June 30 - Wednesday

Healthy, Healthy, Healthy...

How did we ever survive as a species? How much chicken can a person ACTUALLY eat? Me? I am a PROUD Beef Eater! And I LOVE SEAFOOD!

One of my favorites is Roast and Pototatoes. It's almost impossible to screw it up, almost. Ever taste that stuff in a can? Uck!

My "Nannie" (grandmother), cooked her roast on top of the stove and cooked it till it fell apart. So, once I started cooking, that was my goal. After a few, what I thought, failures...I got it!

The trick is to keep cooking past the tough stage. Who knew?

I usually start with 1 large onion, chopped...the saute in my 5QT Dutch Oven.
Then I add my roast seasoned on both sides with garlic & pepper seasoning.
I brown it on both sides, then add water to cover roast. Cover and cook on Medium heat.

Catalina Roast
This tangy roast will melt in your mouth and comfort the soul . Serve with warm bread or rolls and a simple salad.

Ingredients
1 5lb Beef roast
1 large bottle catalina dressing
1 pkg onion soup mix
2 c water
1 lb bag baby carrots
2 lb yukon gold potatoes cubed (or any potato you choose)

Directions
Brown roast in dutch oven on both sides. Pour soup mix on top and 1/2 bottle of dressing. Cook on Medium heat till roast falls apart (about 2 1/2 hours in my kitchen, but will vary by pot and oven) . Add vegetables and rest of dressing. Cook 1 hr longer, or until vegetables are tender. Shred meat and serve with some of the dressing (from slow cooker) on the side.* Can be cooked in the oven as well. Only takes 3 hrs for the meat, cook on 350*. Cook Time: 5 Hrs on Hight in Slow Cookers. Servings: 7

As you know cook time will vary depending on your definition of Medium heat, weither you use an aluminum pot or stainless or even a cast iron pot. You should have an idea of how your "kitchen" works. I have come home after work and prepared a roast. That's me getting home around 5pm and serving around 7/7:30pm. Like I said, I like my roast to fall apart and to do that you have to let it get tough first and keep cooking.

I love a good yeast roll and I am not above cheating! Parkerhouse Rolls! YES! You have plenty of time to let these babies rise before the roast is ready...go get some. Let them rise on the countertop by the stove. Pop them in the oven after the roast is ready. Remove the lid from your dutch oven and let the pot roast cool while the rolls are in the oven. Ta Da! Dinner!

This is just one of the simple recipes I use for roast. I like to change it up, to use other recipes, perhaps I'll share another...next time.