Easy Pot Roast

Being a busy mom I love recipes I can throw in the oven and leave in oven for a few hours. Isn't it great to come home to hot meal?

This is a easy roast that I make on violin lesson night. The kids come home from school and we leave almost right away, we don't get back until 5:30. 

One thing I don't like is to cook my potatoes with a roast. For some reason, at least where I live, it seems to be a requirement to add potaotes. Before I leave the house I peel and cut my potatoes and let them sit in the pot of water until I get them. The second I walk in the door (or call the hubby 10 min before I get home) turn on the stove. I love mashed potatoes with some of the roast and juice on them or make some gravy out of the juices.

What you need:

3-5 pound chuck roast

Salt and pepper

6 carrots

2 onions

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 cups of beef broth

1 teaspoon  Rosemary

1 teaspoon thyme

Preheat oven to 275 degrees.

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet. Add carrots and cook about 3 min or until they just start to get tender and the outside slightly browns. Remove from skillet and set aside.

Cut the onions in half and then put the in skillet for about 1 minute a side.

 

Rub salt and pepper on roast and then add remaining oil to skillet. Brown roast on both sides about 3-5 min a side.

Put roast into a baking pan.

I had to buy 2 roasts. I went to our local grocer and they cut all their roast at 2 pounds. Lesson learned, don't skip a trip to the butcher.

Using about 1 cup of beef broth pour into the skillet and using a whisk scrap the bottom of skillet to deglaze. 

Pour the broth from the skillet into pan with roast. Add more broth until it is about half covering the roast. Top with herbs. Place onions and carrots on top.

Cover and place in oven for 4 hours. The roast is ready when it easily falls adapt with a fork.

My favorite part of this roast recipe is the left overs. Shred up the left over beef and save the juices to make a delishs beef and vegetable and/or barley soup.

Barcelona Chicken

This recipe is one of those that you read and think that's a strange one but the results are delicious.

You will need:

4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts

9 oz frozen artichoke hearts (the store I was at only had canned and it worked out just fine)

1 medium onion cut in 1/2 inch pieces

2 tablespoons flour

8 oz can whole tomatoes

2/3 cup picante sauce

1 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon thyme leaves

Coarsely chopped cilantro

Rice

Place chicken in a single layer in baking dish.

In a bowl toss artichokes and onion in the flour. Because I used canned and not frozen artichokes I was easily able to cut each artichoke in 4ths. While not part of the original recipe I loved it because almost every bit had artichoke.

Mix in remaining ingredients except for the cilantro and rice. Mix well and then pour over the chicken.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or over night.

When you are ready for dinner place chicken and sauce in a large skillet, arrange chicken into a single layer. Bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 min or until chicken is cooked through.

Serve over rice and top with a little cilantro. I usually serve with a side of sautéed asparagus.

Trust me it is just as good if not better tasting then it looks. I love this chicken dish.

Green bean casserole

A staple at all holiday parties. Also my oldest sons favorite food. This another super easy recipe for pot lucks.

What you need:

4 cans of green beans 

2 cans of cream of mushroom soup

6 oz fried onions 

1 tablespoon Worstershire sauce

Mix green beans, soup, and Worstershire together with about 1/3 of the fried onions (crumbled) 

Place in casserole dish or 8x8 pan.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 min. 

Put the remaining onions on top and bake another 15 min at 350.

Taco Casserole

I made this casserole with my moms taco salad and it was a hit. Here is salad: http://tristastastytidbits.blogspot.com/2015/01/my-mom-taco-salad.html

Now I found this recipe going through some old cook books. This recipe is super easy and fast. I decided to make it because I was intrigued by the use of crescent rolls and mozzarella cheese in a taco dish.

You will need:

1-1/2 pounds ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped

1 package of taco seasoning

8 oz tomato sauce

1 cup sour cream

2 cups mozzarella 

1 can of crescent rolls

2 tablespoons melted butter

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Brown ground beef and onion together and then drain well. Stir taco seasoning into meat with the tomato sauce.

