snags along the way.  (this quilt was inspired by Elissa's first-ever quilt!)

This was my first time trying quilting lines so close together over a whole quilt as well as making my own label for the quilt.

MK's birthday quilt - front (swaying in the wind a little bit)

back of quilt - detail

first time ever labeling a quilt like this ... so much easier than I thought

The quilt measures about 48"x48" and uses fabrics from all my previous projects (I will award you seven points if you can cross-reference at least three of the fabrics you see).  I used a blue-and-white striped sheet on the back, cut to size.  For the label, I used a little scrap of double-sided iron-on interfacing (I used Wonder-Under) on a scrap of white fabric.  I wrote the label with a permanent marker and ironed it to set the ink.  I ironed the label onto the quilt and secured it with a blanket stitch for looks.  So much easier than I thought it would be!

I'm excited to celebrate my sweet friend today!

In Defense of the Casserole

The ugly "C" word ... you cringe when you hear it in relation to dinner, and you feel like a piece of you dies when you give in to making it again? That's right ... the Casserole.  Poor thing.  It's just so ... plain.  And unassuming.  No wonder casseroles get overlooked and badmouthed.

But in defense of lowly Casseroles, they are some of the easiest and heartiest meals out there.   They can be a delicious cacophany of all kinds of ingredients, or simple with three or four ingredients.  And there's just one or two dishes to clean up afterwards - how delightful is that?

I am somewhat hesitant about making my own casseroles (mostly because of a few mishaps with mushy vegetables and a noticeable lack of salt), but I like to make things that are easy and versatile so I find myself coming back.  If you're in a similar boat, I have a few suggestions of ways to revisit the Casserole.  Or, if you're not sure you want to commit to a full revisitation, at least think about putting the Casserole back on your Christmas card list.

Add cooked sausage or cooked bacon - Name one main dish that isn't better with one of those two ingredients (ok smartypants, if you just thought of ice cream, then I want to come have supper at your house.)  But seriously.  Mild sausage, spicy sausage, maple-flavored bacon, hardwood smoked bacon ... excuse me, I need to clean up the drool pooling in my lap.  Paula Deen's lasagna, anyone?

Be creative with toppings - store-bought breadcrumbs stirred into melted butter are the standby that most of my cookbooks call for.  But what about crushed potato chips, fritos, or Doritos?  Or homemade breadcrumbs from yesterday's sourdough bread, pulverized in a blender with fresh rosemary and thyme?  Try a couple of corn muffins, some shredded cheddar cheese, and generous amounts of butter (don't worry, I won't tell how much).  Sprinkle paprika on top for a pretty visual zing.

Make your own sauses - cans are nice, and convenient.  And I like convenient.  But I LOVE homemade.  Making your own brown gravy, white sauce, or cheese sauce is not only rewarding, but so much better tasting that it's worth the extra 8 minutes it takes to do it.  My favorite white sauce (cream of something soup) recipe is here.

Try something a little different - Not so sure if you're ready to wing it with casseroles yet?  Then just try this: when the recipe nonchalantly calls for something plain (say, a can of diced tomatoes), substitute it with the ingredient's older, glitzier city cousin (like a can of fire roasted tomatoes).  There are tons of cheeses out there - use gorgonzola instead of cheddar, swiss in place of mozzarella, and manchego for parmesan.  Same with breads.  Ditch the white bread for some hearty rye crumbs.  You might be surprised.

Find your go-to casserole - A casserole deserves to be liked.  If you try one and don't want to give the follow-up call, try something else.  But a good casserole is just that ... good.  Everyone should know one.

Big Day!

Chocolate cake: check

Birthday banner: check

Conehead hat: check

Blower-thingies: check

One-year-old: CHECK

Happy Birthday Sweet Girl!