Sunday, May 24, 2009

Amazing Pot Roast

O.K. So I love this roast that you get at Chicago Brewery in Las Vegas - its the best ever, the closest I can get to it here in Utah is Costco's Mortons pot roast, but alas I have no good roast recipe - until now. It still doesn't taste the same as chicagos - but WOW is this sucker good! It even makes its own delicious gravy - which is freakin awesome - did I mention I love this recipe??? I got this one off the food network's website - its a paula deen recipe.

Ingredients:
1 (3-4pd) boneless chuck roast (I actually used a pork butt roast that had a bone - still works)
1 tsp House seasoning, recipe follows
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup thinly sliced onion wedges
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 bay leaves
1 (10 3/4oz) can cream of mushroom soup
1/4 c. red wine
2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp beef bouillion granules
3/4 c. water

House Seasoning 1c. salt, 1/4 c. pepper, 1/4 c. garlic powder - I used a tsp instead of a cup - because I did not need that much house seasoning - just mix it together and its done

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Rub the house seasoning into the roast on both sides. Heat oil in a large skillet and brown the roast, searing it on both sides. Place the meat in a roaster pan - (I used a large oven safe pan because I didn't have a small enough roaster.) Add onions and garlic to skillet for 1 to 2 minutes to absorb leftover roast juice. Place into roaster pan with meat and bay leaves.

Combine the mushroom soup, wine, worcestershire sauce and beef bouillon into a bowl. Pour over the roast. Add the water.

Cover the pan with foil and bake for 3 to 3 1/2 hours or until tender.

Remove and discard the bay leaves.

There was a note at the bottom of the recipe that said if the gravy wasn't thick enough remove the meat from the pan - pour the sauce into a saucepan bring it to a boil and add 2 tbsp of cornstarch mixed with 1/4 c cold water stirring constantly until thick.

Hope you LOVE it too :)
Karley

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

The Miracle of Magic Mix

Kari found a really, really cool website while she was playing on Facebook the other day. It's called Everyday Food Storage (I've put a link to the left also). Anyway, one of the things I found on there that I'm really excited about is called Magic Mix. Here is how it's made:

2 1/3 c powdered milk (I just picked up a 10# can of Morning Moos at Walmart for $11)
1 c all purpose flour
1 c (2 sticks) margarine (not spread) or butter at room temperature

Using a blender or blender attachment on your mixer, mix until it looks like cornmeal. Store tightly sealed in the fridge. I put mine in a freezer bag, she suggested a 10# can.

The important thing is everything you can make with it! Today I made chocolate pudding with it. YUM-O. Here's how:

1/2 c sugar
1 c magic mix
2-3 T cocoa
2 c water
1 t vanilla

Combine magic mix, sugar, and cocoa in saucepan and mix well. Add water, stir over medium heat until pudding bubbles. Add vanilla and beat. Cover and cool.

She also has instructions for making white sauce, cream of chicken soup, cream of mushroom soup, etc. (I want to make these and freeze can sized portions). There's even a recipe for homemade fudgesicles using the magic mix.

You can find all her recipes and posts using Magic Mix here.

I love learning all of this new information that helps me to save money and be more self-sufficient. There are so many things that you can make for yourself using basic cooking staples instead of mixes and pre-prepared things from the store.

Tamara

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Mint Brownies

These are sinfully delicious--and when you read the ingredients, you'll know why : P. I had to type the recipe up for an enrichment meeting tonight, so I thought I might as well post it.

Mint Brownies

Brownie Layer
1 c melted butter
3/4 c baking cocoa
2 c sugar
1 1/2 c flour
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla

Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. Cool and then chill in the refrigerator.

Mint Layer
2 c powdered sugar
1/2 c softened margarine
1 T water
1/2 tsp mint extract
3 drops green food coloring

Spread on top of brownies. Chill again in fridge.

Chocolate Layer
12 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
9 T margarine

Melt slowly in microwave, stirring often to prevent burning. Spread over the top of mint layer. Chill once more in fridge.

Tamara