Pot Roast

Fall...crisp days, trees changing, Halloween, Thanksgiving and lots of comfort food. This is my absolute favorite time of year!!! I love to cook. I especially love the way the house smells when there's something cooking in the crockpot. Here is one of my family's favorite meals to enjoy during the fall and winter months. I hope you enjoy it, too.

Pot Roast

1 3-5 pound chuck roast, frozen or fresh
1 whole yellow onion, peeled
1 can Beefy Mushroom soup
1 can French Onion soup
1/2 carton beef stock
4-5 medium Yukon gold potatoes, cubed
1 small bag of baby carrots, cut into pieces

Place roast and the following four ingredients in crockpot on Low. Cook for 8 hours (frozen) or 6 hours (fresh). Three hours before serving, add potatoes and carrots to the crockpot. That's it! Serve with spoonbread and a green vegetable.

First Pot of Chili of the Fall

I've been craving chili for more than a month now, but it's been way too hot. However, this past weekend, it FINALLY cooled off here in No. AL and it actually feels like fall! :) WooHoo!!!

Time to break out the dutch oven and make some chili!



Here's my take on chili...


1 pound ground round
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 cans diced tomatoes with zesty mild green chilies
1 can white shoepeg corn
1 can light red kidney beans
1 can black beans
1 can chili beans, medium sauce
1/2 cup beef stock

Brown ground round in dutch oven. Add remaining 7 ingredients; bring to a boil and reduce heat so that it just simmers. Let simmer for 2 hours.

Serve with shredded cheddar, sour cream, tortilla chips and favorite beverage.

Enjoy!

P.S. - This recipe can also be made in a crock-pot. Just brown the meat in a skillet and add to the crock-pot. Let cook on low all day.

Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole

I must give a HUGE hat-tip to my mom for this recipe. Over the course of the last week, I have made 4 batches of this wonderful casserole. It's super easy and most of us have all the ingredients on hand. So without further ado...

Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole
recipe courtesy of my Mom

1 cup cooked, de-boned and diced chicken breast
1 8 oz. can sliced water chestnuts, drained
1 cup finely chopped celery
1 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 pkg. Uncle Ben's Original Long Grain and Wild Rice

Topping

1 cup mayonnaise (I used light mayo)
1 can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted

Cook rice according to package directions. Combine topping ingredients in medium mixing bowl and set aside. Mix together first 5 ingredients and place in 11x7 baking dish or 2 qt. casserole dish. Spread soup/mayo mixture on top, sprinkle with paprika (optional) and bake, covered, at 325 for 1 hour.

Enjoy!

Mexican Food and Homemade Ice Cream

Every so often I get a craving for my Mom's Mexican Meat Mix. It's soooo good and most of my family loves it...my son would rather just have regular 'ol tacos.

Mexican Meat Mix
courtesy of my Mom, with some alterations

5 lbs. Beef Roast (I use a chuck roast)
3 T. Crisco
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 4-oz. can chopped green chilis
1 14-oz. jar green chili salsa
4 T. flour
4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cumin
Juice from Roast

Place roast in crockpot and cook on low 6-8 hours. I start out with a frozen roast, so it takes 8 hours on low. Do not add salt or liquids to the roast. Drain meat, save juices, cool meat, remove bones (if any), shred and set aside.

Melt Crisco in large skillet; add onions and garlic. Saute onions and garlic until just beginning to carmelize, then add green chilis, saute 1 minute. Add salsa, flour, salt and cumin. Cook 1 minute over medium-low heat. Stir in meat juices and meat, cook 5 minutes until thicken.

From this recipe you can make, green chili burros or chimichangas. It's also good with tortilla chips.

Mexican Meat Mix can be frozen up to 6 months.

Homemade Ice Cream

1 cup plus 2 T. sugar
3 T. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
2 1/2 cups milk
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups whipping cream
1 T. vanilla

Combine sugar, flour and salt in saucepan. Gradually stir in milk. Cook over medium heat approximately 15 minutes or until thickened, stirring constantly.

Gradually stir about 1 cup of hot mixture into the beaten eggs. Add to remaining hot mixture, stirring constantly. Cook 1 minute; remove from heat. Refrigerate 2 hours. Combine whipping cream and vanilla in large bowl; add chilled mixture, stirring with wire whisk to combine. Freeze as directed in the ice cream maker of your choice.

Makes 2 quarts

Cocoa Brownies
Adapted from Alton Brown

4 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
8 oz. butter, melted
1 1/4 cups cocoa
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 cup pecans, optional

Preheat oven to 350 and grease/flour 9x13 baking dish, set aside. In a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the eggs at medium speed until fluffy and light yellow. Add both sugars. Add remaining ingredients and mix to combine.

Pour batter into prepared baking dish and bake for 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely before cutting into.

I hope that you and your family enjoy this meal as much as mine does.

Enjoy!!!

Southern Spoonbread

I've had several requests for my spoonbread recipe. It is a BIG favorite at my house, so much so that I make a double batch every time. My children love to snack on it.

Southern Spoonbread
recipe courtesy of my MIL

3/4 cup self-rising cornmeal
3 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup boiling water
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 eggs, well beaten
1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350. Combine cornmeal, oil and salt. Stir in boiling water slowly and beat until smooth. Add baking powder to eggs and combine with milk; add to cornmeal mixture, stirring well. It doesn't matter if the batter is lumpy. Pour into a greased baking dish. For single recipe, I use an 8x8 glass baking dish. If I double the recipe, I use a 9x13 glass baking dish. Bake for 45-55 minutes.

We serve spoonbread with roast, carrots and potatoes.

Enjoy!