Winter Pot Roast

Just because I think they are cute...

I've spent the last few days working on my "Winter Menu". I go through my cookbooks and compile my old favorites, and pick out a couple new recipes that look promising for the winter months. I am especially drawn to easy recipes, and I find that simple recipes are often the healthier ones. Another great thing about compiling a winter menu is that I compile an ingredients list along with it. When I do my once-a-month shopping at Costco, I stock up on the meats I need, so I'll always have what I need in the freezer. I make a list of the produce I'll need for every recipe, often realizing that half of my recipes call for bell peppers, making that a winter staple item, as well as onions and garlic.

A couple nights ago, we had our stand-by Pot Roast with Sweet Potatoes and Quinoa Pudding. The quinoa (keen-wa) pudding was a recent find on a blog that Kelly had linked to hers, cannelle et vanille. It's a wonderful find, Kelly, thanks for sharing! Cannelle et vanille recipes and pictures are incredible and she has a bunch of gluten-free recipes on there, too. I adapted her recipe, of course, since I can't seem to ever follow a recipe exactly.

The adaptations I did were to leave out the cream (I didn't have any), throw in some extra butter (since I only had 1% milk, not whole) and add cinnamon and craisins. It was good! I cooked it too long, and it became more like hot cereal, instead of runny, but we'll try again soon. We all liked our first introduction to quinoa, and were pleased to find it is the most nutritious grain of all and has all of the amino acids. Cool!

My pot roast recipe is the bomb, if I do say so myself.

Spicy Creole Roast, from the River Road Recipe's II Cookbook

2 lbs + round tip roast, trimmed

1 Tbsp creole seasoning (Tony's)

2 tsp salt-free lemon pepper

1 onion, chopped

1/4 C Worcestershire

1 Tbsp steak sauce

2 Tbsp parsley

2 C water

Rub roast with seasonings and brown in a large, lidded pot. Add onions and brown a few minutes. Pour the rest of the ingredients around the roast. Boil on the stove for 30 minutes, then turn down the heat and simmer for 1.5 hours. To make a thicker gravy, blend 3 Tbsp of flour to a little water and add to the gravy, stirring well.

Notes: This works just fine in the crock-pot, too This can be done with ANY cut of meat, I've done it. Last night, I used sirloin steak, as you may notice. I've used chuck as well. It's all delish. Just remember, this is a healthy, salt-free recipe so please serve this with the salt and pepper shaker! I love that you can throw in a frozen roast, and I don't measure the ingredients anymore, I just sprinkle the seasonings straight on the meat and brown as I sprinkle both sides.

Sweet Potatoes are superb, sublime and incredibly good for you. They are a carb, yes. But one of the very best you could want. Even pro body builders like this kind of carb! Happily, children love sweet potatoes, too.

I wash them very well, may I say VERY well. I cut the tips off, and arrange in the pan. Bake at 375 for a little over an hour. They are SLOW! And the microwave will work much more quickly(add a little water) but in winter, it's okay to use the nice, warm oven, plus I like the results better. Poke with a fork to test for doneness. There is nothing worse than a crispy sweet potato. This is not one dish that is nice "crisp-tender". You want these bad boys soft! And then serve with your choice of poison, we prefer butter and brown sugar. And here is why I wash them very well: my children eat the skin. I will eat the skin on occasion, especially where the sugary stuff comes through. But the skin is a bonanza of nutrition, I've even heard it compared favorably to breast-milk. ?? =) Put a little skin in the baby food grinder along with the orange part, so I've read and done. Start 'em early AND often, and the rest will take care of itself.

Thought I'd share my "snack plan". It's what I do to keep kids off my back when they are whining about being hungry. I provide good snacks and plenty of veggies, the reason for extra veggies is two fold: good for 'em and it doesn't ruin the next meal. Sometimes I include nuts, as I remember or have them on hand. =) I try to steer clear of carbs, since I'll want them to eat the carbs at mealtimes. But I have been known to add crackers to the dish on occasion!

So there's my first winter recipe!