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Alicia here with another ancestry food post. This year my family is choosing a different country from our ancestry and making one meal a week at home from that country. We choose the countries based on our family trees, and also our DNA results. We had our DNA tested with Ancestry and got the results back. There were some things we expected but also some surprises! It's been really fun doing this experiment and getting to know our ancestors through food. If you'd like to do this same experiment, Ancestry has the kits on sale right now! It's so easy (though slightly gross), all it requires is spitting in a tube and mailing it back to the company.

This month's country is France. So far we have made Gratin Dauphinois, Piperade, & Flammekueche. This week we are making a classic dish that's been around since medieval times, Boeuf Bourguignon. 

First made by peasants, this beef stew is a dish I'm sure my ancestors have tried.

Traditionally made with Burgundy wine, has a much deeper flavor than your regular beef stew. I have made this before and my husband loved it, so when we decided to do France this month he requested it again. 

Last time I used cooking wine, but I couldn't find any in stores this time. I didn't want to buy a whole bottle of wine because I don't have many dishes I would use it in, so I substituted grape juice, red wine vinegar, and beef stock for my recipe. So if you are cooking for some one who has liver problems or is sensitive to alcohol, this would be a great recipe for you. If you do use wine, use one less cup of stock and omit the grape juice and red wine vinegar, using the wine to deglaze the pan.

I also used baby carrots because it's fast and easy. I also love the look they give to the stew and the fact that they get soft without being mushy.

I love this stew, the first time I made it, it was very labor intensive. But with the crockpot it was so easy. We are adding this to our menu meals. I would wager that my stew is much closer to what the peasants of medieval times made than the bourgeois that made it later. But it's still so delicious, it's no wonder this meal has been around so long! If you don't have a crockpot, what are you waiting for? It's my favorite thing in my kitchen. It makes me so happy to know dinner is slowly cooking away while I'm attending to other things. Especially because my kids are more fussy and needy in the evenings when I'm trying to make dinner. In the morning while they are happily playing I can get dinner started by just tossing everything in the slow cooker. I lovemine.

Crockpot Boeuf Bourguignon

Let me know if you give it a try! It's pretty easy and so good. If you want to make more French meals check out Panna. They have a master class taught by Daniel Boulud. He is an award-winning, French chef who's received 4 star reviews by the New York Times at his restaurants. So this is a class you will want to check out! He teaches how to make coq au vin, ratatouille, and even his own personal family recipes. Yum! If French food isn't your thing, they have all different kinds of classes on Panna that will help up your game in the kitchen.

     Whoot! As you read this, Madalynn and I are at Disneyland! Maddy surprised me with this trip for just the 2 of us Disney lovers together! We are spending 5 days at this magical place! 
      Have you heard of Disney Bounding?  It is a thing that people do to dress in a way that represents Disney characters without actually being in that character's costume. Maddy really wanted for us to do that, so we made shirts and ears to be reminiscent of some of our favorite characters.  
     I have used Avery products for many of the projects like this that I have made.  Their products are high quality and the Avery website is so easy and helpful to use.  Plus, I can save the designs that I make in my own file for later use.  My business cards are saved on there and all of my Hot Cocoa Bomb Labels. Avery is always my go-to for my printing needs. 
     For these shirts, I used Fabric Transfers.  They are available to order right from their site, or you can purchase them in stores like Walmart.  Next, you go to avery.com and design what  you want to print on your shirts.  The nice thing is that Avery automatically will reverse the print to the mirror image so that you don't have to worry about it.  I have made that mistake and wasted so much transfer paper trying to do this on my own! But, this is how our prints came out: 

     One important tip is to be sure to trim as close to the design as possible to get the best look.  If you leave too large of a margin, you will get a plastic looking outline that isn't pretty. But look how cute these Sleeping Beauty shirts came out! 

     After you clip out the design, just decide where you want to iron it on and then have at it!  Let is cool a bit and then peel it off.  Voila! 
      Here are our Doc and Sleepy shirts! We will post ourselves wearing them as the week progresses! Check out our Instagram this week to see all of the fun! 

This post contains affiliate links.  If you make a purchase after clicking them, we will be compensated, but there is no additional cost to you.  All opinions expressed are our own.  Thank you for your support.

     April 22nd is Earth Day.  Since this time of year is when gardens are being planted around the country, depending on your weather, and we are all looking forward to those fresh tasting fruits and veggies, we thought that in honor of Earth Day, we would talk about our garden faves! Because, a great was to help the earth is to plant some plants that produce food and cultivate and use them. So here is today's Friday Fave question: 

What is your favorite garden produce that you can hardly wait to taste this year?

     One of my goals this year is to put in a garden.  Here in Phoenix, that should have happened already, and it hasn't.  Luckily, except for the couple of extremely hot months in the middle of the summer, we can grow all year here.  So, it looks like it will be a Fall garden for me this year! 
      When I do have a Spring/Summer garden in, I love so much of the produce, that it is hard for me to choose my favorite, but Maddy and I chose the same thing this time.  Tomatoes!  Nothing tastes better than fresh tomatoes picked ripe from the vine.  The flavor is just overwhelming every year when I bite into that first tomato. 

     The tomato in that picture came from my garden a couple of years ago and got turned into some delicious salsa! Fresh salsa is best with homegrown tomatoes! Click that link for the best recipe! 

      Lindsey says that she loves homegrown corn on the cob! Just like tomatoes, fresh corn on the cob is so sweet, tender and delicious.  And, if you missed my recipe for grilled corn with cilantro lime butter, you have to try it.  It is full of flavor and the taste just bursts in your mouth. 

     Alicia really enjoys gardening.  Even when she was a college student, she would plant tomatoes in her rented house's flowerbeds and in her apartments she had success with Topsy Turvy Tomatoes hanging from her porch.  When I asked her what her garden fave is she answered that she loves her herb garden.  It is so great to be cooking and to be able to go out and snip some fresh basil or rosemary when you need it and to get that wonderful fresh herb taste.  Now that she lives in the Bay area, the weather is much different from Phoenix, but she is figuring it out.  She has just planted a couple of grow boxes behind her house with a nice variety of herbs and vegetables. 

       One last favorite is strawberries! I love picking bright red berries that are fully ripe.  They are so sweet and delicious.  Eating strawberries from the grocery store just doesn't cut it after eating the vine ripened ones.  And then, using them for Strawberry Shortcake or for making Strawberry Jam is just the icing on the cake.

     If you are ready to get planting this year, we have found a few helps for you! Take a look! 

​     If you have limited space, these Topsy Turvy tomatoes are a great idea! 

     If you want to put in your own herb garden, here is a great assortment of non-GMO seeds! Non-GMO is great because after you start growing, you can begin to collect your own seeds to plant in following years. 

     Do you need a place to plant?  There are some attractive grow boxes available at a great price. 

    What are your favorite things to harvest from your garden?  Do you plant one? Is there something that you have had great success with? Let us know in the comments. 
​    Have a great weekend! Have a Happy Earth Day!