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Next Up Toddlerhood
Remind me again where the last year went, because I swear this picture was taken yesterday not one year ago. D-man was once cradled in Hubby’s hands gently stretched out on his forearms now he is moving from baby into being officially one. And I’m in awe, total awe, that he went from this little baby to a cruising around, vocal (Oh, does he ever get vocal–both Hubby & I are now banned from leaving the room for fear of his tiny but powerful wrath) and seeing his personality coming out more & more very day. But today I’m going to hold him, remembering this time one year ago when I held him for the first time, & drink in every moment of it.
Visit Ireland
Today is St. Patrick’s Day. St. Patrick is the patron Saint of Ireland.
I feel a deep affinity to Ireland. Even though at this point I’m less than a fraction Irish, Irish blood still runs strong in my veins. My mother always celebrated St. Patrick’s day in our house. We will do the same thing in my home today with an Irish-American feast, complete with my homemade Irish Soda Bread. It is my mother’s father’s side is Irish. When I was young I thought the picture of President John F. Kennedy was of a family member, at 5 I remember learning that he was not. At least not that they knew of but he was Irish Catholic & that meant they had arrived.
While they may have felt like they arrived here in the States. I dream of one day visiting Ireland. A visit to Ireland is something I’ve always wanted to do. My husband, who doesn’t believe he has an ounce of Irish heritage, also has always thought Ireland would be a beautiful place to visit. All that history & beauty, the culture & the people, it just calls to us.
In honor of this St. Patrick’s Day. I thought I’d share some photos via Discover Ireland of Ireland’s beauty.
Can’t you just hear the call of country side?
Is there anywhere in the world you want to visit?
Easy Pot Roast Recipe
Pot Roast is a simple dish that you can literally fix and forget about for a few hours. When it emerges from the oven perfectly cooked it will soft like butter & a butter knife will cut through it. The way you get pot roast to have this juicy tenderness is low & slow.
This Pot Roast will be cooked & roasted in a cast iron skillet, it will cook for 3 hours. It serves 4 people.
What you need:
1 Pot Roast
1 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Pepper
1/2 Cup Flour
1 1/2 Cup of Red Wine
1 Cup of Chicken Broth
4 Large Russet Potatoes
4–5 Fresh Carrots
1 Whole Onion
4–5 Cloves of Garlic
1 Tablespoon of Italian Seasoning
What you Need to Do
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.
After your Pot Roast is room temperature (if you have to dethaw it, this is important) you will cover it all over with your 1 teaspoon salt & 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
Then dredge it in the flour. Meaning cover the entire Roast with a layer of flour.
Now you will want to sear, or brown it, on all sides in the pan on a low to medium heat. The crust on it will help to keep it nice & juicy during the long roast time.
After this is done, you will need to add into the pan 4 cut russet potatoes, 4–5 cut fresh carrots, 1 whole onion that you will cut into 4 parts, and 4–5 whole cloves of garlic tossed in 1/2 a Tablespoon of Italian Seasoning.
Then cover the Roast with the other 1/2 a Tablespoon of Italian Seasoning.
Add in to the pan 1 cup of chicken broth. And your 1 1/2 cup of red wine. Pour 1/2 cup of the wine over the roast & the rest into the pan so it soaks into the veggies. It’s divine this way.
Cover with aluminum foil tightly.
Place in your oven which has heated to 325 degrees and cook for 3 hours. At this point it should be soft enough to cut through with a butter knife.
Now you could also do the searing of the roast in one pan & transfer the roast to a roasting dish & complete the rest of the steps this way, using the lid of the roaster to cover. OR do everything in a dutch oven, using the lid of the dutch oven to cover. I have a cast iron skillet & don’t want to deal with extra dishes, so keeping everything in one dish is easiest for me. Less mess, less steps & more time for enjoying the day.
And if you make this dish for your meat-loving husband he will love you forever. I’m just saying.







