Pot Roast

This is one of the best Pot Roast recipes I've ever had!  I love mashed potatoes with roast, so I usually cook the potatoes separately rather than in the pot with the roast.  The best part of this recipe is the gravy - sweet, flavorful, delicious!

Pot Roast

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 cups brown beef stock

3 1/2 - 4 pound boneless chuck roast

1 bay leaf or beef shoulder, rolled & tied

1 pound carrots, cut into diagonals

1 large onion, coarsely chopped

1 1/2 pounds all purpose potatoes,

1 cup chopped celery peeled and quartered

2 cloves garlic, minced

Salt and pepper to taste

1 cup canned crushed tomatoes

2 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved

1 cup red wine in 3 tablespoons water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large heavy ovenproof pan (le crueset) or dutch oven, heat the oil over medium high heat. Pat the roast dry rub to coat with salt and pepper. Brown the meat on all sides in the heated casserole. Add in the onions and celery, stir and cook for 2 minutes or until softened. Stir in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes, red wine, beef stock and bay leaf and bring to a simmer. Cover and place pot in oven to braise.

After 1 hour, remove pot and stir in carrots. Return to oven for another 30 minutes. Remove pot from oven and stir in potatoes. Return to oven for another 30 minutes or until the meat and vegetables are tender. When the meat is tender, remove it to a platter. Remove vegetables to a bowl and cover to keep warm. 

Using a large spoon, skim off the excess fat from the remaining cooking juices. Bring liquid to a simmer on the stovetop. Slowly stir in half of the cornstarch mixture and simmer to thicken. Add more cornstarch mixture until desired gravy consistency is reached. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Stir in 1/2 cup chopped parsley. Slice the beef and place on platter surrounded with the vegetables.

Hearty Beef 'N Potato Casserole

This recipe is easy and yummy.  I make a few casseroles at the same time and freeze them for later.  If you plan to freeze it, you won't need to bake the tator tots ahead of time.  

Hearty Beef 'N Potato Casserole

4 cups or 1/2 of a 30 oz bag of hash round potatoes

1 lb ground beef

1-16 oz pkg frozen chopped broccoli, thawed

1 can french fried onions

1-10 3/4 oz can cream of celery soup

1/3 cup milk

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/4 tsp garlic powder

Place potatoes on bottom and up sides of 8"x12" casserole dish. Bake uncovered at 400° for 10 minutes. Brown beef in large chunks; drain. Layer beef, broccoli, and 1/2 can of the onions in the potato shell. Combine soup, milk, 1/2 cup of cheese and seasonings; pour over beef mixture.  Bake covered at 400° for 20 minutes. Top with remaining cheese and onions; bake, uncovered 2 to 3 minutes longer.
Serves 6

Spaghetti Sauce

Nothing tastes more like home than my mom's spaghetti sauce.  This delicious, meaty, and hearty sauce is perfect on a cold evening.  The best thing about this sauce is that you can make tons of it and freeze it for an evening when you don't feel like cooking.  Just boil some pasta and heat the sauce - tastes like it has been simmering all day.  When I make this, I usually double the recipe - you'll just need a really large pot!  I can then have dinner and freeze 4 tuperwares of sauce too!

Spaghetti Sauce

1lb ground beef

5 cans tomato sauce

2 small cans tomato paste

1 tsp. basil

1 tsp. oregano

2 tsp. Italian Seasoning

1 bay leaf

½ tsp. marjoram

½ tsp. rosemary

3 tbsp. vinegar

½ cup brown sugar

Fry ground beef and drain.  Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil and simmer for at least one hour, stirring frequently.

Chicken Tamale Casserole

I’ve been craving Mexican food like you wouldn’t believe.  Who am I kidding – I always crave Mexican!  I cut out this recipe a few years ago, tucked it away, and completely forgot about it until this weekend.  I’m sorry I didn’t try this recipe earlier.  It satisfied my cravings for some filling, cheesy, Mexican food without all of the calories or fat.  I didn’t have any egg substitute in my fridge, so I just used a regular egg instead.  I also mixed the chicken with the enchilada sauce prior to pouring the mixture over the cornbread.  Oh – sour cream is a must on this one!

Chicken Tamale Casserole

Cooking Light November, 2008

1 cup 2% 4 cheese mexican blend
1/3 cup fat free milk
1/4 egg substitute
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 (14 ¾ oz) can creamed style corn
1 8.5 ounce box Jiffy corn muffin mix
1 (4 oz) can chopped green chiles, drained
Cooking spray
1 (10 oz) can Red Enchilada sauce
2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast (about 3 breasts)

Preheat oven to 400. Combine ¼ cup cheese and next 7 ingredients (through chiles) in a large bowl, stirring just until moist. Pour mixture into a 13x9 inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.

