Happy Father's Day! [Sunday Slow Cooker Stew Recipe]

Had a great time celebrating Andy's 5th Father's Day this year!

At least I thought it was great, I hope he agrees.  

5 years & 3, soon to be 4 kids later he still amazes me with what a great Father he is.  

How much he loves his kids, the time he is willing to invest him in and how much he continues to grow  as a Dad.  Without his support, open mind and love I could not be the Mother I am.

The kids and I caved in and gave him all his Father's Day presents on Saturday night cause none of us are very good at surprises and Sunday mornings are usually a blur of papers, dresses & coffee in an attempt to get ready for church on time each week.

Besides a card the kids picked out we put together a deck of cards Reasons We Love You project that we found on Pinterest.  This one was hard for me because as much as I like cooking & birthing babies anything requiring precision on the computer only ends up in me being pissed off.  So I did my best, trying to remember the whole time that Andy would not want me to be stressing out over something for him.

We spent his actual Father's Day at church & then at the last day of our marriage retreat in Kalihi.

Came home to stew just finishing up in the slow cooker, I baked him an Apple Bundt cake & after the kids were in bed we snuggled up and watched The Grey.  

I could never do enough to show this man how much I love and appreciate everything he does for our family, so I just hope it is enough to tell him every chance we get. 

His surprise!  I was so excited to get these for him cause he never spends money on himself and Death Cab is one of his favorite bands.  So exciting that they are playing a new small venue here in Hawaii too, it will probably be our last big date night before Miss Tulip arrives! <3

[Father's Day 2012 Kalihi Valley.  Dad w/his homemade leis on. :]

Despite the looks on their faces they really do love their Dad!  

Or as Jonas would say "I like you really, really much!"

[I love this man.]

Papa Andy's Sunday Stew

1 lb. rump or chuck roast

5-10 red potatoes

4 carrots

1 yellow onion

1 can stewed Italian tomatoes

1/2 cup red wine

1/2 cup water

Salt & Pepper to Taste

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. smoked paprika

1 tsp. garlic powder

2 tbs. corn starch

[1] Halve or Quarter red potatoes depending on their size, place on bottom of crock pot.

[2] Peel & cut carrots into fourths, add to potatoes.

[3] Peel & cut onion into thick slices, place on top of potatoes and carrots.

[4] Sprinkle seasoning on top of veggies, everything except corn starch.

[5] Add can of tomatoes & red wine.

[6] Place meat on top of everything, this is how to get a little crust on the meat which I like.

[7] Pour water on top.

[8] Cook on high for 5 hours or low for 8.

[9] When stew is done cooking mix cornstarch with 2 tbs. of water, then add to stew pot to thicken juices.

[10] If you're doing this true Papa Andy style serve with white rice & soy sauce!  Yummy!

....So brown eyes I hold you near
Cause you’re the only song I want to hear
A melody softly soaring through my atmosphere.....