Perfect Pot Roast & Twice Baked New Potatoes

I must admit.  I was really reaching for the stars on this recipe.  To this day, I am not quite sure WHAT made me want to cook a roast for my in-laws.  (I speak of it, as if it was an eternity ago.  It was 4 days ago)  

I had yet to make a good roast.  When I was living with MyMama, she would always tell me: Roasts are SOOOO easy in the crock pot, just throw it in with some water and veggies, and let it cook for ever!

Well wouldn't ya know it, when I get out on my own, with my very own crock pot, what do you think the first thing I was going to cook was?  DUH! Roast!  Well that one turned out fine.  I mean it was pretty bland, and rather dry,  so CLEARLY by fine, I mean merely edible.

The next one was similar, and the next, and the next....and the next: Are you seeing a pattern?

So when TheHubby asked for a roast,  the same thing happened.  It was actually an issue I have with most red meat (except for hamburgers)

So I was chatting with MyMama and I told her how I couldn't make a roast to save my life, and I NEEDED to know her secret.  Well she told me:  It's just what I have always done, add the roast, some veggies, some water, and a french onion soup packet.

Hold The Phone!

I distinctly remember her NOT mentioning the french onion soup packet in previous conversations.

So was THAT the secret ingredient I have been missing all these years?

I never got around to trying it, don't ask me why,  I mean I went out and bought the packets of soup mix and everything.

So When TheHubby's parental units came to visit, I thought:  I'll make a roast, and potatoes, and salad, and it will be delicious!

I'm not sure if you can hear my oblivious-ness to the fact that I HAD YET to make even a tolerable roast.

On top of all of that, I had always made roasts in the crock pot.  And this one is certainly NOT in the crock pot. But for what ever reason, it didn't seem to phase me at the time.

As I am driving home with the groceries, the day of the dinner, It dawns on me:

I have probably just screwed myself.

<<gasp>><<groan>>

It was too late to put it in the crock pot, so my hands were tied.

Just keep chugging along.

I now give you:

"Perfect Pot Roast" & "Twice Baked New Potatoes"

I figured if the pioneer woman says it is perfect and fool proof, even my apparent inability to cook red meat couldn't screw this up.

I paired this with the twice baked potatoes, because, let's be honest.  Who doesn't like potatoes laden with cheese?

The Crew

Generously salt and pepper the meat all over (I used Kosher salt, as it sticks to the meat better)(It also isn't as salty)

Cut the onion in half, then cut the ends off, and pull the peels off

In a large pot, add some oil and and turn it on high (let it get hot, but not so hot that it starts smoking)

Brown the onions on all sides and remove

Cut the carrots into 2 inch pieces and brown them as well, and remove

Add some more oil, if needed

Put the roast in and brown on all sides and remove

Add about 1 cup of stock to the hot pot, and whisk it around to de-glaze the pan

Add the roast back, along with the onions and carrots and enough broth to cover the roast about 1/2 way.  At this point I also added about 1/2 of the dry soup mix (it was a spur of the moment decision)

Cover and put in 275 degree oven for about 2.5-3 hours (my roast was 2.3 lbs and this was a perfect amount of time)(use a meat thermometer to check to see if it is done, you want it to be at 165 degrees)( For a bigger roast, it would cook longer)

There you Have it!

Twice Baked New Potatoes

The Crew

Scrub the dirt off of the potatoes, place on a baking sheet and drizzle with oil

Bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes (until they are tender).

Once they are tender, pull them out of the oven and let them cool a bit (otherwise you'll burn your fingers!)

Cut the potatoes in half, and with a spoon, scoop out the middle. Be sure to leave a thin rind of potato around the edge. (Mine are pretty messy, I didn't wait until they cooled, as we were famished!)

Mix the sour cream, cheese, cream cheese and the potato you scooped out (and chives and garlic, if you want, see original recipe)

Scoop the mixture into the potato bowls

Put back into oven until warmed through (about 20 minutes)

There you have it!

I don't know what I did or how I did it, but the roast was INCREDIBLE!  I gave TheHubby a sneak preview of it before dinner, and he said: Can you please make that everyday for the rest of our lives?!

And he was right! It was just that good! Delicious! I didn't know what I have been missing!

The dinner was incredible!  Everyone raved about it.  And there was just enough left over so I could nom some more the next day at work!!

Luckily my roast worked out! And the pioneer woman is right!  It IS pretty much foolproof.

For a printable recipe for the roast, click here

For the original recipe for the roast, click here

For a printable recipe for the potatoes, click here

For the original recipe for the potatoes, click here

Sweet Lime Chicken with Mexican Rice

This recipe comes from The Pioneer Woman's second book: Food From My Frontier.

The official recipe is Tequila Lime Chicken, but as we didn't have any tequila on hand, I just added some sugar instead.  Not a lot, just enough to give a hint of sweetness to the marinade.  This went great with Mexican Rice and some refried beans!

This was super easy to make, and the chicken didn't taste too Mexican-y, so you could pair it with just about anything. 

