Old Fashioned Pot Roast

Pot roast, there's nothing better on a cold wintry day then to set down to a dinner of pot roast, vegetables and gravy just lake mom used to make. Here is Louisa's version of Old Fashioned Pot roast that she has been making for years.

INGREDIENTS:

1-1/2 lb Buffalo chuck roast or Beef
3 Tbsp Flour, divided
1 Tbsp Butter
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 cups Hot water
2 cubes of chicken bouillon
1 medium Onion or shallot
2 Ribs celery
4  Carrots
4  medium potatoes
1/2 tspn Pepper
1 Tbsp dry parsley flakes
1 tspn Mrs. Dash "Table Blend"

PREPARATION:

Wash the roast and remove any excessive fat and connective tissue. Sprinkle the roast with 1 Tbsp. flour; or place the flour in a paper bag add the meat and shake it around a bit to cover with the flour. Peel and quarter the onion. Wash the celery and cut into 3" pieces. Wash the carrots and cut into 3" pieces. Wash and peel the potatoes, cut them in half.

COOKING:

In a Dutch oven, add the butter and olive oil then the meat, brown the roast on all sides. When it's brown, add the water, bouillon, onion, celery, parsley, Mrs. Dash and pepper to the Dutch oven and bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 2 hour. Add carrots and potatoes; cover and simmer 45-60 minutes longer or until meat is tender. Pour off most of the cooking juices into a 2 to 3 qt pot. Then add 1/2 cup of water to the Dutch oven and lower the heat just to keep it warm.

Set the pot on a burner and bring the heat to medium low. While it is warming, mix the remainder of the flour with water to form a medium thick paste. Add the paste a little at a time thickening the gravy, cook and stir until bubbly and thickened; add additional flour paste as necessary to get the desired consistency. Remove the meat and slice across the grain and arrange on a serving platter along with the potatoes and carrots, pour some of the gravy over the meat and garnish with parsley sprigs. Pour the remaining gravy in gravy boat and serve on the side.

Lemon Chicken with Roasted Onions and Tarragon

It's lemon time again here in the desert south west so what better way to put them to use then roasting a whole chicken and adding onions as a side dish.

INGREDIENTS:

1 whole chicken (3 1/2 to 5 pounds)

3 lemons

4 small yellow onions

2 tsp dry tarragon (divided)

4 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened

2 Tbsp Dijon Mustard

2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup low-sodium chicken stock

 freshly ground black pepper

Curly Parsley for garnish

PREPARATION:

Process the dry tarrigon with a spice mill. Peel and halve the onions horizontally.

Rinse the chicken, trimmed of excess fat, and patted dry. Sprinkle the cavity with t tsp of dry tarrigon. Cut one of the lemons in half and stuff one half into the cavity. Tie the legs together with butcher's string.

Squeeze the remaining lemons until you have ¼ cup of juice.

Melt the butter in a small pan and then add the lemon juice, stirring as it is added. Add 1 tsp of tarrigon and the mustard then mix well; set aside.

Brush some of the butter mixture over the surface of the chicken. Place the prepared chicken  breast side down on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Arrange the onion halves around the chicken and also brush them with the butter mix.

Preheat oven to 375 deg. F

COOKING:

Place the roaster into the preheated oven and roast for 30 min. Pour the stock into the bottom of the roaster and spoon the vinegar over the onions. Then baste with the pan juices. Roast for another 30 min. Remove from the oven and turn the chicken breast side up. Baste with all the remaining butter mix and grind on some fresh pepper. Return the chicken and roast for an additional ½ hour or longer depending on the size of the chicken, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of chicken thigh registers 165 degrees and juices run clear, about 1-1/2 hours total.

Remove pan from oven, and let chicken stand 10 minutes.. Arrange chicken and roasted onions on a platter. Garnish with the parsley. Carve chicken at the table. Serve with the pan juices along side.

Banana Nut Layer Cake

Here's a recipe that's been around for many years, but more commonly in a loaf pan then a layer cake. There's just something special about a layer cake versus a loaf cake.

INGREDIENTS:

2/3 cup shortening
1 2/3 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1-1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1-1/4 tsp. baking powder
2/3 cup buttermilk*

1 1/2 c. mashed ripe bananas (about 4)
3/4 c. chopped walnuts or pecans
1 tsp. vanilla extract

PREPARATION:

Line the bottoms of 2 9" cake pans with wax paper and cover the sides with shortening.

Preheat the oven to 350 deg.

Measure the first 8 ingredients into mixing bowl. Beat for 2 minutes on low speed. Add bananas, and vanilla continue beating for another 2 minutes. Fold in the nuts. Pour into 9 inch prepared cake pans.

BAKING:

Bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes. When done, place on rack to cool 5 minutes before turning out of pans.

When completely cool, ice the cake with the icing (see below). Yields one layer cake.

ICING:

1/4 lb. butter

1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese

1 tsp. vanilla

1 lb. confectioner's sugar

PRPARATION:

Beat the butter and cream cheese until creamy. Add the vanilla and sugar, mixing well until smoothly blended.

* Add one tablespoon of white vinegar to a liquid measuring cup. Then, add milk until the amount reaches one cup. Let the mixture stand at room temperature for 5-10 minutes. It should look curdled. Stir and you have buttermilk.

Roasted Mixed Mini Potatoes

I'm not a fan of unpeeled potatoes, especially used in mashed potatoes, or chowder. I think this laziness has gone too far! However, using mini potatoes unpeeled in this recipe is appropriate as peeling will leave almost no potato to cook. The mixed colors add an interesting look to them.

INGREDIENTS:

18 to 20 Mini red, white & Purple Potatoes

4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 Tbsp fresh parsley or 1 Tbsp dry

1 medium Shallot

¾ tsp fresh rosemary or 1/2  tsp dry

1 large garlic clove

PREPARATION:

Add the olive oil to a large resealable bag. Peel the garlic and press it into the bag.  Wash the parsley and rosemary, if using fresh, shake off the excess water, strip the leaves from the stalks and chop finely adding to the bag. (If using dry, measure and grind in a spice mill.) Peel and chop the shallot adding it to the bag. Mix well to distribute.

Wash the potatoes checking for and removing any black spots or damage Then cut them in half. Pat dry with a towel and put them in the bag again mixing to coat all the potatoes. Let them marinate for 2 hours.

Preheat your oven to 400 deg

Spread them out in a single layer in a baking dish.

COOKING:

Put the dish in the preheated oven and bake for at 400 deg they’re tender when you stick a knife in them. Roughly 20-25 minutes. Let them sit at least 5 minutes or so before you serve them. Serve them in a large bowl. If there's any spices and olive oil at the bottom of the dish, drizzle it over them. Add a couple of branches of rosemary as a garnish.