Cozy Stovetop Beef Stew

What's On My Table:

Cozy Stovetop Beef Stew

 I adapted this recipe from Mix and Match Mama and swapped out some ingredients to make it cleaner.  I love this type of meal on a cold winter's night.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Olive oil for coating your pan (~ 2 T)

1 lb stew meat (should already be cut into cubes for you

1 qt beef broth

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 chopped onion, chopped

2 minced garlic cloves

2 bay leaves 

1 cup baby carrots (or 2 large carrots chopped)

2 Yukon gold potatoes (though any will work), cubed

1 1/2 tablespoon arrowroot starch

1 1/2 tablespoon water

Method:

1. In a Dutch oven, heat up oil and then brown meat (doesn't have to be cooked through just brown each side).  

3. Stir in the next 7 ingredients and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook covered for about 2 hours.  For the last 1/2 hour of cooking, add in your carrots and potatoes and cover.

4. 10 min before serving, combine your arrowroot starch with water and add to pot. Cook uncovered on the stovetop at medium high heat for about 10 minutes being sure to stir occasionally.

5. Serve in bowls with a side salad and dinner is done!

XO,

Robin

Clean Crispy Bacon

  We carb cycle in the FASTer Way to keep our body from adaptation.  We want our metabolism revved, and we want our bodies fueled properly for our workouts which paired with our food cycle promotes fat burning.  You don't have to cut carbs completely to get into fat burning mode - this isn't sustainable long term, doesn't support building lean calorie burning muscles, and means missing out on joining in around the table with loved ones.

So on low carbs days, I look forward to avocado, low carb fruit, and especially bacon because it is high in fat, but mostly because it's bacon and therefore delicious.  I detest the greasy mess and babysitting required for making it on the stove and haven't mastered the microwave, so I make it in the oven.  It's doesn't require much oversight and cleaning is a breeze.

The deets:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or foil.  Lay bacon out on cookie sheet (make sure you get sugar free bacon - I like the Pederson's brand). Bake until it smells ready!  Check at 15 minutes, but will probably be ready closer to 20 depending on preferred crispiness.

Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Hot Chocolate - adults only!

Need a fun drink for a festive night in or a crowd pleaser for your Christmas party?  If you Christmas party isn't cancelled it's likely being held outside, and this recipe will warm you right up!

Instant hot chocolate is NOT my jam, but when I saw this slow cooker hot cocoa recipe on Mix and Match Mama's Blog made from actual melted chocolate I knew I had to try it!  I made it my own by adding a festive floater.  Leave out the alcohol and it's great for kids too!

Method:

Toss in a 12 oz bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips and a 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk into your slow cooker on high until chocolate is melted (for about 30 minutes).  Stir every 10 minutes or so to make sure the edges don't burn.  Once it's melted, whisk in 1/2 t vanilla and 1/2 gal of milk - I've made it with almond milk and with whole milk - my kids preferred the almond milk! Leave it in the slow cooker for about 3-4 hours, stirring occasionally.  Double the recipe if making for a large crowd. To make if for the 21 and up crowd, add a peppermint schnapps floater! 

Once it's ready, change setting to warm and then give yourself enough time to let it cool off completely, and then I just put my whole slow cooker bowl in the fridge once the chocolate is close to room temperature (read your slow cooker manual to make sure your bowl can handle this!).  Then the next day, I make sure the bowl doesn't have any condensation on it and then put it back in my slow cooker to reheat and serve again.

Tag me on IG if you try it! @fasterwaywithrobin

 

Show and Tell Tuesday {9.12.17} What's in My Bag

Linking up with Andrea for blogging regularity purposes as "what's in my bag" isn't a topic that I would normally write about because the answer can basically be summed up in one uninteresting and probably repelling word:

trash.

Hi my name is Robin and trash is in my bag.

I would like to blame this on my children, and don't get me wrong, they are major contributors to this problem (ahem, Lego directions), but I'm pretty sure it wasn't much better before I had kids.  Maybe just without the half eaten Z bars.

