Babies, Preschoolers, and Tea

Well I did it.  I had my baby girl!  I am now the mother of 2 beautiful children and I am very proud to be their mother!  Megan was born July 7th at 7:57am.  She was 9lbs 8oz and 21 1/2 inches long!  Lukas is a very proud big brother!  He calls her his "sweet little grill."  He calls all girls "grills" which is so cute!  The plus side about having a baby is you get to slow down.  For one they eat frequently, and you can't be running around while they are eating.  Another plus is how much more you appreciate life when your children are around, life feels so much more worth while!  The downside about pregnancy/having a baby is I am not back to my normal interests, but I am hoping my love for cooking comes back.  Right now with being back to work, having a newborn, preschooler, and trying to keep all the balls in the air I don't have time for more than one blog.  For now anyway.  I am still blogging, but it's more of a virtual baby book like I did for Lukas.  I have stopped posting on my Lukas blog too.  http://mrlukastabor.blogspot.com/   My new blog is called My Sweet Monkeys http://mysweetmonkeys.blogspot.com/ and I will be there.  I am still reading food blogs, and my interests in food are still there...but not to blog about it.  My happiness lately  is I am making time for tea and that is one constant in my life I won't leave behind...I will always LOVE tea!  It's the only thing that helps me in the morning and keeps me calm.  A little chai tea never hurt anyone!  Happy Cooking!

Time goes too quickly! Some Cake, Burgers, Fries, and Pancakes!

It's been a while since I have had a chance to post anything!  I have been busy with work, Lukas, extra doctor appointments, and my husband had been doing the cooking so I didn't do really any cooking.

My hours at work changed again so I am now getting to cook dinner again.  I missed it so much.  I didn't even get a chance to try new things on the weekend with all the events and sickness going on.

Our house the last month and a half has seen lots of sickness.  I am now done with morning sickness, but Lukas had caught the stomach flu, after that he had constipation problems, during that I took him to the chiropractor for ear infections, and during that there was a cold that he and my husband had shared with each other and now gave to me!  So...needless to say we are definitely ready for spring and good health!

I did try a few recipes over the course of the last month or two.  Here are some links.

Lukas loves pancakes, and one morning he asked for some pancakes.  I usually buy the box version and make them this way.  Well I was out of the box version and found this recipe on Allrecipes.com.  They are wonderful pancakes.  I will never make the box version again!
Fluffy and Delicious Pancakes

One Friday we had a burger and fries night.  I made these cute little slider burgers from Big Red Kitchen and I cut some potatoes up and made baked fries from Allrecipes.com.  We all loved them!  Definitely a fun Friday meal!

Lastly my friend Leslie had her birthday back in January and I made this chocolate dream cake!  It was a big hit and she loved it!  We liked it so much I made it again a couple weeks later!

Sorry for no pictures...maybe now that I get to relax and do some cooking again I will get time to take some!

My Christmas Goodies

Christmas just got away from me this year.  Before I knew it we were wishing everyone a Happy New Year and were back to work full time and crazy busy.  I had posted earlier some of the snacks I made, but I did take pictures of them so I wanted to share.  The above picture is when Lukas and I put together a Ginger Bread house.  Here are some other pictures.  Lukas and I building the ginger bread house, the M&M chocolate pretzels, brownie covered Oreos, and my little guy wearing the apron my Mom got him for Christmas!  It was a great time...but got way too busy.  I am sure with two kids next year it will be even busier!

Pot Roast

This picture makes no sense.  It has nothing to do with pot roast or food, but they are our eternal beggars!  I think they sit under my feet while I am cooking in hopes of tripping me to have me drop some food.  They look cute...but I don't think their motives are genuine!
This weekend I was craving some really yummy and good pot roast.  I had found this recipe last year, but never got a chance to try it.  The meat was heavenly!  It fell apart, the flavor was beautiful, and I must say I ate some of the leftovers today which were just as good!
This blog Carrie's Cooking and Recipes has so many ideas.  Most of her recipes aren't healthy, but they do impress with lots of flavor.  I have made her Chicken Gyros, Buffalo Chicken Salad, and Potato Skins.  Here is the recipe for the Pot Roast.  It's a great onion and mushroom flavor and I just loved it! 

Carrie's Pot Roast:
Pot Roast Ingredients
3 1/2 pound pot roast (I get arm chuck pot roast)
1/2 cup flour
Sprinkling of Pepper
1/4 cup butter
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup white cooking wine (it's next to the vinegar at the grocery store)
Carrots and Celery- Optional

Gravy Ingredients
Pot Roast Drippings
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk

Directions
In a large bowl or plate, combine the flour and black pepper to taste. Dredge the rump roast in the flour and cover evenly. Shake off excess.  Heat a large pot/dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the butter and then set the floured roast into the hot pan and sear it on one side, about 3 minutes. When that side is nice and brown (the browner the better), flip it over to the other side. When you’ve browned it all over the place, remove the roast to a plate.  Now, with the burner on medium-high, we’re going to deglaze the pan...we’re gonna scrape the heck out of the pan and git all off the bottom. Pour 1/2 cup of white cooking wine in the pan.  Use your whisk to stir and scrape the bottom of the pan. Now add the onion soup mix and mushroom soup.  Stir together.  Now add the browned meat to the pan and spoon some of the sauce on top of the roast.  Cover and bake in the oven at 300 degrees for 3 hours.  After 2 hours I add the chopped celery and carrots.

Set the roasting pan over medium-low heat, sprinkle 2 tablespoons of flour in the pan.  Whisk the flour into the drippings until the flour is incorporated. Now, whisk in 1 cup of milk while whisking and scraping off the encrusted bits on the bottom of the pan.

Enjoy!