Pot Roast

I'm in the mood for something homey that I haven't made for a long time. I looked at my original pot roast recipes from a long time ago and I wanted to try to make it more sophisticated. This dish can be served with roasted veggies to be healthy but I love serving it with something creamy like mashed potatoes or polenta. I also like to serve something green and crispy with this dish since it can be quite rich. I used green beans but you could make a light salad or any other veggies of your choice.

Ingredients:

1 beef chuck roast (3 lbs)
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 carrots, roughly diced
2 ribs of celery, roughly diced
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
1 14 oz. can of diced tomatoes
2 cups of red wine, I suggest burgundy
2-4 cups of beef stock
3 sprigs of fresh herbs like rosemary, thyme, sage etc.
salt and pepper
olive oil

Directions:

1. Season the roast all over with salt and pepper. In a large Dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add the roast and sear for 4 to 5 minutes, until nicely browned. Turn and sear the other side and then turn and sear the ends. This should take 4 to 5 minutes for each side. Remove the roast to a large plate.

2. Add the carrots, onions, and celery to the dutch oven and cook over medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender but not browned.

3. Add the wine and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Allow mixture to boil for a few minutes to concentrate the flavor. Add the beef stock and fresh herbs.

4. Put the roast back into the pot, bring to a boil, and cover. Reduce heat and allow to cook on the stove (or in the oven) over low heat for 2-3 hours or until meat is very tender.

5. Remove the roast to a cutting board once it is cooked. Skim off as much fat as possible from the sauce. Transfer half the sauce and vegetables to a blender or a food processor fitted with the steel blade and puree until smooth. Pour the puree back into the pot, place on the stovetop over low heat, and return the sauce to a simmer.

6. If you sauce isn't as thick as you'd like, place 2 tablespoons flour and 2 tbs butter in a small bowl and mash them together with a fork. Stir into the sauce and simmer for 2 minutes, stirring until thickened. Taste for seasonings.

7. Remove the strings from the roast, and slice the meat. Serve warm with the sauce spooned over it.

Sauerkraut

I made some schnitzel, cucumber salad, and potatoes for my Dad and he also requested this sauerkraut. I got this recipe from my grandma and it's super simple but takes about 2 hours to finish. The best part of this recipe is that it is better if you make it a day or 2 ahead.

Ingredients:

2 large 24 oz. glass jars of sauerkraut with white wine
1 onion, roughly diced
½ lb bacon, cut into lardons 
4 t sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Sauté onions and bacon together in a large pot.

2. Add cans of kraut with juice. Cover everything with cold water and put lid on pan, allow to cook for 1 hour over medium low heat. Stir occasionally to prevent burning.

3. Drain the kraut but do not rinse. Add any pan drippings and sugar and taste for correct seasoning. Adjust salt and pepper as needed. Tastes better if allowed to marinate for a day and reheated later.

Chicken and Pasta with Garlic Cream Sauce

I was in the mood for something creamy after I spotted the heavy cream in my fridge. I decided a nice hearty pasta after a long day of work would hit the spot. To flavor the cream I just kept it simple with garlic and it turned out really yummy.

Ingredients:

1/2 pre cooked chicken breast
1 handful thin spaghetti
1/3 cup heavy cream
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
1 small pinch red chili flake
salt and pepper
parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Put a large pot of salted water on the stove and bring to a boil

2. Pour cream into a separate pan and add garlic. Over really low heat let garlic infuse cream for as long as possible, stirring occasionally.

3. When water is boiling add pasta. Turn heat up to medium high on other pan.

4. Add chili flake and a few grates of parm cheese to cream. Continue cooking until sauce is thickened to your liking. Season with salt and pepper.

5. Once pasta is done, move into cream sauce to finish cooking. The pasta water will thin out the sauce so make sure to thicken it up again.

6. Put in a bowl and top with cooked chicken and extra parm cheese.

Chicken Caesar Salad

I love this dish because it fills you up but in an absolutely guilt free way. To make this dish super simple I used a bottled caesar dressing but go ahead and make it if you feel up to it!

One of my best tips for salads at home is to season the lettuce with salt and pepper! I found out a lot of chefs season the lettuce and the dressing and in my opinion it really adds a lot to the finished dish.

Ingredients:

Lettuce- I like romaine hearts
1 tbs caesar dressing
1/2 chicken breast- pre cooked
parmesan cheese
salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Heat up whole half of a chicken breast in a skillet over medium heat. Cook a few minutes on each side until warmed up and golden brown on the outside.

2. Place lettuce in a bowl. Season with a pinch of salt and fresh ground black pepper. Pour on 1/2 the dressing and toss with lettuce.

3. Slice chicken breast and fan on top of lettuce. Drizzle rest of dressing on top of the chicken.

4. Finish with parmesan shards- use a peeler and peel off small slices from the edge of a hunk of parm cheese or just sprinkle some grated parm cheese on top.

Chicken Taquitos

After making enchiladas yesterday I had some left over chicken, salsa roja, and cheese filling so I decided to throw it in another tortilla but instead of baking it, I fried it and ta-da a taquito! The filling worked for the taquitos because it was saucy but not overly wet. Since I had the filling done it took me only 15 minutes to roll and fry up a couple of taquitos so it was a great speedy lunch.

Ingredients:

1 cup chicken enchiladas filling
5 corn tortillas
tooth picks for sealing
pan with oil about 1/2 inch high (you want the oil to come half way up the rolled taquito so it frys evenly when it is flipped.)

Directions:

1. Pour oil in a pan and put over medium high heat

2. Warm corn tortillas either over a stove burner or by wrapping the tortillas in a dish towel and microwaving for 20 seconds

3. Take one tortilla and place 2 tbs of filling down the center of it.

4. Roll the tortilla around the filling and close them with 2 toothpicks to seal the open flap.

5. Fry one side of the taquito in the oil for about 3 minutes or until golden brown then turn and cook the other side until crispy.

6. Allow taquitos to drain on paper towels and serve with some guacomole!