Hello Sweets,
One of my favorite times to bake or cook is for those that mean the most to me. Nathan is my absolute favorite person to cook for, and cooking for his family is very important to me, or better yet that they like what I make. At the risk of sounding old fashion or dated, I really do want to be that wife and mother who cooks and bakes on a regular basis. Some of my fondest memories as a child were being in the kitchen with my grandmother baking (my favorite part was the flour sifter lol), and watching my mother in the kitchen cooking dinner, but not following a recipe but using her sense to determine the right flavors.
Needless to say, today's post is about not one, not two, and but three recipes! I made Nathan and his father a yummy chuck roast dinner last night with all the fixings. I went out immediately after to spend some quality with Nathan's aunt, so I only got the "thanks for dinner Canuckette, that was good". So of course when I returned later that evening, I asked Nathan what his dad really thought, and this is the direct quote from his father,"girl can cook". This makes me very happy because I love knowing how much his family likes me, family is very important to me, and when you date someone, you connect two families together, and that is precisely what I want. So for dinner last night I made a chuck roast with roasted potatoes, onions, carrots, corn, gravy, and Yorkshire pudding (a little bit of English to our country dinner). Everything is relatively simple to make, but remember as with anything you make, make it from the heart ;)
Okay on to the recipes!!
Chuck Roast
Ingredients
coarse black pepper
garlic powder
some fresh roasted garlic
Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce
Lowry's Steak and Chop marinade
sea salt, Lowry's seasoning salt
Adolph's meat tenderizer
5 medium sized potatoes, chopped
5 whole carrots, chopped
1/2 a large yellow onion, chopped
1C beef broth or 1 bullion cube, dissolved
My roast soaking in its bath lol
Directions:
1) Go to the butcher and ask for a chuck roast or seven bone roast (the bone in the center is shaped as the number seven), the more marbling, the better the flavor. Now I cannot give you the weight of the one I made last night as they bought a whole cow and just had the butcher package their meat for them, but we fed about 6 people. Now, if you have time you should season or marinade the beef overnight, this way the meat really soaks up all the flavor and will fall apart. Also, pierce the meat with a fork to allow that much more absorption. Choose what ever seasonings/marinade you would use of a steak, I do not use BBQ sauce on a roast but that is my preference. Apply any liquids you chose to use first as to not wash away the seasonings. Your marinade mixture doesn't necessarily have to submerge the meat, about half full will do, just be sure to flip the roast over at least once (preferably about halfway from prep to cook), then place in the fridge overnight. If you don't have time for overnight, try and get a least a couple of hours. Be sure not to dispose of the mixture the roast is in, as it will contribute to cooking in the flavor, moisten, and will serve as the main ingredient in the gravy
2) Preheat your over to 375F. While the oven is preheating, cut up your potatoes, onions, and carrots. I like a rustic type of meal with my roast, so I tend to cut bigger and not uniformed. Place the veggies around and on the roast, top with a little bit of beef broth or bullion, cover with tin foil. Place into the oven for 2 hours, checking after one to ensure the veggies are not drying out, if they are, add a little more of the broth to moisten the veggies.
standing room only!
While that was cooking, I moved on to prepare the Yorkshire puddings! I start this one hour into the roast cooking to allow the batter to sit for 30 minutes, and then cook in the oven with the roast for the last 30 minutes.
Easy Yorkshire Pudding
Ingredients
3 eggs
1C milk
1C all-purpose flour
2tbs butter
Directions:
1) In a medium bowl, beat eggs with milk. Stir in flour and set aside.
2) Divide butter evenly into the 12 cups of a muffin tin, about 1/2 tsp per cup. Place empty tin into the oven to melt the butter for 2-5 minutes. Remove tin from oven, and distribute batter evenly among buttery cups.
Completed batter and butter divided
notice the brown on the edges? That's the melted butter
3) Bake in preheated oven for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to 350F, and bake for 25 minutes more or until puffed and golden. It is okay to drop the heat while the roast is still cooking as it is only for the last 30 minutes.
All done, YUM!
Next up is the gravy!
Simple Gravy
Ingredients
1 1/2C of the roast drippings
flour
Directions:
1) Transfer 1C of the drippings into a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Slowly add flour to thicken the consistency. If lumps form, add a little more of the drippings. Depending on your preference of thickness, continue adding flour until you've reached your desired consistency.
2)Enjoy!
Completed feast in all its glory, boys couldn't wait to dig in obviously lol
Needless to say, no one went hungry last night, and we even enjoyed some for lunch today :) Now tonight I am going to make the famous pumpkin spice cupcakes and will be posting that little gem tomorrow! Until then....
Stay sweet,
Jennifer xoxoxo
