Crock Pot Beef Stew

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Ingredients

  • 1 pounds stew beef
  • 1 cup flour
  • oil, for browning meat
  • 1 package Crockery Gourmet Seasoning For Beef
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 can Condensed French Onion Soup
  • 1 can Condensed Beef Consommé
  • 1 tablespoon granulated garlic
  • 2 cans diced tomatoes, undrained
  • 4 potatoes, cut into 1 1/2″ chunks
  • 3 carrots, cut into 1″ chunks
  • 2 celery, cut into 1/4 ” chunks

Directions

  1. Coat stew beef with flour and brown in hot oil over medium high heat 2 minutes per side. Do not crowd pan.
  2. Transfer beef to bottom of slow cooker.
  3. Combine beef seasoning and water. Add soups, water, garlic and tomatoes. Pour over meat.
  4. Spread potatoes, carrots and celery on top of meat.
  5. Cook on high 6 hours or low 10 hours.

An Open Letter To The Residents Of Ferguson, Missouri

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I ask you to recall two powerful quotes from Martin Luther King, Jr.

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.

The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people.

My thoughts, prayers and support are with the good people of Ferguson who chose to take the hard and high road after last night’s grand jury announcement. The media may have been focused on your counterparts, but you are the ones with the real power to bring about positive change in your community.

Please don’t let the opportunity pass.

Natalia Vasilieva’s Boola Sweater

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I think this sweater is absolutely stunning:

Boola Sweater

I haven’t chosen a yarn, but it’s definitely in the cards if I can ever figure out how to keep work from getting in the way of my knitting.

You’ll find the pattern on Ravelry… and since Ravelry doesn’t support DAK files, Natalia has graciously given me permission to host it here.

Happy Knitting!

[wpfilebase tag=”file” id=231 /]
[wpfilebase tag=”file” id=232 /]

Machine Knit Ladder Lace Scarf

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This scarf can be knit on any gauge manual machine with any yarn. The sample to the left was knit on a Studio SK155 (bulky) at T8 with Berrocco Mohair Classic to achieve a soft airy look with a gauge of about 3 stitches x 5 rows per inch.

Instructions

Loosely cast on 28 stitches (or some multiple of 4).
Knit two rows (COR).
* Starting on carriage side, pull 5th and every 4th needle to hold.
Transfer stitches from each held needle to the next needle away from the carriage.
Leave empty needles in WP and knit one row (COL). **
Repeat from * to ** until you reach the desired length.
Bind off loosely.

Inspired by Turvid’s One Row Lace Scarf (pattern).

A Neater Rib Cast-On For Japanese Knitting Machines

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I’m sure you’ve heard all of the White/Superba owners talk about the wonderful rib they create on their French knitting machines. I assure you, it’s all true… I almost always do my ribs on my 1602, even if I’m going to knit the rest of the garment on my Brother KH860.

But sometimes I want to do a quick pair of socks and I don’t want to go to all the trouble of swapping machines around just to knit a couple of ribbed cuffs… so this is how I do my rib cast-ons to produce a nice finished edge on the Japanese machines. Still not as nice as the Superba, but good ‘nuf.

Set up the needles for the zig-zag row. I generally prefer industrial rib, but this method should work for whatever your pattern calls for.

Run both carriages across the bed to align all the needles in working position. Position both carriages on the right.

Push all ribber needles to hold with latches open. Then use a ruler (or the flat side of your needle pusher) to push the ribber needles back down so the tops of the needle hooks are even with the gate pegs on the main bed.

Disconnect the main carriage from the ribber (leave ribber arm connected and ribber bed in upper position). Set the main carriage for the tightest possible tension and knit one row right to left with main carriage only. The yarn should now be caught in the needle hooks of the main bed and laying across the ribber needles between the hook and the latch. Carefully push the ribber needles back to working position, making sure the yarn is caught in the needle hooks. Hang the cast-on comb and weights.

Push all of the main bed needles to hold and set the main carriage to knit needles in hold at T1. Carefully knit one row left to right.

Connect the ribber carriage. Push all of the ribber needles to hold, set the main carriage to slip and ribber carriage to knit needles in hold at T1. Carefully knit one row right to left. This completes the circular row.

Set both carriages to knit at MT in both directions. Gently tug on the cast-on comb to make sure the top of the comb is below the needle hooks. Continue to knit the rest of the rib.

Industrial rib on Brother KH860 Lion Brand Sock-Ease at T5

Industrial rib on Brother KH860 Lion Brand Sock-Ease at T5

Quick Onion Rings

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I love having onion rings with my burgers and steaks, but they’re sometimes more trouble than what it’s worth… there’s the slicing and the batter and the breading, not to mention dragging out the deep fryer and then having to clean it all up when you’re done.

So I cheat. I buy huge bags of frozen onion rings at Sam’s Club. When I want onion rings, I remove them from the freezer about 90 minutes ahead of time, use the sharp edge of a knife to knock all of the ice crystals off and lay them in a single layer on a rack to thaw.

About 15 minutes before dinner time, I spray them with a good coat of cooking spray and shove the rack into an oven preheated to 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 12 minutes until they’re golden brown.

They’re not as good as home-made and deep-fried, but they’re good ‘nuf.