Sunday Dinner: Braised Pot Roast with Smashed Potatoes & Glazed Carrots

The Maine winter of yesteryear has arrived! For those of us who complain that the winter we experience now is nothing like those we experienced when we were kids, I think we may find ourselves speechless! Last week, we had an ice storm that left us without power for 3 days.  That's nothing compared to January of 1998, which was 9 days!! Yikes, I'm so appreciative that we had heat from our wood stove!!

Our granddaughter, Ashley, is visiting for the week.  One of her favorite meals is braised pot roast.  Trying to be a nice 'Mim', as she calls me, I decided to make it for her.

One of the best things about braising is that you can purchase a cheaper cut of meat and it's just as tasty as more pricey cuts!!  For today, I'm using chuck.

 

                                          This is a 3 lb. roast that I bought on sale for $11.00 
                                           The other ingredients you'll need are the following:

                                                               1/4 c. flour
                                                             Salt & Pepper
                                                             3 Whole Cloves
                                                       12 ounce bottle of beer
                                                         2 tbsp. brown sugar
                                                        2 tbsp. white vinegar
                                                          1 medium onion
                                                          4 strips of bacon

                           Generously flour the beef along with salt and pepper and set to one side.

         Using a few tablespoons of canola oil, saute the onions and cook the four strips of bacon.

Once those are cooked, take out of the pan and brown the beef.  Make sure to do this on all sides.

Once the beef is browned, remove it . Make a bed with the onions and bacon and place the roast back on top of it.  Mix the brown sugar and vinegar together, along with the cloves.  Add to the pot.

Finally, add a 12 ounce bottle of beer. I've tried Guiness before , but I've found a regular bottle of beer is just as good.  The key to braising is not covering the meat with liquid.  It should go just under halfway up the side.

The aroma is unbelievable!!!  The beer froths up and the only thing left to do is cover and wait!!!

Simmer on low heat for approximately 2 1/2 hours stove top.  The internal temperature you are looking for is 120 degrees for a wonderful pink, juicy cut!!

Sometimes I add my vegetables to the liquid mixture. I decided to make them on the side for this evening. Ashley loves garlic smashed potatoes.  I use about 5 or 6 potatoes.  Wash them, slice them with the skins on and boil until tender.  Take them off the heat and drain.  Add 4 tbsp. of chopped garlic, a stick of butter, salt & pepper and they are good to go.  If you aren't counting calories or fat grams, you can also use 1/2 c. milk but I find you really don't miss it!!

The glazed carrots are just as simple.  I peel and slice about 6 whole carrots.  Boil until tender.  Add  1/4 c. of honey, 1/2 c. orange juice, 1 tbsp. orange rind and 1/2 stick of butter to the drained carrots and simmer an additional 5 minutes.  These are sooooo good.  You can also cut out the butter for a healthier choice.  You won't necessarily miss it!!

One thing is for certain, it takes time and energy to make a meal from scratch. It's easy to cut corners and that's perfectly fine if you are in a time crunch like many of us are.  If you do have the circumstances, try doing it just one day a week.  Your family will truly love it.

I've often had the discussion with my husband about how people work hard to pay a mortgage, yet the only evidence of life in that home is the family portrait hanging on the wall.   We work too hard NOT to spend time in the place that takes majority of our paychecks. Why not share it with others?

My sister in-law, Suzan, the family historian, gave me copies of her great grandfather's diaries.  It proved what we have always known, that Sunday's were a time to worship God and visit with family and friends.

It's not too late to do just that.  It's just a matter to recommit to the important things, the basics.  It doesn't have to be anything extravagant.   Take this challenge:  Next Sunday, arrange to invite someone over. One or two people is perfect!!  Leave the cell phones at the door and pull out the old photo albums or cribbage board.

Let me know how it goes!!!

  
I did manage to whip up a batch of chocolate chip cookies for dessert. That recipe will be in a future blog.

Red Pepper and Garlic Hummus

Home made hummus, where have you been all of my life????  At my husband's urging, I made hummus for the first time!!  Believe it or not, it took five minutes!!!

I can't believe all of these years I've bought it in the store, when it can be made better, fresher and cheaper at home!!

                                                      2 cans of Garbanzo Beans (chick peas)
                                                        1/4 c. Roasted Red Peppers
                                                         4 tbsp. of  Chopped Garlic
                                                            2 tbsp. of Olive Oil
                                                             2 tbsp. Lemon Juice
                                                               1 tsp. Salt


The only thing you have to do is drain your beans!! You can make any variation you like.  I love roasted red peppers and garlic.  Throw everything into a food processor and turn it on high!!

