Perfect pot roast in the perfect pot – my slow cooker.

Amazon.com: West Bend 84755 5-Quart Oblong Slow Cooker

I fall more in love with my slow cooker every year. It's an older West Bend model, but similar to the one shown here. The base doubles as a non-stick griddle and has an adjustable temperature setting (1-5). The pot is metal with a non-stick interior and can be used in the oven, on the stovetop, or even on a grill, and is dishwasher safe.

The slow cooker is unlike a "crock pot" because the heat source is at the bottom. However, because of the metal construction of the pot, the heat is conducted evenly. You will be surprised how much more versatile a 1-5 temperature setting can be – as opposed to just "low, med, hi." The lowest setting is good for keeping foods warm. The highest setting will boil liquids, or is used for the griddle. For day-to-day slow cooking, and for smaller quantities of food for just the two of us, this is ideal.

Here is how I used the slow cooker yesterday for a pot roast that Bob literally gasped over.

1 4-lb. pot roast
Olive oil
Salt & pepper
3 cloves garlic, cut in half
1 can French onion soup, undiluted

On the stove over high heat, coat the bottom of the slow cooker pot with olive oil. Generously salt & pepper both sides of the roast. When the pot is pretty darn hot put the roast in and brown on both sides. Remove the pot from the stove and place on the base unit, at a heat setting of about 2 or 2-1/2. Surround the roast with the garlic clove halves, pour in the soup and put the lid on. Go to work. Come home 10-11 hours later. Shock your significant other with the news that this roast was this simple.

I love my slow cooker!

Beefy Biscuits

Beefy Biscuits. That’s the name I have given these little bundles. And, bonus: they're really cute.

Bob has been craving down-home, basic, potluck dishes so I searching for a recipe that would take less than 30 minutes to prepare, and would leave him with lots of leftovers for his lunches. Bingo. These little Beefy Biscuits were perfect.

1 can refrigerated biscuits – I used Pillsbury® Grands Flaky Layers (8 count)
1 pound ground beef
Barbecue sauce – I used Emeril’s Kicked Up Barbecue Sauce
Seasonings to taste – we added a couple tablespoons of brown sugar
Shredded cheese – I used a pre-shredded Mexican cheese blend

Preheat the oven to 350º. Brown the ground beef. While the beef is cooking, press the biscuits into a muffin pan (I used a little non-stick spray to be safe). Work the biscuits up the sides to make little cups. After the beef is browned, add enough barbecue sauce to make it “gloppy” but not too “sloppy.” Fill each cup with the meat mixture, generously top with cheese and slide into the oven. Bake for about 12-15 minutes until they are puffed up, golden brown and the cheese is melted. (I started checking after 10 min. to make sure the bottom of each cup was done enough to hold its shape, but not burned.)

This is not particularly creative – similar recipes are everywhere. But, I think you could modify it to suit a picky eater, or just to mix it up. Instead of the barbecue, I will try tomato sauce or even a can of cream of mushroom. Really anything added to ground beef to make it “gloppy” will work.

Bob took two for his lunch today, and we froze a few, so I will report back as to how they work as leftovers. Give these a try. I think even the kids would be impressed.

Mini-Review – The Upside of Anger (2005)

The Upside of Anger (2005)

Synopsis: “Yes it does. It heals. It just heals funny.”

Kevin Costner and Joan Allen perfectly play these two very imperfect characters. Allen is amazing as Terry Wolfmeyer, a suburban mother of four whose husband up and leaves them all without a word. She goes into self-destruct mode, and Denny Davies (Costner) shows up with a shoulder to cry on and a drink to cry in. Everything in her life is messy and complicated, but the film manages to keep from turning too sappy or too morose. The twist at the end is my case in point. You just never know what life is going to hand you and it's okay to have feelings about that. I loved it so much I watched it twice in one day. It’s rated R, so not for kids, and there’s one sort of graphic scene of comic violence.

Ancient Antiquing Secrets

Antique malls can be overwhelming. So many tchotchkes, so little time. Over the years, I have developed a system that works for me so that I can breeze through a sizeable antique mall over my lunch hour and usually score something to add to my various collections. It takes a little practice, and some self-restraint, but it turns an aimless trip into a surgical strike.


Go into “scan” mode. Don’t get caught in the trap of thinking you’re going to miss something if you don’t spend an hour looking at each overcrowded shelf. Just scan. Typically vendors group like objects together, making it easier for you. Just give each area a quick once-over, and keep moving.

