Classic Pot Roast

I'm always looking for THE pot roast recipe, and I think I may have found it.

CuisineAtHome.com


3 T vegetable oil
1 boneless chuck roast, trimmed and seasoned with salt and pepper (3-4 lb)
1/4 c all-purpose flour
2 T tomato paste
1/2 c dry white wine I used red
1 1/2 c low-sodium beef broth
1 T Worcestershire sauce
2 c sliced onions I used one big onion
6 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 2 to 3 inch pieces I used 2 handfuls of baby carrots
3 large celery ribs, cut into 2 to 3 inch pieces
6 cloves of garlic, chopped
3-4 sprigs fresh thyme I used 1 t dried thyme
2 bay leaves



1. Heat oil in a saute pan over med-high. Sear roast on all sides, 10 minutes total. Transfer roast to 4 to 6 qt slow cooker.

2. Stir flour into saute pan; cook 1 minute.

3. Add tomatoe paste and cook 1 minutes more.

4. deglaze pan with wine, cooking until liquid evaporates and a paste has formed. Stir in broth and Worcestershire sauce; bring mixture to a simmer, scraping up brown bits.

5. Transfer broth mixture to the slow cooker and add onion, carrots, celery, garlic, thyme, and bay leaves.

6. Cover and cook meat until fork-tender on high-heat setting for 4-5 hours. I did 6 hours on high.

7. Discard thyme sprigs and bay leaves before serving.

Coconut Chicken Fingers

This was delicious and it seems to be pretty healthy. And I would think they would be kid friendly...but I don't have any kids yet to try them out on. We tried it with the salad. I liked the vinaigrette, but it had a very strong onion taste, so I would probably use about half of what it suggests, or just leave it out. Thanks to Rachel for posting about Our Best Bites. I have several recipes that I want to try from their website.

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2009/11/crispy-coconut-chicken-fingers.html

Asian Lettuce Wraps

A new year= a new diet... at least for me it does. I found this gem at Our Best Bites.
http://www.ourbestbitets.com/2009/01/asian-lettuce-wraps.html
I omitted the water chestnuts & mushrooms (in an effort to make it more attractive to my children... which didn't work CURSE picky eaters) and the flavor was still great.

Hello Dollys

These cookie bars have a million names: magic cookie bars, 7-layer bars, etc. For some reason, my family calls them Hello Dollys. I told my sister to check this blog to get the recipe and then, got a text from her saying it wasn't on here...

...probably because I have it memorized because it's easy and delicious!

Hello Dollys

1 stick of butter
14 graham cracker sheets (you know, 4 little crackers still stuck together), crushed
1 cup coconut
1 cup chocolate chips
1 can of sweetened condensed milk

(Other people add butterscotch chips and pecans--1 cup of each)

Melt butter, mix with crushed graham crackers and form the crust in the bottom of a 9X13 pan. Spread evenly coconut and chocolate chips. Pour milk over the top.

Bake at 350 until golden--I think this takes about 20 minutes.