Warm Up with Beef Stew

Hey, Glitterinas, 

is it cold where you are?

We are having typical Texas weather....

cold for a few days...

then warm and sunny for the next few days!

I have to leave cold and warm weather 

clothes out....and night gowns, and 

shoes....you get the picture.

I try not to whine too much.....I could be hip deep in snow!

During our last cold snap 

I made a yummy beef stew 

for dinner.

I want to share my stew recipe with 

you today.

This is not a hard recipe, none of my recipes are, 

but it does need time to simmer after it's 

assembled.

If you already have a favorite stew 

recipe, compare it to this one 

and let me know how they differ.

Let's get busy, Glitterinas!

Chop four stalks of celery 

and half a white onion.

Into a deep dutch oven on 

medium high heat, 

add 3 T. butter and the 

chopped onions.

Then add the celery,

.....stir, stir....

and let the onion and celery cook 

until they are transparent.

The next ingredient to add is

a handful of small carrots.....

......and  then the next ingredients are all 

just added one right after the other.

Stew meat, about a pound and a half...

.....there are many types and cuts of 

stew meat available, 

but I like pieces that 

are chunky and large enough to cook 

for the longer amount of time stew 

requires .....

and not cook down into 

minuscule meat pieces.

If you are lucky enough to have a butcher that you 

like, talk to them about the best cut of stew meat to 

use for this recipe.

Having a butcher who is knowledgeable and will 

take time to help you learn how to cook different 

types of meat is a wonderful resource.

Back to our stew...

...next add

mushrooms,

beef stock,

.....and 4-5 chopped potatoes.

You can make your own stock with 

bones, veggies, spices and water.....

or use already prepared stock from your 

favorite grocery store.

Sometimes I have to add a bit more water, 

to get the level of liquid I want.

I like the liquid level to cover all the 

ingredients well.

We'll let the stew simmer now 

for 2-3 hours.

I place the lid on the dutch oven with a small 

space left open for steam.

Reduce the heat to low and go read a 

book....

or fold laundry....

or do any of the two million things 

on your to-do list.

The kitchen smells so amazing when 

stew is simmering away.

This makes a hot, delicious, 

warm-you-up

dinner.

It can be served with bread, corn bread,

and/or a salad for a complete dinner.

I hope you will try this beef stew recipe 

and let me know how it turns out.

As always, 

thank you so much for taking time 

out of your busy day to stop by 

Pink Glitter!

Until next time,

Tammy

Valentine's Day Is Almost Here!

It's crazy how fast this year is passing!

It's February already......goodness.

There are a few hearts and other, simple Valentine 

decorations sprinkled around the house.

I collect heart shaped rocks....the grands helped me 

arrange them for February!

Here are a few of them......

The chalkboard on the back door even 

gets in on the seasonal decor!

Some special vintage cards get put out each year....

The little, vintage truck on the dining room table gets a special 

rose cargo to deliver for Valentine's Day.

The grands will be checking their Valentine envelopes 

soon.....

I wish you each a 

Happy Valentine's Day, Glitterinas!

I hope you have a day that's calm,

enjoyable, with a little chocolate sprinkled in it.

This valentine is just for you!

Will you be my valentine?

I'm so glad you stopped by....

thanks for spending some time here at

Pink Glitter!

Hugs and glitter,

Tammy

Grand~Darlings Get Very Creative

I don't need to tell you how proud 

of our grandchildren we are!

I will tell you about the projects the 

girls made to enter in the 

project show that is coming up 

in their school district.

Oldest cutie found an amazing piece of 

bark/root off of an old, dead tree that was cut down.

She was very intrigued with this and wanted to use it 

for her project.

She and her Dad sanded and smoothed and worked 

on this piece of wood to get it to 

sit nicely....

it was going to be a centerpiece!

She and Pops shopped for succulents and other 

items to make this project amazing.

Each piece was carefully arranged....

and clipped.....

and hot glued into just the right place.

They gathered up some very interesting moss 

and lichens to use, also.

The time and creativity put into this project 

really paid off.

The finished centerpiece is wonderful.

There have even been requests for several more....

friends want one for their home!

What do you think of this succulent centerpiece,

Glitterinas?

Didn't she do a nice job?

Let's change gears to fairy gardens and take a look 

at another project!

This grand is all about fairies!

She has been wanting to construct a fairy garden

for a while.....so this was the perfect time!

She started out by gathering sticks....a whole bucket full....

to use in building the fairy cottage that would be in her 

fairy garden!

It's amazing what sticks, hot glue and some 

card board can transform into....

She and Pops used popsicle sticks and more hot glue 

and card board to make a very fun roof for the 

fairies' cottage.

She spent some time painting the roof, the door, and 

a shutter to make them look just right!

Pops got to take another shopping trip to buy 

plants that would complete the fairy garden.

Everything was ready to plant and assemble....

She was very happy with the way her 

fairy garden was looking.

Here's the finished fairy garden.....

Somebody looks very pleased with their work!

Both girls worked hard on these 

projects.....and Pops needs a pat on the back, too,

for knowing just when to offer help

and

 when to step back and let our 

creative grand~darlings go to town!

You know I am so glad when you take time 

to stop by 

Pink Glitter 

and see what shakin' ......

there's always something going on!

Leave me a comment.....

 so I know you stopped by....

and

.....to let me know what you think of 

the girls' projects!

Thanks, Glitterinas, you are the best!

Hugs and glitter,

Tammy

P.S. The project show was a success for both grands.

They each got a blue ribbon for their project 

and 

the fairy garden won Grand Champion of the 

show!

It was a fun day!