Fall-Apart Roast and Veggies, Crock Pot Version

Photo by Denice Rovira Hazlett

Ask my husband who makes the best pot roast on the face of the planet, whose is the most flavorful and tender, with just the right balance of perfectly-seasoned carrots and potatoes and will always and faithfully answer the same way.

Nancy Billings.

When we were first married, I was still learning the basics--starting potatoes in cold water, starting stir-fry vegetables in a hot pan, and having the tip figured out when the pizza guy rang the bell. If ever I missed an ingredient or step in my red-and-white covered Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, we were always welcome at Nancy's house. And if it happened to be a special occasion, like Easter Sunday (and Nancy always made it clear that she'd love to have our company on Easter Sunday), there was sure to be a falling-apart roast and mounds of steaming mashed potatoes. 

For years, I've tried duplicating that roast, but it's always too dry, or too gristly, or not quite flavorful enough. But today, I finally found a recipe that looked promising, and with a few variations, it's as close as I've ever come to making a roast like Nancy's.

Part of the secret for this is the right cut of meat. The best cuts for cooking in crock pots are cuts that are normally tough when cooked any other way. Inexpensive cuts like chuck roasts (which I used today), pork shoulder or beef brisket work the best. The low-temperature, long cooking time perfectly breaks down the meat's connective tissue, and you end up with a very tender pot roast. 

After the post-lunch nap, as I sat down to write this post, I asked my family who makes the best roast ever. I wasn't surpised when husband agreed that today's was pretty darn close but maintained that Nancy's were still the best.

But each of my darling children, all too young to clearly remember any roasts but mine, lavished generous praise upon today's mouthwatering Easter feast. 

Mission accomplished. 

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Fall-Apart Roast and Veggies, Crock Pot Version

Ingredients

1 tablespoon cornstarch

2 tablespoons water

8 medium carrots, peeled, cut into chunks

2 medium onions, each cut into 8 wedges

6 small red potatoes, quartered

6 cloves of garlic, peeled

Coarse salt and ground pepper

1-2 tablespoons oil

1 3-pound beef chuck roast, extra fat trimmed off (*NOTE: Choose a roast with plenty of fat. That's what makes it so tender)

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 bay leaf

Directions

Put the carrots, onions and potatoes into the crock pot; season with salt and pepper and mix. 

Stir together cornstarch and cold water until smooth. Mix with the vegetables. 

Sprinkle roast generously with salt and pepper.

Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat until hot. Sear roast for several minutes on both sides. Place on top of vegetables. Add garlic and bay leaf, the sprinkle with Worcestershire sauce.

Cook until the roast is falling apart, around 10 hours on low, or 6 hours on high. Be sure to check for tenderness. Cooking time will vary with different crock pot brands/sizes. 

When it's finished, you can serve it straight out of the pot, or transfer it to a platter.

The cornstarch will have thickened the juices. If you'd rather, you can leave the potatoes out and pour the juices over some savory garlic mashed potatoes. 

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Steel Cut Oats

Photo by Vegan Feast via Flickr.I'm terrible about eating breakfast. Awful. When I wake in the morning, I hit the ground running. I'm lucky if I remember to brew a cup of cinnamon tea, and then I'm lucky if I remember to take the strainer out, and then I'm lucky if I remember to drink it. Good thing cinnamon tea is delicious cold.

But to stop and eat breakfast? Nearly unheard of. My body, however, is beginning to protest. "No breakfast?" it grumbles. "Then no brains." And because I need my body to survive, because I need my brains to write, I have begun to take notice.
I love steel cut oats with a bit of butter, a puddle of syrup, a few islands of fresh berries. What I don't love? Keeping it company as it cooks. I wondered if steel cut oats could be tossed into my rice cooker and forgotten, kind of like cinnamon tea. So I did a little searching on the interwebs, and I found this recipe on Tastespotting. I made a batch this morning (I even remembered to eat it) and it's as simple as it sounds. My husband and I each downed a big earthenware bowl of the stuff, and now I'm hooked. It literally requires two minutes of your time, if you don't count scarfing it down.
 

Ingredients

1 part steel cut oats
3 parts water
pinch of salt for each cup of oats

Directions

Put oats, water and salt in rice cooker. Cook up to half the maximum capacity of the rice cooker, since oats seem to bubble up a lot more than rice.

Press “on.”

Top it with brown sugar and butter, or jam and syrup. Toss in some fruit, a few toasted pecans, maybe a dash of cinnamon, and you've got yourself a delicious breakfast. 

Hungarian Pork Roast with Caraway Sauerkraut and Onion Gravy

How can you have a New Year's Eve gathering without tender pork, fluffy potatoes and tangy sauerkraut? You can't, that's how.

This year, our family is celebrating New Year's Eve with a houseful of loved ones who also happen to dig good food, and that house will soon be filled with the mouthwatering aromas of the trifecta of Auld Lang Syne deliciousness.

This pork roast has been my standby for the past few years, with the big stars of the show being the thickened caraway sauerkraut and the savory onion gravy. Cook the pork sl-o-o-o-o-w-ly for maximum tenderness and flavor!

(8^8)-*-.oOo.-*-(8^8)-*-.oOo.-*-(8^8)

Hungarian Pork Roast with Onion Gravy and Caraway Sauerkraut

1 large pork roast (6-7 pounds)
7 large onions, peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons sugar to caramelize the onions
salt and pepper

Seer all sides of the roast in a hot roasting pan over high heat. Do not add any fat.
Put all the chopped onions and 2 tablespoons sugar into a roasting pan (I use my electric roaster when doubling this for a great big batch) and cover.
Cook at 325 degrees for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
Check periodically to turn it over and push the onions around. The onions should caramelize, or take on a rich, brown color.

