Slow Cooker Roast Beef

Note:  I have a 6 QT slow cooker, you may have to adjust to your cooker size.

2 packages brown gravy mix
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
4 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs onion powder
1 tbs garlic powder
1 tbs sea salt
2 tbs Italian seasoning
2.5 to 3 lb choice cut rump roast
6 cups water
4-5 small to medium potatoes
2-3 small to medium carrots

Add first 7 ingredients in slow cooker and stir to mix.  Add rump roast.  Cut potatoes and carrots then add them.  Cover and cook on low for 8-12 hours.  Time varies from cooker to cooker.

Ice Cream Milk Shake

1 cup milk
2 scoops of your favorite ice cream

 

Place ice cream and milk into a blender and blend on high until smooth.

Another New Twist On An Old Classic

1 package mini marshmallows
1/2 cup peanut butter
3 cups cocoa crispies
3 cups Golden Grahams cereal
2 tbs milk

In a large saucepan over low heat combine and melt peanut butter, milk, marshmallows.

When melted add both cereals and mix well.

Pour mixture in a greased 9x13 or similar sized pan or baking dish, let cool, cut and serve.

New Twist On An Old Classic

6 cups crisp rice cereal
2 tbs vanilla
3 tbs butter
1 package mini marshmallows

In large saucepan over low heat combine and melt butter, vanilla, and marshmallows.

When melted stir in cereal, mix well

Pour into greased 9x13 or similar sized pan or baking dish, let cool, cut into squares and serve.

Protective Cookbook Holder

This oldie but goodie let's you follow recipes while protecting treasured cookbooks and magazines with clear acrylic. Clear Solutions Jumbo Cookbook Holder, about $35, foodnetworkstore.com

Go Green While You Cook!

Non-stick.  Eco-friendly.  Chemical free.

Stainless on the outside, ceramic-based, non-stick inside—and it's better for the body and the planet. Sounds too good to be true, but the Cuisinart Green Gourmet Stainless Non-Stick Fry Pan is just that—making it well worth the hand-wash. The proof is in how great your eggs or grilled cheese sandwiches turn out. About $30 for the 8-inch or $49.99 for the 10-inch, bedbathandbeyond.com

Corn Cob Stripper

Self-explanatory and really smart, the OXO Corn Stripper shaves the kernels off the cob and collects them in a container as it cuts. About $12, kmart.com

Flavored Hard Candy

2 cups sugar
2/3 cup light corn syrup
3/4 cup hot water
flavoring (I use LorAnn oils)
food coloring

Pour sugar, corn syrup, and hot water in a small saucepan. If you're using a candy thermometer, (which is highly recommended) make sure that the pan is small enough for the bulb to be submerged in the solution. 

Stir over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved, about 5 minutes. Without stirring, let the mixture come to a boil which should be about another 5 minutes

Raise the temperature to high as it boils.

Right before the liquid reaches exactly 300 degrees Fahrenheit, add your food coloring and flavoring in to the mixture, doing so will allow the boiling action to stir the color and sugar into the mixture.

Watch your thermometer until the temperature is at exactly 300 degrees. (If you do not have a candy thermometer you can fill a glass with really cold water then take a drop of the candy liquid and if it solidifies in the shape of a ball and floats to the surface then its ready for next step.) Make sure your mixture is removed IMMEDIATELY at 300 Degrees F, or it will burn!

Pour the molten sugar onto a greased cookie sheet, or one lined with parchment paper. Score with a knife to make it easier to break once it cools. Spread the mixture around the sheet before it cools too much. It is not advised to put the mixture inside the freezer as it makes it harden too fast.

After the sheet cools (30 minutes - an hour), break up the candy into several pieces.

Palm Peeler

The Chef'N PalmPeeler fits on your finger, like a ring, and allows for speedy and sharp peeling. About $6, surlatable.com