I took a bit of time making this – including making my own beef broth. I had a small roast in the freezer that was asking to be used, so I cut it up and used few of the outside pieces to make the broth. Just put in water with salt and a bit of black pepper, bring to boil and boil for about 45 minutes to an hour.

I don’t have to tell you that the pie was out of this world – there really is something special that beer adds to cooking – the meat was tender and all of it was very tasty. Here is the recipe and step by step directions for you:

Beef Pot Pie Made With Beer:

Ingredients:

•  1/2 cup of flour
• 1 teaspoon of salt – divided into 2
• 1 teaspoon of black pepper – divided
• 1 – 1/2 – 2 lbs. of lean beef stew meat
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 lb. of new potatoes,cubed
• 2 cups of baby carrots – sliced
• 3/4 cup of chopped onion
• 3-4 cups of celery – cut into small pieces
• 1 cup of sliced fresh mushrooms
• 1 cup of dark beer
• 2 cups of beef broth
• 1 teaspoon of thyme
• Pie crust

For pie crust recipe, check out my Flaky Pastry recipe – easy to make and much better than anything you can buy ready made!

Rich Flaky Pastry Recipe

Pot Pie Directions:

Getting all your ingredients together before starting to cook is always a good idea. It makes the task easier and as I always say – you won’t forget or miss anything

If you are using a small roast, cut it up to size you like having in your stew or meat pies. I had a small roast and this is how I cut it, saving the outside pieces to make beef broth.

Just putting few pieces into cold water with salt and a bit of black pepper, bringing it to boil and cooking for 45 minutes to an hour will give good enough broth to use in this recipe.

I cut up baby carrots, celery,onion and fresh mushrooms and mixed them together. I also had some frozen mixed vegetables left in the freezer – they were green bean, cauliflower,broccoli and carrots – I used them as well.

I used small golden baby potatoes and cut them up into serving pieces

Put flour into a disposable plastic bag, add meat and shake to coat the meat pieces well. Don’t do all the meat at the same time – it is easier to coat the pieces of the bag is not full

Once the meat pieces are coated, you will be ready to cook them before adding them to rest of the ingredients

Put oil into a large pan and brown all the flour coated meat pieces

Remove meat from the pan and add beer, broth thyme and remaining salt and pepper. Bring to boil and cook for about 5 minutes

Mix meat pieces and all the vegetables in a caserolle pan and pour beer mixture over it. Bake for 2-1/2 – 3 hours at 350F and then let stand at room temperature for about 15 minutes. You can use this time to make your pastry.

Tunr your oven up to 425F. Place crust over the pie, pressing edges to seal. Cut slits in the crust to allow steam to escape and bake for 15 – 20 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

Cool slightly before serving

I serves our dinner with flaky rolls and the here you have the verdict:

Deeeeelicious!

Hope you enjoyed this recipe – please send me your comments, suggestions adn experiences. Your input is always welcomed and very much appreciated

I am strongly recommending that you gather up your children, select some coloured papers, markers, scissors, glue and a few little decorations and spend the time with them to help them create those special Valentines Day cards.

Here is a helping hand for you – just click on the link or the picture and plan to make memories!

Make Valentines Day Cards

Easy Valentines Day Crafts

Enjoy making these and have a wonderful Valentines Day!

For beer, I used Waterloo Dark, made by our local Brick Brewery. I have found that the Brick Brewery beers work well for me and as I mentioned before, I use products that are grown or made locally as much as possible.

So – you can get creative – just bake the cake and enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of flour
• 3/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 3/4 cups of unsalted butter
• 1 cup of brown sugar
• 1/2 cup of granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup of beer (preferably dark)

Directions:

1. As always – I recommend getting all ingredients ready – it really does make the preparation easier and you will not miss anything!

2. Preheat over to 350F and prepare your baking pan. I used 10 x 10 pan but 9×13 will work just as well. Spray with a non-stick baking spray or grease and flour to make sure cake doesn’t stick. I used the spray – chocolate cakes have a tendency to pick up some of the flour used for dusting the pan and then they don’t look so nice)

3. Combine flour, cocoa and baking soda in a medium size bowl. The one thing to watch here for is that the cocoa is completely powdered – little pieces can stick together so take care and mix this well.