When roast is finished cooking, remove it from the roasting pan.
Mix 2 tablespoons of flour into 2 cups of water.
Stir the water/flour mixture into the onions, scraping the sides of the pan to get all of the onions/juices into the gravy. Season with salt and pepper.

Caraway Sauerkraut
2 pounds of Sauerkraut, preferably the bagged kind, rinsed and drained
1 cup of water
1 tablespoon of caraway seeds
1 tablespoon of sugar
2 tablespoons of lard or butter, partially melted
2 tablespoons of flour

Put the sauerkraut in a pot. Add the caraway seeds, sugar and water.
Slowly cook until the kraut is soft, about a 1/2 hour.
In a small bowl, mix the lard or butter and the flour. Stir into the kraut. Stir until thickened.
Simmer for five minutes.

Serve this with mashed potatoes (be sure to make your mashed potatoes with plenty of butter, cream cheese, heavy cream and salt/pepper).

Original recipe found at June Meyer's Authentic Hungarian Recipes. It's packed with fabulous foods! This particular dish includes a recipe for Farina dumplings which I have not yet tried, but look fabulous and can be frozen for use in other recipes. Her recipe for mashed potatoes looks great, with the addition of egg and sour cream.

Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala

I hate to admit it, but it took 40 years for me to experience Indian cuisine, and it was The Best Indian cuisine in North America. I was very, very hungry, and the buffet at Indian Spice in Pittsburgh, PA, was ample and delicious, especially the Chicken Tikka Masala. 

Since then, I've had Chicken Tikka Masala at lots of other places, but none like Indian Spice. I've tried making it at home, with all of the prep steps, whirring the hot sauce in the trusty old Cuisinart, but it hasn't been quite what that very first taste delivered. 

This, however, is pretty darn close. Plus, it's easier than other recipes I've attempted. It comes from The Tasty Kitchen, and it's perfectly lovely. 

Serve it with Curried Lentils and Basmati rice. 

FOR THE CHICKEN:
9 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs
1 Tablespoon Ground Coriander
1 Tablespoon Ground Cumin
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
1 cup Yogurt
4 Tablespoons Butter
1 whole Jalapeno Pepper, Stem Removed, Pepper Pierced Several Times With A Sharp Knife
FOR THE SAUCE:
4 Tablespoons Butter
1 whole Large Onion,
Peeled And Diced 6 cloves Garlic,
Peeled And Minced
1 Tablespoon Kosher Salt
3 Tablespoons Garam Masala
1 piece Fresh Ginger, About 2-3 Inches, Peeled And Grated
4 cups Crushed Tomatoes
1 Tablespoon Raw Sugar (can Substitute White Granulated If Necessary)
2 teaspoons Cornstarch Or Cleargel 1-½ cup Heavy Cream
TO SERVE:
Hot Buttered Rice And Peas Chopped Fresh Cilantro

Cut the boneless, skinless chicken thighs into 1- 1 1/2 inch pieces. Sprinkle the coriander, cumin and salt over the chicken, then stir in the yogurt until all the pieces are evenly coated. Cover lightly and let sit for 10 minutes before proceeding.

Melt 1 tablespoon the butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Raise the heat to medium high and quickly brown about 1/4 of the chicken. Transfer browned chicken to the slow cooker as it is finished, using 1 tablespoon of butter per batch, and repeat until the chicken is all in the slow-cooker. Throw the pierced jalapeno in on top of the chicken.

Prepare the sauce. Return the pan to the heat and melt the butter over medium high heat. Add the onions, garlic, and kosher salt, then stir. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onions begin to lightly brown around the edges.

Stir in the garam masala and ginger and cook until fragrant (about 1 minute) before raising the heat to high and adding the crushed tomatoes and raw sugar. Stir well, scraping the caramelized bits from the bottom of the pan, and bring to a boil. Pour over the chicken in the slow-cooker.

Cover and cook on LOW for 5 hours, or until the chicken is very tender.

Use a fork or whisk to stir the cornstarch or cleargel into the heavy cream until smooth. Pour into the slow-cooker and stir gently until the colour is even. Replace the lid and let cook for 10 minutes or until bubbly around the edges.

Serve over hot rice and peas, topped with a generous amount of chopped cilantro.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Boy, do I get a hankering for this stuff! Good thing it's easy to make and I normally have most of the ingredients on hand, since we practically tote home hot pepper sauce by the barrel.

I've been told that this makes a delicious omelette or enchilada filling, too. I haven't done it, but I'm sure it's true. Let me know if you try it. 

20 oz cooked chicken breast, cut into bite-sized cubes *
2 8 oz. blocks of cream cheese, softened and cut into cubes
1 c ranch dressing
3/4 c. hot cayenne pepper sauce (I've been using Frank's)
1 1/2 c. cheddar, shredded

1. Heat the chicken and hot sauce in a saucepan over medium heat.
2. Stir in cream cheese and ranch dressing
3. Mix in 3/4 c. of the cheddar cheese
4. Pour into crock pot (or, if baking, a baking dish)
5. Top with remaining cheddar cheese
6. Cook on low for one hour (or bake 20 min. at 350°F or until mixture is heated through and bubbly)
7. Serve with tortilla chips and celery sticks

*For the chicken breast, you can either use canned chunk white chicken, or you can poach your own. I use boneless chicken breast and poach it in salted water, then cut it up when it cools.