An Extra Hour of School

For those of you who know me personally, or follow this blog or my Facebook page on a regular basis, you know just how many snow days we dealt with in January and February. For those of you who don't, let me catch you up.

After our holiday break was over, we got hit with the biggest snow storm Indiana has seen in almost 30 years, and the entire state was essentially shut down for two days, and our school system was off for an entire week. Yep, an extra 5 days of winter vacation. Well, it only went down hill from there. In the five weeks after the break, we were actually out of school more than we were in. Kids were home days on end; and schools were left to figure out how to catch them up and make sure their education didn't suffer.

Our school system, among many others in the area, decided to take our state school superintendent up on her offer of alternatives to simply adding days onto the end of the year, eating up summer vacation. Their solution? Extending the school day by an hour, until the middle of April. So, now instead of dismissing at 3:30 pm, the elementary kids (this would be us) don't hear the final bell until 4:30 pm. Now, for us, living so close to the school, that still means we are home by about 4:45 pm, which probably doesn't sound that bad, but on nights when we have Taekwondo, and before that homework and supper....it's a struggle. It's a time crunch. It's no fun. But, such is life, and as parents we have to teach our kids about adapting and looking for the best in a situation. And as Mommy there isn't much I can do to make sure these days go off without a hitch, but one thing I can control is dinner!

My slow cooker is definitely getting a good work out on these days! Knowing supper is one thing I don't have to stress over, and it's ready the minute he is ready to sit down and eat, takes just a little of the pressure off.

This recipe is based on something we had at a restaurant years ago. Like before we were married, years ago. I love sandwich suppers on busy weeknights, but when they are made even more time friendly by cooking all day while I'm getting other things down, they become even better. These are comfort food on a plate, and a great meal to come home too, no matter what time your dismissal is!

Crock Pot Open Faced Roast Beef Sandwiches

3 lb. rump roast

Vegetable Oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 packet Italian dressing mix

1 packet brown gravy mix

2 c. water

2 TBS dried onions

2 TBS cornstarch

Dried parsley

Sliced Texas Toast

Butter or margarine

Preheat Crock Pot to LOW. Heat a large skillet on high heat. Coat both sides of roast with vegetable oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Brown in skillet, on both sides. Place in Crock Pot. In a small bowl combine water, both seasoning packets and onions. Pour over meat. Cook on LOW for 5 hours. Remove meat and shred. Remove about 3/4 c. liquid to a small bowl. Whisk together cornstarch and liquid until it forms a smooth slurry. Pour back into Crock Pot and add shredded meat back. Cook on HIGH for 1 hour until thickened. Reduce to warm until ready to serve. When ready, spread butter on both sides of bread and toast in a skillet until golden brown. Spoon meat with gravy over bread.  Garnish with parsley.

Shared on The Country Cook Mar. 28, 2014