Last spring, I was at a Bible study and my friend, Maggie, asked me for gum or something, and I laughed and said, "if I can find it!  I'm super disorganized!" which she was hilariously surprised at until I opened my bag and showed her, and we had a good laugh.  Apparently I am good at hiding my messiness.  (Lord, please don't let this be true of my spiritual life!)

So today when I grabbed my purse that I tend to use in fall and winter, to my dismay, I found a half eaten bar that had been in there for months. Gross. Along with about a billion receipts, a fuzz covered paci, gum, lego directions, expired gap cash etc.

#keepinitreal

Aren't you glad you were curious about my bag?


If I was an organized person, this is what my bag would look like:

1. phone
2. wallet
3. keys
4. my planner
5. kid snack (still in wrapper)
6. gum
7. extra clothes for the newly potty trained child
THE END

(I would take a picture of this above scenario, but that would require me to clean out my bag and mama ain't got time for that today.) #goals

Friday Favorites {9.8.17}

1. Harvey Relief!

My Texas necklace from Jenn's shop:

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2. Date Night thanks to:

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Last night we were invited to a dinner hosted by Pastorserve.  Upon hearing of the chaos that Harvey wreaked on Houston, Pastorserve immediately mobilized their team from all over the US to be here for the Houston pastors.  We didn't really have any idea what it was about except that they wanted to come in as a support to the pastors in the city many of which have been on the front lines caring for people who have lost everything and in many cases having been personally affected by the flood themselves.  It was heartbreaking to see the exhaustion on each pastor's face as many were low on sleep due to shot nerves, physical labor, emotional heaviness for their congregations, and personal concern as many churches buildings are in need of repair and don't have the finances to continue to miss meeting on Sundays.  The joy and hope during our worship time brought me to tears as did the spiritual and physical care of the Pastorserve team as they encouraged us with the Word, provided us with a delicious meal, prayed for us, and even met some specific financial needs.

In situations like this, pastors are often the first to offer help and the last to accept it, and in the marathon that is Harvey recovery, we need our leaders to stay healthy and encouraged.  Pastorserve is an organization that comes alongside of pastors to do just this.  If you are looking for a ministry to give to for Harvey relief, this is a great option.

We forgot to take a picture at the Pastorserve dinner so here we are after we got back!  Love this guy!!!

3. Little People Shenanigans

"Mom!  We made an immunity idol!"
#survivorfansinthemaking #ionlyletthemwatchthechallenges

Meanwhile, Susu was making her own fun.
She has an obsession with soap...could be worse, right?

Not even sure what is happening here

4.  The many articles written about and for Houston:

Beth Moore's beautiful portrait of Houston

Joshua Roger's Op Ed titled "What Did Jesus Say About Natural Disasters"

5. This.

Happy Friday to you!

What's Up Wednesday {9.6.17} Edition: What Day Is It?

This What's Up Wednesday post is most likely posted on the wrong day, but this is how most of us in Houston are feeling...

What We're Eating This Week:

Well, after helping our Chick-Fil-A owner friend not waste all of her defrosted chicken during Harvey...


not chicken!

Y'all, Taylor coordinated my dad and neighbors to cook at least 500 pieces of chicken!  We handed it out to shelters, first responders, and tried to eat the rest at a block party for our street, and we still had to freeze about 300 pieces.  It was so yummy, but the #Harvey15 is real folks.

Here is a tiny portion of the sandwiches we handed out to first responders

Chicken Spaghetti made with Chick-fil-a chicken

So this week, because we've been so cooped up the past 10 days, we're letting the little people decide because two weeks into the school year with no school,  Mama is choosing her battles.  Traditional spaghetti it is.

What I'm reminiscing about:

Last Fall.

Fall is my favorite season though it's debatable that Houston has seasons.
Read:
1. summer and
2. warm and muggy (not sure what to call this season).

But the beginning of the school year is a new beginning for me, a clean slate, a get back on a normal bedtime schedule, eat healthier, eat all of the fall food (apples!!!), and have a break from each other (school!!!).