4. Beat butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Then beat in the vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.

5.Pour batter into prepared pan and bake at 350F for 35 – 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.

6. cool for a few minutes and then remove from baking pan by turning it upside down onto a board or a tray.

7. I sliced my cake in a half and filled it with thinly sliced bananas

8. Icing with was easy for me, since I had some cream cheese icing left over in a fridge. You can use white icing, whipping cream or any other icing you like to use for a chocolate cake. If you need a recipe for great icing, try this one:

Rich Butter  Icing Recipe

I usually decorate my cake more elaborately – this time, I just used a fork to create a bit of a lattice effect.

Hope you try this recipe – and please send me your comments and pictures if you at all can – your input is very welcomed and much appreciated!

]]> http://www.mama-knows.com/recipes/chocolate-beer-cake-recipe.html/feed 0 http://www.mama-knows.com/featured-articles/great-valentines-day-recipes.html http://www.mama-knows.com/featured-articles/great-valentines-day-recipes.html#comments Wed, 25 Jan 2012 20:30:08 +0000 Hanna Trafford http://www.mama-knows.com/?p=6798 Making that special meal on Valentines Day is sometimes the best gift you can give. Whether you choose breakfast, lunch or dinner, planning what you will serve is important.

I have put together a list of recipes suitable for what you choose to do – just click on the link or the picture to get the complete ingredients and instructions. Enjoy!

Special Valentines Day Breakfast

Romantic Valentines Day Dinner

Valentines Day Sweets

If you like these recipes, make sure you download my FREE Mama Knows Valentines Day ebook! You will find more recipes, plus crafts and other great ideas for this year’s day of love

]]> http://www.mama-knows.com/featured-articles/great-valentines-day-recipes.html/feed 0 http://www.mama-knows.com/featured-articles/the-best-valentines-day-ideas.html http://www.mama-knows.com/featured-articles/the-best-valentines-day-ideas.html#comments Mon, 23 Jan 2012 19:03:59 +0000 Hanna Trafford http://www.mama-knows.com/?p=6786 One of the nicest days of the year – a day when you get to tell people that you love them – in case you don’t do it often enough. There are a number of ways to do that – saying is the nicest one, but on February 14th, we all get to do just a little bit more. Here is some help for you – ideas and tips on how to organize a party, what to do to create that special thoughtful gift, how to create that special centerpiece for you romantic dinner, what you need to look for when you are choosing those beautiful Valentines Day roses or what movies you could pick up for your romantic evening at home.

It’s all here for you – just click on the links for pages you need detailed information from and enjoy your special Valentines Day!

How to Plan Your Valentines Day Party

Valentines Day Gift Ideas

Valentines Day Centerpieces

How to Choose Your Valentines Day Rose

Best Romantic Movies

Have a wonderful and loving Valentines Day and please send me your comments, suggestions and experiences – your input is very welcomed and much appreciated!

This recipe turned out great! I used Waterloo Dark beer, since I always try to use locally produced ingredients and it worked beautifully! The beer reacts with brown sugar to form a nice coating and the red cabbage adds sweetness to the meal.

Waterloo Dark Corned Beef :

Ingredients:

• 2-3 lb. corned beef brisket
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar
• 2 cups of canned red cabbage
• 1 cup of sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 cup of diced onion
• 1/2 cup of shredded carrot
• 12 oz. of dark beer
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 2 teaspoons of fresh ground black pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300F

Prepare your ingredients – as I always recommend, doing this will make your cooking experiences more pleasurable and definitely more organized

Rinse the corned beef brisket completely and pat dry

Rub brown sugar over top, sides and bottom to make as much of it stick to the meat as possible

In a roasting pan, mix together the cabbage, mushrooms, onions, carrot, salt and pepper

Place corned beef on top of the mixture and gently pour beer over it (it will react with sugar, forming a really nice topping. Pour gently not to wash the sugar off)

Cover ( used a corning ware pan and covered it with aluminum foil -and place into the preheated oven

Bake for 2-1/2 – 3 hours and allow to rest for about 10 minutes before slicing

Serve with potatoes and enjoy!

