Balsamic Roast Beef Dinner Review

This is NOT my recipe! But man oh man, you need to make this ASAP! Robyn over at Add a Pinch posted this recipe way back in October of 2012. Click on the picture and it will take you straight on over there! I found it on Pinterest, ah, glorious Pinterest, and then I could simply never find the right place to put it into my menu. And then the holidays happened and months passed and I still hadn't tried this unique recipe. Until April of this year. And now? Well now my life will simply never be the same!

Not only was the one of the simplest Crock Pot roasts I've ever made but my boys just devoured it. And then the hubby took the leftovers to work the next day and it was gone... the entire 3lb chuck roast was gone in less than 24 hours. That good people! It is THAT good!

First things first, the changes I made. They were few, in fact only one. I used Veggie stock (low sodium) instead of beef, as that is what I keep on hand. I don't think it really altered the recipe all that much. And as always with beef and the crock pot, low and slow. I  know that high temp setting is tempting but low for longer always turns out better with beef. ALWAYS!

The flavor is incredible! That wonderful rich and tart balsamic flavor with the sweetness of the honey is fantabulous and that punch of red pepper really balances the flavors. I think adding 1/2 cup of blackberries (when they are in season) during the last couples of hours of cooking would be a nice punch as well.

I served it with potatoes, broccoli and bell peppers roasted with EVOO and salt and pepper, and used her tip at the bottom for reducing the gravy. I poured it over the veggies and meat and that was that!

This recipe can definitely be gluten free if you switch out your regular soy sauce for Tamari, which really you should do anyway.

I'm always on the hunt for new blogs and recipes to try and to review. Have a recipe your interested in but want me to try it first? Or maybe you adore a blog that I should know about? Leave me a message and I'll check it out!

Disneyland: The plotting continues

I am no Disney Pro. I've been to Disney World once and Disneyland once. Both as a teenager. And both times I thoroughly enjoyed myself and have nothing but magical memories. But as the above mentioned teenager status would imply, I was not in charge of the planning. I was "along for the ride' so to speak and as our upcoming vacation is now 50 days away (I am so excited!!!), I'm a little overwhelmed (in a good way, if that's possible) with all of the research.

Disney can be expensive, especially Disneyland. There is blog after blog detailing how to save money, what to do, what to skip, where to stay, how to travel. And I can pretty much promise you I have read them all. They were definitely helpful and I've kept some of those tips in mind. But... this is our first family trip, we are doing it up right. I fully recognize that not every Disney vacation can be this way but this first one with my little men (and the bigger man, of course!) will be something to remember forever. In my last post, I talked a bit about the Disneyland Hotel and why we've chosen to stay there. I've scoured YouTube video tours and Disney sites trying to find as much information as possible and here is what I've gleamed: 

There are 3 towers; the Adventure, the Fantasy and the Frontier. These are listed in preferential order as well. The Adventure tower is closest to the park, houses the most suites and if you are paying for a park view, has the best ones. It is also home to the crazy awesome, magical, signature suites! And while we are not staying in one of those (it would be amazing, though!) we have booked a 1 Bedroom suite and have requested the Adventure tower. Which is the best you can do. Request. And hope... you better believe I am praying about it too!

We believe in the power of the suite! Always. When we travel. I believe it is always worth the extra money. Why? Well because I don't go to bed as early as my children. The hubby and I like to talk or watch a movie, have a glass of wine or a beer, and decompress. And if you are sharing a room with a 5 year old and a 3 year old, well that is just next to impossible. So, suites.

The Fantasy tower is the main tower where you check in. You can also upgrade any room to the Club Level (Concierge Service) which allows you access to the "Club" which has amenities such as: a continental breakfast, snacks including fresh fruit and drinks all day, wine and appetizers in the evening and a special fireworks view. The actual location is in the Adventure tower so I can see how if your room is located in one of the other towers it wouldn't be very convenient. But it is pricey. Really pricey. And since we upgraded to a suite with plenty of room for our own snacks and breakfast food, I just couldn't justify the expense.

And what's almost as important as where we are staying? What we are wearing!!! You better believe every single day is planned out. Etsy and the Disney Store are constantly open on my computer screen. And while my gut reaction was matching shirts for every single day, the likelihood of my hubby actually doing that and not teasing me incessantly is zilch so I had to get a bit more creative. You know what helped? Disney purchased Star Wars.

So for our last day we are wearing matching shirts with the help of the awesome Etsy artist, Mr. Joes Printables. I'm making these myself.You simply purchase the image and then print it onto whatever you'd like to use it for, in my case, iron-on transfer paper. And I love this option because it means I get to use my favorite Old Navy Vintage T-Shirt in white. Oh how I love these T's!!! Another post for another time. Trust me, when I'm finished you will get to see the final product.

And my hubby found this awesome mash-up of Monsters Inc. and Star Wars on Society 6. Go hubby!