Bake at 400 for 15 minutes or until set. Pierce entire surface liberally with a fork, pour enchilada sauce over top. Top with chicken; sprinkle remaining ¾ cup cheese. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes or until cheese melts. Remove from oven, let stand 5 minutes and serve.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 354 (36% from fat)

Fat: 14.1g (sat 7.1g,mono 3.3g,poly 1.2g)

Protein: 18.9g

Carbohydrate: 36.3g

Fiber: 2.5g

Cholesterol: 58mg

Iron: 1.7mg

Sodium: 620mg

Calcium: 179mg

El Torito's Tortilla Soup

I always order this soup when I visit El Torito Restaurant. It’s delicious, flavorful, healthy, and freezes well. I always double or quadruple the recipe and freeze the leftovers. Today, I’m using leftover chicken from last night’s Roast Chicken with Pan Gravy. You can always use a store purchased rotisserie chicken too! I’m also a huge fan of cilantro – so I always add more fresh cilantro to the soup after it’s done simmering.

El Torito’s Tortilla Soup

7 cups chicken broth

1 medium yellow onion -- diced

2 carrots -- peeled and diced

2 stalks celery -- diced

1 bell pepper -- seeded and diced

1 potato -- peeled and diced

1/4 cup tomato paste

1 bay leaf

2 cloves garlic -- peeled and chopped

1 teaspoon dried mexican oregano

Salt and Pepper to taste

2 medium boneless skinless chicken breast halves -- poached and shredded

1 zucchini -- diced

2 medium tomatoes -- diced

1 1/2 cups jack cheese -- shredded

10 slices avocado -- garnish

cilantro sprigs -- garnish

Combine broth, onion, carrots, celery, bell pepper, potato, tomato paste, bay leaf, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 25 minutes. Add zucchini, tomatoes and chicken and bring to a boil and then simmer and additional 10 minutes.

Remove from heat; remove and discard bay leaf. Serve with cheese and avocado.

Roast Chicken with Pan Gravy

As I sat down going through my recipe folder, I realized that the recipes I had selected to cook this week all called for shredded chicken breasts.  I flipped through my files and found a recipe I had saved from Gourmet Magazine (March 2009).  This recipe was perfect because it provided me with a beautiful roast chicken dinner as well as enough left-over chicken to make my tortilla soup as well as a chicken tamale casserole I want to try later this week.  Here’s the recipe, a video on how to carve a chicken, and some pictures from tonight’s dinner.  I served it with mashed red potatoes and glazed carrots.  Also, I didn’t have any unsalted butter on hand so I used regular salted butter and just cut down on the seasoning salt.

Roast Chicken with Pan Gravy

March 2009 Gourmet Magazine

In an uncertain world, everybody needs a truly excellent recipe for roast chicken, one that will never, ever fail you. This is it. And although basting the chickens seems like a chore, it will give them a beautiful burnished glow. Killing two birds with one stone—that is, cooking two birds together—provides dinner tonight and enough leftovers for three more meals. Saving both chicken carcasses for the stockpot (they can be frozen if desired) is key.

2 whole chickens (about 3 1/2 lb each)

1 stick unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons, divided

6 large garlic cloves, smashed and peeled

2 lemons, halved

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 cups water

Kitchen string

Rosemary, Thyme, or Sage (optional)

Preheat oven to 450°F with rack in middle. Pull off excess fat around cavities of chickens and discard, then rinse chickens and pat dry. Melt 4 Tbsp butter with garlic and brush butter all over chickens. Season both chickens inside and out with 2 1/2 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper (total). Put half of garlic and 1 lemon half in each cavity and loosely tie legs together with string. Roast chickens in a large (17- by 11-inch) flameproof roasting pan, basting with pan juices using a spoon (remove pan from oven and tilt if necessary) every 20 minutes, rotating pan, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into fleshy part of a thigh of each chicken (do not touch bone) registers 170°F, 50 to 60 minutes total. Baste chickens once more, then carefully tilt them so juices from cavities run into roasting pan. Transfer chickens to a cutting board (reserve pan) and let rest 15 minutes before carving.

Watch a video that demonstrates how to carve a chicken.

Pour off all but 2 Tbsp fat from pan, then cook remaining drippings over medium-high heat until deep golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Stir in water and simmer, stirring and scraping up brown bits, until thickened, about 3 to 4 minutes. Whisk in remaining 4 Tbsp butter and lemon juice to taste (from remaining lemon halves). Season with salt and pepper. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a gravy boat.