                                It yields about four cups of hummus and costs less than $3.00!!!
 Two things you want to do, make sure it's creamy and refrigerate for an hour before serving to allow it to firm up.

It's funny how we hold back from trying new things because of fear of the unknown. I thought it was too hard and I was better off buying it in the grocery store.  Never again!

                                            Such a healthy alternative to high fat dips! 

PS- You don't need a honking food processor like mine.  I've said this in an earlier blog my husband is all about 'go big or go home' and insisted on a huge mixer and a huge food processor. A small, sweet one is all you need unless you plan to open a catering business!!

Raspberry Filled Shortbread Cookies

I've never made filled cookies before.  I'm trying to explore new recipes and rid myself of the anxiety I suffer from by making new things!!  I saw this recipe on my favorite show, The Chew, this week.  I altered it a bit due to a lack of pantry items, but they still came out tasty!!!

Pretty basic ingredients as you can see:            2 1/2 c. flour
                                                                 1 c. confectioners sugar
                                                                      1 1/2 tsp. salt
                                                               2 1/4 sticks of SALTED butter
                                                                     Zest one lemon
                                                                    2 tsp. orange zest
                                                                       1 tsp. vanilla
                                                                1 c. melted milk chocolate
                                                    raspberry jam (or any other jam you prefer)

Mix the dry ingredients and set aside.  Thoroughly blend the butter with vanilla, lemon & orange zest .

Add half of  the dry mixture and blend, add the remaining.  This makes a very sticky dough. 

Form the dough into a ball , wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. This next part was the most difficult for me.  Make sure the surface you are going to roll out the dough on is WELL floured.  Also, make sure the dough and rolling pin are WELL floured.  If they are not, you will end up with a sticky mess!!  I learned the hard way!!!!!  Once I realized what I needed to do, it was easy.

Roll out the dough to about 1/4 inch in thickness.  Take a cookie cutter, or a small glass and cut out the cookies.  Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes.  I recommend using parchment paper to line the cookie sheet.

After the cookies have cooled, melt 1 c. of milk chocolate chips.  Use one cookie as the base and put 1 tsp. of jam in the center.  Take the top cookie and dip it into the chocolate halfway.

                                         Finish by sprinkling confectioners sugar over the top.

These are an affordable cookie to make with basic items you most likely have in your cupboards.  They can be a little challenging to handle at the rolling of the dough stage, but if you use generous amounts of flour that I suggested above, you'll maneuver it just fine!!

They taste delicious and the mixture of the citrus zest along with the raspberry jam and chocolate will give you an explosion of flavor in every bite!!! 

Chicken Tortilla Soup

I am the first to admit that soup is not one of my favorite things!  I am a meat and potato girl at heart.  After becoming a mother, I had to step up and be an example to my kids.  With that, I added several soups to my recipe file to include this very hearty chicken tortilla soup!!

                                         It's packed with ingredients so lets get the list started!
                
                                                2lbs. cooked chicken chopped or shredded
                                                                   2  scallions
                                                      2 cans of  fire roasted tomatoes
                                                              1 bunch of cilantro
                                                    3 tbsp. of garlic chopped or minced
                                 1 or 2 poblano peppers (depending on how much heat you like)
                                                                1 can of black beans
                                                                1 can of sweet corn
                                                                    1/4 c. lime juice
                                                                       1 avocado
                                                            2 tbsp. Crushed Red Pepper
                                             6 cups of chicken broth (low sodium if possible)
                                                 1/2 c. shredded monterey jack to top with
                                                                 Salt & Pepper to Taste
                                                                 1 bag of tortilla chips
                                                       *optional dollop of sour cream if desired
                                                    * sections of lime to juice on top if desired

                                                  Wow, that's quite the list, but the rest is easy!!!

I always start off by sauteing the scallions and garlic to release the juices in a tablespoon of canola oil. 

                         Next, I add the chicken broth, the beans and corn, and the chopped cilantro.

It's time to add the peppers. I chopped them fairly fine. Make sure to wash your hands thoroughly after to avoid having the oils stay on your hands.  If you want more HEAT , it's perfectly fine to add a few of the pepper seeds to the stock.

The salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, and fire roasted tomatoes can follow.  Any diced tomato can be used but the fire roasted kind are by far the best for this flavorful Mexican soup!

                                           Stir, cover and simmer for approximately one hour

      Add the chopped chicken and sliced avocado. Cover and simmer for an additional 30 minutes

                         My favorite part is lifting the lid and taking a big ladle to test the first scoop!!

Top with shredded cheese and tortilla chips.  You can break them into bite size pieces which makes it easier to handle.  Also, you can add sour cream and an additional squirt of lime juice if you choose!

This is a fantastic dish to bring to a Mexican dinner.  It's a soup for the mature eater who isn't afraid of multiple ingredients under one roof.

It's hearty enough to serve alone with bread, but also is wonderful with nachos, burritos, etc. 
While I don't have the exact calorie count calculated yet, I'm sure it's low considering the ingredients.

It's not exactly an inexpensive soup to make, but when you take into account what you pay for a cup of soup at a restaurant, it's nothing compared to that!!  Speaking of which, recently I was out and was outraged that a cup of soup was $4.99 and a bowl was $6.99!!  This recipe yields 5 quarts!!! 

My son, Sam, who is currently serving as a minister in Nicaragua, loves this soup!! It's one of his favorites.  His diet there is very limited due to lack of resources and funds to purchase them.  He was talking to me through Face Time yesterday while I was preparing this dinner.  I felt pretty bad when he asked me what I was making!!  No worries, there will be plenty waiting for him when he arrives home in February!!

What Makes a Memorable Meal?

Many people have often wondered what makes a memorable meal? The truth , in my opinion, has very little to do with the food. The real pulse behind it is a loving host.

I grew up in an extremely poor family with very little 'extras' in our cabinets that many view as staples today.  Regardless, my greatest childhood joy was coming home from school to ask my mom what was for supper?  Does anyone say 'supper' anymore????   In Maine, we say 'suppa' !!!!

I was fortunate enough to have a mom who was there when I arrived home.  I took it for granted back then, but so appreciate it now.  We had a meal together every night.  It usually consisted of a meat, starch, and vegetable.  That was the norm back in the day.  When she ran out of bread, she always made biscuits!! Moms during that era knew how to improvise and be resourceful! We could learn a lot from them. We live in a world of instant gratification.  If we don't have a certain ingredient, we make a trip to the market which usually leads to purchasing other items we truly do not need.

My mom's proudest dish was her beef stew.  She has no secret recipe or secret ingredient that she holds back from disclosing.  All of her grandchildren absolutely rave about her stew.  What's so special about it?  She is the special , secret ingredient!!!!  The second best thing is eating it at her house!!

What's so special about her house? Is it something like the old, spacious farmhouses they depict grandmothers to live in the movies? No.  She lives in a one bedroom, elderly housing apartment.
What makes it so inviting? It's impeccably clean and orderly. More importantly, it's filled with her love.  She  takes deep pride in taking great care of the few possessions she owns and keeping a clean home.  As the mother of five, she often said 'just because you have a lot of kids, doesn't mean you can't have a clean house.'  I recalled those words often while raising my four children.

Back in the 1960's and 1970's supermarkets gave S&H green stamps at the end of ones purchase . It was a great perk for moms because they would save these and cash them in at the S&H store for something special for themselves or their family.  It was a thrill for us to have my dad take us there when mom had enough to redeem. Most of the time, it was months in the waiting. Words cannot describe the unbelievable joy my mom experienced when she saved enough stamps for a dinnerware service for 8!!!  It even included a gravy bowl!!! She was incredibly happy to come home to set the table for our first meal on her first set of  'real' dishes!!

Long before the days of HGTV, the Food Network, Amazon, Target, Walmart, the internet, BLOGS :), etc., people relied on what they had at hand.  There wasn't anyone to tell them how they should decorate, cook, and entertain at the click of a mouse.  That was probably a good thing  because they weren't able to compare and maybe become depressed if they couldn't keep in pace with latest and greatest. For many housewives in my mom's situation, the big splurge was a trip to the S& H Store!

What a change from the society we live in today.  It's not enough to have a set of dishes, many people have several.  The sad reality is that many will end up in a yard sale a few years later. My mom's dishes are in my possession.  She gave them to me a few years back as she no longer needs a service for 8. She had them for close to 40 years. 

I will highlight them in a future blog.