Without further ado:

Sweet Lime Chicken with Mexican Rice

<<Fanfare plays in the background>>

The Crew (Imagine a package of chicken) I have realized that I'm not very good about putting all my ingredients in the picture (probably because I have a hard time reading directions all the way through)

Cut the limes in half (obviously)

Squeeze the juice from the limes into a food processor

Add the garlic

And the red pepper flakes

And the cilantro

Add some olive oil (and I added just a spoonful of sugar, or you would add the tequila)

Blend until combined

Throw the chicken in with the marinade.  Let it marinate for at least 2 hrs, but up to overnight

Grill the chicken!

And there you have Tequila/Sweet Lime Chicken! 

Now onto the Mexican rice!  I did my rice a little differently, as the brown rice takes about an hour to cook, I just threw the rice into my rice cooker and let it go.

The Crew (I think I included everything this time!)

Chop up the garlic

And the onion

Add some oil to a big pan (I Used a wok) 

Cook the onion and garlic until soft

Add the whole tomatoes and the tomatoes with chiles

Add the rice, and let it simmer for about 10-ish minutes so that the flavors can mingle.  (If it gets too dry, you can add 1/2 C of more water at a time)

And there you have it!  Tequila Lime Chicken and Mexican Rice

It was Delicious!  

Just a heads up,  the tomatoes with chiles add quite a bit of heat, and the rice recipe makes about 8-10 servings as opposed to 6.  That turned out to be quite a surprise!

Printable recipe for Tequila Lime Chicken

Printable recipe for Mexican Rice

Original recipe for Mexican Rice

Pico De Gallo & Guacamole

Not necessarily a meal, but definitely a favorite in TheBarrick house.  We love love LOVE 

guac!  (Especially Chipotle Guac)

So when I saw this recipe in ThePioneerWoman's first cookbook, I thought: I can do that!

Of course I didn't have all of the ingredients, but I made do.

It calls for diced tomatoes and diced jalapenos, I didn't have either, so I just used a can of diced tomatoes and chiles (it had a little bit of heat)  

It was very easy to make, and was a big hit with TheHubby

The Crew

In order to make guac, you start out with Pico De Gallo

Chop up onions (and tomatoes if you have them) in equal amounts

Chop up cilantro, the same amount of tomato and onion

I don't love cilantro, and I think it is overpowering, so I used less

Add a splash of lime juice (or the juice of 1/2 - 1 lime)

Mix it together, and there you have it!

To continue on toward Guac:

Cut an avocado in half and remove the pit

Scoop out the insides

Smoosh it up with a fork (smoosh is the official culinary term, don't ya know!)

Mix in the amount of pico that you want

And there you have it!

Easy and Yummy.

What could be better than that?

Printable version of this recipe can be found here

Original recipe can be found here

My Week on the Pioneer

Alright Team!

It is time for another week long adventure (again, let me clarify that one week is seven meals, not necessarily on consecutive days)  (let's be honest...I've learned ( or is it learnt)  (is learnt even an word?)  I've learned (?) my lesson.  I'm not good at cooking after work.)  So I will be trying to plan for leftovers!

One of my good good friends and co-workers introduced me to Ree (aka: The Pioneer Woman)  and let me tell you something!  It changed my life!  Every single on of the recipes sounds amazing, and I think the TheHubby will like them too! It is cowboy approved food.

She just released her new cookbook: 

Food From My Frontier

So, Needless to say, I scooped that book up.  I already had her first book: 

Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl

Not only do her books contain excellent south-west, down-home cooking, they also have stories and pictures about her life on a farm.

We are looking forward to these recipes!

Under the Radar

Sorry I've been under the radar!  Between the holidays and work, it has been difficult to find time to cook!  My next week long soire will be:  My Week on the Pioneer:  A week with Ree (The Pioneer Woman)

I hope you all are as excited as TheHubby is!

Chicken Cacciatore

This is one recipe that isn't new for me.  I have made it off and on for years, but it is new to TheHubby. 

Of course I think that he'll love it, with a tomato sauce, chicken and pasta?  What's not to love?!

Oooooffff course, I didn't remember until I was finishing up cooking that he doesn't really love lots of veggies mixed in the sauce.  Hmmm.

I gave him a heads up and permission to not eat the veggies.

This recipe I got out of my mother's old Betty Crocker Cookbook, so it is nothing new.  I know that if you search for it on Google, you'll get 3,470,000 results.  To be precise.  

And, I'm sure you'll get about 3,470 different recipes.

I like this one, it is simple and while I don't LOVE tomato based sauces, I do like this one. (I mean, they're fine, but not my absolute favorite)  It has enough extra flavor to minimize the tomato.

Chicken Cacciatore

The Crew

Chop the onion, green pepper, and garlic

Set aside for later

Cut the chicken into strips

Coat in flour

Melt butter in large skillet (I used my wok)

and cook the chicken until browned (It won't be cooked all the way through, no worries!)

Pull chicken out, drain, and reserve

Add the veggies to the skillet

And saute until tender

Add the rest of the ingredients

Stir to incorperate

Add the chicken, and bring to a boil

Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 30-40 minutes (or until the chicken is cooked through)

Technically that is chicken cacciatore

But, I think you need a little something else, so I cooked up some fettuccine and added it.

There You Have It!

TheHubby actually liked it! Even though it had veggies in it.  Although I'm PRETTY sure that he just ate around them.

The leftovers were delicious, and so flavorful.  It was fun to have them to eat at work.  It was like a special meal!

Click here for a printable version of the recipe