(43-141) No Fail Pot Roast Recipe

Granted; my schedule is usually PRETTY busy; but today was one for the record books; at least mine.  Having two daughters with birthday's this time of year, in addition to the holiday parties at school, and the holidays themselves; makes for quite a lot to do; so I thought I would take a couple of hours off from work today, to try and accomplish some of the many errands that I had on my to do list.

I worked from 5am to 7am and then again from 8 to 10.  I went to Payless, Old Navy, Target AND Super Wal-mart, all within an hour and a half.  One of the items that I needed was on sale at Target, but it wasn't in stock at the location that I went to; so I headed to Wal-mart since they price match.  I was able to get what I needed for the price that I wanted; as well as cookies for Nicky's class, donut holes for Lyndzi's and cookies for Saturday, for Lyndzi's soccer team; however, the Wal-mart item that I needed, wasn't available at the store I was at.  I was off to the mall, because I needed to go to the Disney store and Claire's, but Mari called and she had to meet up with me to give me some fabric that she had cut for the girls craft project; so we went for a quick bite.

I left Mari, then stopped at my house to pick up the cupcakes that I needed to bring to Lyndzi's class to celebrate her birthday (which is not until Saturday.)  I had a few minutes to spare, so I returned a call to the man that I'd been trying to coordinate our end of season, soccer tournament with.  I headed out the door, cupcakes in hand; and arrived at Lyndzi's class, exactly as scheduled.  After saying goodbye, I went back home, and resumed my soccer tournament negotiations.

I picked the kids up from school at 3, and took Lyndzi to the Orthodontist.  I called Luis and asked him if he could put up the pot roast that I'd defrosted; if I gave him directions.  Luis agreed, and so I talked him through my no fail pot roast recipe.

Disclaimer:  You can find this EXACT recipe IN the Reynold's oven bag box; but for the sake of (say it with me;) "The greater good;" I wanted to bring it to your intention in case you weren't aware of it.

You'll need: Reynold's large oven bags, 13x9x2 inch or larger baking pan, at least two inches deep.  3 to 3 1/2lb boneless beef chuck roast, Lipton onion soup mix, 1/4 cup flour, 2/3 cup water, potatoes, onion, carrots, mushrooms, celery and parsnips are all OPTIONAL; but highly recommended (by me;) except maybe the celery.

Preheat the oven to 325

Shake the flour into the bag, and then add the water and soup mix to the bag.  Squeeze the bag to blend the flour.  Add the roast to the bag.  Turn the bag to coat the roast with sauce.  Place any veggies in bag, around the roast.

Close oven bag with the nylon tie that's provided.  Cut six 1/2 inch slits in top.  Tuck end of bag under roast in pan.

Bake 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until the roast is tender; and I promise you that this will be absolutely perfect.

Immediately after Lyndzi's Orthodontist appointment, I ran home and exchanged Lyndzi for Nicky as WE had some errands to run.  I took Nicky to Quick Trip to get a gift card for the Student Council advisor that he'd drawn for their secret Santa.  Went to Kohl's to pay my bill, and the dollar store to buy elf hats for the kids spirit week at school; as well as a white elephant gift that Nicky could bring to class.  I was driving in the direction of the Super Wal-mart near my house; (as opposed to the one that I'd been to earlier,) but decided that I didn't really have time to go in, because I had to make it home and feed the kids before my 7pm soccer board meeting.

I stopped at Wendy's and picked up three baked potatoes for the kids; to accompany the No fail pot roast that Luis was cooking.  The roast had about 40 minutes to go, so I prepared Nicky's white elephant gift, wrote out cards for all three of the kids teachers and the secret Santa recipient.  I fed the kids and managed to take a couple of bites of Pot roast myself; before my friend Jenny arrived to go to our meeting.

I attended our soccer board meeting for about an hour or so, and once I arrived home, I FINALLY got to sit down for a few minutes, before writing my blog.  Now don't get me wrong; I am NOT complaining.  As crazy busy as I am right now; I am so grateful for the reasons that I'm busy and I'd gladly do all of this and more; for those that I love.  It is my pleasure to make things special for them in every way that I can.
Till next time...
Queen of EVERYTHING

Good Stuff

It's a BEAUTIFUL day in Arizona. It's still quite

warm but not excruciating and you can tell that Fall is on its way. Luis is at work, I dropped Lyndzi at a birthday party and since we're in the vicinity of Wet n Wild, I've brought Nicky and Kelsie over to the water park for an hour and a half while we wait for Lyndzi;(ahh the benefit of season passes.) Not feeling like putting on a swim suit myself, I put on my Queen of TIME MANAGEMENT hat instead because I thought I could use the time to write (excuses ~ BE GONE) and so here I sit, writing away, enjoying the slight breeze, and conjuring up another Bumpy Ride as I move from water slide to water slide with the kids.

Last fall I shared some of my favorite finds of the year in the post "Reasons to be Grateful (and a smokin travel discount opportunity.)" The post was very well received, and so in the interest of (say it with me) "The GREATER good," I have a few new finds / ideas to share.

1. Cinnamon Pecan Special K - I discovered this find a few months ago (when I first thought about writing this post - ahh time;) and I tell ya, I'm IN LOVE with this cereal. For some reason I keep referring to it Cinnamon Pecan Circle K; but nonetheless it's DELISH.

I actually think that I could go on the Special K diet eating this perfect combination of cinnamon, pecans and crunchy rice and wheat flakes. Even if you're not a Special K fan, give this one a try; it's a yummy way to start your day and even makes a super snack.

