It's In the Bag

When Ashley at A Hasty Life contacted me about participating in "It's In The Bag", I wasn't sure whether or not I should participate. Really how interesting is my purse? As I thought about it more, I decided it would be fun to participate. After all my friends tease me that my purse would come in handy on "Let's Make a Deal". My purse is a lot like my blog title, (A) Little Bit of Everything!

I love this purse! How many times a day are you digging in your purse trying to find something? My Isaac Mizrahi purse (from QVC) helps eliminate the digging. It has three divided compartments, as well as two outside zippered compartments and two pouch pockets for cell phones. As long as I can remember how I divided up things between compartments, I can find things pretty easily.

So what actually is in my purse? A lot more than I am showing you in this post. You don't really want to see my rubber band, safety pins, post it notes, dental floss, tide pen, benadryl pen, Advil, Tums, Bayer aspirin, hand sanitizer, wipes and Kleenex, do you? I didn't think so. See it is (A) Little Bit of Everything! I decided to highlight a few of my favorite things in my purse!

1. My filofax - I can't quite make the transition to keep my calendar and notes on my iPhone.

2. My rewards cards - I am working on getting these into my iPhone.

3. My credit cards - I love the holder, it fits in any purse and holds all of my credit cards.

4. My make up bag - Actually there's no make up in here. This is the carry all for the long list of things above.

5. My favorite lip gloss - Pure Illuminations - It lights up and has a built in mirror on the side.

6. Lano Lip Gloss - Perfect for these cold winter days.

7. Burt's Bees Lip Balm - Heals chapped lips almost instantly.

8. L'Occitane Shea Butter Hand Lotion - The best hand lotion. Thanks to Justin and Lily who gave me a gift box of things from L'Occitane for Christmas.

9. Amazing Grace Roll On Cologne - I love Amazing Grace. It's a such a soft and clean fragrance.

10. My iPhone - We're joined at the hip. I am never far from my phone. I use it for everything. (Except the things mentioned above.) My newest iPhone obsessions are my countdown to Cabo and Angry Birds.

11. My work Blackberry - It's in the bag, Monday through Friday and an occasional Saturday.

Thanks to Ashley for hosting It's In the Bag and giving me the opportunity to show you my bag. You can find links to all of the participants in It's in the Bag on Ashley's blog. Be sure to check out the other blogger's in my group, Postcards and Pretties and MG Style Mix.

Pot Roast Carbonnade

Are you ready for a perfect winter recipe that isn't soup. Who's your favorite Next Food Network Star winner? Mine is Melissa d'Arabian. Although, I question how she can make some of these dinners for ten dollars, I love the her show Ten Dollar Dinners. I saved this recipe after watching her prepare this dish on an episode last winter.

I made a couple of minor changes to the recipe. I omitted the prunes, mainly because I didn't have any. I added potatoes, so as to have a complete meal when I took it out of the oven. If you have an afternoon to devote to making a fabulous dish, give this one a try, you won't be sorry.



Pot Roast Carbonnade
Recipe courtesy of Melissa d'Arabian Ten Dollar Dinners

1/2 pound slab bacon, cut into large lardons
2 medium onions, sliced
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 1/2 pounds beef chuck, cut into large cubes
5 carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks
Generous tablespoon all-purpose flour
12 ounces beer (dark or light, depending on your preference)
6 prunes
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 cup beef stock

Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
In a large Dutch oven over medium-low heat, add the bacon and cook until it renders its fat and almost becomes crispy. Remove it with a slotted spoon to a plate. Add the onions, season with salt and pepper, to taste, and cook over low heat until they are deep in color and caramelized, about 30 minutes.

Remove the onions to a plate, leaving as much fat in the pot as possible. Add the vegetable oil and mix it with the bacon fat. Raise the heat to high. Season the beef liberally with salt and pepper and sear, in batches, until nicely browned on both sides.

Once the meat is browned, add the first batch of meat back to the pan along with the onions, carrots and bacon. Sprinkle in the flour and stir. Cook for 1 minute before deglazing the pan with the beer. Add the remaining ingredients and bring the mixture to a simmer. Cover the pot and put it in the oven to braise until the beef is tender, about 2 hours. Remove the pot from the oven and transfer the pot roast to a serving dish.

I am linking this to Tasty Tuesday's, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday and Tuesday's at the Table.

Pink Saturday

Lauritzen Gardens, our local botanical garden has a beautiful poinsettia show every winter. They grow all of their own pointsettias in the greenhouses at the gardens. They feature many varieties of poinsettias not normally seen at your local nursery.

I am linking this to Pink Saturday at How Sweet The Sound.

Slow Cooker Italian Soup

Soup seems to be my theme of the week but since we've all determine it's soup weather. Why not! Soup is perfect for the slow cooker. Cooking all day gives the flavors the opportunity to meld together perfectly. Nothing is better than walking in the house after a long day at work to the smell of a hearty soup!