Note: The above picture is NOT my husband but I seriously thought it was. As in somewhere out there my hubby has a doppleganger who not only looks so much like him, his own wife thought he had some website she'd never heard of, but said doppleganger is also into Star Wars! It's a small world people, seriously.

After our trip I'll detail all the awesome Etsy artists and websites who helped make our trip wardrobe perfect in my trip report.

So my endless lists and outlines and Excel spreadsheets continue. Stay tuned for my Disneyland Dining Guide and my Packing Lists (which will include all of the websites that have been invaluable to me). Also look for my Road Trip Survival guide to be posted soon, as those summer family road trip months are quickly approaching!

We're Going to Disneyland!

I am a planner. Really. I know that anyone who knows me personally is laughing right now because I might be the most forgetful person on the face of the planet but... I really am a planner. A spreadsheet making, list writing, detail oriented planner.

And this planner is going to Disneyland!!!!!! (note: there are 6 exclamation points as to my usual three for very excited posts) I mean my family is going to Disneyland! And, SSSSSHHHHHHHHH, don't tell the boys! It's a surprise!

This isn't something we've been planning for over a year or anything, our original plan had been to make our usual trek to Red River, NM and enjoy the cooler weather and shopping. But as we neared the 3 month mark to my husband's scheduled vacation and began talking about our trip, New Mexico just didn't sound that exciting. I don't know who brought it up first but I'll tell you this; it is ALL we've talked about since the moment the decision was made.

And in order to keep our kiddos in the dark, we refer to Disneyland as DL, as in: we are keeping DL on the DL... wait for it, yep there it is! Feel free to steal our slogan. I'm thinking of having shirts made.

So we picked our week and the cheapest possible, nice hotel and booked. And never looked back. HAH! I've changed our reservation TWICE and we're probably still going to change a few things before we leave.

I have scoured blogs, I mean devoured every bit of information I can get my hands on. Here is a link to my Disney Magic pinterest board. It will be much easier than me trying to tell you every single blog I've found. Please also note that there are clothes and shoes and the like on my Disney Magic board, and this is because every detail of what I'm packing is being planned out as well. Oh yes. I'm THAT Mom.

And we are driving. Yes, I know most people hate this idea. They do not understand why we are not flying. Well here are my reasons:

1. I sincerely do not like flying with small children. I find it to be a hassle and passengers on planes find it to be a hassle and let's just be honest, airlines find it to be a hassle. I am one of those people who likes to travel with a lot of stuff. And the only way I know to do this, is to drive my own SUV.

2. The hubby and I enjoy driving to new places. I really feel that we live in a country with so much to see! And the only way you can see all of those places is to drive.

3. I repeat the STUFF. I am not a light traveler. I like my pillow and we travel with fans. And because of my oldest son's allergy to corn it is very helpful to travel with a larger amount of food and snacks than most people find necessary. And while I'm not going to search down the statistics, I bet you eat a bit healthier when you travel with your own food.

4. It's cheaper to drive. Now I know there are deals to be had if you fly at weird times or have frequent flyer miles or credit card points or whatever. Well, I don't have any of that as we are not world travelers, and I find it inconvenient to get up at 3 am for a flight. I'm high maintenance. This is not news to you, my readers.

So, we will make the 21 hour trek to Anaheim, CA over the course of 2 days with one night spent in New Mexico. On the 2nd day we should arrive at Disneyland around 5pm. We will be staying at the Disneyland Hotel. At first we had planned to stay off sight and walk into the park every day. We changed this for a couple of reasons:

1. The Disney Experience. The Disney Magic. Well, its a dang good reason. I want to be immersed in Disney. I want Mickey Mouse and the princesses and Peter Pan to be my every waking and dreaming thought, and after hours of talking with the hubby and even more hours of research, I ultimately came to the conclusion that the seasoned veterans of DL are split 50/50. Some think it doesn't matter, others say it does. And the pro and con lists are equally weighted. So we switched our reservations to the Disneyland Hotel.

2. If the boys need a break than that is what we are going to do. If everyday at 2pm, our 3-year old starts to crack down the middle than we will make the much easier 10 minute walk to our hotel and let him sleep off his fussies. If we had stayed at the previous hotel than it would have been a 20 minute (or 30 depending on the foot traffic) walk. Which may not be much of a time difference but in 10 minutes he gets sleepy and you get him into the room and lay him down. In 20 minutes, he falls fully asleep and then wide eyed the moment you try to put him in the room.

3. And this one is important... You get to go into the parks 1 HOUR BEFORE EVERYONE ELSE!!! And really, I think that says it all.

So why the Disneyland Hotel? Honestly, it felt more true to what Walt Disney had imagined. It just seemed to encompass all that is Disney. Here's a few photos:

Isn't it just awesome?!?! I really encourage you to visit the Disneyland website if you haven't before. Explore. Check things out. And then if you're crazy like we are, just book yourself a vacation. There will be many more posts about DL. I mean lots! This is the first of MANY! You've been warned!

*All photos are property of Disney.