Cooking streak: good/bad

I was on a bad cooking streak last week. I made a pasta dish on Tue that didn't turn out very well and wasn't any better leftover, though I still packed it for lunch.

Then, on Friday, I tried to do a Sandra Lee-esque Semi-Homemade style BBQ in the crock pot, combining a recipe from a friend of mine with one of my mom's recipes. Well, that didn't work out at all. It burned badly and I spent Friday night soaking and scrubbing the crock pot and eating Papa John's pizza.

Saturday morning, I tried to use the leftover ricotta cheese from the not-so-nice pasta to make ricotta blueberry pancakes. However, when I took out the Bisquick to use, it had a bug in it. Ewww!!! That is not good.

So I totally improvised a recipe for the pancakes, in part because I had already mixed the cheese with the eggs and I was super hungry. It was a success!!

I won't probably make again (in part because I don't remember exactly how I did it) but they were edible both Sat and Sun morning for breakfast.

And then I made my mom's real recipe for BBQ in the crock pot and it turned out perfectly. Paired with boxed brownies, and I'm back in the cooking business- happy and confident again.

But, I am taking a break on trying new recipes, sticking to the tried and true for a little bit.

Here's the crock pot barbecue recipe:
Saucy Barbecued Beef - from Southern Living Cookbook
2 lbs. stew beef
1 - 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 - 10 1/2 oz. can beef consomme, undiluted
1 large onion, chopped
3/4 c. ketchup
1/8 c. cider vinegar
1/4 c. lemon juice
1/2 c. chili sauce
2 T. chopped fresh parsley (or 1 T. dried)
2 T. frozen orange juice concentrate, undiluted
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
2 t. paprika
2 t. chili powder
1/4 t. dried oregano
1/8 t. garlic salt
dash of hot sauce (like Tabasco)

Place all ingredients in crock pot. Cook 8 hrs. on low. Use a slotted spoon to remove meat, shred in a bowl, put back in crock pot with sauce. Serve on rolls.