I am giving you this recipe as it was written. I used white beans instead of garbanzo beans and omitted the kale/cabbage. This is one of those flexible recipes where ingredients can be added or deleted depending on what you have in the kitchen.

Slow Cooker Italian Sausage Vegetable Soup
Courtesy of An Oregon Cottage
•1 lb. Italian sausage (any kind-ground, links, or precooked)
•4 c. beef broth
•1/2 c. dry red wine (or more broth)
•1 28-oz can diced tomatoes
•1 med. onion, chopped
•2 cloves garlic, minced
•1 15-oz can garbanzo beans (or freezer beans- and I use whatever type I have)
•2 c. chopped green cabbage, chard, kale, or spinach
•1-2 c. chopped green beans (if using frozen, thaw a bit and add with pasta)
•2 carrots, peeled and diced
•1 tsp. Italian seasoning
•1/2 tsp. black pepper
•1 c. small pasta (macaroni, orzo, ditalini, broken spaghetti, etc.)
•salt to taste
•Parmesan for serving (grated or shaved)
•Parsley for serving (optional)
1.If using uncooked sausage, cook it in a skillet until brown, drain and transfer to the bowl of a large slow cooker.
2.Combine the broth and the wine (if using) and pour over the meat.
3.Add the remaining ingredients except the last four. Cover and cook on low for about 8 hours or high for 3-1/2 to 4 hours.
4.Add the noodles (turn cooker to high if you used the low setting) and cook for another 45 minutes until the noodles are done. Salt to taste, if needed.
5.Serve with Parmesan and parsley.
Makes 8 servings

I am linking this to Foodie Friday, Souper Sunday and Fat Camp Friday!

From The Good Life

Last year by this time we had who knows how many inches of snow. We went over three months with at least an inch of snow on the ground. This year we've been so lucky, our first significant snowfall of the season just occurred this past weekend. This snowfall is a beautiful, glistening snow. Unlike many of your who are enduring your second or third snowfall of the year, it's our first snowfall, so I can say it's pretty.

Crock Pot Taco Soup

Is it soup weather where you live? Much of the country is in the midst of winter weather! We've been lucky so far this winter. Just yesterday in Omaha we received our first major snowfall of the season in the form of about 8 inches of snow. How much snow do you have on the ground?

When it's cold and snowy, there's nothing better than a warm bowl of soup. If you like tacos, give this one a try. It's a delicious hearty soup that can be made without without the meat!

Courtesy of A Year of Slow Cooking--

2 cans of kindey beans
--2 cans of pinto beans
--2 cans of corn
--1 large can of diced tomatoes

--1 can tomatoes and chiles
--1 packet taco seasoning

--1 packet ranch dressing mix

--1 lb browned ground turkey or hamburger (optional.)
--shredded cheese and sour cream for embelishment
The Directions:
--brown meat if you are going to use it
--drain fat and add to crockpot stoneware insert (the meat. not the fat.)
--sprinkle seasoning packets on top of meat
--drain and rinse the beans and add
--add the ENTIRE contents of the corn and tomato cans
--stir.

Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 4-5. I think the longer you cook soup, the better, so if you have the time, opt for cooking on low. Stir well, and serve with a handful of shredded cheese and a dollop of sour cream

I am linking this to Tasty Tuesday's and Tuesday's at the Table.

Sweet Melissa Sunday's & A New Mac

I wonder how many years I've been using a computer? Maybe 30 and I've always been a PC user. It's time for a new computer! As much as I wanted an iPad, I needed a computer to do everything and that just wasn't the iPad. I'll continue to have iPad envy and occasionally borrow Tim's.

I wanted to find a computer that was really portable, light and easy to take along on vacation or wherever I go. The Apple MacBook Air seemed to fit the bill, perfectly! My concern was could I make the switch from a PC to a Mac? I called my son and asked his opinion since he'd been a PC user until a few years ago and he knows his mom. He was confident I could do it! I asked Tim to be honest and let me know what he thought. After all, he was going to have to deal with the fallout from my decision. He too said he thought I could do it and was willing to help me. I decided to take the plunge!!

So I bet you want to know two things, how am I doing and what does this have to do with my SMS post? First, how am I doing? Well..it's been a bit of a struggle, learning a new way to navigate. Thanks Justin for letting me know how to right click on the Mac. No Internet Explorer, where I've read all of your blog posts for two years? After a painful few hours, I think we've (really Tim) figured out how to set up the RSS Feeds in Firefox so they're similar to how I had them in IE.

I was looking so forward to this week's SMS. The SMS bakers took December off and I've missed baking with my SMS friends. I bought all of the ingredients. The Hazelnut Raspberry Layer Cake looks delicious and it's my favorite color, pink! I just don't have the energy to bake! Candy Girl is our host this month, you can find the recipe and her beautiful cake here! The links to the other talented SMS bakers can be found here!

Are you a Mac user? Any hints for me, I'd welcome them!