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Wednesday - What's For Dinner? Italian Braised Beef Short Ribs with Gnocchi

Doesn't the name of today's recipe: "Italian Braised Beef Short Ribs With Gnocchi" sound elegant? Well, it tasted so good when I tried it a few days ago at our local grocery store, Publix. Every now and then they will be cooking up one of their Apron's meals and I'll grab the recipe. Each time I make one of the recipes it is easy, healthy, and very tasty. I also love the large recipe cards they give out - I just bring them home and put them in my recipe binder. I like this one because it's a crockpot recipe. Enjoy!

Ingredients
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup sun-dried tomato spread
1 (1.3-oz) packet Parma Rosa sauce mix, divided
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
2 lb beef chuck short ribs
1 (24-oz) jar arrabbiata (or marinara) specialty pasta sauce, divided
1 (14-oz) can low-sodium beef broth, divided
1 (16-oz) package gnocchi pasta
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Prep

  • Slice onion.
Steps
  1. Combine tomato spread, 1 teaspoon Parma Rosa sauce mix, and Italian seasoning; coat ribs with tomato mixture (wash hands).
  2. Place ribs in slow cooker with onions, one-half of the broth, and one-half of the pasta sauce; cook on HIGH 4–6 hours (or LOW 6–8 hours) or until meat is tender.
  3. Skim any excess fat from meat mixture. Whisk remaining broth, pasta sauce, and Parma Rosa sauce mix until blended; add to slow cooker. Stir in gnocchi; cook 8–10 minutes or until pasta is tender. Serve.

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Even a BAD Homeschool day can be GOOD

The past couple of days I've been battling a humongous migraine.... it is absolutely no fun. Yesterday I was good until the afternoon, and I was fine to let the kids read, play Legos, and watch Christmas movies while I rested. When I woke up feeling bad this morning I knew they couldn't just fend for themselves all day, so we had to get creative!

The kids did their math laying in my bed while I loosely supervised. Grammar, First Language Lessons and some read alouds were accomplished this way, too. The fable in First Language Lessons was "A Bundle of Sticks" -- amazing how I used the lesson later when the kids were playing a game to illustrate getting along. If you want to show the same to your children, have them watch this little video I found:



I came downstairs a while later and found the kids playing a game together - and as I sat and listened to them I realized what a great time they were having, and the math concepts they had to use to play the game (since there are some missing pieces and they needed to make sure they each had an equal amount!). When they argued (as they will inevitably do, I referred back to The Bundle of Sticks Fable.... perfect moment! So, I contend that even on a BAD day of homeschool, we will accomplish more than a day in public school.

We love the game, Mr. Mouth! It really takes a lot of skills to get those little flies in the frog's mouth.

I love the intent look on my little guy's face.... he really enjoyed this game.

So, the big lessons for today in our homeschool were:

  • it's good to take care of mommy (Miss B brought me tea and toast this morning)
  • we can change our routine and it's OK
  • learning to get along with your sibling makes your family stronger
  • we are lucky to have each other and so blessed to be able to educate at home

This post is linked to Teach Me Tuesday, at a Bokros Kind of Life, and also to the Hip Homeschool Hop. Check out these two blogs today for some great ideas!


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