With a Side of Hope

Good Morning!  Happy Wednesday!  I am absolutely exhausted today.  I definitely did not get enough sleep last night.  It’s also freezing outside this morning!  It’s supposed to go up to 80 today.  Although by the way it feels this morning, I’m not so sure that will happen.  I think it’s supposed to rain today too.  Boo to this rain!  We have had enough of it.  I am so sick of the rain.  It was raining when I left work yesterday. 

Last night I decided to make a Passover dinner for Mike and I.  I found a great recipe from the Pioneer Woman for a brisket.  A brisket was way too expensive in the supermarket so I looked for a similar cut of beef.  I chose a chuck roast.  I used the same ingredients that the Pioneer Woman used, however I made this roast in the crockpot instead of the oven like how she did.

Roast in the Crockpot (from the Pioneer Woman)

Ingredients:

Whole Beef Brisket, Trimmed Of All Fat (5 To 8 Pounds) (**or you can use another cut of meat, like I used a chuck roast)

1 bottle (24 Ounce) Ketchup Or Chili Sauce (**I used Chili Sauce)

1 package Onion Soup Mix

Directions:

In a bowl, mix the Chili Sauce and Onion Soup Mix together.  Then add 1 cup of water to loosen up the sauce.  Place the meat at the bottom of the crockpot.  Pour the sauce overtop of the meat.  Cook on low for 8-10 hours.

Ingredients

Roast covered with sauce in the crockpot

I also made Matzah Ball soup.  I use my mom’s recipe for the soup!  It’s always a winner.  I love the flavoring that dill gives to the soup.  It’s really delicious. 

Matzah Balls cooking

I roasted a bunch of different veggies.  I also made mashed potatoes using a bag of frozen potatoes that I steamed in the microwave.  I followed the recipe on the back of the package to make the mashed potatoes.

Steam and Mash

Our drink of choice for the evening was Skinny Girl Margarita!  I was so excited to try this because I am a huge fan of Bethenny Frankel.  I have to say that I loved it!  Mike hated it.  It pretty much tastes like straight up tequila with a little bit of margarita mix.  I like it. 

Skinny Girl

I also made a salad for us to start off our meal with.

My salad

My bowl of soup

My dinner plate

The roast came out great!!  Don’t worry if the top of it looks a little burnt, it’s supposed to and it’s not burnt.  It’s all of the wonderful flavorings!  It was juicy and tender.  I loved the flavor that the Chili Sauce and the Onion Soup Mix gave the meat!  I would probably choose a different type of meat next time because it was a little on the fatty side.  Brisket was just entirely too expensive for us to buy.  So I will most definitely do my research on cuts of meat for the next time I make this.  It was really good though!  Plus, it was my first Pioneer Woman recipe!  I was excited!   

The entire dinner came out really nicely!  I noticed last night while I was cooking everything how truly happy cooking makes me feel.  My entire day could be completely horrible and I could be in the worst mood ever but put me in the kitchen and my mood changes instantly.  It’s so therapeutic.  It really makes you feel good when you are cooking a recipe and you aren’t sure how it’s going to turn out and then it turns out wonderfully.  It’s so rewarding.  I love the rush of cooking everything and trying to get everything done in time.  I felt so incredibly happy just standing there in my kitchen cooking.    Does cooking make you feel this way?

Mike and I watched Gossip Girl!  I can’t wait to see next week’s episode!  Who do you think Blair should be with?  Dan or Chuck?  I always said Blair and Chuck belong together from the beginning but the more and more I keep seeing her with Dan, I have changed my mind.  I think Blair should be with Dan for sure.  I like them together a lot. 

Alright, time for me to get back to work now.  Have a good morning!

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