Auction Day One...

Ten am sharp, we opened up our on line auction.  It has been great to see everyone biding on the items that they want.  Spent most of the day behind the scenes making sure that bids were not marked as spam.  Thanks Facebook!  I hope that everyone is having fun with this.  We have lots of wonderful items that have been generously donated.  I look forward to tomorrow to see how we finish up.  Huge Thank you to each and every one of you who have donated or bid on our auction.  It truly is heartwarming...

Fantastic Foodie Fridays *Slow Cooker Beef Stew*

In honor of the Royal couple getting married today, I figured that I would dedicate the Fantastic Foodie Friday to a wonderful english beef stew.  Pair this with some warm sourdough bread and a nice dark ale.  This is a  warm rich comfort food, that will make you want to snuggle with your sweetie after eating.  It was this or a Fruit Tart.  So, I decided to go in this direction.  Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Beef Stew

Prep Time: 15 Mins

Cook Time: 7 Hrs

Ready In: 7 Hrs 15 Min

                           

Ingredients

• 3 pounds cubed beef stew meat
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup baby carrots
• 4 large potatoes, cubed
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 cups boiling water
• 1 (1 ounce) package dry onion soup mix
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 onions, sliced
• 1/4 cup red wine
• 1/4 cup warm water
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Directions

1. Place meat in a large plastic bag. Combine 1/4 cup flour with 1/2 teaspoon salt; pour into the bag with the meat, and shake to coat.
2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add stew meat, and cook until evenly browned on the outside. Transfer to a slow cooker along with the carrots, potatoes, parsley, and pepper. In a small bowl, stir together 2 cups of boiling water and dry soup mix; pour into the slow cooker.
3. In the same skillet, melt butter and saute onions until softened; remove to the slow cooker. Pour red wine into the skillet, and stir to loosen browned bits of food on the bottom. Remove from heat, and pour into the slow cooker.
4. Cover, and cook on High for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to Low, and cook for 6 hours, or until meat is fork tender. In a small bowl or cup, mix together 2 tablespoons flour with 1/4 cup warm water. Stir into stew, and cook uncovered for 15 minutes, or until thickened.

Can you Feel the Love?

I have been overwhelmed with the response today getting ready for the on line auction on Facebook.  I think that this has the potential to be a really big Auction.  There are so many beautiful things that have been donated.  Most of them made by hand with love.   I contacted Sinbad to let him know that the shirts that he signed for me would be up on the auction if he wanted to watch.  Fingers Crossed & Prayers Up!  I hope all of you will head over to Facebook ( if you have an account ) and will "like" our auction page ( Alpha-Pink-Omega Auction ) and pass the information along to your friends.  We have included all of the contact information for the individuals who donated that had a business.  So, just incase you don't win you have a chance to contact the donor.  Please let them know you saw their items on our auction, then you can purchase the item directly from them.  Hope to see you at the Auction!    

Going, Going, Gone...

Days away from kicking off the on line auction.  Cathy, ( from Cathy's Creations ) is helping me run this auction on Facebook.  It will start on April 30th and run till May 1st.  We have had many generous donators.  Most of the items that have been donated are hand made by the donor, or someone that they know.  I have been profoundly touched by this auction as I have never met Cathy face to face, but yet her unwavering support has been nothing less than amazing.  Cathy lost her Hero, her Mother to breast cancer. Just one of the reason why she is so passionate about doing this with me.  What all started out as a simple question. "Would you consider doing a fundraiser with me"?  I would never in my wildest dreams, have dreamt this would have happened.  I am tickled "PINK"...  I have been in talks with Cathy about next year.  I might be driving to Boston to do a 3-Day with her.  One year at a time, one city at a time I hope to walk them all ( in time ), or until a cure is found.  Please check out our auction and pass it along to all of your friends.  We are hoping that this will be a great success!  All monies made from the auction will go directly to the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure.  Thank you in advance for your support and all of your encouraging words.  It means more to me than I could ever express in words.  

24 Hours, What a Difference...

From pouring rain to beautiful sunshine.  What a difference!  Well, my next fundraising idea is coming together beautifully.  I am so lucky to have people that believe in me, or think that I am crazy enough that my idea just might work.  I ran around today getting all of the pieces.  Tomorrow, I will spend the day getting it all ready and if the weather holds up.   I hope to bring out my idea on Monday.  Fingers Crossed, Prayers Up!  As the weather warms up and the ground dries, more and more miles will be under my feet.  So far my longest walk has been 12 miles.  Tomorrow as long as the weather holds up, I will be going for a nice 8 mile walk.