2. Spicy Sweet Chili Doritos - Now I know what you're thinking; how in the world do I expect to lose weight if I'm eating Doritos? And the answer is "EVERYTHING in moderation." Just because I tell you that I enjoy the Asian inspired, sweet and spicy chip, does not mean that I eat an entire bag in one sitting. Yet, I can attest that a couple with lunch from time to time makes lunch divine. Now you know that I am not usually someone who likes spicy food, but the particular spice of these chips is really different and uniquely pleasant; so when you're in the mood for something different with your sandwich give these delectable Doritos a try and let me know what you think.

3. Wendy's Iced Coffee - Yes, ANOTHER food item; and for this one I refer to my "100 Random Things" post ...#34 - I love iced coffee and even drink it when it's cold. So with that said; on Wednesday I was going to work at soccer registration and I was picking up a quick dinner for my kids but none for me, in the hopes that registration would be too busy to allow me the time to eat. I had planned to have a salad when I was done and so I thought I would just get something to drink for the meantime. I wasn't in the mood for a diet soda or an iced tea and I wanted something more than the bottled water that I'd brought, so I gave Wendy's iced coffee a try and it blew me away. The strong coffee flavor was far superior to McDonald's and I savored EVERY sip. So, if you are an iced coffee fan, I highly recommend this drink. I always order mine light on the syrup because I don't care for drinks that are too sweet. A large drink has 6 pumps of Vanilla, Mocha or Hazelnut syrup and I think 4 is plenty - if ordering a medium, modify accordingly and ENJOY!

And for a bonus plug for Wendy's I'll tell you that if you are stopping by at breakfast time, their biscuits ALSO top Mickey D's. They are BIGGER, less greasy, and taste more like homemade, so ultimately you are getting a lot more bang for your buck by purchasing THEIR biscuit breakfast sandwich. And no, I do not now nor have I ever had a relative who has worked at Wendy's ~ I just like to pass along good info about good stuff, when I find it.

Ok, so if you know me, or have ever read "The Bumpy Ride" before, you know that a close second to my love for food is my love for a GREAT DEAL. So # 4 is more of a tip and it is certainly not meant to insult your intelligence any ~ I'm just passing along an idea in case you haven't already done this yourself; because in the face of this disastrous economy I think EVERYONE deserves to save a little money. So # 4 will be called "The Disconnection threat." In the interest of saving some money any way I can, I was considering switching from my current cable/Internet/phone company to another service. I did some investigating and then I called my current cable etc. provider and to make a long story short, (oh yes I WILL;)

I ultimately got a great discount on my exact same service, by threatening to disconnect my service. Now not only did I get a discount for the upcoming 6 months, but I was told that as that time was coming to an end that I should call back and tell them that I wanted to continue at that rate and I would be able to do so. Imagine that!! So my neighbor is most likely getting the exact same service as me, for several dollars more all because I threatened to discontinue my service - OK works for me. I mean don't get me wrong, I think it's pathetic that it has to be done this way but nonetheless I am thankful for my savings so I thought I would pass along the tip; especially because I just had a very similar experience with my cell phone provider and Yup, I threatened to disconnect and I am now saving well over a hundred dollars on my new phone. SO, if you would like to save some money, I would suggest taking a few minutes and making a call. You don't have to be nasty, remember you get more flies with honey; you just have to tell them that you are going to disconnect, and believe me they won't ever say OK.

Lastly, I would like to share my newest, favorite TV show. Rachel K had mentioned Top Chef to me a number of times, but guess

what; I could never find the TIME to watch it. Well, the kids and I dvr'd the Top Chef Masters marathon and we enjoyed it no end. We may be some of the last people to have caught on to this great show, but just in case a few of you haven't seen it either; I want to recommend taking the time to check out "Top Chef." In our opinion, Top Chef kicks Iron Chef's butt because the challenges are a lot more specific and they are always different. I could go on and on (and you know I could;) and tell you more about why I enjoy this show but let's just suffice it to say, if you fancy the Food Network, Food Challenges, or just shows about Food in general, I think you will really eat up Top Chef on BRAVO, Wednesday nights.

So there you have it; just a couple little tidbits to make life a tad more enjoyable. Like I said in the beginning of this post; Fall is on its way and though that is the time that we usually remember what we have to be grateful for; I say be grateful for life's little delights as you find them. Don't reserve your time for being grateful to Autumn only and in the interest of (say it with me) "The GREATER good" share your finds with your friends ~ I'm always so thrilled when mine share with me. I am grateful to Michelle K for her Dr. Pepper rib recipe as well as her BBQ chicken legs in a bag. I am thankful that I have hardworking friends who inspire me by their success and compel me to pursue my dreams. I am grateful that I still have a job, although I now get paid less to do it. I am thankful for my wonderful children who love me and make me SO proud on a daily basis. I am grateful for my husband who nurtures and loves me more than I usually deserve. I am thankful that soccer season is upon us because I am a total soccer mom and I love to watch my kids play and laugh, not to mention that I thoroughly adore the camaraderie of our league (Yay, USA Soccer!) I am grateful for new friends and new readers, I am thankful for old friends and dedicated readers. I am grateful that Luke proved to the world that "More to Love" actually was worth watching and I am so pleased that he thought not only with his heart but with his head and made the best TV love connection that I have seen in a very long time. And lastly (for now,) I am grateful that all of my favorite TV shows will be back on the air within a matter of weeks so that I will have hours of viewing pleasure and hopefully, some observational humor to share.

Till next time...

Queen of EVERYTHING