Old-Fashioned Pot Roast with Gravy

We're having good, old-fashioned comfort food for Sunday Supper this week. Yum. It's easy to make and the results are wonderful. Not to mention, by doubling the typical recipe I'll have leftovers for beef pot pie later in the week.

Ingredients:

• 6-7 lbs boneless chuck roast**
• granulated garlic, to taste
• 2 onions, sliced thickly
• 6-7 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced lengthwise
• 4 carrots, peeled and cut into two lengths
• 1 can golden mushroom soup
• 1/4 cup red wine
• 2 Tbs worcestshire sauce
• 1 Tbs beef bouillon
• 3/4 cup water

Directions:

1. Spray slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Add the roasts to the slow cooker, sprinkling liberally with granulated garlic, and layering with the the onions. Toss remaining onions into the slow cooker.
3. Whisk together the red wine, worcestshire sauce, beef bouillon, and water in a bowl, then pour over the roasts and onions in the slow cooker.
4. Place potatoes and carrots on top of the onions and around the roasts.
5. Cook for 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high.**

* I used two roasts, but it would be fine to use a larger roast and cut it into two pieces to fit into the slow cooker.
  ** My chuck roasts are frozen, so I'm going to cook this for 2 1/2 hours on high and then about 4 1/2 hours on low.

Personally, I'm not a fan of canned, condensed soup. There are exactly TWO exceptions to this in my recipe box and this is one of them. When it comes down to spending extra time in the kitchen versus more time with my family on Sunday, time with family wins every time. I can also throw this together before we leave for church and not come home to a big mess in the kitchen. Plus, the gravy tastes really good and is ready the same time everything else is ready! So, all the way around, it's worth sacrificing real food principals sometimes. (Just don't let it become a habit! ;) )

 ~Enjoy!

Beef & Mushroom Barley Soup

I've been craving a hearty, beef and mushroom soup for.ever. Finally gathered all the ingredients together and started searching for a recipe. Could not find a single one that sounded like what I wanted to eat. Normally, I would start with someone else's recipe and modify it. This time I couldn't even find a good starting point. So I winged it.

What else was I supposed to do?

Beef & Mushroom Barley Soup

• 1 lb stew meat, cut into bite sized cubes (I prefer SMALL)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 Tbs tomato paste
• 2 carrots, sliced into bite-sized pieces
• 1 - 16 oz package sliced mushrooms
• 6 cups beef broth
• 1/2 cup barley

1. Brown stew meat (I used 2 Tbs olive oil) in dutch oven or heavy bottom pan over medium-high heat. When meat is browned, add garlic and onions into the pot. Cook for about three minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Stir tomato paste into beef and onion mixture, cook for another three minutes.
3. Add carrots and mushrooms into the pot, stir well. Reduce heat to medium and cook until mushrooms are done. Stir occasionally.
4. Pour in beef broth. Stir well, then add the barley.
5. Cook over medium-low heat for about two hours - until meat and vegetables are tender.

If you like a thicker soup, you can bring the soup to a boil then add about 2 Tbs corn starch mixed with water to thicken. I also added about 3/4 cup of heavy cream to my soup at the end. It was sitting in the fridge and I didn't want it to go to waste - the soup would have been fine without it.

~ Enjoy!

All American (gluten-free) Meatloaf

My family loves meatloaf. In fact, I'd say that next to macaroni and cheese it's their favorite comfort food. Unfortunately, our love of meatloaf collided with my daughter's need to eat gluten-free.

Who knew you could make meatloaf with oats? This is my first attempt at gluten-free meatloaf and it's adapted from Maridele's All American Meatloaf shared on allrecipes.com (I have such a love/hate relationship with that site!)

All American (gluten-free) Meatloaf

Ingredients

• 2 pounds ground beef
• 1 cup quick cooking oats
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 4 slices Cheddar cheese, halved

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375F
2. Mix ground beef, quick oats, onion, milk, eggs, 1/4 cup ketchup, garlic, garlic powder, salt, basil, and black pepper together in a large bowl until thoroughly combined; pat the mixture into a 9x5-inch-ish loaf in a baking dish
3. Bake meatloaf in the preheated oven for 50 minutes. An instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the center of the meat loaf should read at least 160F
4. Remove from oven, spread 2 tablespoons ketchup over loaf, and top with Cheddar cheese slices; return to oven and bake until cheese has melted, about 5 more minutes

It was delicious and very filling.  I'm sure all that extra garlic is what makes it so delicious!  Now that I've had success with oatmeal in place of bread crumbs I'm looking forward to adapting my other meatloaf recipes.

~ ENJOY!

Merissa at Little House on the Prairie Living is hosting a weekly Old Fashioned Recipe Exchange every Tuesday.  If you have a recipe to share you can link your blog post or you can post in the comments.  CLICK HERE to go to this week's exchange!

 

Go ahead, you know you want to look!

(Not really) Spicy Meatloaf

There's nothing wrong with making comfort food on an 80 degree day in May, right?

