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February 26, 2013

Pot Roast with Mashed Potatoes & Gravy | Dinner Idea


We've just arrived home from our vacation in Seaside... to 1ft + of snow!  Tomorrow, I can't wait to snuggle into our house and cook a comforting dinner... something that will cook all day long and make the house smell delicious.   I thought I'd re-share one of my favorite cozy snow day recipes with you, while I buy myself a little time editing and writing about our vacation (and finishing the cafe curtains for our Bathroom refresh). 

..........

Pot Roast.  You may have good or bad feelings associated with this recipe... maybe you were used to dried out, flavorless versions at your Grandma's, or maybe you have fond memories of the house filled with the wonderful aromas of roasting beef and onions on Sunday afternoons, like me.  If you haven't tried a Pot Roast recipe for yourself, you should.  It really is a treat... especially this version with a cup of red wine.  If you are feeling gourmet-ish, you can add some sprigs of thyme or rosemary. 

It is a great recipe to make on Sunday afternoon - the house smells wonderful the entire day, I can use a glass of wine leftover from dinner on Saturday night, and the leftover roast makes great sandwiches on Monday.

Pot Roast 
with Mashed Potatoes & Gravy

New! Printable Recipes, here.

2-3 pound Chuck Roast
salt & pepper
1 cup of red wine
2 cups of beef broth
1 yellow onion
3 carrots, sliced
1 cup of mushrooms, halved
......
2 pounds of red potatoes
4 tablespoons of butter (1/2 stick)
1/4 cup of sour cream
......
2 tablespoons of flour

Pat the chuck roast with a paper towel, then coat it in salt & pepper.  Heat a large dutch oven (I use my Staub, but your can use another stove-top & oven-safe pan) over high heat for 1 minute.  Sear each side of the chuck roast for 2-3 minutes, browning it on each side.  When all sides are browned, add red wine and beef broth to the pan with the beef.  Quarter the onion, then put it in the pot with the beef, wine and stock.

Roast covered in a 250 degree oven for 5-6 hours, until the beef pulls apart easily.  Add the mushrooms and carrots into the pot, then roast for 30 more minutes.

Cut the potatoes in quarters and put them in a large pot filled with water.  Boil the potatoes until fork tender, about 10-15 minutes.  Drain the potatoes, the pour them into a KitchenAid mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Add butter and sour cream.  Turn the mixer on low, and continue stirring until the potatoes mash up.  Salt and pepper to taste.  If you need to keep them warm, place them in an oven safe dish covered with foil and keep at 250 degrees until you are ready to serve.

Remove the roast from the oven.  Remove the meat from the pan and set it aside, cover with foil.  Place the dutch oven with the onions, carrots, mushrooms, wine and drippings on the stove over medium heat.  Whisk in the flour until smooth.  You may need to add more flour if you'd like a thicker gravy.  Heat for 3-5 minutes until it thickens and is bubbly. 

Add roast back into the gravy and vegetables.  Serve with warm mashed potatoes. 



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February 23, 2013

Seaside Instagram Update





Just in case you are not on instagram, here's what you're missing... 

Follow me at http://instagram.com/jennysteffenshobick

Here are some of my favorite photos so far... we're hoping for more sun and sand tomorrow!









February 19, 2013

Seaside Shopping... Packing and Pinning


We're setting sail for Seaside shortly.  So... I've been doing a little hunting and shopping.  A lot of these items I already own - shorts, scarfs, light-weight sweaters, and crisp pj's.  But, I have added a couple of suits (mama one-pieces... that will be shipped directly to seaside because I'm a last minute shopper) and some great tunics.  All of these, of course, are from J.Crew.  I'm so unoriginal, but I feel like it is the only store that I can walk in and love everything - all of the different colors and styles mix and match so nicely.  I feel like I can really put together a look that is unique to me.  Right...?

Each season I find myself gravitating toward the same colors.  This season is navy, purples and corals.   Fresh and fun.  Ahh... I can't wait to be sitting on the beach with my baby!

Speaking of...
I thought I'd share some of Emma's new looks she'll be sporting this Spring.  Most of these are Mini Boden, but the Sandals are classic Salt Water sandals.  I'm obsessed with them... and all of these little tops Emma will wear on the beach with her chambray bloomers.  The pale pink leggings are from BabyGap, our other go-to store.  They have the cutest Beatrice Potter collection right now - everything is covered in bunnies!


To find all of the links to these goodies (and the above boards) and follow along with my cyber-browsing and pinning : Jenny's Pinterest Page


Also... I've ventured into the Instagram world!  I'll be IG-ing our vacation in real-time, so join me on Instagram!  I'm new to IG, so I'd love to see my following increase.  Hint, hint.