Hope you will enjoy this recipe – I would really appreciate your comments and any suggestions you may have – your input is always welcomed and very much appreciated!

You can easily make butter tarts like these! Click on the picture and check out my pre-packaged products. So easy, you won't believe it!

I have a story to tell you:  Some of you are already familiar with the Mama Knows product line. Good old fashioned recipes that I have personally transformed into a ready to mix and make goodies.

One of the products are The Best Ever Butter Tarts. And much to my delight, my adopted grandson ventured into his mom’s kitchen and started baking. Using my pre-measured butter tart ingredients package, he got to work. Now – it is important for you to know that he is 12 years old and I will not even mention the fact that boys are not always the ones who would be most inclined to roll up their sleeves and get into the kitchen. I am delighted that he did it – big hugs and special rewards are sure to be coming his way from grandma Hanna!

Here are pictures of his kitchen adventure :

My 12-year old adopted grandson getting ready to use my Best Ever Butter Tarts in a jar

Was he going to have fun baking? You bet!

Little bit of mixing..... - nice to see the concentration of doing it right!

I think maybe mom was doing a bit of teasing from behind....

Check the oven.... time to put the creations in

And ready to go in! He is having so much fun baking - it's awesome!

Total success! They turned out perfect and I am not sure how many he consumed by himself - but knowing him, I am sure he shared...

You will find all my carefully selected and personally developed products in

Mama Knows Online Store

Hope you will visit and check out these special products – use them yourself or remember that  they will make a great gift as well anytime!

Don';t let the smile fool you - my Moe was a fish with a mind of his own, not tolerating other fish in his house

My Moe story may entertain you – check out this link:

My Special Fish

If you want to know more about these cute little guys – check out:

Blood Parrot Cichlid

But this is not what I really wanted to share with you – I want to give you a few points on what fish is great when you are starting to get into setting up your first tank. It is important that your fish can live in Harmony – and here are a few friendly and very nice species:

Dwarf Gourami

Dwarf Gourami

Dwarf Gourami comes in two tones or single colours. They mix well with all other fish

Rosy Barbs

Rosy Barbs

Rosy barbs are a schooling fish – they like to swim in packs of 5 or more. The great things about them is that they eat hair algae and are also fun to watch, because they are quite playful.

Neon Tetras

Neon Tetras

Neon Tetras are also a schooling fish. They stand out in a tank beautifully because of their colouring

Zebra Danios

Zebra Danios

Equally effective in your tank will be Zebra Danios – beautifully coloured and playful

Otocinclus ”Oto”

Otocinclus "Oto"

You can add a few of these nice fish about a month after you set up your tank – the healthy grow of algae will make them happy.

In summary – to set up a nice, colourful tank, mix two Gouramis, three Barbs and six Zebras or six smaller Tetras. And then all you have to do is maintain a healthy tank!

Hope you have enjoyed this information -please send me your comments, suggestions, experiences and pictures – your input is always welcomed and very much appreciated!

.

Let’s face it – grandma’s are younger these days – not in years, but in activities and how they live their lives. When my grandma was the same age I am now, I remember her projecting a totally different image than I do now. I couldn’t imagine her wearing blue jeans. golfing or wearing make up. Not that there is anything wrong with that and as much as I loved my grandma, I decided that I don’t really want to be like her. Wanting to be my very own grandma person is not easy, but worth it. There are a number of things to consider and takew care of and I want to share them with you:

What will your grandchild call you?

Easiest is the good old : “grandma”. But consider that there is more than likely another grandma in the picture. It was important to me that my grandson had something to call only me. So I chose “baba” – same name I called my grandma. Think about it this way – how many times in your life do you get to choose your own name?

What kind of grandma will you be?

Are you going to be the one who never says “no” or will it be your way or the highway? Kind of silly to think about it this way, actually. This point is the same as it is when you are a mom – the trick is to find the line, the perfect middle, the know when to say “no” and when to say “go for it”. And same as being a mom – you will not always know the right answer. So – don’t sweat it – remember that you have lots of experience!

