The Easiest Roast Ever!

I'm a bit busy these days trying to keep several projects spinning in the air. Cooking has basically taken a back burner position. I'm not exactly happy about it, but for now I'm looking for the easiest way to prepare decent food for us to eat without spending two hours to prepare and watch over the cooking.

This roast recipe is simple as far as ingredients go, and it cooks in the crock pot while you can be off doing other things.

Take a three pound chuck roast

 

Brown the roast on all sides.  I used a little olive oil in my pan.

  



Open three separate envelopes - 1 envelope Italian Salad Dressing mix, 1 envelope Ranch Dressing mix, and 1 envelope Brown Gravy mix

Mix the dry ingredients from each envelope with two cups water.

Add the roast to your crock pot and pour the water/dressing/gravy mixture over the roast.

Add the lid to crock pot and turn it on.

The roast will be done in four hours on HIGH or 8 hours if you use the LOW setting.

All you need to do is add some steamed carrots and mashed potatoes or other vegetables.

This recipe is most certainly a keeper!

Herb and Garlic Roast Pork Loin with Honey Mustard

1 ½ pounds boneless pork loin

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

2 T. olive oil

2 T. unsalted butter

1 T. chopped fresh thyme

1 T. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 ½ t. minced fresh rosemary

1 clove garlic, minced

1 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)

1/3 cup plus 2 T. Dijon mustard

2 whole heads garlic

3 T. honey

Preheat over to 375 degrees.  Sprinkle the pork with salt and pepper.  Heat a large, ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the oil, add the pork and cook, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides.   Transfer the pork to a cutting board.

Return the skillet to medium heat.  Add the butter, thyme, rosemary, garlic; cook, stirring until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Stir in the panko and 1 teaspoon salt; cook, stirring, until the panko is golden, about 2 minutes.  Transfer the toasted breadcrumbs to a piece of wax or parchment paper.

Brush the pork with 2 tablespoons of the mustard and roll in the toasted breadcrumbs to coat.  

Return the coated pork to the skillet.  Halve the garlic heads crosswise and add to the skillet. 

Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the pork registers 145 degrees, about 45 minutes.  Transfer the pork and garlic to a cutting board and let rest 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the skillet over medium-low heat.   Add the honey, remaining 1/3 cup mustard, and ¼ cup water and stir until combined.  Simmer until the mixture is slightly thickened, about 2 minutes.  Slice the pork and serve with the roasted garlic and the mustard sauce.

I served the pork loin with green beans and pierogies (Polish potato dumplings) filled with mashed potatoes sautéed in a little olive oil.

Easy and Yummy Meatloaf

2 eggs
2/3 cup milk
3 slices bread, torn
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup grated carrot
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar or part-skim mozzarella cheese
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley or 1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried basil, thyme or sage, optional
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1-1/2 pounds lean ground beef

TOPPING:
1/2 cup Hunt’s® Tomato Sauce
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon prepared mustard

In a large bowl, beat eggs. Add milk and bread; let stand until liquid is absorbed. Stir in the onion, carrot, cheese and seasonings. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well.

Shape into a 7-1/2-in. x 3-1/2-in. x 2-1/2-in. loaf in a shallow baking pan. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 45 minutes.

Combine the topping ingredients; spoon half of the mixture over meat loaf. Bake 30 minutes longer or until meat is no longer pink and a meat thermometer reads 160°, occasionally spooning remaining topping over loaf. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Yield: 6 servings

Standing Rib Roast with Sour Cream Horseradish Sauce or Garlic Blue Cheese Sauce

For Christmas Dinner this past year we had a standing rib roast.

It was wonderful.

Prime Rib can be tricky to prepare, but somehow the husband has managed the last couple of years. The information found at the following website has been very helpful in the past.

Perfect Prime Rib website

Following some of the pictures from Christmas, 2009 look for the recipes for two delicious sauces to serve with Prime Rib…..one involving horseradish and the other with a blue cheese base.

Sour Cream Horseradish Sauce

¼ to ½ cup prepared horseradish (according to your taste)
1 pint (2 cups) sour cream
2 T. fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 t. salt

In a medium sized bowl, combine horseradish, sour cream, lemon juice and salt; thoroughly mix. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Note: Can be made 2 days in advance. Cover and refrigerate

Garlic blue Cheese Sauce

¾ cup heavy cream
1 medium clove garlic, thinly sliced
6 ounces blue cheese, crumbled
Freshly ground black pepper

In a medium sized saucepan, over medium-high heat, bring cream and garlic just to a boil. Lower heat and simmer until the cream coats the back of a spoon, approximately 5-10 minutes.

Remove from heat Stir in crumbled blue cheese. Season to taste with the pepper.

Uncle Chris seems to be enjoying his plate.....

and so is the daughter and her beau.....