Cooks' Note: If desired, you can also add herbs such as thyme or rosemary to cavities before roasting.

http://www.gourmet.com/recipes/2000s/2009/03/roast-chicken-with-pan-gravy

Swedish Coconut Cookies

Swedish Coconut Cookies are a Scandinavian treat! I absolutely love the sweet, buttery, and crumbly texture of these cookies. This cookie is type of shortbread cookie with a high proportion of butter to flour and sugar. The dough can often appear very dry. If it’s too dry to form the dough, you can add a bit of soft butter, one tablespoon at a time until you reach the desired consistency.

Swedish Coconut Cookies

1 cup butter

1 cup shortening

1 1/3 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

3 2/3 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

Scant teaspoon salt

2 cups coconut

Cream the butter, shortening, and sugar together. 

 Add the remaining ingredients. 

Mix well and roll into 1 inch balls. Place balls on a cookie sheet and flatten with a glass or fork dipped in sugar. 

Baking until light brown – roughly 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

Makes 5 dozen.

Herbed Monkey Bread

This is a Paula Deen recipe that my mother recently prepared.  Paula Deen is the queen of butter and in my opinion, there was a bit too much butter and I might not add the last 1/4 cup next time I make this.  I didn't own a Bundt pan before - but this recipe convinced me that I needed one.  I also plan to serve this with marinara sauce next time.

Herbed Monkey Bread

1 stick butter melted, plus 1/4 cup melted butter, plus more for pan

1 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for sprinkling

2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning

2 packages biscuits (Grands Buttermilk Buiscuits work best!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a 12-cup Bundt pan; set aside.  In a small bowl, combine cheese and Italian seasoning.  Roll each individual biscuit into a ball. Dip each piece in the 1 stick of melted butter, then coat with the cheese mixture. Place dough into prepared pan; overlapping will occur. Bake bread, 30 to 35 minutes. Cover with aluminum foil during the last 10 minutes of baking to prevent excess browning, if needed.

Let cool in pan, 10 minutes; invert bread onto a serving plate. Drizzle remaining 1/4 cup melted butter on top and sprinkle with grated Parmesan.

Oro Verde Spinach Dip

I've made this dip a hundred times and it is one of my favorite appetizers. The flavors are delicious and the consistency is cheesy and creamy! Yum!

Oro Verde Spinach Dip

1 can chopped green chilies

3/4 cup chopped onion

2 teaspoon cilantro (dried or fresh - if you use fresh - do about 4 tsp)

1 10 oz. package chopped frozen spinach thawed and drained

1 8 oz. cream cheese

2 cups Monterey Jack Cheese

1/3 cup half and half (or milk)

Thaw and drain spinach. Squeeze it tightly to remove all liquid. Mix all ingredients together in a casserole dish. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes till hot and bubbly. Serve with tortilla chips.

Bring Back "Planter's Cheez Balls" Petition

Bring Back "Planter's Cheez Balls" Petition

Brown Sugar Smokies

My mom made this recipe recently and it was a crowd pleaser.  They were so easy to make, yet absolutely sinful!  You can bake these with or without toothpicks in them - as long as you place them seam side down on the pan, you won't need them.

Brown Sugar Smokies

1 package (16-ounce size) little smokie sausages
1 pound bacon
1 cup brown sugar, or to taste

Preheat oven to 350F. Cut bacon into thirds and wrap each strip around a little sausage. Place the wrapped sausages seam side down on a baking dish.  Sprinkle them liberally with brown sugar. Bake until bacon is crisp and the brown sugar melted – roughly 30 minutes.  Serve with toothpicks.

Beef and Broccoli Wellington

This recipe is a family favorite! It’s incredibly mild in taste – some might even say bland, but how can you go wrong with ground beef, cheese, and broccoli all wrapped up in crescent dough?

During my last trip to the market I noticed that Pillsbury is selling flat crescent roll dough they call Seamless Dough Roll – in other words, without the perforations. Now you no longer have to roll out the dough and seal the perforations. If you can’t find this dough at your local market – the crescent rolls work great, just remember to flatten out the dough with a rolling pin.

After making this recipe so many hundreds of times, I’ve managed to find an even easier way to prepare this meal and avoid having the dough become soggy under the weight of the beef and broccoli.