Don’t waste time. If you have lots of time on your hands it’s fun to look at the high-dollar items, but if it’s outside your price range and you are on a time limit, don’t bother. In the same way, if you have a cabinet overflowing with glassware, you probably don’t need another set of glasses. Skip it and keep moving.

Have a mental list, but be flexible. My list includes: metal picnic baskets, enamelware, diner mugs with logos and inexpensive metal trays. Having a mental list gives you some focus, but don’t limit yourself or you could end up frustrated and disappointed. If you see something that’s not on the list, but you love it and can immediately think of where and how you might use it, go for it!

Go with your instincts. With a few exceptions (like maybe troll dolls), if you love it, it doesn’t break the bank and it speaks to you, grab it. By looking through decorating magazines and mail order catalogs, or watching TV decorating shows you can pick up some ideas about what styles “go together.” After that, just surround yourself with things that please you and it will come together like magic.

Relax. This is supposed to be fun! Unless you’re a dealer or serious collector, antique mall shopping is a fun way to pick up some cute things for your home that have some character and history.

(Note: the little brass plaque shown is not an antique, but it's cute and it's available at D. Lawless Hardware for just $10.75. They also sell cabinet knobs and other hardware at excellent prices. I have made several purchases here over the years.)

Back to school time. Lesson one: Jeans.

When I start craving theme books, wooden rulers and piles of brand new #2 pencils, I know fall is almost here. And that always makes me think of back to school shopping for jeans.

Jeans are a hot topic right now, with articles appearing everywhere about the new styles and how to wear them. See a pretty comprehensive jeans matrix at Style Bakery. I personally stick to boot cut, some straight (not skinny) styles and trouser shapes. I experimented with trendier styles and they flat out do not work with my figure. If you want some good information about what works on your body type, go to What Not to Wear, where they have a handy little quiz that gives you a list of dos and don'ts for your figure.

While I tend to agree that you get what you pay for, I simply can not bring myself to spend $150-200 on a pair of jeans. For that much money they would have to have some kind of magic powers. I am a born bargain shopper, so I scour the clearance racks and usually come up with decent jeans at a discount price. Like my recent score: Gap original boot cut jeans. I picked these up at the Gap in my town, but online they are discounted from $58 to $19.99. These fit but are not too tight, not too low and not too flared. And for TWENTY BUCKS!? I dress them up with heels and a jacket, dress them down with a polo and skimmers, and in between with a camisole and espadrilles – they go with everything.

With that little nip in the air in the mornings, I know I'll soon be wearing my bargain jeans with sweaters, too. Try some on and see if they make the grade for you.

Camping cleanup made easy. Palmolive Dishwipes.

We love making big, elaborate meals while we're camping. There's just something about good food cooked outside. But, with the big meal comes the big cleanup. One thing that has worked for me and is standard issue in my camping gear are these little Palmolive Dishwipes. I went to the Palmolive website and could not find them in their product listing, so they may be discontinued (I hope not!), but I did see them available at quite a few online retailers. The beauty of these dishwipes is that you don't have to pack a bottle of dish soap and run the risk of it leaking in your storage container. They come in this cute little container, and you just wet one to produce loads of suds. One cloth has always been enough for a whole dishpan. Then you just toss it. No wet sponge or dish cloth to deal with. I don't think they are very cost effective for at-home use, but they are worth it to pack for camping cleanup. Try them.

L.L.Bean Boat and Tote®. As serious as a tote can get.

What appeals to me about L.L.Bean’s Boat and Tote Bag is its uncompromising sturdiness. It does not try to be “cute” or “elegant” – it’s far too busy boatin’ and totin’. And not only is it a seriously constructed bag, it’s available at a seriously good price. J.Crew introduced the same style of tote this year (theirs is called the Montauk tote). Their large is about the same size as Bean’s extra large, but it’s $41 more. Anything cheaper than the L.L. Bean bag is compromising on quality somewhere, mostly in the fabric. This canvas is like iron.

I currently own two Boat and Tote bags – one extra-large zip top (regular length handles) and one small open top (long handles). We use the big zip top bag for weekend trips, and it’s usually large enough to fit everything I need for two nights and three days. For camping, it will hold all of what Bob and I both need for an overnight trip. It’s cavernous. The small one is my most recent purchase and I love it. It makes a perfect little book/misc. tote to take on trips, or a casual everyday purse that’s big enough to throw my lunch in with my wallet and girl kit. It gives a little nautical feel to my outfit, which is one of the big trends of the summer.

I have stayed with the classic old-school colors, because for some reason they look fresher to me than anything "new." Checking the sale section can yield a bargain when they discontinue colors. That’s how I got my small one on sale, in a cranberry red, so since I was saving money, I added a monogram. I am considering a medium sized Boat and Tote, too. Although I don’t have an immediate use in mind, I will bet my deck shoes I will reach for it over and over again. Try one.

