Meat, Potatoes, and Brussel Sprouts

Been awhile hasn't it?

Anyway, now that I'm unemployed I have no excuse not to waste hours cooking and posting pictures.

We'll start with this lovely dinner I had of pot roast, parsnip-potato mash, and bacon roasted brussel sprouts.




Since I'm free to watch television more often now, I settled into some Food Network the other day and watched 5 Ingredient Fix with Claire Robinson. Then I went to the grocery store for her Sunday Pot Roast and Parsnip-Potato Mash. Added a green element with some brussel sprouts.

Sunday Pot Roast with Mushroom Gravy
1 (4 to 5-pound) boneless beef bottom round roast
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound cremini mushrooms, cleaned and quartered
2 medium yellow onions, halved and sliced
4 cups low-sodium beef broth

Preheat your oven to 325. You'll want to heat the olive oil and sear all sides of the meat. Then set the meat aside, and cooked the mushrooms for about 5 minutes. Add the onions and beef broth, and then return the meat to the pot, nestling it down into the vegetables. Include any juices that may have collected while the meat sat. Then cover, and put in the oven for 2 1/2 hours, then flip the meat and do another 30 minutes uncovered to reduce the liquid. To thicken the gravy, run some of the mushrooms and onions through a food processor or mini chopper, and add them back in.

Searing my roast, Claire suggests 4 minutes each side


Mushrooms and onions in the beef broth...I dice my onions small because I have texture issues and don't want to bite into a huge chunk later


Parsnip-Potato Mash
2 1/2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 1/2 pounds parsnips (about 8 small), peeled and chopped
Kosher salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
3/4 cup half-and-half
Freshly ground black pepper

Put the potatoes and parsnips in a pot with cold water and salt generously. Bring to a boil and then simmer 20 - 25 minutes, until fork tender. Heat the butter and half-and-half in a small saucepan until the butter is melted. Drain the potatoes and parsnips, and give them a quick mash. Add the hot butter mixture and mix them up, also adding salt and pepper to taste.

This was my first time working with parsnips


Cooking the potatoes and parsnips until they're "fork tender"


Potatoes and parsnips mixed with the butter and half and half


Bacon Roasted Brussel Sprouts
You'll need:
Brussel Sprouts
Bacon and its grease
Salt and pepper

Other options include lemon juice, olive oil (instead of bacon grease, or along with the bacon grease if you don't have enough), garlic powder, etc. You can even use little chunks of ham instead of bacon, I've had it both ways. You can mix the ingredients together on a pan, or in a big ziploc bag (and then of course pour them out on a pan). Then just roast in the oven at 400 for 30 to 45 minutes, shaking the pan or stirring it around every 5 to 10 minutes to get even cooking. You want them to end up somewhat blackened on the outside.

Brussel sprouts ready for the oven


Brussel sprouts out of the oven


Worth it, don't you think?


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Green Bean Casserole

So I ordered some onion strings while I was at Kona Grill for Happy Hour. They gave me a huge pile and I'm not even sure I ate half of them. My dinner companion had the brilliant idea that I take them home and make greenbean casserole.


So that's what I did.

I imagine most green bean casserole recipes are similar, green beans and cream of mushroom soup. This one also uses cheese (Velveeta!), and that makes it better than all the other recipes. And of course french fried onions (the kind in the can will work if you don't have restaurant leftovers like I did).

You'll need 2 cans of green beans for each can of cream of mushroom soup. For a large casserole dish you would likely use 4 cans of green beans. I am cooking for one in a 9 x 9 pan, so I only used 2 cans of green beans, and 1 can of soup.

Mix your green beans and cream of mushroom soup together, along with some of the french fried onions (make sure to leave enough to spread on top). Go ahead and add a dash (or 8) of Worcestershire sauce if you're so inclined. After you've mixed this all up, and somewhat flattened the top, you'll want to cut up some cubes of Velveeta cheese (not the whole block, calm down). Place the cubes on the top, spread out a bit, and stick the whole thing in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes (just until the cheese is melted).

You end up with this.


Now, mix the whole thing up again, so that creamy, yummy, cheesy goodness is evenly spread throughout the dish. Then cover the top with more french fried onions. And back in the oven it goes, maybe for another 20 or 30 minutes (it's all cooked, you're just getting things hot and crisping up your onions).

Once it's out of the oven, you can just inhale the lovely aromas.


Then you pretty much have to eat it. Probably two helpings.


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Vegetable Chips

Start with some vegetables, such as zucchini and squash.


my oh my mandoline


pretty slices


dredging station...start with Italian salad dressing mixed with an egg, then move on to seasoned bread crumbs


They'll go in a 425 oven for about 25 minutes (no need to flip if they're on a baking rack like this)


Vegetable chips!


A dipping sauce is nice, and marinara works well (as would any jar of spaghetti sauce).


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