First, I love to prepare as many of my meals ahead of time as possible. When I get home from work, I want to be able to just pop something into the oven. I’ve discovered that I can prepare the filling for the wellington ahead of time, freeze it in the proper portions, and then thaw it during the day while I’m at work. This is great if I want to make more than one batch at a time. Typically, I’ll quadruple the recipe and then divide the mixture into four parts. I’ll put each part in a Tupperware and freeze for up to a few months. If you do this, make sure that you thoroughly drain the mixture of too much moisture that has developed during the freezing process. Many times I will actually that the mixture in a colander over the sink. With your hands, press the mixture against the colander to be sure you removed any extra liquid. Simply roll out your dough and place the mixture on top!

Secondly, as mentioned before, the mixture contains a lot of moisture so be sure to drain as much liquid from it as possible. This will ensure that your dough stays dry.

*This recipe can always be prepared ahead of time and baked later.  See the last photos!

Beef and Broccoli Wellington

l lb. lean ground beef

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 (9 oz.) package of frozen cut broccoli, thawed, drained

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

4 oz (1 cup) shredded mozzarella cheese

2 cans (8 oz each) Crescent roll dough or seamless dough sheet

1 egg beaten

Poppy seeds, if desired

Heat oven to 375°F. Spray baking sheet with nonstick spray.

In skillet, brown ground beef and onion over medium heat. Drain well.

Add broccoli, sour cream, salt and pepper; mix well. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add cheese; mix well.

 

Unroll 1 can of dough to form 1 large rectangle. Press seams together. Spoon the beef mixture down center of dough to 1/4" of each end. Unroll the second can of dough and place this over the mixture. Pinch and seal edges. Brush rectangle with beaten egg and sprinkle with poppy seed if desired.

Bake at 375°F* for 18 to 22 minutes or until golden brown (usually longer).

 

Serves 4-6 people.

 

Mexican Chicken

One of my favorite recipes came from a family friend, Anne Headlund.  My mother used to make this for our family when I was younger and I always looked forward to it.  The recipe is simple to follow, although shredding the chicken can be annoying – especially if you’re doubling or tripling the recipe.  If I take the time to make Mexican Chicken I almost always at least double the recipe.  It freezes fantastically and I pass around tuperwares to friends. 

The last few times I’ve prepared this recipe I’ve cheated and actually added my poached chicken to a food processor.  This certainly cut down the preparation time and the soup was much thicker.  If fact, it was so thick that I used it once as a burrito filling and once over steamed rice.  I would recommend shredding the chicken by hand the first time – and if you desire a thicker consistency, use the food processor.

I always have extra cans of tomato sauce in my panty, but if you don’t – you may want to consider purchasing an extra can just in case your soup becomes too dry and thick.  I almost always end up using at least 4 cans of tomato sauce.  It doesn’t hurt to have an extra one on hand.

Mexican Chicken

4 lbs. cooked chicken breasts and thighs shredded (poach in water until done)
1 Cup Chicken broth
10 oz. grated Longhorn cheese
2 Onions - chopped
2 Cloves garlic - chopped
2 tablespoons salad oil
1 teaspoon Chili powder
1 teaspoon Basil
1 teaspoon Salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon Oregano
2 -   4 oz. cans chopped green chilies
2-3 -   15 oz. cans tomato sauce

Sour Cream (optional)

Cheese (optional)

Add all ingredients to a large pot, bring to a small boil and simmer at least 1 hour.  Serve with sour cream and cheese.

Cheese Plate

I'm attending a White Elephant Christmas Party this evening, and thought instead of a side dish, I'd bring an appetizer. I didn't feel like cooking anything this afternoon, so I visited the market and purchased a variety of cheeses. I'm serving them with three types of crackers and sliced apples.

What's your favorite kind of cheese?

Corn Chowder

This is my mom's corn chowder recipe and is perfect on a cold fall evening. The recipe is easy to follow, just be careful that the bottom of your pot doesn't burn or your chowder will have a terrible charred taste.

Corn Chowder

½ pound bacon, diced

1 medium onion, chopped (about ½ cup)

½ cup chopped celery

2 tablespoons flour

4 Cups milk

1 can (1 lb. 1 oz) cream style corn

1 can (1 lb. 1 oz) corn

2 cans (1 lb.) tiny whole potatoes, diced

½ teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

Snipped parsley (optional)

Paprika (optional)

In large saucepan, fry bacon until crisp; remove and drain. Pour all but 3 tablespoons drippings from saucepan. Add onion and celery to drippings in pan; cook and stir until onion is tender.

Remove from heat; blend in flour. Cook over low heat, stirring until mixture is bubbly. Remove from heat. Stir in milk. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly so that the bottom of the pan does not burn. Boil and stir 1 minute.

Stir in corn, potatoes, salt and pepper; heat through. Stir in bacon. Sprinkle each serving with parsley and paprika.