Caramelized Onions – A Recipe's Little Black Dress

The little black dress – perfect for any occasion, easily dressed up or down and never goes out of style. That's how I am beginning to look at caramelized onions.

In my recipe for "French Country Steaks" I used them to take the place of a can of French onion soup. The dish took longer to bring together, but the result was a richer flavor.

Bob suggested we caramelize an onion to add flavor to a pot roast we made while camping this past weekend. When combined with some beef broth, red wine, garlic and other seasonings, the gravy it produced was spectacular.

There isn't any big, complicated secret to caramelizing an onion. Over about medium heat, I start with equal parts butter and olive oil, about 2T each. Then I thinly slice the onions and throw them in the pan with some salt and pepper. Stir them around to coat all the bits with the oil/butter mixture. The onion will start to wilt, turning translucent. Stir them every now and then and keep going. If the skillet gets dry, or if the onions start to stick, just put a little more oil in, or even water or beef broth. Not a lot, just enough to keep the onions moving. When they start to turn brown, don't panic. This is what you want. Just keep waiting and stirring until the onions are a nice deep, dark brown – that's the caramel color you're looking for. This takes me about 15-18 minutes from start to finish.

I found a pretty good how-to article with pictures at All Recipes. The photo above is from Hormel Foods website, and they have step-by-step instructions, too.

If you haven't tried the little black dress of food, I highly recommend it. It's worth the time you will invest, because your dish will have a deep, rich but sweet flavor.

A Credit Card Warning

Whatever you do, do not cash a check sent to you from any credit card company, or you may be signing up for something called "Shopper's Advantage" without knowing it.

I don't usually write about things like this, but I feel the need to warn you about a pretty sneaky scam that I fell victim to. A few months ago I signed up for an Amazon.com® Visa® card, through Chase, because they were running an online special. By signing up you got $20 off your purchase on Amazon and a bunch of other benefits. I went for it, because I knew that the card would only be used for a few purchases, mainly gifts and mainly from Amazon. I ended up using the card quite a bit, and started managing my account online at Chase.com. I even took advantage of a balance transfer special that Chase was offering.

Today I was online checking to see when a payment was due, and noticed a charge of $9.99 to someplace called "TLG•Shopper." Well I know for a fact I have not used this card for any purchases of any sort since I made the balance transfer. So I looked at my whole statement and lo and behold, TLG•Shopper was getting $9.99 a month from me for the past 6 months.

I immediately called Chase to find out what this was. They transferred me to Shopper's Advantage. I was told that I activated this account when I cashed a check for $10 that was sent to me through Chase. I vaguely remember getting a check in the mail and, thinking it was part of the promotion Amazon.com was running, I went ahead and cashed it. I think of myself as a pretty smart person, so this Shopper's Advantage thing must have been buried in some fine print somewhere, because I was COMPLETELY unaware that's what I was doing. I have even received checks with similar "offers" attached to them and thrown them away. This one didn't seem to have a catch to it at all.

I explained to the person at Shopper's Advantage that I wanted to cancel my "account" immediately. I got a pretty involved sales pitch to try to get me to keep the account – to which I stated that if I didn't even know what it IS, and if I was deriving NO benefit from it, was WHY would I keep letting them take $9.99 of my money every month! I know it probably does no good, but I told the person that this was a very sneaky way to take money from people, and that I will dispute every charge made to my account until this is made right.

Don't do what I did. At the very least my advice is to read every tiny bit of small print before cashing these little checks. Even then you may not catch it. Best to just pitch them. A little $10 check may end up costing you $60 or more. And, check your credit card statement carefully to see if you have accidentally fallen victim to this scam.

Mini-Review – V for Vendetta

V for Vendetta (2005)

Synopsis: Down with totalitarianism. Up with people in masks and capes. To the music of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture.

You can enjoy this film just at the surface (as Bob does), or dig as deep as you want (and there is a lot under there). Lots of symbolism gives you plenty to mine. Look up the Guy Fawkes historical references and some of it will make a lot more sense.

I had to hand it to Natalie Portman – playing opposite a masked man in a cape can’t be easy – but she fills the role out and makes it work. (And, she looks good bald, a plus in this role.) The Orwellian plot is familiar, but there are a few surprises, too. It's stylish, interesting and (if you go there), thought provoking. I recommend it. The R rating makes it not for kids – there are some scenes of torture, some upsetting images, and violence.