Roast with green beans, parsnips and carrots

With a chill in the air and chuck roast on a 50% off sale, it seemed like a perfect weekend to prepare a roast. It’s definitely a great home cooked meal that gives the house that great smell that says “comfort food”.

Ingredients:
       3 ½ pounds of chuck roast (any roast you like, chuck was 50% OFF…YEA!!)
       3 Tbs. Olive Oil

       4 small onions – peeled and quartered

       4 parsnips – peeled & halved length wise

       4 carrots – peeled & halved

       2 – 17.6 oz College Inn Bold Stock (I had these on the shelf, any stock is fine)

       4 Tbs. red wine vinegar (use any vinegar that you have)

       2 Tbs. dark brown sugar (light brown, fine, use what you have)

       1 bag frozen green beans
       salt and pepper

Ingredients: (for the paste rub)

       1/3 c. Pepperhouse Gourmaise (I’ll be dissecting this & posting a recipe soon)

       1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

       4 large cloves garlic minced finely

       2 Tbs. prepared horseradish

Directions:

Cut off the fat and skin that might be on the roast.

Salt and pepper very heavily so it browns nicely and get a crust.

I brown on all sides in a heavy roasting pan over medium high heat on the stove top.  I use my Le Creuset, I just love mine!

Remove the roast and let it rest.

Deglaze the pan with 1 – 17.6 oz College Inn Bold Stock and the 4 onions, make sure you get all the brown bits off the bottom of the pan….it’s all flavor.

Place the carrots and parsnips across all the onion to create a rack for the roast.

Combine the Pepperhouse Gourmaise, Worcestershire, minced garlic and horseradish, stirring it all into a paste in a small bowl. 

Slather ½ the paste all over the top and partial sides of the roast.  Place the roast on to the parsnip & carrot rack with the paste rub side down, then use the rest of the paste rub to cover all the exposed areas on the roast…more is better on the roast that is above the liquid.

Add the last College Inn Stock, the vinegar and the brown sugar together in a bowl, mix and add to the pot around the roast.  Try not to get it on the roast or you’ll wash off that tasty paste.  Bring up the liquid level to 1/3 to ½ of the way up the sides of the roast. 

Place the roast in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 1 ½ hours.  Check to make sure your liquid levels are still good, add water or wine if you need more liquid.  Reduce the heat to 250 degrees and cover the roast for the next hour.   

Then add the green beans around the roast and cook another 15 minutes at 350 degrees covered.

Serve with the juices.   

An option is to remove all vegetables & meat and keep warm.  You can then make tasty gravy from the drippings.  I know my family and home is split on the ‘gravy vs. juices’ debate…so you decide for your house.

I hope your family enjoys this as much as we did.

TL's Trifecta Chili

This morning I started a batch of chili, while cooking I thought I would share and post my latest recipe for chili.  I have been cooking chili for years, I just love it!  

I call this recipe “TL’s Trifecta Chili”.  The name is due to my choice to use three types of meat, giving it a depth of flavor.  I have used ground meat but I pinch the ground meat into small hunks, they are not quite balls, but something similar.  Adding a great mouth full of a meat types, that will change with each bite, giving great variety.

TL’s Trifecta Chili

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef, browned off

1 lb. ground venison, browned off

1 lb. ground sweet Italian sausage, browned off

1 yellow onion, chopped

1 tricolor pack or peppers, seeded and chopped

3 cubenella peppers, seeded and chopped

2 jalapenos, seeded and chopped (unless you want added heat, then leave seeds in)

2 Tbs tomato paste

2 cloves garlic minced

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp dried cilantro

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp black pepper

½ tsp dried oregano

½ tsp ground coriander

2 Tbs cocoa powder (I prefer special dark from Hersey)

1 cup strong coffee

2   14.5 oz cans fire roasted diced tomato, juice and all

1   15.5 oz can light red kidney beans, drained

1   15.5 oz can dark red kidney beans, drained

1   15.5 oz can pinto beans, drained

1   4oz can diced green chili, juice and all

1   28oz can mild red enchilada sauce

¼ cup blue agave or ½ cup honey

¼ tsp liquid smoke (I use a hickory or pecan, but it’s your choice.)

Directions:

Saute the pinched balls of meat in batches to get them very brown and delicious.  

Remove them to a large bowl and then continue with the onion and peppers, just until softened. 

They will pick up some of the fond from the pot bottom, but do not overcook.  They will continue to cook in the chili.

In the bottom of the pan place paste, garlic and the spices, stirring let the heat and paste to bring out the oils & the fragrances.  Then add the cocoa powder and coffee. Cook until a brown thick sauce is slightly bubbling.

Add back in the meat, onion and peppers coating well in the spices and cook for 10 to 15 minutes stirring frequently, watch do not scorch.

Add the diced tomato, drained beans, diced chili, enchilada sauce, agave and liquid smoke.   

Stir well to combine. Over medium heat continue to cook for 1 hour then reduce to low for 3 hour or more.

Serve with a dollop of sour cream and garnish with chopped chives or chopped cilantro…and don’t forget the corn bread. Enjoy!!!!