The Bunny Garden and the Latest Recipe Craze

Looking out my window a couple of nights ago...I saw this.It sat there...not moving a whisker or an ear. 

As I made my way to get the camera...the bunny sat there... still as a mouse. Funny me..... I had forgotten that I put this bunny statue and another in my lettuce patch just a short time ago.So lifelike...it even fooled me for a second ;0  

Here are the two of them, just waiting to have their picture taken....not like the real thing that hops away so fast that I can't get to my camera in time. I've grown lettuces all season...starting when it was still cold outside. The lettuce is convenient...in two tubs at the bottom of the deck stairs. Close enough to the kitchen for me to grab a few snips for a sandwich or salad. Joe's not crazy about these, sometimes bitter lettuces, but I love them. He prefers iceberg...which is crunchy and crisp...I like a salad with a mixture of the two.So saying that, I have a lot of lettuce seeds left over. This year I planted a French Mesclun that has really pleased me. My tubs are overflowing with these tasty leaves.....and a bonus...they look so pretty growing there. They are all different colors and have so many different leaf shapes. 

 

So, late in the summer, when we aren't really supposed to plant lettuce, I took my leftover seeds and some from years back, and planted a lettuce patch for the bunnies. It's out behind the clematis in the back yard. I can watch from the living room window and see bunnies going in and out eating to their heart's delight. The lettuce is so tall now, in places, that they can hide in there. Once in a while I'll see leaves imploding like a building in Las Vegas and disappearing out of view. That means a rabbit is under there doing it's thing. Eating from the bottom of the leaf on up. 

Who wouldn't want this perfect little head of lettuce just starting out? I wish I could grow it in the winter when produce is it's worst in the grocery.Yesterday, the rabbits came to munch and I thought, "Hey, wait a minute...is there enough for me? I wanted some for my supper....which I'll tell you about now.

I tried a new recipe this week. I heard about it at the beauty shop.Maybe you've seen it on the internet...it's all over the place and I wanted to try it.  Here is the way you do it. 

You take a 4lb beef chuck roast and put it in the slow cooker. Add 1 packet of hidden valley ranch salad mixture, 1 packet of Au Jus, 1 stick of butter, and 5 pepperoncinis. Put the lid on and slow cook for 8 hrs. on low. I was worried that there was no liquid in this. I watched through the closed lid all throughout the day.The juice starts building after a couple of hours.I have to admit that an hour before it was to be done...I opened the pot. It smelled divine...and Joe commented from the living room, "You opened the crock pot, Balisha...I can smell it." You can't get away with anything around here...I swear.At the end of the cooking time, I took the roast out and broke it up with a fork like you do pulled pork. The broth was kind of salty...I was worried. When I added the shredded meat back into the pot Joe came running for a taste. We filled our Italian beef buns with this deliciousness....and now it's the favorite thing that Joe has ever eaten other than roasted turkey. We both loved it. I love how easy it is to make and also the flavor. Salty at first taste, but when you blend that with the good sized bun...it tastes wonderful. If you are on a low salt diet...maybe you shouldn't make this one. I'm not crazy about peppers, but this doesn't taste spicy. What a great recipe for a crowd! I'm already thinking the holidays. How easy! 

So we've had over an inch of rain and today the sun is out...a beautiful day ahead. I am deep cleaning the living room....lace valances and all...the holidays are coming you know. It's a day for lots of cleaning and then a fish fry at one of our favorite spots in town. See you later....

Balisha