Barbecue Beef

This can be done in the oven, in the crock pot, or in a skillet (with ground beef.)  It's very good- a little tangy, a tiny bit sweet.  Beyond the ketchup, there's no added sugar.

The original recipe is from Taste of Home, 2007.

1 boneless beef chuck roast (about 3 lbs.)
2 tsp salt, divided
1 tsp pepper, divided
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 cups water
1 cup ketchup
1 large onion, chopped
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 garlic clove, minced
12 kaiser rolls, split

Season beef with 1 tsp each salt and pepper.  Brown in hot oil and drain.  Combine water, ketchup, onion, vinegar, worcestershire sauce, chili powder, garlic and remaining salt and pepper.  Pour over meat.  Cover and bake at 325 degrees for 2 1/2-3 hours or until meat is tender.  (Or in crock pot on low 6-8 hours.)  Remove roast; slice.  Skim fat from cooking juices.  Return meat to the pan and heat through.  Serve on rolls.

My stove top variation for a quick weeknight dinner: Brown 1 lb ground beef.  When about 3/4 done, add 1/3 cup ketchup, 2 tbsp vinegar, 2 tbsp worcestershire sauce, 2 Tbsp dried onion, a dash of granulated garlic, and some chili powder (or smoked paprika.)  Serve over mashed potatoes.  

Top Round Roast, a la Casa LoLo

I've always liked to cook, and I consider myself a Proud Cook. Meaning...I'll try making almost anything, once, if someone tells me they want to eat it. When I found a good deal on some roasts at Stew Leonard's, Lo Gung asked me if I knew how to cook it. Actually, the conversation went something like this:
Lo Gung: Ooooh...that sounds yummy. Mmmmm.
Me: Yeah, it does....
Lo Gung: Do you know how to make it?
Me: (looking at the marbling, fat layer, etc...and figuring that it's meant to be roasted) Umm...sure!
Lo Gung: We're getting it!

And that's how we came to have a 4.5 lb roast in our fridge. And subsequently decided to serve it to our dinner guests on Sunday night.

(Which, incidentally, did not go well. I mis-timed the roast, and it was ready to eat at 7 pm. With 5 kids under the age of 8 in attendance...that just wasn't going to fly. So, unfortunately, we ate spaghetti instead...and the adults all had a slice of this delicious roast as our "dessert." *sigh* I think Lo Gung's exact words were, "This dinner should go on Fail Blog!" It was a rough night.)

Aunt LoLo's Top Round Roast

Preheat your oven to 325.

Prepare your pan with a roasting rack.

Dry your roast beef with a paper towel. Rub first with olive oil (approx 2 tsp.) and then seasonings. (I used Montral Steak Seasoning, available in the Baking aisle at Costco. It is a mix of salt, dried garlic, dried onions and cracked peppercorns.)

Place your roast (on your rack) in the oven. One hour and twenty minutes should get you a rare roast (for a 3 1/2 pound roast), or 120 degrees. I roasted my roast to 130 degrees (about 1 hour 45 minutes), and got a medium-rare.

Enjoy! And fear Roasts no more.

Potato Meatball Soup, and a side note on meatballs

There's no pictures (how do you make soup look appetizing in a photo?) but we had a great soup for dinner tonight. Start to finish took about 45 minutes, and since everything went into the pot and then left to simmer, it didn't heat up the kitchen (or ME).

This soup might be good with the addition of canned tomatoes, or other vegetables, if that strikes your fancy.

One note on the meatballs- I try to keep a Zip-Loc bag of my meatballs in the freezer. Spaghetti with meatballs is a favorite meal for Ernie, and cooking it is a snap with the meatballs already made. I mix 1 pound of hamburger with a little tomato sauce, breadcrumbs, and dried herbs. Coat a jelly-roll pan with olive oil, coat your hands with olive oil, and make the meat mixture into balls about the same size as a small cherry tomato. I like little bites of meat. Cook at 425 for 7 minutes, and flip them all with a turner. Cook for another 7 minutes, which should be plenty of time if they're small. They don't fall apart, and have the most wonderful browning. Let cool, and flash freeze before storing in a Zip-Loc.

We served this with wilted spinach salad with warm feta dressing, a Serious Eats submission from The Paupered Chef's Nick Kindelsperger. Surprisingly, that salad is a new favorite for Wonder Daddy. For a guy who likes just about everything, finding a new *WOW* favorite is a big deal! Check out his gnocchi with gorgonzola cream sauce too, another "hit" this week. If you can add one more food blog to your reader, I heartily suggest Paupered Chef.

Meatball Potato Soup

Ingredients:
4 russet potatoes, cubed
bacon salt
dried basil, celery seed, savory, and rosemary
olive oil
meatballs

Cube the potatoes and put in a medium pot or dutch oven. Cover with about 2 inches water. Season with 1 1/2 tsp bacon salt (or other seasoning salt if you haven't yet succumbed to the marketing pressure), and the dried herbs and spices. Add 3 or 4 dashes of olive oil, and let simmer till potatoes are soft. Add frozen meatballs, return to simmer, and let cook another 15 or 20 minutes. Serve with parmesan cheese.

Thai-Style Ground Beef

Richard said that I simply must post this recipe up, for anyone who would like to try it.

He claims that it tastes like a very "real" authentic curry.

Sounds delicious to me! Now who wants to make it for me? :)