PW's Braised Short Ribs

4 beef short ribs
6-8 slices bacon or Pancetta, roughly chopped
2 cups carrots
1 small onion
1/2 cup all purpose flour
Salt & Pepper
12 oz. red wine
4 cups beef broth
1 sprig of each, fresh Rosemary and Thyme

 Cook the bacon until all the fat has been rendered

In the meantime, dice the carrots and the onions

Sprinkle salt and pepper on the short ribs.

Dredge the short ribs in flour.  Check on the bacon, if all the fat has been rendered, remove from the pot and set aside.  Do not discard the fat drippings.

Add the short ribs to the bacon grease and brown on all sides (about 45 seconds on each side).

This is what they look like when they've been browned.  Remove from pot and set aside.

Add the onions and the carrots to the bacon grease.  Saute' until vegetables are softened.

Two pair of extra eyes were on me the whole time I was cooking this.

Add the red wine to the vegetables

Add the broth.  Preheat the oven to 350F degrees.

Gently add the short ribs to the pot

Fresh Thyme from my herb garden

Fresh Rosemary as well

Add the fresh herbs to the pot

Finally, add the bacon bits

Cover the pot and place in preheated oven for 2 1/2 hours.

Remove from oven and set aside for 20 minutes then scoop up any fat that has hardened.

Enjoy with your favorite sides

Hubby was very happy with this dish.  The meat fell off the bone and was so tender.  The carrots were so savory, I had a few even though I'm not crazy about cooked carrots.  I love putting a meal together that I can put in the oven and not having to worry about it for a couple of hours.  This has got to be my favorite way to cook meat.  Low and slow and oh so savory and delicious.  Try it, it's really simple to do.

Until next time,

The Family Tree

One Sunday afternoon, I looked at this boring blank wall and decided to finally do something about it.

So a tree trunk begins to emerge

Soon it begins to develop some limbs

Some leaves and birds immediately make this tree their home

and before you know it, the tree comes to life

This is the second tree I have painted on a wall and it seemed so easy to do this time around.  I was able to get it painted on one Sunday afternoon, allowed it to dry overnight and then added the picture frames the following day.  I will need to update and add some pictures and that's what makes it fun to have one of these Family trees in your home.  It's so easy to add and update the pictures and more fun to see the family tree grow.

I purchased the wood frames at Michaels almost two years ago but I still see them there.  They were the cheapest way for me to go as oppose to buying a regular cheap plastic frame.  I painted them once I got home.  Taped the picture to the back and voila, that was all.  Easy peasy!

Enjoy your week!  Until next time,

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Tuesdays at our Home #147

Grilled Vegetables with Rice

Adapted from Bobby Flays Grilling Series

1  yellow squash
1 zucchini
1 small eggplant
1/2 red onion
2 cloves of garlic
Canola oil
Extra Virgin Olive oil
Salt & Pepper
1 cup cooked Whole wheat Cous-cous OR white rice

Heat grill.

Split the squash, zucchini, red onion and eggplant in half.  Dab the top and bottom with canola oil.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper

Place on hot grill and cook for 7 minutes each side

Dab a little more canola oil on the vegetables and cook for another 3-5 minutes.  Watch carefully that they do not burn.  Remove from grill and set aside.

If you have a grilling skillet, first add some olive oil to the tomatoes in a medium size bowl.  Stir around to cover the tomatoes in oil then add to the grilling skillet and cook over the grill.  I don't have a grilling skillet :(  So, heat about 2 tbsps. of olive oil in a heavy skillet.  Carefully add the tomatoes to the hot oil and stir to get all the tomatoes good and covered. Stir occasionally.

While the tomatoes are cooking, chop the vegetables into small bite size pieces and add to a platter or a bowl.

Cook the tomatoes until they are quite soft and have blackened (this step took longer than I expected - at least 10 minutes or more)

Add the cooked tomatoes to the vegetables.  Take the garlic bulbs and smash them until they have a paste consistency, adding salt to them will help.  Add garlic to the vegetables (I completely forgot to add garlic, that's why you don't see it). 

Gently combine. 

Add the Cous-cous or white rice to the vegetables and gently combine

Add a little more salt & pepper to taste, if desired.  There you have it!  Serve as a side dish to your favorite grilled food.

Or, eat by itself.  Enjoy!

Bobby Flay made this recipe last Saturday on his TV show.  It looked so good I had to make it too.  I already had the yellow squash, eggplant, red onion and garlic, I just needed to run to the grocery store to get the zucchini and tomatoes.  I completely forgot to buy the whole wheat Cous-cous so I had to improvise with white rice.  It did not disappoint.  Even my meat and potatoes man loved it  Yay!  My favorite flavor was the eggplant.  I LOVE eggplant but this whole dish was a very tasty treat and I will definitely make it again.

Until next time,

Prepping for Football

For those of you who aren't football fans I'd hate to be the one to break it to you but it's just around the corner.  As a matter of fact, college football coaches and staff are back in their offices starting the routine of meetings, rosters changes, watching film, game plays for the defense, offense and special teams, greeting the early arriving freshmen, greeting the rest of the team at the end of July for "Training Camp" and oh, not to mention workout sessions in between.

I know all this because I worked in a college football office for 13 years.  It's an exciting time of the year.  At the end of the month most colleges will also attend the annual "media days" at their conference headquarters.  It's more or less a one day of meetings along with all the other head coaches in the same conference getting a rundown of any new changes in the conference that could effect them.  A meeting with the local media is also a highlight.

So while American football college programs are prepping for the season, I will do the same.

On Pinterest I found collage for Auburn University and Nebraska football programs and thought I needed to do one for the team I so love and university I will forever cherish in my heart, even though I don't work there any longer.

Here is the stencil for my collage.  I placed the stencil on a board I painted red.  One of our team colors.  I'm so thankful to have the Cameo Silhouette, I call it an electronic stencil maker.  Who know how many hours . . . days, it would have taken me to do this by hand.  It's possible, but not probable.

I used a pencil to trace a long every letter and image.  This only took about a half hour at the most.

Here it is painted and completed.  I used paint pens in two different blues, two reds and one white.  Simple enough to do but needing the ability to keep lines straight.  This challenged my "tennis elbow" even though I had a cortisone shot a couple months ago, it will be a while before I'm able to do something like this again, but it was worth it.

Ahhhhhhhhhh, alas, football is almost here! *happy dance*


Have a great weekend!  Until next time,