The girls asked if Grandpa could have dinner with us tonight since he'll be headed back to Illinois this weekend.  I said sure, as long as they came up with the menu! ;)  Of course, the first words out of Alex's mouth were "Mac and Cheese!"  And what goes better with mac and cheese than meatloaf?

This is the first meatloaf recipe I made as an adult. Back in the days before the internet I used cookbooks.  Two, to be exact.  The New Basics Cookbook by Julie Russo and Shelia Lukins, and Cooking from Quilt Country by Marcia Adams.  The former I found on accident and the latter I picked up at Walden Books after watching the show on PBS.  So Spicy Meatloaf is comfort food from a comfort cookbook. :) 

And, for the record, it's not chili pepper spicy, it's just flavorful.  Even my kid who thinks mild salsa is too spicy will eat seconds of this meatloaf!

(Not really) Spicy Meatloaf
Adapted from Marcia Adam's Cooking from Quilt Country

• 1/2 stick butter
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/2 cup finely chopped celery
• 1/2 cup finely minced carrot
• 2 finely minced cloves of garlic

Melt butter in a sauce pan.  Add all of the above ingredients and saute over medium heat until the vegetables begin to brown. 

• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup evaporated milk
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp allspice
• 1/2 tsp black pepper 
• 1 1/2 cups fine bread crumbs
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 lb ground pork

While the vegetables are cooking, whisk together in a large bowl all of the above except the bread crumbs, ground beef, and ground pork.  Add bread crumbs and browned vegetables to the bowl and mix into the egg mixture.  Add ground beef and ground pork and combine well.  Transfer into an oiled casserole and form into a loaf.

Bake at 400F for 45 minutes then let stand 10 minutes before serving.  Optionally, you can cook this in the slow cooker for 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low.

If you like, you can add strips of bacon to the top of the meatloaf.  Since I live in the hot, humid mid-south I like to use my slow cooker in the summer months.  Which is great for keeping the house cool, but no so great for crisping the bacon on top of the meatloaf. ;)

This has been a family favorite for the last 20 years.  It's a bit of work, but all worth it for this tasty meatloaf!

Enjoy!

Operation Clean Out the Freezer - Day #10

 Nachos with Beef and Beans.

 Beef and Beans

• 1 lb ground beef
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 j, chopped (seedless for less spice)
• 1 can black beans, drained
• 1 bunch cilantro, chopped (don't forget the stems!)

Brown all ingredients except the black beans in a skillet over medium high heat.  After all pink is gone from the ground beef, add the can of beans and simmer about five minutes.  Add cilantro and continue to cook until all vegetables are soft.

Serve over nachos with cheese, salsa, olives, lettuce, sour cream...  whatever you like to put on your nachos.

I got this recipe from a show Rachael Ray did at least seven years ago about take-home at home.  She made fresh pico de gallo and cheese sauce based on a white sauce,  but that's too much work for us most days.  The show made me SO hungry that I ran out and bought cilantro and jalapeños, the two ingredients I was missing.  From that day forward, for the rest of the summer, I made the full nachos with the cheese sauce for my kids and their friends in our apartment complex every week.  It's easy to make for a crowd.

The beef and beans is also good inside tacos and burritos.

ENJOY!

P.S.  In case you were wondering...  I couldn't get the actual recipe because my cookbooks are being held hostage by a disassembled bunk bed. :p

I heart Paula Deen OR the best. potroast. ever.

Pot Roast

Ingredients
1 (3 to 4-lb) boneless chuck roast
Seasoning mix **
4 Tbs butter
1 large onion, sliced thinly
5 cloves garlic, crushed
1 can golden mushroom soup
1/4 cup red wine
2 Tbs Worcestershire
1 scant Tbs Tone's Beef Base
3/4 cup water



Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Rub seasoning into the roast on both sides. Heat butter in a large skillet and brown the roast, searing it on both sides. Place the meat in a roaster pan. Add onions and garlic to skillet for 1 to 2 minutes to absorb leftover roast juice. (I added a little extra butter because the pan was dry.) Place into roaster pan with meat.
Combine the golden mushroom soup, wine, Worcestershire sauce and beef base into a bowl. Pour over the roast. Add water.
Cover pan bake for 3 to 3 1/2 hours or until tender.

** seasoning mix (based on Paula Deen's House Seasoning: 4 parts salt, 1 part white pepper, 1 part granulated garlic

This recipe is modified from Paula Deen's Pot Roast recipe to fit what I had on hand in the pantry. Well, that, and that niggling little character flaw that compels me to change recipes.

The roast was moist, falling apart and incredibly tasty. No need for ketchup with this pot roast! I also peeled and quartered six medium sized potatoes and cooked them on top of the meat and gravy. Can't have gravy without potatoes, right? Although, I think this dish would be just as awesome served over wide egg noodles.

ENJOY!

(And yes, once again I forgot to take a picture, so I borrowed the photo above from pauladeen.com!)