Are you going to spoil your grandchild?

Of course you are – or at least you are going to try. I do have a rule for that – never, ever say “yes” when you know the parents would definitely say “no”. Never ever overrule them and never ever challenge their decisions. It’s their child and they have to live with whatever happens. If you are in doubt about this rule, just ask yourself how would it feel if you were the parent and the grandparent would challenge your decisions. And just a little note on this subject: if you have a problem with something the parents are doing, it’s OK to talk to them about it - just never, ever in front of the child!

Will you find the time to spend with your grandchild?

The answer to this one is: You absolutely have to. Look back and see how quickly your own children grew up. And if you were a working person when they were growing up, you are probably thinking that you missed a whole lot. You can make sure that you don’t miss anything your grandchild does or desn’t do. Use the phone, text, emails if you can’t visit often, ask the parents to send pictures and short videos – it’s the digital world these days! Easy and simple, but it will not replace the real visits or the real time you spend with your grandchild. Find it and make it happen – it is so very, very important.

Some time ago, I ran across The Golden Rules of Parenting – and here they are:

Seal Your Lips: You could be an expert who has a whole line of bestsellers on parenting to her name and your son or daughter will still want to do things their own way. remember that your advice and your opinions will not be welcomed, unless they are solicited! And even then it may just be solicited out of being polite – so walk carefully! And just to make sure you understand: this should read” Seal Your Lips and Bite Your Tongue”!

Love Thy Grandchild as Your Own Child - but Remember That He or She is Not Your Own: This just reinforced all the other points and I keep addressing it from all directions. It is your grandchild and it is very different than being your own child. It is there for you to love and play with – all the other stuff is the business of the parents – keep reminding yourself of that and you will be a very happy grandparent!

Abide By the Rules of the New Parents:  It is important to understand that the rules of parenting have changed since you were a parent. New gadgets, new ways to communicate, new lots of things. Pay attention to what the parents are telling you and do your best to understand and abide by their rules, because yours really don’t matter any more.

Accept Your Role: Understand that maternal grandmothers may appear to be more important. Understand that in most families, new mothers are the primary caretakers of babies, leaning on their mothers for support. Sometimes it can work the other way as well, but either side could be at risk of being shut out completely if they fail to observe and understand this. Think about yourself as being a relief pitcher in a baseball game – and stay on the bench until you are called – that’s how you will stay in the game.

Don’t Be Surprised If Old Issues Get Triggered: If you are in a situation where there are more than two sets of grandparents – I am talking about a couple who got divorced and than remarried – do not get into a competition. Even if the other side tries to do that, it is up to you not to fall into that trap. It will be appreciated if you don’t and it will avoid potentially traumatic situation.

Get a Life: As much as being a grandmother or a grandfather is hugely important, it cannot become your whole life. Stay close and connected, yet separate. Boundaries, boundaries, boundaries.

Let Go of Expectations: You may have your grandchild nearby right now, but what if the parents decide to move some distance away? Don’t take it personally – deal with it and find a way to stay in touch.

I hope you enjoyed this article – whether you agree with everything or not, send me your comments. opinions, suggestions and experiences – your input is very welcomed and much appreciated!

Definitely on the top of the "Comfort Foods" list - try the recipe today!

It is now almost two years ago that I first posted the Homemade Beef Stew Recipe. Comments have been pretty unanimous – “Just like grandma used to make!” And that makes me very proud – my own grandma taught me to cook and bake and I will always be grateful for that.

This recipe is perfect for this time of year – I would most definitely place it at the top of the “Comfort foods” list. Add homemade biscuits or freshly baked bread – and you have a winner!

Here are the recipes – enjoy and please continue sending me your comments and experiences!

Great Homemade Beef Stew

Click on the picture to get the recipe and step by step directions, complete with photos

Prize Winning Tea Biscuits

These tea biscuits will go great with your Homemade Beef Stew! Easy to make and they always turn out

 Homemade White Bread

Making your very own,m delicious homemade bread is not as difficult as you may think - try this recipe and directions - it will go great with the Beef Stew!

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