The Blog

Pot roast is in the slow cooker.  I always feel like Suzy Homemaker when I cook something that takes more effort than cooking smoked sausage and instant potatoes.  (I actually like instant potatoes though.)  So I’m quite pleased with myself right now over my pot roast.  I think I have perfected it.  All I do is this…

Ingredients:

English Shoulder Roast

1 bag of raw baby carrots

Red skinned potatoes (as many as you want)

1 large or 2-3 small cooking onions

2 cans 98% fat free Cream of Mushroom soup 

1 can low-fat or reduced-salt Beef Broth

1/4 cup A1 Steaksauce

Salt, Pepper to taste

Steps:

1.  I spray the inside of my slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray.  Place the roast in the bottom of the slow cooker.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper. 

2.  Peel and slice onion(s).  Place on top of roast.

3.  Dump baby carrots on top of and around pot roast.

4.  Wash red skinned potatoes, chop into bite-size pieces.  Place on top of and around pot roast.

5.  In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together 2 cans of Cream of Mushroom soup, 1 can of beef broth, and the A1 Steaksauce.  Poor into slow cooker to cover roast and veggies as much as possible.

6.  Place lid on slow cooker.  Set on Low for 6 – 8 hours, depending on the size of the roast.  I have done it on high for 4 hours, but honestly, it’s better cooked longer on low.

That’s it.  When it’s done, scoop items into serving bowls, tear apart the roast (no slicing needed), and serve.  The sauce makes a fabulous tangy gravy. 

Yes, I do know the english shoulder roast is not the leanest cut of meat out there.  I used to use the leanest roast I could find.  But I never achieved that pull-apart consistency that is prized in pot roast-dom.  My mother-in-law suggested I try the shoulder roast.  It’s fabulous.  And really, I make the sauce low-fat, the veggies are fresh, and I cut off the fat.  So I feel it still counts as a good, lower fat, yet still red meat meal.  We don’t eat tons of red meat around here.  I end up cooking more with Chicken or Turkey.

I will also say that I differed from the above directions slightly.  I didn’t have any onions.  But since D won’t eat onions anyways, I just left them out and sprinkled some onion powder on the roast.  It’s not the same, but it’ll work. 

7 hours until dinnertime!

Ok…no I have no pictures.  I don’t think to take pictures of food.

But besides that, I think I perfected my chicken enchilada recipe.  Finally!  I had to learn to make them at home, because A) I needed to make them low fat, and B) I needed to make them fairly vegetable-free for D to eat them.  So, since I think I finally have it…I’m going to SHARE!

Ingredients:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 jar salsa verde (that’s the green salsa)

2 cans Cream of Chicken soup, reduced fat

1 container Fat Free Sour Cream

1 package Mexican Cheese, 2% reduced fat

8 reduced fat or fat free flour tortillas

Directions:

1.  Place chicken breasts in a baking pan.  I add a little olive oil.  Bake in preheated oven @ 350 degrees for 45min.  Remove from oven and set aside to cool.  Once chicken is cool, shred into a bowl. 

2.  Spray a 9×13 in baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. 

3.  In a mixing bowl, mix 2 cans of Cream of Chicken soup, 3 – 6 tablespoons of salsa (to taste), and 3 large tablespoons of sour cream.  Spoon enough of this sauce into the chicken mixture to coat all the shredded chicken.

4.  Take 1 tortilla.  Place a bit of the Chicken mixture down the center.  Cover that with shredded cheese.  Roll up tortilla folding sides in on each other burrito-style.  Place seam-side down in prepared baking dish.  Repeat with remaining tortillas until you have all 8 into the baking dish.

5.  Cover tortillas completely with the remainder of the sauce. 

6.  Bake in preheated oven @ 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

7.  Sprinkle top with remainder of mexican cheese.  Bake another 5 minutes until cheese is melted.

8.  Remove…and serve.

Usually I serve this with some spanish rice, but this past week since I didn’t have any, I used some cheesy orzo pasta.  I have, in the past, sprinkled a bit of diced tomato and green onion on top for pretty…which D picked off.  But I didn’t care…I liked it. 

Ultimately this fed 4, because we had 2 enchiladas each.  I was able to freeze enough for another meal.  I’m so happy!