This September, fall doesn't exist.  Normal doesn't exist in Houston right now.  We had a week of school and then Harvey hit.  Harvey has devastated my city.  For those of you not living here; the news has moved on, but we are still dealing with after effects of epic proportions.  It has extended summer and made real life go on hold while major street arteries stay flooded - it took me an hour and a half to get from my parents house to my house yesterday; this is usually a 15-20 minute drive.  The last mile took 45 minutes. The grocery stores have no eggs and very little bread.  Schools are still closed till next week and some even the week after that.  Many homes still have 3-4 feet of water in them. News has moved from home rescues to relief workers coming down with nasty bacteria from the filthy standing water.

Mercifully, we were not affected physically by the floodwaters, but for most Houstonians that were not affected physically, we are still affected emotionally.  It was hard for me to let my mother-in-law watch my children across town yesterday, I was woken up by thunder two nights ago and couldn't get back to sleep, and I wake up exhausted even though I'm getting the same amount of sleep I usually get. My friend, Hillary, shared this on Facebook the other day, and it gave words to this feeling many of us have here:

What I'm Loving

All of the relief efforts for Houston!  My favorite is what Jenn's company is doing:

Click here to see her Harvey Relief necklace line.  100% of the proceeds will go to Harvey Relief (these photos are some of the supplies they have purchased so far for the GRB shelter).

What We've Been Up to

Harvey Relief.  As a mom with little kids this mostly looks like making lots of food for various people though here is a funny break in all of that - I found myself alone in my house (thank you Mia for taking my kids for the day) after running around all day getting errands done and finally taking a break at 3 to eat lunch, and my friend Kara texted Jenn and me to see what we were up to:

Busted!  Sometimes you just have to laugh.  That is Survivor Season 3 FYI.

What I'm dreading

The possibility of school being postponed another week.

What I'm working on

Letting go of any part of my "normal" that I should leave behind. (Credit)

What I'm excited about

Our upcoming anniversary trip to Colorado

What I'm watching/reading


Duh.

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I just finished The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George, and it was an interesting read though not what I expected.  It paints a good picture of what idolizing a person does to you.

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What I'm listening to

During the day I stream Mozart Piano Quartet on Pandora because in a house full of children, give me all the peaceful music.  In the evenings,  I've been foregoing my typical Pandora station, "Italian Cooking Music" (think Dean Martin) for this youtube station, French Cafe music.

What I'm wearing

My summer uniform: denim shorts and a solid color t-shirt

Worst lighting ever!

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{via} I got mine from a clothing swap, but these are similar

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What I'm doing this weekend

I'm kind of creeped out to put this on the internet...tell you about it next week, mkay? I'm excited about it though!

What I'm looking forward to next month

Pumpkins and hopefully cool weather! #eternalHoustonweatheroptimist

What else is new

About to start a minor remodel in our kitchen because our oven died, and our new one doesn't fit in the old space. #badtiming #contractorsinhighdemandinHoustonrightnow #goodthingmydadisacontractor

Friday Favorites {8.25.17}: Hurricane Edition

I'm going to nonchalantly come back here and pretend that it hasn't been 18 months since I've blogged...

This post is brought to you compliments of Hurricane Harvey and "Frozen"

Friday Favorites

#1 My bestie who has a generator built into her house

 #hurricaneharvey #potentialfamilysleepover #acisessentialinaugust

I'll let you know if we go swimming...

#2 Daddy making breakfast

Yesterday I asked Taylor to head to the grocery store on his way home from work to grab us bread before the impending storm.  There was no bread left in the store, so he got these cinnamon rolls instead...we'll just go with that being close to what I asked him to get.  Some little people in our house were really happy about them this morning though!  #thehurricanemademedoit

#3 Blue corn chips from Trader Joe's

I won't pretend to be the healthiest eater (give me all the carbs), so usually I think blue corn chips taste like cardboard, but after having some with the best hummus ever the other day at my friend's house, I decided to give these a try and I am glad I did!  #hurricanefood 

Next I went to HEB to get the hummus, but there was a LINE to get inside, so we decided hummus wasn't an essential during the storm.  #priorities

#4 Self-taught gainer!

Seth was like, "Hey mom! Is this a back flip?!"  I couldn't believe it. #hegetsthisfrommysideofthefamily

#5 Second Annual Cousin Camp!

#6 Family Discipleship

I found them like this this morning - he was reading to her from this children's Bible and she was asking questions.  Melt my heart!  #familydiscipleship