Braised Chuck Roast

I am a firm believer in celebrating your birthday for a whole weekend or sometimes even a week.  In fact, I had a friend wish me a happy birthmonth yesterday.  What’s this got to do with chuck roast, you say?  One of my favorite dishes that my mom used to make was a chuck roast with brown potatoes; so I decided I needed to treat myself for my birthday.  Of course this version was in the crock pot and my mom’s was one of those electric skillet masterpieces, but close enough.

You’ll never guess what the secret ingredient is; so I’m just going to come right out and tell you:  gingersnaps.

Give six of these a spin in the food processor and then toss them in the crock pot.

Add eight ounces of baby carrots.

Two stalks of celery.

One onion.

And then the good stuff:  one cup of dry red wine, two tablespoons of red wine vinegar, and then 1/4 cup of raisins.  Don’t forget the S&P.  If my mom knew about the gingersnaps she would disapprove.  If she knew about the raisins I’m pretty sure she would just refuse to eat it.

Add a two-pound boneless chuck roast and turn on the crock pot.  Six hours on high did the trick for me.

This was around the three-hour mark.  Man, did it smell good.

My mom’s version didn’t really have a sauce.  I’m not ashamed to say that I used to douse it ketchup.

I just had to add some little boiled potatoes.

And here’s the best news:  it comes in under 400 calories, without the potatoes.

Eat Well and Savor.

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Otherwise known as Waikiki Meatballs, at least in my book.

This is one of the Top 20 recipes that my mom used to make.  I made this version in the slow cooker from the Fix-It and Forget-It Lightly cookbook.  This recipe is very similar.  My mom used to make hers in the electric skillet.  Now that’s a blast from the past.  Do they even make electric skillets anymore?

It’s pretty basic stuff.  I actually used a 20-ounce can of pineapples.  I just can’t get enough.

In my opinion, rice is mandatory.  Without the rice it comes in at 380 calories.

Eat Well and Savor.

 

 

 

Braised Short Ribs

With Citrus Gremolata & Creamy Grits with Gorgonzola Cheese.

Now that’s a recipe title.

Maybe the fact that the ribs are served with grits will give away the fact that this is a Paula Deen recipe, but it’s the gremolata that’s the stand-out if you ask me.

Parsley, orange zest, lime zest, and garlic.  It was so good I want to spread it on toast.

I will admit I had a little trouble with the grits.  I think they turned out all right, but the recipe from Paula Deen’s Christmas magazine said to throw everything except the gorgonzola in a pan and then follow the directions on the box.  Well, the box said to bring the broth and water to a boil and then add the grits.  It all worked out in the end, though.

I also had a little trouble finding boneless short ribs, but there weren’t any complaints from the peanut gallery on that.

Eat Well and Savor.

 

Very Very Veggie Stew

Here’s another recipe where you don’t really need to know how to cook.  You just have to use a knife to cut up all of these beautiful veggies.

After that you can mix together some vegetable broth, tomato paste, and a few spices.  Make sure you include 1/3 teaspoon of cinnamon.  I know.  Seriously?  1/3 teaspoon?  I actually have a 2/3 teaspoon that I’ve never used, but a 1/3.  Anyway, pour it all over.

Give it a stir, and turn on the crock pot.

Then you have to wait four hours.

And it’s like culinary magic.  I know I sound like a genius right now, but really I owe it all to Hungry Girl.  This is from 300 under 300.  I think so far I’ve made about 12 out of 300 and I can’t wait to keep going.

I almost left out the best part:  it’s only 100 calories per one cup serving!

Eat Well and Savor.

 

Not My Grandmother’s Cabbage Rolls

My Gramma might have put raisins in there, but I’m positive there weren’t any pine nuts, and definitely no feta.  My version, Barley-Stuffed Cabbage Rolls with Pine Nuts and Currants, came from Slow Cooker, a Cooking Light cookbook.  To me, a slow cooker is a Crock-Pot, but I have just learned that that’s a brand name.  Who says my blog is not educational?

Anyway, I saw an old episode of the Barefoot Contessa the other day and she was making cabbage rolls, so I’ve had a hankering all week.  On top of that, this is the time of year when I try to make sure that I, literally, dust off the slow cooker.  However, I had some technical difficulties right off the bat.  You’re supposed to steam the cabbage for 8 minutes and remove 16 leaves.  Well, I got about six leaves in and it wasn’t steamed enough.   It is a beautiful shade of green, though.

Maybe it’s the reflection from the cutting board.  Oddly, it made me think of the big blue marble.  I suppose I should say the Big Blue Marble, which was a TV show in the ’70s.  Apparently I didn’t watch it, because I thought it was a skit from Sesame Street or maybe the Electric Company.  Speaking of the Electric Company, I was very glad to see that the montage of Morgan Feeman’s work on the Golden Globes included a scene from his EC days.  I know, it’s amazing how my mind works.  Please, try to keep up.

LOVED this filling.  I could eat this by itself.

Well, back to my eight leaves.  I had the genius idea that I would just double up.  Turns out that double the filling was a struggle for my little leaves, especially when it came to the last two that weren’t exactly pliable.  The end result was that my rolls were not exactly perfect and some of the filling managed to escape.  Frankly, it didn’t bother me a bit.

More importantly, they were hearty and filling. 

Eat Well and Savor.