Okay maybe not ready because I'm not sure where to start. First I guess I will tackle the schedule. I signed the kids back up for swim lessons so things have been crazy again with them going every Tuesday and Thursday.
Gross Out Alert
This past Thursday at swimming Katherine ate a banana before going and then swallowed a big mouth full of pool water and threw up in the pool! Everyone had to leave the pool for the class and instead they had 'safety' day.
With this new crazy schedule it means Tuesdays and Thursdays I have to use my crockpot or rely on meals in boxes. This past Thursday was Royal Round Steak. This is a recipe I've struggled with though I did better this time.
Recipe:
Royal Round Steak (as it reads on the recipe)
1 to 2 lbs beef round steak or stew meat
1 to 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 envelope (1 ounce) dry onion soup mix
2 cans (10 3/4 ounces each) condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
Hot cooked egg noodles
1. Trim round steak and cut into cubes. (Partially freeze meat for easier cutting.)
2. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown meat on all sides.
3. Combine dry soup mix and canned soup in mixing bowl. Pour mixture into Crock-Pot slow cooker. Add browned meat. Cover and cook on High for 6 to 7 hours.
4. To serve, spoon over egg noodles.
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My experience. Well first let me tell you what I used that might be different. I used 1 1/2 lbs stew meat and 10 1/2 ounce cans of soup aka store brand Campbell's is 10 3/4 oz. (Did you realize there was a difference?). The first time I tried this recipe I did it with 1 Tbsp of oil and added only the oil and I kind of mixed the meat in with the soup removing the oil from the meat before putting it in my crockpot and set it for 6 hrs on High and then it would switch itself to warming. When I arrived home much of the meat was burnt to the bottom and there was a thick layer of burnt soup mixture along the edge. I used a lot of milk and was able to salvage it. The second time I tried to make it the same way but left the oil and juices in the pan when I dumped it in. Much of the same result though not quite as bad.
This was my third attempt because no matter how badly I mess this recipe up the kids keep asking for it and after nearly 6 months of saying, 'no' I finally gave in. This time I used 1 can of Campbell's because I happened to have it around, 1 can of store bought, 1 1/2 lbs stew meat cooked in 2 Tbsp of oil. I put the soup mixture on the bottom of the crock-pot and added the meat WITH the oil and juices on TOP of the soup and made sure the meat wasn't directly touching the edges to start with. I set my crockpot to 8 hours on low but around 6 hours when I got home I switched it over to the warm function of my crockpot for the next few hours until dinner. There was still signs it wanted to do what previous patches did and the top edge was still burnt and the whole thing seemed thick so I added some milk to thin it out. It came out better this time and took less time to fix. I have enough stew meat to do this once more so what I might try is adding some beef broth to it from the beginning to thin it out a little. Maybe half a cup? What do you think?
I've been playing with my dehydrator again. I had 3 discounted apples that were getting to be iffy just because of my time restraint this week and I had 3 banana's that something NEEDED to be done with. I tried the banana's in a 1/2 c Honey mixed with 1/4 c Water. Sadly no matter what I do the bananas come out sticky. They taste okay the girls commented on how much milder the flavor is with the honey because before just dipped in lemon juice your mouth puckered because they were so sweet. I did find something out though the reason my banana chips won't get 'crisp' is because I'm using older bananas also no duh I'm used to grocery store banana chips that have been fried but these homemade ones you need to keep in airtight containers otherwise especially in humid places like Kentucky they will start to rehydrate rather quickly.
Speaking of cooking I had this discounted bark chocolate I picked up a few months back and I picked up strawberries (I still do plan to dehydrate some at some point). And I thought to myself what would be better than chocolate dipped strawberries. Now I've never played with chocolate other than like chocolate chips and it was one of those experiences where I really wish I had a double boiler but this time with the bark chocolate I'm not sure what is different about it but I had no problem with it on the stove top with constant stirring and a low temp.It has been declared that I must make these more often (and do you see the banana chips we dipped too... yum! Those were first batch of just lemon dipped banana chips). As Katherine put it, "You need to make those more often because they are healthier than just plain chocolate." LOL! I like how my girl thinks!
Brielle got her award for being in Jr. Beta and also got her medals for her solo and trio performances and earning the rank of proficient from the judges! We are very proud of her.
And by this point if you are wondering how I have so much time it is because my husband is working every weekend now and will be for a few months while the new hospital gears up to open and during the first part of it opening.
Well that's pretty much it. I got part of my garden in last weekend and if I ever get enough energy I'll get out there to start the rest of it. For now though I better try and take care of a few things around the house because tomorrow is Mother's Day which should be changed to, "Deny mom from working on the house so she has to work harder on Monday" Day.
The wheels in my brain are turning (slowly though because it is Monday!) on how to make the Royal Roundsteak recipe without the mushroom soup. I have some roundsteak in the freezer that I may have to play around with and see. My heart goes out to your daughter--nothing worse than getting sick in a pool and in front of everyone. Hope she was okay! Congrats to Brielle on her award. And YUM on the chocolate covered fruit. I make that stuff for Easter brunch but that's usually it. I really should be nicer to my family and make it just because sometime soon.
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