Ode To Fall Crockpot Roast

For some, fall has come. Yesterday it was 103 degrees F. YUCK. Too hot. Way too hot. One of my co-workers had her husband pull out her fall harvest decorations. She is ready to decorate and make her house FALL-tastic. I am still trying to cool off from yesterday. At LifeasMom.com she is having her Thursday Ultimate Recipe Swap. You must check it out. This happens each week and you won't be disappointed. Last week's swap was featuring FOOTBALL foods. This week is Favorite Fall foods.

Ode To Fall~ Crockpot Roast

4 small Russets potatoes
4 small yukon gold potatoes
1 cup chunks of carrots
1/2 purple onion cut in sixths (wedged)
3 Celery stalks chopped in bite size pieces
2 pounds pork butt or Beef Round Roast or One whole chicken
Lawrys Seasoning Salt, Lawrys Garlic Salt, Fresh cracked pepper
Sweet Baby Ray's Brown Sugar Barbecue Sauce

Take the Crockpot out of your cabinet or storage facility. Rinse it off or clean it. Season the bottom of your crock pot. Season your choice of protein by rubbing it with dry seasonings. Then massage it with some barbecue sauce and place that in the bottom of the crock. Arrange potatoes, carrots, onion and celery around that. Put the top on the crockpot. Set it for the right amount of time and heat according to when you start preparing your dinner. I usually put mine on in the morning before I go to work, set on low for 10 hours. Everything is perfectly cooked when I get home. Oh and does the house smell amazing.

Serve with a crusty baguette and a little lettuce salad.

A Toast To Fall

Today is the last day of summer. Here in California, it does not feel like it. It was 95 degrees of dry heat. I like the warmth and the sun, but it would be nice to feel crisp cool air and actually start to see the leaves change. Maybe in another two months. But to celebrate with those who are enjoying fall and pulling out their harvest decor... two special drinks to welcome the new season.

Fall Orange Bitter

1 can frozen orange juice concentrate
1 cans Campari
2 cans water

In a pitcher, empty the contents of the orange concentrate. Fill the concentrate can with Campari and pour over the orange. Fill the can with water and add. Fill the can with water again and add. Stir. Serve over ice with a slice of orange.

Harvest Island Iced Tea

Are you ready for this twist?

1 part Citron Vodka
1 part Captain Morgan
1 part Campari
1 part Triple Sec
1 1/2 parts Sweet and Sour
splash of Diet Coke or Coca Cola

Pour various components over ice and swizzle. Enjoy!

Be sure to check out Festive Spiked Punch under drinky-poos!

Easy Cheesecake With Strawberries

Every Sunday Dinner, I try to bring a dessert. This week was Easy Cheesecake With Strawberries! Thanks to Ralphs for the 99 cents a pound Strawberries!

Easy Cheesecake With Strawberries

One premade Graham Cracker Crust
One block Cream Cheese room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 Bisquick (I had no flour, substitution, Baby!)
1 egg
a few shakes cinnamon
1/2 tsp almond extract

1/2 pound cleaned and quarterd strawberries
2 tbs. sugar

Sweetened Whipped cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In your mixing bowl, whip the cream cheese until fluffy. Add sugar and mix. Add Bisquick and mix. Remove white thingees from eggs and mix together. Finally add cinnamon and almond extract. Scrape sides of bowl with spatula and mix once more. Pour cheesecake mixture into Graham cracker crust. Spoon mixture around until level in the crust. Place cheesecake in oven for approximately 20 minutes or until edges are set. Allow to cool.

When ready to serve. Take a slice of cheesecake, top with a little whipped cream and a some sweetened berries. YUM YUM YUM! The flavors sing in your mouth.

Summer Drinky-poos

Summer. As summer is winding down. The temps are still toasty. There is something so wonderful about a cup filled with ice and a wonderful liquid concoction to quench your thirst. Below you will find three Fruity liquid concoctions made with various types of alcohol so every guest will have a choice.

Summer Margarita

1 can frozen lemonade concentrate
1 1/2 cans filled with Margaritaville Silver Tequila
1 1/2 cans water
juice from one lime
sliced lime wedges
ice

Pour lemonade concentrate in a pitcher. Using the empty concentrate container/can, add the Tequila and additional water. Stir. You can serve this concoction over ice or you can blend it. The Magic Bullet is awesome blending up this yummy cocktail.

