The PERFECT Roast Beef

I found this method of cooking a roast on recipezaar. I tried it today and it truly is perfect!


I cooked mine medium-rare so it does look quite pink. I should have let it sit longer to avoid losing all this juice, but it doesn't matter, it was moist and delicious! I find that often the beef flavor gets covered up by all the herbs and other ingredients that recipe's call for, but this recipe actually lets you taste the beef.

Another major bonus: this roast took less than an hour to cook!

Try it next time you're making a Sunday roast!

Mother's Day Brag Boards

DH and I were tuck home last Sunday working for the mortuary, so I had an extra week to get our Mother's Day gifts done. They're finally complete and ready to give to our mom's.

I decided to make Brag Boards for them. I got the idea from a blog (which I can't find now) where the mom was sick of having her refrigerator covered in the kids' artwork & pictures, so she made a brag board.

I wanted to make them to fit both of our moms' personalities and I think I accomplished that.
Here is the one I made for my mom:

And here is the one I made for DH's mom:

This one was a little trickier than my mom's was. I went to Roberts to get white vinyl but they were out, so I had to figure something else out. I looked at chipboard letters but they were too small. I thought of letter stickers, but again, too small. I finally decided to use my neighbors cricut and cut out the letters. We found some really elegant ivory paper with a gold sheen (enlarge the picture to see) and then we found some awesome jewel embellishments.
I painted to board Cinderella blue, MIL's favorite color. Even her car is that color. I painted the border of the board and the clothespins ivory to go with the paper.

I'm pretty happy with the result. I think it looks better than it would have if I had just done white vinyl. Funny how that always happens; you go to the craft store with an idea and you end up doing something totally different.

I had pictures printed to hang from the clothespins but I cannot find them!!!! Hopefully I'll come across them before we head to our folks' houses.
*****Sad Update: DH's mom's brag board was damaged en route to her house. It was still a little tacky and DH's clack coat touched it. Now it's covered in black fuzzies. There is no way I'm giving this to my mother in law. Aaargh!

Toddler Bed

DD fell in love with this toddler bed at Kid to Kid. DH wanted to get her a toddler bed and this was only $35! It's sturdy and in great condition! It had a beautiful cherry stain but the nursery is white, so....

My Review of WinCo

WinCo just opened a store 1 mile from my house. I've watched the building process and I'm so excited that it's finally open!

I told myself that I'd wait a few weeks to go since I knew it would be crazy busy, but I couldn't help myself. I went on opening day and it was a madhouse, but I got about $80 worth of groceries for $30, so I couldn't complain. Later that night, DH and I needed to get milk so we went back. I thought it would be less crowded but I was so wrong! The check-out lines were literally to the back of the store.

My dad loves a good deal so he and my mom came over today so we could go to WinCo. It was still busy but much better so I was able to take a better look at things and I'm very impressed.
The prices are better on most things, but there were a few items we looked at that we knew we could get cheaper at Wal-Mart or Costco.

The store itself is very clean and has a good flow. My favorite section of the store is the bulk section. They have every herb you could possibly want for super cheap. I love that I can get as much as I need and not have to buy a full jar of a spice I need for just one recipe. They also have a huge variety of flour including semolina, gluten, rye, & multiple kinds of wheat. They have bulk honey, which I've never seen. They have a big meat & seafood department and even though I think fish & seafood is disgusting, I did notice that they have a huge variety compared to most stores.

The biggest con I can think of is that you have to bag your own groceries. I like to watch the scanner and make sure I'm getting the right price, but it's not that big of a deal.

I was told today that they're building in WinCo in Layton which should open next year.

I love this store. It is definitely my new store of choice.

Homemade Laundry Soap (Powder)

I don't know why it took me so long to think of using powder instead of making liquid soap. It's so much easier! Not that the original liquid recipe was hard, but this is a sinch!

I grated 2/3 of a bar of Zote and added 2 cups each of Borax and Super Washing Soda. I also added 2 cups of OxiClean since I add that to every load.

Then I add 2 Tbsp (1/8 cup) to 4 Tbsp (1/4 cup) per load, depending on how dirty the clothes are. (I add a full 1/4 cup when I'm washing DH's work clothes.

Easy Peasy!

Death by Oreo

This is a spin on Hello Dolly's but for Oreo lovers. But beware! they are highly addictive so I suggest you make them to take to a function so they're not sitting around your house.

1 pkg Oreo's
4 Tbsp butter, melted
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups mini-marshmallows
1-14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk

Grease 13 x 9 x 3 pan with PAM.

Place Oreo's in gallon size Ziplock bag. Crush with rolling pin. Add melted butter.

Spread 1/2 the Oreo's in pan. Spread chocolate chips & marshmallows. Cover with remaining Oreo's then evenly spread sweetened condensed milk on top.

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.

Hectic

Life has been a little hectic lately. DH has been really busy at work (good for our income, not for spending time together,) we've been getting over bad colds and we've had some family stuff to do.

4 months ago my mom asked me to present my homemade laundry soap and dryer sheets at a Relief Society activity. I was really nervous but after I made dryer sheets to give away and psyched myself up for the presentation, I was actually getting excited.

But yesterday I tweeked my old back injury and ended up at InstaCare with prescriptions for a few meds. My wonderful sis-in-law came over today to take care of DD so I could rest. (LOL! I have to laugh at the idea of rest. I didn't rest. I was having too much fun chatting with my fav sister! And the pain meds were working quite well so I felt good. I didn't pick up DD, though!) So, I missed the activity tonight. My mom just called to tell me how great it was. I'm bummed that I didn't get to chat with all the wonderful ladies in my ward that I don't get to see anymore.

I have a couple projects that I want to do but I'm scared. I really want to paint my kitchen cabinets white and paint the walls a tan. It's quite an undertaking and I need to wait until I have DH's full cooperation. My new found couponing hobby has taken up mere time than I thought it would. I hope that with practice I won't have to work so hard at it.

I just need to finish some of my 1/2 completed projects so I can reawaken the crafting bug!