My goal in writing this edition of the blog was to encourage people to entertain regardless of their skill or resources.  We  allow ourselves to be over consumed with stress trying to put on the perfect meal, that we decide not to do anything. It doesn't have to be that way!! Your guests do not want perfection, they want you!!

Follow the lead of my mom:  Keep it as simple as a bowl of stew, serve it in a clean house, and while it doesn't have to be served on fine china it does have to be SERVED with LOVE!!  That's what makes a memorable meal!!!

Ask any of her kids or grandchildren, when you want comfort food, go to Evelyn's!! Mama knows best!! 

Spinach Pie

This recipe is so simple that I don't have to give step by step instructions!!!  It seriously takes about 10 minutes to prep and 25 minutes to bake!!  I save time with this one using a store bought crust.  Of course you can make your own, but it's not really necessary.

                               

                                                      
                                                                     Ingredients:

                           1 box of frozen spinach (thawed) or a bag of fresh with stems removed
                                                             1 c. of  WARM Milk
                                                                    1 c. of Flour
                                        16 ounces of  Shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
                                                                 1 tsp. Baking Powder
                                                                         4 Eggs
                                                               3 tbsp. Minced Garlic
                                                              1/2 c. Fried Dry Onions
                                                                 1 roll of Pie Dough

Preheat the oven to 350.  Place the pie crust in a 9 inch pan and bake for 10 minutes. Rib the edges around the top.  While the crust is cooking start the filling.

 Mix the dry ingredients of flour and  baking powder. Add the milk, eggs, and cheese. Finally, fold in the spinach.  If you are using frozen spinach, make sure it is well drained.  Pour into the pie pan and cook for 35 minutes.

Take out the pie and place the fried dry onions evenly over the top.  You can also sprinkle a little more cheese over the onions.  Put back in the oven for an additional 2 minutes.  Let stand for about 15 minutes before serving.

My youngest daughter, Kayla, is my other tough critic.  When she tried this, she said , 'you have to put this on the blog!'   That's quite a compliment!! Usually, she'll say I should add this or that, but today I got it right!! They say daughters are their mothers toughest critics and that's proven true with my girls!!  Constructive criticism is what makes one better and I thank them for that!! 

I know this will be a hit for most of you, especially if you are a spinach lover or have one in your family. This is also a wonderful dish to reheat. It's actually even better reheated in my opinion.  It can be eaten for any meal, too.

I've decided that the next time I'm asked to bring something to a gathering, I'll be taking this one along!!

Ginger Snaps in a Snap!

These little morsels of yum are going to make you look and feel like a genuine baker!!  They are an old fashioned favorite that are still popular down to this day.  With the many health benefits of ginger and molasses, they are a great alternative to chemical laced, store bought cookies. Not to mention tastier!! 

                     I love the simplicity of the ingredients and the quick prep time that's involved.
                                                   
                                                                      2 c. Flour
                                                                  1 Tbsp. of Ginger
                                                                 2 tsp. Baking Soda
                                                                       1 c. Sugar
                                                                  1/4 c. Molasses
                                                                 1 tsp. Cinnamon
                                                                    1/2 tsp. Salt
                                                                3/4 c. Shortening
                                                                         1 egg

                                                       Pretty simple and inexpensive!!

               I start with combining the shortening and the sugar.  Mix it thoroughly until creamy.

            In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients of flour, ginger, salt,cinnamon and baking soda.

Make sure these are well blended.  Set aside.  Add the egg and the molasses to the shortening and sugar.  Then, slowly add the dry mixture a little at a time, blending as you go.

The batter will be thick and malleable.  Using a teaspoon as your measure, form into balls.  With a dish of sugar on the side, dip the ball into it and put onto a baking sheet.

 

                Put into a preheated 350 degree oven for 12 minutes...NO MORE...NO LESS!!

This recipe yields about 4 1/2 to 5 dozen cookies!!  These are soft and chewy. If you store them in a zip lock bag, they stay fresh for over a week.  If they get a little hard, just zap them into the microwave for a few seconds and they bounce back to life.

I like to put a modern twist to them, so last night I made Ginger Snap Salted Caramel Sundaes!!!
                                                              They were a hit!!!

         This morning, I had two with a cup of tea.  A nice way to start a cold November day in Maine.

                                       As I said before, they are easy, cheap, and healthy to make.
                   I'm sure they will be a go-to in your kitchen soon for a quick and delicious dessert.

      When people ask, 'Did you make these? They are awesome!' , you can smile and answer 'YES!'