February 18, 2013

Our Wedding Invitations | Seaside bound...


 
We're getting ready to return to Seaside for the first time since our wedding!  So, two and a half years after our wedding, I thought this would be a perfect time to share our stationery.  Also, my Aunt Lisa asked me if I had a photo of our invitations she could share with a friend and I realized I had never posted them on the blog.  

And... if you haven't noticed, I've been away from the blog this/last week because I've been spending every extra second working on our bathroom.  We're working on a little freshening up in the upstairs bath that I'll share later on this week.  So, this post is buying my a little time until the bathroom is ready to photograph!


Our wedding colors were a powder blue, ivory and pale grey.  I designed all of our paper products myself and had them printed on Paper-Source papers at a local offset printing company.   

The fonts are : 
Copperplate Light for the text
Currency four our names
Freebooter for the script


The backs of each piece was printed in pale blue stripes - I thought it was a fun, but classic way to add a special detail.


 Instead of a classic reception card, we included this little blue card that was smaller than a business card.

This is our save the date that was printed on silk linen fabric paper.  I printed these on my own printer then made it very thick by mounting it on two pieces of cardstock with my Zyron sticker machine, just as I did for Emma's Birthday Invitations.


We also included this map card in the Save The Date to help everyone grasp the town of Seaside.  If you've never heard of Seaside, it is the most charming resort town that was designed to be a "classic small town" built right on the beach - the cottages (you can rent!) are all beautiful and lined up on picket fence clad streets.  Here is what I wrote about Seaside while we were planning our wedding.

 
You can see the texture of the paper we used - it is Paper-Source Luxe cardstock.



These are photos of our gift bags we had for all of our guests.  (photo, claireryser.com)

(photo, claireryser.com)

The contents included an itinerary, mini prosecco bottles, cookies and snack mix.   For more details on the bags, visit this post.

Here are a couple of details of our wedding :

(photo, claireryser.com)


(photo, claireryser.com)


(photo, claireryser.com)



(photo, claireryser.com)


(photo, claireryser.com)


(photo, claireryser.com)

(photo, claireryser.com)


Here are all of the photos from our wedding : Our Wedding in Seaside, Fl.

February 13, 2013

Strawberry Whoopie Pies with Cream Cheese Icing | Whoopie Pies from a Cake Mix



Samantha, my three-year-old niece, once told me her favorite cookies were "Icing Cookies."  So, when planning her Valentine's Day gift, I wanted to make her something that would be big in the icing department and just her size... and pink, of course.

I used my recipe for Whoopie Pies from a Cake Mix, but instead of the chocolate cake mix I used Strawberry.  With the pink cookies and filling, I was hoping they would turn out looking a little like French Macaroons - and I think they did!

They were a huge hit for Sam - as I think they would be for any birthday party or shower.  Here is the link to my original recipe for Whoopie Pies from a Cake Mix.  Obviously, you can use any kind of cake mix you want - for Emma's Baptism last year I made them with Red Velvet cake mix and cream cheese frosting
 
Here they are all packed up for Sam and Kate's Valentine's care package (see all of the girl contents, here!)

 

The batter - perfectly pink.



 Since I was making small whoopies, I used a disposable piping bag to pipe them into little circles.  It worked great - made it much quicker than spooning them out.



You'll need to make them smaller than you think!  Here is a Hershey Kiss size reference - these ended up being about the size of an oreo.



I made two sizes - these were a little larger.  More of a cupcake top size.


The frosting - butter, powdered sugar and cream cheese all whipped together. 



Ready for assembly...



 Yum!  


Some mini and some tiny.


I think they also make a great elegant looking dessert/cookie - almost like a macaroon, don't you think?!

February 11, 2013

LIttle Girl Valentine's Day Gift Idea | Strawberry Whoopie Pies, Pink PJ's & Pink Mini Boden Bunny Tee's





For Valentine's Day, we sent Emma's cousins a care package filled with girly goodies for both of the little ladies :

Mini Strawberry Whoopie Pies with Cream Cheese Icing (recipe coming tomorrow!)
Mini Boden Bunny T-Shirts
Hanna Andersson Pink Striped PJ's




Emma got one of these shirts for Valentine's Day, too.  The little bunny is actually a dark chambray material - so cute.  This is the 3-6 months size shirt for baby Kate.


I included some Pecan and Salted Caramel Turtle Puddles for my sister, Jill.


...and bags of mini and tiny Strawberry Whoopie Pies for Samantha.


I also included a pair of pink and white striped Hanna Anderrson PJ's for all three.  Of course, Emma also has a pair of these, too...  They are the best pajamas.  Very comfy!


All packed up headed for their house for Valentine's Day!
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