Slow Food….Pot Roast

by | Feb 3, 2011 | Worman Cooks

Yesterday, I made pot roast in The Original Slow Cooker…Crock Pot. Carlos bought this for us 2 years ago.  Unfortunately, I don’t use it that often maybe 4 or 5 times a year.  The recipe booklet it came with is limited so I need to explore some others.  That may be why I don’t use it that often because other than the limited recipes, the pot is AWESOME.  Using a crock pot is sooo easy.  Just throw everything in, set it to low, let it cook for 8-10 hours, and you’re done!  If that’s too much time, you can blast it on high for 4-6 hours!

This recipe is taken directly from the booklet.  I modified it a bit because my kids don’t like the potatoes cooked this way and would prefer them mashed!  I need to clarify that: Max loves them and Little a not so much!

So here goes:

2-4 pound beef chuck roast

1/2 cup flour

salt and pepper

3 carrots, sliced

3 potatoes, quartered (I left this out and saved them for mashed potatoes)

3 onions, sliced

2 stalks celery, sliced

1 cup mushrooms (I omitted this…kids hate mushrooms..I kinda do)

1 cup beef broth (I didn’t have any so I used chicken broth)

This part is so cool because it’s SO FAST and SOOOO EASY…I love fast and easy! lol

1.  Coat roast with the flour, salt and pepper.  Sear roast in a pan on the stove.  They say this is optional, but I do this to seal in the flavors and make the meat moist! This is funny! I cooked bacon this morning and left some of the grease in the pan, hoping it will make the meat more flavorful :^)

2.  Place all veggies in the crock, except the mushrooms.  Add the roast and spread the mushrooms on top. Pour in broth.

3.  Cover and cook on Low for 10-12 hours or on High for 6-8 hours, or until tender.

There aren’t a lot of scraps for the Red Wigglers, but they’ll be happy with the carrot peels!

The Adventures of the Recycled Paint Cans!

by | Feb 2, 2011 | Less in the Landfill

Intro: This is Part 2 of the 2 Part series.

Yesterday, I dropped off this trunk load of paint cans at the Bend Garbage and Recycling Center. When I left, I felt good.  I was happy that these cans were not going directly into the landfill.  But on the drive home, I started thinking….  I had no idea where they would be off to next.  What would happen to the rainbow of colors?

So this morning, I called Bend Garbage and Recycling and chatted with a really informative, Mr. Brian.  He actually told me he had to conduct some research because he didn’t know all of the answers. I listened intently as he shared what he learned.

They are really off on an adventure.  An adventure to save the earth and be put to good use!

1.The cans are sent to a Metro Facility in Portland where they are sorted into Latex and Oil Groups.

2.The latex paints are recycled into more latex paints and some of those paints are used to paint over the graffiti…Good Job!

3.The oil paints, like linseed, are made into Bio Fuel….Very God Job!

4.The metal cans are shredded and then used as scrap metal.

5.The plastic cans are recycled into more plastic cans, tubs or containers.

There’s one bummer to this recycling program, though!  The shredded scrap metal from the metal cans is sold over seas.  Fossil fuels are being burned to transport these metals to countries who will produce a product that will then make it’s way back to the U.S. Just wish we could keep it on our soil.

At least there is less in the landfill.