Malibu Ma-orange-o

1 can frozen Hawaii's Own Mango Orange Concentrate
1 1/2 cans filled with Malibu Coconut Rum
1 1/2 cans water

Pour the Mango Orange concentrate into a pitcher. Using the empty concentrate container/can, fill with amounts listed above of Malibu Rum and water. Stir. You can serve this Delicious drink over ice or blend. Excellent either way.

Pink Lemon Drop

1 can Raspberry Lemonade Frozen Concentrate
1 1/2 cans filled Gordon's Vodka
1 1/2 cans water

Pour the Raspberry Lemonade Frozen Concentrate into a pitcher. Using the empty concentrate container/can, fill with amounts listed above of Vodka and water. Stir. You can shake and serve this over ice or blend.

Enjoy your Summer Drinky-poos responsibly!

If you do not drink alchol, prepare the concentrates substituting the alchol for more water.

Rob's Trout In Foil

Grant Lake is not the prettiest lake in the June Lake Loop, but it has many Trout. Brown trout the rarity, Rainbows a plenty. The last two weekends we went to Grant. About six hours to get there, but well worth the drive. Last weekend I actually caught my limit. This weekend I got skunked. I prefer the catch and release method personally and I don't dine on fish. Rob loves fishing and loves to eat his fresh catch. Being the Anti-fish gal I am, he cleans and prepares the fish. He even will unhook my fish. It must be love.

Rob's Trout In Foil

Whole Fresh trout, cleaned, scales on
sliced lemon
lemon wedges
Lawry's Garlic Salt
Fresh Cracked Pepper
Cajun Seasoning Sauce
pats of butter
aluminum foil

Tear a large, heavy duty piece of aluminum foil. Rinse your trout. Sprinkle the inside of the fish with seasonings. Sprinkle a little lemon, place a few lemon rounds inside and a pat or two of butter. Wrap the trout in the foil.

Repeat with the remaining ingredients.

Place aluminum foil wrapped trout on your heated grill and cook. Cook trout on each side for about 5 minutes. Remove from grill allow to cool for a few minutes. Carefully unwrap the foil to avoid steam burns. To insure a cooked trout the eyes will be white. If the eyes are not white, re-wrap and put the fish back on the barbie. Once cooked allow to cool a bit. Using a fork loosen the scales and peel the skin off the fish. Once all of the scales are removed from the body, carefully loosen the meat from the head. Very carefully pull the head and the skeleton away from the the meat. There are a lot of bones in trout. If you do this carefully, the skeleton will be attached to the head. The car cuss is kinda funky looking, Halloween like. Everyone who has tried the trout this way LOVES it. No need for tartar sauce.

It's Not Just for Steak

Just got home from camping in the Sierras. This weekend while camping, I experimented with condiments to make a marinade. Ingredients were limited as the Men did the shopping. The guys bought two large packages of chicken. 6 bone in breasts and about a dozen boneless skinless chicken breasts. They must have thought they were serving an army. Anyhow, using a few simple ingredients I whipped up a tasty marinade.

Grant Lake Chicken

Chicken Breasts
A-1 Steak Sauce
Lawry's Seasoning salt
Barbecue Sauce
Fresh cracked pepper

Clean chicken. Sprinkle both sides with Lawry's Seasoning Salt. Pour a little A-1 over the chicken. Stir. Pour a little Barbecue Sauce over the chicken. Stir again. Sprinkle a little fresh cracked pepper over the chicken. Stir and allow chicken to marinate for a little while.

Barbecue until juices run clear. Enjoy

Sunrise Fruit Salad

Sunrise Fruit Salad. The other day I posted Sunset Fruit Salad. What a great fruit salad that was. There are so many beautiful summer fruits. This salad features the lighter colored fruits. Fruit salads could not be simpler.

Sunrise Fruit Salad

Bite size pieces of pineapple
Green Grapes
Bite size pieces of Honeydew
Mandarin orange slices

Combine fruits. Refrigerate. Serve. Enjoy.

My friend suggested serving fruit with toasted coconut! Give it a try.