Dinner at my house tonight!

I know some of you have been wondering, "Do I HAVE to give my kids dinner before trick-or-treating?"

Quite simply, the answer is, "No." The more thorough answer is, "No," coupled with, "You are the mom now and no one is the boss of you anymore."

It's hard to want to cook dinner when you know the fam will be full as fritters just on candy alone. And heck - it's one night a year. So here is your permission to skip cooking a meal tonight! Feel free to let the chil'uns eat Resee cups and Smarties for dinner and make them a veggie milkshake tomorrow as penance.

Or you could overachieve and make a solid meal. But what's the fun in that, really?

Crock pot roast with gravy

I tried this a Sunday or two ago and have been wanting to pass it along. It was one of the easiest and best Yankee-style pot roasts I've had ever - you don't even have to brown the roast first. Don't let the extreme ease fool ya - it's super tasty.

You'll need:

a 1 and 3/4 lb. beef roast (I used a cheap old chuck - my favorite)

1/2 c. flour

salt and pepper to taste

1 envelope onion soup mix

1 envelope brown gravy mix

2 c. cold water

Rub the roast with about 1/4 c. of flour (or more, if needed) and salt and pepper. Place in a 5 quart slow cooker.

In a bowl, combine soup, gravy mix and remaining flour; stir in water and continue stirring until well blended. Pour over roast. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until meat is tender. Slice roast beef and serve with gravy.

(I haven't tried cooking the veggies in with the roast because it is a very thick sauce, but when I do, I'll report back.)

Crock Pot Lasagna

This recipe might be old news to many of you, but I tried it out for the first time a few weeks ago and really liked it! Your lasagna isn't going to come out of the crock pot in a pretty nice square like Stouffer's, but I firmly believe the messier the food looks on the plate the better it tastes!

-1 lb. ground beef
-1/2 cup chopped onion
-1-2 garlic cloves minced
-2 cans (15 oz. each) tomato sauce
-1 can (6 oz.) tomato paste
-salt, oregano, basil and/or Italian seasoning to taste
-12 oz. lasagna noodles, uncooked and broken down to fit in crock pot
-12 oz. cottage cheese with a dash of dried parsley added to it
-1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
-8-12 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese

Brown beef and onion in skillet; drain off excess fat. Add garlic, tomato sauce, tomato paste, seasonings and cook long enough to heat thoroughly.

Spoon a layer of meat sauce onto the bottom of crock pot. Add a double layer of broken lasagna noodles and top with a layer of the cheeses. Repeat with sauce, noodles and cheeses until all are used up. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.