Italian Pot Roast

I liked the simplicity and ease of this recipe and nothing beats a tender and flavorful roast and veggies simmering all day in a crock pot. I'll definitely make this again!

I browned the roast on all sides before adding it to the crock pot. I also tossed the cut carrots, potatoes and mushrooms (separately) in the pan just to add some of the beefy flavor to the outsides. The meat, veggies, tomato paste, rosemary and fresh garlic all went in the crock pot and all those flavors simmering made the house smell wonderful!

The sauce is a mixture of flour, balsamic vinegar and tomato paste. That's it! You salt and pepper the meat and veggies, but the tomato mixture is all that flavors the meat and it turns out delicious!

Here are the potatoes I tossed in the beef pan. No reason to do this really. It's just as tasty putting the raw meat and veggies in the crock pot and letting the crock pot do all the work.

No liquid is added to this, so I figured the mushrooms and carrots and meat would render enough liquid to cook all the ingredients and make a nice sauce. They did, and you have just the right amount of gravy to spoon over the meat and veggies before serving.

 I didn't get the best shot of the pot roast fresh from the crock pot, but believe me, it was really tasty!

ITALIAN POT ROAST WITH POTATOES and CARROTS
Rachaelraymag.com

INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp. flour
2 1/2 lbs. beef chuck roast, tied
Salt and pepper
1 lb. carrots, cut on an angle into thick pieces
1 lb. small red-skinned potatoes
8 oz. small mushrooms
6 cloves garlic, halved
1 sprig rosemary

DIRECTIONS:
In a 5- to 6-qt. slow cooker, stir together the tomato paste, vinegar and flour until blended. Season the beef generously on all sides with salt and pepper, then add to the slow cooker and turn to coat. Scatter the carrots, potatoes, mushrooms, garlic and rosemary around the meat; season generously with salt and pepper. Cook on low heat until the meat is tender, about 8 hours.

Discard the rosemary. Transfer the meat to a cutting board and thinly slice. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the vegetables to a platter. If desired, transfer the cooking juices to a saucepan and reduce slightly to make a sauce.

Amazing Chicken Taco Soup

I love soup and I have to say, this is one of my favorites. My friend Dana made a pot of it for an April Fool's Cooking Club at my mom's house and I think I had thirds. The flavor of the soup was amazing and the sour cream and crumbled bacon topping made it even better.

Recipe coming soon.

Here it is: Thanks Dana.

Adapted from Paula Deen

Dana’s Taco Soup

The recipe is simple and not always the same....
I usually use what I have at home.

Brown 1lb of ground beef in a soup pot (I use ground turkey). Add 1 can of corn, 1 can of beans (pinto, chili, kidney..use what you have). 1 can tomatoes (chili ready, del monte diced zesty...again whatever you like) the above cans are usually about 14.5 oz sizes if you like it spicy, add one can rotel tomatoes and green chiles let this come to a boil and simmer for about 10 minutes, then add 1 package hidden valley ranch dressing mix and 1 package taco seasoning and let cook for about 5 to ten more minutes.

Top off with things like sour cream, chives, cheese, corn chips, tortilla chips, bits of bacon, whatever floats your boat.

*Do not drain the cans, use all of the liquid. If you like it to be more brothy you can add water or beef or chicken stock.

You can add more cans of anything or omit anything you do not like. I usually use two cans of almost everything because I have an army to feed. Play with it and see what you like. It is also usually better the next day reheated because the flavors have had more time to mix together.