Grease a 9x13 pan. Pour meat mixture into bottom of pan.

Top with sour cream and mozzarella. Desperate rolls and place on top of cheese. Pour melted butter on top of the rolls and then sprinkle with Parmesan.

Bake for 20 min in a 375 degree oven.

You can serve like this or top with lettuce and tomato.

Sugar cookie cut outs

I made these cookies for Santa this year and took some to our Christmas Eve party. They were a huge hit.

You will need:

1-1/2 cups of butter

2 cups white sugar

4 eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon Almond extract

5 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 tsp salt

For Icing you will need:

2 cups powdered sugar

4-6 teaspoons milk

4 teaspoons corn syrup

1/2teaspoon almond extract

First cream together the butter and sugar. Then beat in the eggs, vanilla and almond extract.

Stir in the flour, baking powder and salt.

Cover and chill in refrigerator for at least 1 hour. I refrigerate over night. The longer it chills the easier it is to work with.

After it has chilled roll it out on a flour surface ( I actually use regular white sugar instead of flour) until it is 1/4 to 1/2 inch think and use cookie cutters to make shapes. 

Bake for 6 to 8 min in a 400 degree oven.

While the cookies bake and cool you can make the icing. This icing uses corn syrup which allows the icing to harden so you can stack the cookies but still stay soft enough at the same time.

Just mix all the icing ingredients to get her with and electric mixer until it is smooth. You can start with 2 teaspoons of milk and the slowly add more until it is the consistency you want. 2 teaspoons of milk is more of a spreadable consistency but I like to put the icing into containers to squeeze and decorate.

After the cookies have cooled you can frost and decorate. I like to make an outline of the design and let it harden a little before filling in so that the icing doesn't run.

My favorite were the snow globe cookies.

 

Here are all 3 designs I made this time.

My mom's taco salad

My mother. Oh what can say about her? I love her, she is one of the kindest people (borderline that I'm so nice it's crazy type) but she can not cook. My sister and I have jokes for years that we grew up on Hamburger Helper. She had a few other staples she made most of which my kids think are not actual food. However she did make this simple salad for pot lucks and parties (the only food anyone trusted her with). I was craving it the other day and made a full batch (enough for a pot luck) and my family ate the whole thing!!! So here is a recipe so easy even my mom can make it and we thank her for passing it down.

What you need:

1 pound ground beef

1 head of lettuce

1 onion -diced

1 tomato - diced

1 jar of light red kidney beans

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 - 1/2 cups Catalina salad dressing

3 cups Fritos

First you will need to brown the ground beef. Get the ground beef crumbles pretty fine like you would for tacos. Drain the fat from the beef and cool the beef in the fridge.

Cut up lettuce and then mix lettuce, onion, tomato, beans and cheese  together in a large bowl. Once the beef is cooled mix it into the salad. 

Right before serving mix in the dressing and crumbled Fritos.

Cherry Jubilee Cheesecake bars

This is one of my favorite and quick desserts. The recipe used to be on the back of the Betty Crocker cherry chip cake mix box. They recently changed the design of the box and it sadly does not have the recipe anymore. Luckily I saved the recipe and I am going to share it with you.

You will need:

1 box of Betty Crocker cherry chip cake mix

1 stick (1/2 cup) of butter-softened 

2 8 oz boxes of cream cheese

1 can of rich and creamy cherry frosting

3 eggs

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

Beat cake mix and butter together with an electric mixer until crumbling.

Reserve one cup of mix and press the remaining mix into the bottom of a ungreased 9x13 pan

In the same bowl beat together cream cheese and frosting until smooth. Then beat in eggs.

Spread the frosting mix on top of the cake mix.

Now sprinkle the reserved cake mix on top.

Bake at 325 for 45 min. The let cool and refrigerate for at least  2 hours. Keep refrigerated.

Here is a stock photo of the bars because the lighting was bad in my kitchen and my photo doesn't look as yummy