Idiot Proof Pot Roast

Hello Hello and Happy New Year!!!

    With my various performances closing or on a break and the holidays completed, I'm absolutely thrilled to come back to my Food Blog! As I stated on my other Blog, (<-- I  FINALLY  figured out how to  insert text links, yay!!!!) one of my goals for 2011 is to write in each of my blogs at least once a week. Obviously, I'm going to aim for more than that, but I think that shooting for once a week is a good place to start. I would have blogged earlier in the week than this, but I had a nasty sinus infection, and I am just in the last few days feeling better, thank goodness. I've missed this so much, and I can't wait to get started again :)

  For my first offering of the New Year, I turn once again to what is becoming one of my favorite *Idiot Proof* cooking tools, the Crock Pot :) I believe I sang its praises a few entries back when I made lasagna in the Crock Pot (OMG YUM). Seriously, this is another one of those recipes where (unless you care to brown the meat first) you literally just pile everything in the Crock Pot, turn it on, and then walk away from it for 6-8 hours, and the days is yours; work, shop, read a book, do absolutely nothing, or, in my case, make a few pies, but that's another blog post :)

  This is also useful in a *clean out the crisper* kind of way, I put in the veggies that I like with my Pot Roast but, really, if you like different ones, throw them in too/instead. I actually made this for the first time several years ago for a friend's birthday party, and was brought back to it a few days ago when making a low-stress holiday dinner for some dear friends :) This is pretty high up on the *Winter Comfort Food* List. Gather some friends around your table and Enjoy :)

                                      
Idiot Proof Pot Roast

- Chuck Roast ( for 4-6 people, use about 2lbs, scale up or down for number of people and their appetites:)
- a few carrots, cleaned and rough chopped
- a few stalks of celery, cleaned and rough chopped
- a few onions (or 1 large, it depends on how much onion flavor you like)
- 1 jar of tomato sauce, or one can of tomato paste, tomato puree, etc. Really, what you're looking for here is anything that will add a tomato base flavor. Yes, ketchup will work in a pinch, but you'll basically never see me willingly use ketchup in a recipe.
- An equivalent amount of water to the tomato (i.e. if you used one jar of tomato sauce, fill the same jar up with water)
- whatever other flavors you like in your pot roast, Wine ( my personal fave), Worcestershire Sauce, Steak Sauce, some people swear by Cream of Mushroom Soup (though I've never tried it myself), whatever you like :)
- whatever seasonings you like, I used salt and pepper (a given), a little bit of parsley and some French Thyme.

-  (If browning the meat, brown in a large saute pan ,cut into smaller pieces if necessary, add to Crock Pot with rest of ingredients)
- Add meat, veggies, tomato, water, flavorings and seasonings to Crock Pot (order doesn't really matter)
- Turn Crock Pot to High and let cook for 6-8 hours
- Tranfer meat and veggies to a serving platter. The cooking liquid can be served on the side as au jus. This is what I usually do, if you like you can turn the Crock Pot to Low and just leave the au jus in the and serve it with a ladle. Or you can thicken it into a gravy with a little flour and a little butter. Serve.

- This would be lovely with mashed potatoes, but we actually served it with roasted potatoes. We quartered potatoes, coated them with canola oil, salt, pepper and Penzey's Pasta Sprinkle (which is good on everything, not just pasta) and roasted them at 475 degrees for about 50 minutes until golden.
- NOM :)

Love,
Lynn

Oh! P.S. What do you think of the template? It's one of the stock background options that Blogger offers. I though the paint splatters went with the whole *Kitchen as Canvas* idea, but I don't want it to look too busy. Anyone feel like teaching me how to custom design my own template? Later Gators :)

