Easter Dinner 2013

For Easter Dinner I made roast beef and a chimichurri sauce to go along with it. It was a tasty little sauce. Every thing was paleo friendly

Roast Beef

 


Ingredients

2 1/2 lbs. boneless rump roast at room temperature (round roast or sirloin tip will work)
1-2 tbsp. olive oil
2-3 garlic cloves, sliced
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup beef stock
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried tarragon
1 tsp. dried rosemary

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Make several (8-10) small incisions (about 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep) around the meat and then insert a slice of garlic into each. Place the roast, fat side up, on a rack over a roasting pan. Pour water and beef broth into the pan (not over the roast) to very lightly cover the bottom of the roasting pan.

3. Rub the roast with olive oil until coated. Sprinkle salt, pepper and herbs all over the roast and spread to evenly coat with your hands.

4. Place in the oven and roast for 45 minutes (or until temperature in the deepest part of the roast registers 125 degrees). Do not open the oven during these 45 minutes to baste or check on the roast.

5. After 45 minutes, reduce heat to 250 degrees and cook an additional 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until thermometer reads 135 degrees. Remove from oven and let rest 10 minutes.

6. Remove the slices of garlic, if desired. Slice across the grain in very thin slices.

Source: A Sweet Pea Chef

Chimichurri Sauce

 


Ingredients

1 1/2 C chopped parsley
1 1/2 C chopped cilantro
1/2 C loosely packed oregano leaves*
2 T fresh lime juice
1 T red wine vinegar
3 T chopped garlic (6-7 cloves)
1/4 t red pepper flakes
1 t kosher salt
1/4 t black pepper
1/2 C extra virgin olive oil

*Fresh is best, but if you don’t have access to fresh oregano, you could use fresh cilantro and parsley and add in 1 Tbs plus 1 tea dried oregano leaves.

Directions

1. Place parsley, cilantro, oregano, lime juice, vinegar, garlic, salt, and pepper in a food processor. Pulse several times until finely chopped.

2. Transfer to a bowl and throw in some red pepper flakes

3. And then stir in the extra virgin olive oil by hand. Don’t put the olive oil in the food processor because you run the risk of turning the entire sauce bitter.

Source: Our Best Bites

Paleo Beef Stew and Mashed Cauliflower

I have been wanting to try to make some mashed cauliflower as a substitute for mashed potatoes and decided to pair it with a beef stew that was Paleo friendly since I happened to have all the ingredients on hand and wanted to bust out my crockpot. It was a perfect meal for a cold day.




Paleo Hearty Beef stew

Ingredients:

1.5 lb stewing beef
1 cup beef or chicken broth
1 onion, chopped
4 celery stalk, chopped
4 carrots, peeled and chopped
6 mashed cloves of garlic
1 can of tomato paste
Trader Joe’s 21 Salute seasoning and other seasonings
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Put veggies in pot, then add meat on top of veggies.
2. Season generously with salt, pepper, and seasonings.
3. Mix together soup stock and tomato paste. Pour over meat & vegetables in crockpot and stir to combine. Cook on low for 7 hours.



Mashed Cauliflower



Ingredients:

1 head cauliflower
4 cloves of garlic
1 tsp sea salt
2 tablespoons grassfed butter
¼ cup of coconut milk
¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Wash the cauliflower, remove leaves and bottom of stem and cut into large florets. Peel the garlic cloves. Place the florets and garlic cloves in a steamer basket inside a large stock pot with an inch or two of water. Salt liberally. Steam until soft (~10 minutes). You won’t over cook it.
2. Drain in a colander and place into food processor. Add pepper nutmeg, and butter.
3. Process everything until smooth.

Source: Beef Stew adapted from Everyday Paleo; Mashed Cauliflower adapted from Nom Nom Paleo

Easter 2012: Prime Rib and Roasted Veggies

The main course was prime rib. No special recipe since I bought the meat already marinated with seasoning from Costco. It was easy and so yummy.



Prime Rib

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Bake the roast uncovered in the preheated oven for 25 minutes.

After 25 minutes, decrease the heat to 200 and continue cooking the roast uncovered for about 20-30 minutes per pound.

Remove roast from oven and allow it to rest at room temperature for 20-30 minutes before carving.

Roasted Vegetables

Preheat oven to 350. On a lightly greased baking sheet, place all vegetables on single layer. Drizzle vegetables with Italian Salad dressing (I often prepare the night before). Bake vegetables for 30 minutes until slightly al dente (or preferred softness).

Easter Feast 2012

We had a wonderful Easter feast with some family. It was a great opportunity to try a few new recipes that I had pinned on Pinterest.



The Menu

Appetizers
Bacon and Cream Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms
Deviled Eggs

Main Course
Prime Rib
Roasted Vegetables
Potato Rounds

Dessert
Cake made by Auntie Mary
Easter Egg Rice Krispie Treats

Special Drinks
Sangria

Quick and easy chili

I decided to make some chili tonight. I had never made chili that was not out of a can. I was pretty proud of myself since I just kind of put it together by looking at several different recipes. I didn't really measure everything out, so the measurements are all approximations. We gobbled it all up so fast before I had a chance to take a picture. But it was quite good with corn bread.

