Pot Roast #Recipe Peg Cochran/Margaret Loudon

 

This recipe is adapted from stayathomechef.com. Someone on Twitter had posted about the delicious pot roast he'd made for dinner.  The last time I made a pot roast, I was disappointed in it.  The meat wasn't nearly as tender as I would have liked and the flavor wasn't there.  I asked the poster on Twitter for the recipe and he sent it to me! Never say social media is a complete waste of time lol.  I used a chuck roast for this and the two of us had two dinners and a lunch out of the 3 lb. roast.  Sadly, our grocery store did not have rosemary but I imagine it would add even more incredible flavor.  Don't leave out the Worcestershire--in my opinion, it's what really makes this pot roast!

1 3-to-5 pound beef roast – chuck roast, round roast, or brisket

Salt & pepper to taste

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

6 cloves minced garlic

1 to 2 cups red wine (or broth)

2 cups low sodium beef broth

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

2 large onions cut into chunks

1 lb. baby carrots (or cut regular carrots into smaller pieces)

1 lb. red potatoes or russet potatoes cut into chunks

1 sprig fresh rosemary

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

 

Season both sides of chuck roast with salt and pepper.

 

Add oil to a large Dutch oven pot and heat.  

 

 Sear roast until nicely browned on both sides.

 

 

 

Remove roast from pan and set aside.  Add garlic to pot and saute 60 seconds.

 

 

 

Deglaze pan with red wine and beef broth

 

 

 

Return roast to pot and pour Worcestershire sauce over roast.

 

Nestle potatoes, carrots and onions around and on top of roast.

 

 

 

Cover and place in preheated 350 degree oven.  Cook 3 hours or until meat is tender and shreds easily with a fork.

 

 

 

Add salt and pepper to taste

 

Optional:  Gravy – strain liquid and return to pot.  Boil until desire consistency is reached.  Thicken with a roux or corn starch slurry if desired.

 

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When murder taints writer-in-residence Penelope Parish’s charming British bookshop, she must follow the clues to catch a killer before tempers boil over.
 
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#InstantPot Pork Loin Roast with Apples and Sauerkraut

I got an Instant Pot for my birthday!  My daughter has one and loves it.  It is a bit daunting at first, but I was determined to try out the pressure cooking mode.  I had a small pork loin roast in the freezer I wanted to use so I went searching for recipes.  I found one on Dr. Kelly Ann's site--it seems to be a Paleo recipe site but since my diets never last longer than a day, I'm not sure what a Paleo diet is!

It probably took me longer to cook this the first time around because I was constantly referencing the directions.  But it came out great in the end and I only burned my finger once!

The ratio of sauerkraut/applesauce to pork roast was a little off, but my roast was smaller than the one called for.  It was still good and hubby had the leftovers for lunch and proclaimed them "even better."

Ingredients:

• 2 to 3 pound pork loin roast
• ½ teaspoon Celtic or Pink Himalayan salt (a little precious--I'm sure plain salt would certainly do as well)
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons pasture-raised butter or ghee (I used olive oil which worked fine)
• 2 large onions, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 cup chicken bone broth (I used canned chicken broth)  
  
• 4 to 6 cups sauerkraut, rinsed and drained (I used the yummy craft beer sauerkraut I found) 
• 3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and chopped

 
  Directions

Season the roast with salt and pepper.  First use the saute function on your Instant Pot.  Heat the olive oil (or butter) and brown roast on all sides.

 Chop apples

 Chop onions 

Heat oil in cooker and use saute function to brown roast

Remove the roast from the cooker and add onions, garlic and broth. Scrape up brown bits from the bottom. Return roast to the cooker and using your cooker’s instructions, bring up to full pressure. (This takes a few minutes.)

Reduce heat to low, maintaining full pressure, and cook for 45 minutes. (I chose the meat/stew setting on my cooker and it auto set for 35 minutes which was fine.)

Using quick release method, release pressure and quickly add sauerkraut and apples to the cooker. Bring back to full pressure for 5 minutes and again use the quick release method. 

 Sauerkraut/apple mixture

Slice roast and serve with apples and sauerkraut.  I served it with mashed cauliflower.

 

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Mississippi Roast #Recipe @PegCochran

Okay, I'll admit it.  I had to sing that little ditty we learned in grade school in order to spell Mississippi!

Apparently there is a recipe circulating on the web for Mississippi Roast where you put a three to four pound chuck roast in a slow cooker, dump a packet of Hidden Valley ranch dressing mix and a packet of au jus gravy on top, add a stick (!) of butter, a handful of pepperoncini and cook for eight hours or until the meat can be shredded.  The result gets rave reviews and is certainly easy enough for a busy weekday meal.

The NY Times Food section came out with a less processed version of the recipe (they would, wouldn't they?) which is the one I decided to try.  It was very tasty although quite rich--next time I would dial back even more on the butter (the original recipe calls for six tablespoons but I had half a stick I wanted to use up so I only put in four tablespoons.)  I served it with mashed potatoes to soak up the gravy.  Hubby proclaimed it a "keeper."

Ingredients:
1 3 to 4 pound boneless chuck roast
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup flour
3 tablespoons neutral oil like canola
6 tablespoons butter (feel free to cut back on this amount)
6 to 8 pepperoncini
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon dried dill
1/4 teaspoon sweet paprika


Rub the roast all over with the salt and pepper.  Sprinkle the flour over the roast and rub into the meat.

Heat the oil over high heat until shimmering.  Brown the meat on all sides--approximately 4 to 5 minutes per side to create a crust.  Place the meat in the slow cooker.  Add the butter and pepperoncini, cover and set on low.

While the roast heats make the ranch dressing.  Combine the mayonnaise, vinegar, dill and paprika and whisk to combine.  Pour over the roast, cover, then cook on low for 6 to 8 hours (depending on your slow cooker) until the meat can be shredded.

Remove the meat from the slow cooker and place on cutting board.  Skim the fat from the gravy in the slow cooker.  Shred the meat with two forks and mix with the gravy.

Serve over noodles, mashed potatoes, rice or on sandwich rolls. 

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