Recipes That Rock -- Akari Hoshi's Pot Roast in a Crock

Pot roast is one of those dishes that you either love or you hate. I've never met anyone who was lukewarm about this heavenly comfort food.

I am on the side of the light and I adore pot roast. Especially when it's made in the slow cooker. The slow cooker or crock pot is probably one of the best appliances you could ever own. If you don't own one, I suggest you go get one right away. You dump a bunch of ingredients into the crock, set it for 8 hours on low, go to work and when you get home, dinner's done, yo.

I made my pot roast a little different tonight. James turns his nose up at pot roast every time I suggest it so I've been avoiding making it. Aki asked me how I make mine the other day and I got a craving that would not go away. So I asked James what it was that made him dislike my pot roast so much. The answer surprised me. The potatoes. He didn't like the flavor of the potatoes after they had absorbed the beef juice.

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Beer Cheese Soup with Schlafly's No. 15

*brushes the dust off*

Well. I certainly chose a kick ass recipe to come back with. Tonight's recipe comes from Betty Crocker. As I've said before I've got a love/hate relationship with Betty. However, tonight she won a little more of my heart with this amazing soup.

Beer Cheese Soup Recipe

• 1/2    cup butter or margarine
• 1 1/2    medium carrots, finely chopped (3/4 cup)
• 1    medium stalk celery, finely chopped (1/2 cup)
• 1    small onion, finely chopped (1/4 cup)
• 3    cups Progresso® chicken broth (from 32-oz carton)
• 1    cup Original Bisquick® mix
• 1/8    teaspoon pepper
• 1/8    teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne)
• 1    cup milk
• 4    cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese (1 lb)
• 1/2    cup regular or nonalcoholic beer

Directions

1. In 4-quart Dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat. Add carrots, celery and onion; cook about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender.
   
2. In large bowl, mix broth, Bisquick mix, pepper and red pepper until smooth. Gradually stir into vegetable mixture. Heat to boiling over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Boil and stir 1 minute.
   
3. Stir in milk and cheese. Heat until cheese is melted. Stir in beer.

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Checking In...

Real life doesn't like it when I have projects...

I have a write up to post and then on Friday I will have the results of the GREAT CROCK POT CHALLENGE OMG!!

The Skillet is still alive...I'm just worn out!

Spaghetti Alfredo with Crab & Broccoli

It's snowing here in St. Louis. Which means every body drove like a psycho during the evening commute. As a result, I had some extreme tension in my neck and back which of course aggravated the whiplash I got last week when some jerk rear ended a Toyota, who then rear ended me. All I wanted when I got home was some quality time with my level 80 Draenei Paladin and something incredibly fast and delicious for dinner.

Spaghetti automatically wins. Toss in some "exotic" ingredients and I was sold. This recipe comes from Living A Better Life -- The Free Money-Saving Tips Ezine. While her website is incredibly cluttered and rudimentary, and the recipes are few, there are a few gems in there. This one jumped out at me because of it's simplicity and it's use of my absolute favorite vegetable.


Spaghetti Alfredo with Crab & Broccoli

• 8 ounces spaghetti, cooked and drained
• 1 jar of Alfredo sauce
• 2 medium broccoli heads, stemmed and cut into bite-size pieces OR 1 bag frozen broccoli, cooked
• 1 pkg. artificial crab or lobster pieces

Directions:

In a large pot combine sauce, broccoli, crab, and cook over medium heat.  Once heated through, remove from heat and set aside.  Place cooked spaghetti on plates and add sauce over top.  Serve with garlic bread and tossed salad.

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Cheeseburger & Fries Casserole

Thursday night was Girl's Night In at my best friend's house and about 15 minutes before I was supposed to leave, I realized I hadn't made dinner for my husband. I chose the quickest and the manliest of the recipes that I selected for this weeks Saucy Skillet. Once again, the Hillbilly Housewife comes to the rescue.

Cheeseburger & Fries Casserole

• 2 pounds ground beef
• 1 (10 3/4-ounce) can golden mushroom soup
• 1 (10 3/4-ounce) can Cheddar cheese soup
• 1 (20-ounce) package French fries, frozen potatoes

Brown ground beef; drain. Stir in soups and pour into an ungreased 13″ x 9″ baking dish; arrange French fries on top.

Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 50 to 55 minutes.

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Cowgirl Beans

I've been trying to increase the amount of beans and lentils in our diet. They're inexpensive and full of deliciousness and nutrition. When I was younger, my mom made this dish that was essentially bbq baked beans and hamburger meat. So when I found this dish I got all excited. Tonight's dinner comes from The Hillbilly Housewife again. I love her site!


Cowgirl Beans

• 1/2 to 1 pound ground beef

• 1 onion, finely chopped

• 1 tablespoon minced garlic

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/8 teaspoon pepper

• 1 tablespoon EACH vinegar and Worcestershire Sauce

• 8 ounce can tomato sauce

• 2-15 oz cans of pork’n beans or a 28 oz can baked beans

First take out your trusty large skillet. Put the hamburger, onion and garlic in it. Fry everything over medium heat until the meat is cooked through. Break the hamburger up into smallish pieces with a fork as you cook it. Drain off the fat if necessary. Add everything else listed above. If the mixture seems dry, add a little water for simmering. Cover the skillet and cook the mixture for about 10 minutes over medium-low heat, or until everything is hot, and the flavors have blended some. Spoon the hamburger and beans over cooked brown rice or whole wheat egg noodles.

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I hate it when a plan falls apart before I even get it off the ground.

My husband informed me that he had NOT cleaned my crock pot as promised, so the crock pot challenge will have to start until TUESDAY and carry over onto Saturday.

Akari