Creative Angels: Recipes and Crafts

Most of us look forward to dinners with tasty roasts, gravy and mashed potatoes or egg noodles. This tasty dish is bound to become one of your family’s favorites.

NOTE: Barbara Stevenson continues to need recipes and craft ideas to pass along to the parish through the weekly email messages. You can send your submissions to Barbara at bebstevenson@yahoo.com.

Soupy Roast Beef

• 2-3 Tablespoons salt

• 1 3lb eye roast

• 1/4 cup all purpose flour

• 3 Tablespoons vegetable oil

• 2 10 oz. cans French Onion soup

• 1 10 oz. can Golden Mushroom soup

Rub the salt into the meat very well. Coat meat with flour. Heat vegetable oil in a large cast iron Dutch Oven and sear the roast on all sides. Transfer the roast to a platter and scrape the pan to loosen the drippings. Add the French Onion and Golden Mushroom soups and 3 3/4 cups of water to the pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Return the roast and it’s juices to the pan. Cover and cook until the meat is tender, about 3 hours. Remove the roast to a platter or cutting board to rest. Slice and serve with mashed potatoes or egg noodles and the pan gravy. Enjoy!

Making Mason Jar Oil Lamps

Soon it will be spring and we’ll be sitting outside enjoying the evenings. Lighting always enhances the ambiance of these times. Here’s an idea that gives you the flexibility of putting lights wherever you choose.

SUPPLIES NEEDED:

• One glass mason jar with a metal lid

• A strip of 100% cotton for the wick, or a fiberglass wick

• Olive oil, citronella oil, or other non-toxic lamp oil

• Food coloring, if desired

• Nail and hammer

• Scissors

Unscrew the lid from the jar. Hammer the nail through the center of the lid to make a hole for the wick to pass through. Measure how much wick you need to hang from 1/4” over the lid, to the very bottom of the jar, then add an extra couple of inches so that you will get a lot of use out of the wick as you trim it. Before assembling your lamp, put the bottom third of the wick into a bowl and cover with the oil you’ve chosen to use. Allow it to sit for a few minutes to soak up oil. Remove the wick from the oil and lay it on a paper towel to absorb excess oil until you are ready to insert it into your lamp. This will make your first burn go easier. Pour your chosen oil into the jar, adding food coloring, if desired. Screw the lid on the jar. Insert the wick, leaving 1/4” outside and above the top of the lid. If you leave too much wick you will have a huge flame. For fun, fill your jar with decorative items such as dried flowers, pine cones, berries or shells before adding the oil. Have fun!