Crock Pot Lasagna

    Is there anyone else out there who experiences Food Emergencies? I'm sure there are, but allow me to explain. In my world, a food emergency is akin to a craving. When, for reasons internal or external, a certain food becomes immediately necessary. Stress, PMS, good days, bad days, and so on, lead to food emergencies. I myself have been known to have Milkshakes Emergencies, Chocolate Chip Cookie Emergencies, and Fresh Fruit Emergencies, just to name a few :)

    Being Italian, Pasta is basically always at the top of my comfort food list. In all it's many incarnations, homemade pasta is basically love and comfort in a bowl, at for me:. Sometimes, you just need Lasagna, you know what I mean? However, sometimes I just don't have the time to make a traditional lasagna, as much as I would like to. Last year, my wonderful Mama gave me a cookbook that was a compilation of recipes from the people who work at her hospital, and in this book are several delicious stew and pasta recipes that have been designed for a slow cooker. My two favorites from this book are the Crock Pot Macaroni and Cheese (that one will probably show up in a later post), and the star of today's show, Crock Pot Lasagna. Yes, friends, Lasagna wherein you can throw virtually all of the ingredients into the Crock Pot, uncooked, forget about it for a few hours, and then have it ready and waiting for you. The only "cooking" you have to do is brown the meat before it goes in. Oh, Crock Pot Lasagna, where have you BEEN all my life?

  BEFORE WE BEGIN: This version does not serve up as neatly as traditional lasagna (the kind you put in the oven and serve by cutting and serving in squares). Getting the lasagna out of the Crock Pot can make the layers more prone to falling apart, so they won't be pretty, perefectly shaped squares, but that certainly won't affect the taste. The flavor is not exactly the same as traditional lasagna either, but it's pretty darn close and goes together in about one quarter of the time. So, here ya go, throw this in the Crock Pot mid-morning and the bubbly, cheesy, meaty pasta goodness will be ready for you by dinner time :) YUM:)

Crock Pot Lasagna
- 6 Lasagna noodles, uncooked
- 1/2 lb. ground beef
- 1/4 lb Italian sausage (you could also use all beef or all sausage, depending on your tastes)
- 1 garlic clove (or 1/2 of a garlic clove if garlic isn't your thing, although I find it hard to believe people like that actually exist 0_o)
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded  (okay, I'll be honest, the recipe in the book called for 1 cup, but if you think that's all I used you clearly don't know me very well :) Use however much tickles your fancy:)
- 14 oz. Pasta Sauce, we make our own in my family, but if you do jarred sauce, use your favorite brand.
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 can mushrooms (optional, I've made it both ways, and they're both tasty, again, do as you please)
- 8 oz. Ricotta Cheese (my Mom mixes one egg and a little parsley into the Ricotta cheese, even though the recipe in the book doesn't call for it. I prefer it my Mom's way, but it's your call)

- Grease Crock Pot (Unless it's non-stick. I was tempted to skip this, don't. A thin coating of oil or Pam should do you just fine)
- Break noodles in half and place 1/2 of the noodles in the bottom of the Crock Pot. Brown beef and sausage and drain. Spread half of this mixture over the first layer of lasagna noodles.
- Follow the meat mixture with half of the sauce, water, mushrooms (if using), ricotta and mozzarella. Repeat ingredients in this order for the second layer, ending with the mozzarella cheese.

- Cook on low for 5 hours. Serves about 4 people.

This recipe is enough for about two layers. If you have a bigger/deeper Crock Pot, or you are feeding more people, this recipe can be increased by 1/3rd (for a third layer), doubled or even tripled. That's why I love dishes like this, they can be adjusted to feed as many people as you can crowd around a table. Pasta is Magic :)

To give credit where it is certainly due, this recipe came from the Community General Hospital Family Cookbook:)

Enjoy <3
Lynn

UPDATE 11/26/11: I would like to apologize for the photo quality in this particular blog post. This was back when I was still getting the hang of food photography and wasn't very adept at getting step by step photos. The next time I make this dish I will reshoot the photos and put them up here so that they better illustrate the recipe :)