Alright, today started off like any super mom would hope. I was out the door at 6:30a.m. met a friend, and walked 31/2 miles in under an hour. When I got home breakfast was on the table, the hubby ready for work, and the kid eating. WOW that never happens before 9:00a.m.! I had hopes of granduer for the day, thinking hey lets ride Trax downtown and look at the flowers on Temple Square (since I was too cheap to pay $10 to go to the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point). Before the fun though I had to figure out what to take my sweet neighbor who just had her hip replaced. I thought I could put a roast in the crockpot (meat and veggies all in one) and whip up a batch of oatmeal raisin cookies. The roast was in the crockpot and cookies baked, all before 9:00a.m.....doing good! Right??? Wrong!
The cookies didn't do too well. I don't really prefer oatmeal raisin but "no chocolate" was requested so I made the batch of cookies up until the chocolate chips get added and took out a cup or so and added some cinnamon and raisins and put them in the oven to bake. Well on the way out of the oven I burned my hand and dropped the pan, making the cookies paper thin and not very appealing. The rest of the batch is mmmmm good, too bad it all had chocolate. Oh well! Plan B - Luckily I had an unused pie crust, some pudding and bananas. Banana cream pie!
The roast smells delectable and it is as my husband said "one of his top 5!"
So as for our plan, about 9:30 the neighbor comes over to play! I knew she had school at 12:00 so I thought I could get ready and then we could go. Well by the time the little one was done playing at 12:00 I had barely gotten ready and was exhausted. Too my relief she wanted to play "princess" with her "friends". I thought hmm good time for a break for me. The house was finally picked up, the laundry folded and put away, dinner cooking, and Molly playing! I got out the laptop, put it in the bedroom and pulled up the past 2 episodes of Grey's Anatomy I had missed. It was so "not me" to sit, watch TV, drink a diet coke, and ignore my child for 2 hours. Well now that it is almost 4:00p.m. and I didn't do what I had intended but sometimes a little "me " time is the recipe to being more productive. I think it is turning into a 3 diet Coke day but oh well! Probably a little TMI but here are the recipes!

I stumbled across this roast recipe in a Paula Deen cookbook.
Spiced Beef with Dumplings

One 3lb. boneless chuck roast
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
One 16 ounce can tomatoes
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup red wine
2 teaspoons beef granules
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 cloves garlic minced
6 whole cloves (I don't use, so I guess my version isn't spiced)
1 package (8 count) refrigerated biscuits
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
1/4 cup cold water
2 tablespoons cornstarch

Trim the excess fat from roast. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Brown roast on all sides. Add tomatoes, water, wine, bouillon, salt, pepper, garlic, and cloves. Cover and cook slowly 2-3 hours until tender. Place biscuits on top of roast and sprinkle with parsley. Cover tightly and steam dumplings for 10-15 minutes, giving pot an occasional shake. Remove meat and dumplings to a platter. Make the gravy by mixing the water and cornstarch. Stir into boiling broth, continue to stir the water and cornstarch. Stir until thick. If the broth doesn't need thickening serve as is.

My Way: After browning the roast I put it in the crockpot with the rest of the ingredients (through the cloves, although I omit them). Cook on low 6 hours. Add some cut up potatoes and carrots and add those. I bake the biscuits on the side and don't usually have to thicken any gravy. It is soooo tasty!