Easy-peasy Chili

1/4 lb ground beef
1/4 onion chopped
1 green bell pepper chopped
minced garlic
adobo seasoning (see below for recipe)
1 can of kidney beans in chili sauce
1 can of Ro*tel diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons of tomato paste

1. Brown ground beef and drain the fat.
2. Add half of the onions, bell pepper, and garlic to the ground beef and saute until onions are clear.
3. Add adobo seasoning, kidney beans, diced tomatoes, and tomato paste.
4. Stir and simmer for about 20 minutes.
5. Top with some chopped onions and cheese.

I had made some adobo seasoning mix for something else a while back, so I used that for the season in my chili since it had everything I wanted to add into the chili. It really worked out well.

Adobo Seasoning
(from Chef Michele's Adventures)

3 Tbsp. salt
1 Tbsp. onion powder
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
1 Tbsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. cumin

Combine all and mix well. Store in an airtight shaker container.

Beef, its whats for dinner

Last week, I decided to make some beef stew after buying some beef on sale. Yay for sales! I had never made beef stew and was really pleased with this recipe. I made this in the crock pot and came home to some yummy dinner. Gotta love having a reason to use the crock pot!



Beef Stew
adapted from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch cubes
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 clove garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups beef broth
3 potatoes, diced
4 carrots, sliced
1 stalk celery, chopped

DIRECTIONS
Place meat in slow cooker. In a small bowl mix together the flour, salt, and pepper; pour over meat, and stir to coat meat with flour mixture. Stir in the garlic, bay leaf, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, onion, beef broth, potatoes, carrots, and celery.

Cover, and cook on Low setting for 10 to 12 hours, or on High setting for 4 to 6 hours.

Notes:

• I put the meat, flour, and seasonings in a ziplock bag and mixed it all up before putting it in the crock pot.
• At the very end, I added some gravy mix to thicken up the sauce.
  

An Easter Feast

Mr. Bear and I had a low key Easter Sunday with basically just the two of us and my father-in-law.

Easter Dinner Menu
Pot Roast with Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
French rolls
Apple crisp a la mode


I almost forgot to take a picture of dinner, so this plate is half eaten, LOL.



Awesome Slow Cooker Pot Roast
From: allrecipes.com

I modified the recipe by adding some veggies and by cutting it in half since it was only Mr. Bear, my father-in-law, and me for dinner. My modifications are in blue italics.

INGREDIENTS
1 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 (1 ounce) package dry onion soup mix
1/2 cup water
2 3/4 pounds pot roast

My additions: salt, pepper, baby carrots, 1 onion, 1 beef bullion cube, and mushrooms

DIRECTIONS
In a slow cooker, mix cream of mushroom soup, dry onion soup mix and water.
Add carrots, onion, and beef bullion cube.
Season pot roast with salt and pepper.
Place pot roast (on top of veggies) in slow cooker and coat with soup mixture.
Put mushrooms on top of roast.
Cook on High setting for 3 to 4 hours, or on Low setting for 8 to 9 hours.

Gravy

Using the drippings and flour, I made a wonderful gravy to go with the roast and the mashed potatoes. Add flour until you get the right consistency. My father-in-law had two helpings of everything. A great sign, dinner was so yummy!! Now for dessert.



Apple Crisp

I had never made an Apple Crisp or any kind of apple dessert before. I looked around for a recipe and decided to combine a few different recipes. The result was perfect. I was very pleased with my recipe combination, not too sweet and or runny. It was so yummy with some vanilla bean ice cream.

INGREDIENTS
4 cups sliced apples (peeled and cored) - I used 2 large granny smith apples and 1 medium gala apple
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, divided
3/4 cup brown sugar, divided
1/2 cup of oats
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup wheat flour

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease an 8x8 inch baking dish.
Soak apples in water then drain and place apples in prepared dish. Sprinkle with lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/4 cup of brown sugar.
In a bowl, mix the 1/2 cup brown sugar, flour, oats, and butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over the apples.
Bake in preheated oven 45 minutes, until apples are tender and crust is golden.
Top each serving with ice cream.

Yummy! Two recipes I will definitely use again!

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Smoky Joe's Slow-Cooker Beef Stew

I found this website with a ton of healthy crock pot recipes. I decided to give one a try yesterday and this was a pretty yummy recipe. Mr. Bear even went back for seconds, always a good sign!



Smoky Joe's Slow-Cooker Beef Stew

1 pound well-trimmed beef cubes
3/4 cup each drained salsa and barbecue sauce
1 (1.25-ounce) packet reduced-sodium taco seasoning mix
2 cups frozen corn
2 (15-ounce) cans rinsed and drained black beans (I only used 1 can)
1 (19-ounce) can rinsed and drained chickpeas or garbanzo beans (I used white beans since that was what I happened to have)
1/2 cup fresh cilantro

In a 3- or 4-quart slow cooker, combine beef, salsa, barbecue sauce, taco mix and corn; mix well. Cover and cook on high 3 to 4 hours or low 6 to 8 hours, or until meat is tender. Add beans and cilantro; mix well. Cover and let stand 5 minutes for beans to heat through.

Serves 8. Nutrition information per serving: 301 calories; 23g protein; 5g fat; 40g carbohydrate; 35mg cholesterol; 1,002mg sodium; 11g fiber. 4.5 WW points.

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