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Thursday, January 29, 2015

Winter Roast Recipes

With Andy working crazy hours and a house full of a 2 year old and a 3 year old and a dog, I ebb and flow in how often I'm cooking (and most nights is a frozen pizza, Tyson chicken fingers, leftovers, PB&J kind of night).  But, I got on a kick and followed Southern Living's pot roast recipe with 2 other recipes to make with the roast.  Delicious, and perfect for these cold winter nights.  Enjoy!

Zesty Pot Roast
Southern Living
October 2014 edition

2 (3-lb.) boneless chuck roasts
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper 
2 tablespoons canola oil 
1 medium onion, chopped 
1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic 
2 cups beef broth 
1 tablespoon lime zest 
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice 
1 (15-oz.) can whole tomatoes, undrained and crushed 
1. Preheat oven to 350°. Sprinkle roasts with salt and pepper. Cook 1 roast in 1 1/2 tsp. hot oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat 4 minutes on each side. Remove roast; repeat with 1 1/2 tsp. oil and remaining roast. Sauté onion in 1 Tbsp. hot oil in Dutch oven 4 minutes. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute. Return roasts to Dutch oven; add broth, zest, juice, and tomatoes.
2. Bake, covered, at 350° for 3 hours or until beef is tender. Let roasts stand 10 minutes. Slice 1 roast, and serve with 1 1/2 cups tomato mixture. (Reserve remaining roast and tomato mixture for pot roast pies and soup, if desired.)

Zesty Pot Roast Recipe
Image courtesy of Southern Living


Parmesan Potatoes

3 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 teaspoon salt 
1/2 cup half-and-half 
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese 
1/3 cup butter, melted 
1 teaspoon salt 
3/4 teaspoon black pepper 

Bring potatoes, 1 tsp. salt, and cold water to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, and cook 16 minutes or until tender; drain. Return potatoes to pan; cook over medium heat until dry. Stir in half-and-half, Parmesan cheese, melted butter, 1 tsp. salt, and black pepper; cook 30 seconds or until heated. Remove pan from heat. Mash potatoes to desired consistency. (Reserve 2 cups for pot roast pies, if desired.)


Shepherd's Pot Roast Pies

1 (14.1-oz.) package refrigerated piecrusts

1/2 cup sliced Roasted Carrots (note, I didn't add b/c I didn't have room in the pie for this)
1 cup frozen English peas, thawed
1 large egg 

1. Preheat oven to 400°. Unroll 1 piecrust on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Spread 1 cup potatoes over half of crust, leaving a 1-inch border around edge. Toss together chopped roast and next 3 ingredients; spoon half of mixture over potatoes. Whisk together egg and 1 tsp. water; brush a small amount of egg mixture around edge of piecrust. Fold dough over filling, pressing and folding edges to seal. Repeat with remaining crust, potatoes, pot roast mixture, and a small amount of egg mixture. Brush tops of pies with remaining egg mixture; cut small slits in top for steam to escape.

2. Bake at 400° for 25 to 30 minutes or until crusts are golden brown and crisp.

Shepherd's Pot Roast Pies Recipe
Image courtesy of Southern Living
(and these looked much prettier than mine turned out, but mine still tasted delicious!)


Beef-and-Orzo Soup

1 cup chopped onion 
1 tablespoon canola oil 
1 cup chopped carrots 
1 (8-oz.) package sliced button mushrooms 
1/2 cup uncooked orzo or other small pasta
1 (32-oz.) container beef broth 

Sauté onion in hot oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat 5 to 6 minutes or until lightly browned. Add carrots and mushrooms, and cook, stirring occasionally, 8 to 10 minutes or until mushrooms are tender. Add remaining ingredients, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 5 to 6 minutes or until orzo is al dente and soup is thoroughly heated.

Beef-and-Orzo Soup Recipe
Image courtesy of Southern Living

And I'm not normally a beef stew kinda girl, but this is really delicious, hearty, yummy, delicioso on a cold winter's night.

Happy Cooking!

Christmas 2014

Our first Christmas in our new home was fun, busy (year-end check up with builders, so many workmen in our house), full of attending neighborhood parties, and taking time to slow down and savor time with family and the miracle of Jesus' birth and God's unending love, grace, and mercy towards us.

We attended Christmas Eve at our church (which we joined around Thanksgiving).  If you're ever in need of great videos/podcasts, check out Forest Hill Church.


Celebrated Christmas morning at our house

Jackson LOVES his bike

And Ellie loves anything involving her baby dolls

And then we packed up the car and headed to Birmingham to celebrate with my mom, dad, brother (up from Austin, TX), missing my sister (celebrating in South Africa), and my Dad's parents.




Ellie loves her GoGo!
The boys sporting their tacky Christmas sweaters
 Squeezing in a few visits with dear friends



And watching Auburn play with our fun Charlotte friends

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Ellie is TWO

This little nugget expressed angst at turning T-W-O!  Sweet baby girl celebrated with cupcakes at her preschool, cake at home, and overall a low-key family birthday.


This girl loves to help me try on things in stores, and then promptly dashes off in her speedy nature.

I'm TWO

Ellie is talking up a storm, which is so fun to hear her little (or long) conversations, and it is nice to be able to understand what she wants/needs.  She loves anything to do with her babydolls, snuggles with her stuffed animals, wrestles with Jackson, and is vocal if he takes a toy away from her.  Her favorite shows are Bubble Guppies, Super Why, and she loves the movies Mary Poppins, Sound of Music, Tangled, Frozen (what child doesn't like it), Up, and usually whatever brother is watching.  We often hear her singing "Up to the highest heights" (from "Let's Go Fly A Kite"), "spoonful of sugar," "raindrops on roses," and of course "let it go."

Fun with Uncle Jason

Jackson is almost FOUR, and he is so cute when he makes up songs and comes to sing them to you, when I overhear him singing worship songs I have playing in the kitchen at meal times, when he hugs and kisses Ellie, when he says an emphatic "Thank you MaMa" for random little things, like a sippy cup, for getting his toothbrush, etc.  Certainly is a little perk to my day :)  He and I have been slowly reading through some bigger chapter books, and we are halfway through "Alice in Wonderland," "Little House in the Big Woods," and we have finished "Tom Sawyer."  I emphasize the word slowly, as we usually have to read (when I have energy) after Ellie has gone to bed, and all are not exhausted.  But some is better than none in reading together, and I love that time with him, to see his little imagination take off.