A week ago we were all melting in 105F heat but in the past 48 hours it has reverted back to winter in this corner of the world. At 10 a. m. on Friday, it was only 56F and the skies were as grey as a battleship so I decided that it would be a good day for a beef pot roast - and besides - casseroles always last two days so that means no cooking on Saturday! I'm not as daft as I look!
I got a nice piece of boneless chuck roast - about 3 inches thick - about 2 1/2 lbs and seared both sides in olive oil in a large fry pan. I placed the meat in a large casserole dish and then I took a large, coarsely chopped, onion and cooked it in the olive oil until it was translucent. I placed the onion around the meat. I heated 3 cans ( 10 3/4oz each) of consomme- beef broth will do, too - and poured it over the beef and onions. I then added about 6oz of boiling water and the same amount of red wine. (Burgundy would be best but I only had Merlot which is fine.) I placed the casserole dish in a 325 degree oven and cooked the meat for about 2 hours. This is what I like about cooking winter foods - you can leave them alone for long periods!
Next, I chopped 2 large stalks of celery, 4 good sized carrots, 1 large parsnip and another onion (medium) all into 1/2 to 1 inch chunks and placed them into the casserole - you could add a handful of frozen peas too. As the veg were cooking (takes about 30-40 minutes) I peeled some potatoes to serve on the side and put them on to boil in lightly salted water. When the vegetables were tender I thickened the gravy with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch stirred into about 6oz cold water. I pulled the casserole out of the oven a little way and, using a large spoon gradually stirred in the cornstarch mix until the gravy started to thicken. I then replaced the lid on the casserole and pushed it back into the oven. I turned the oven off and then put the dinner plates in the oven to warm. I HATE cold plates!
We had our beef pot roast with potatoes and crusty sour dough bread......and it was delish.
I hope somebody will find this recipe useful.
Oh and by the way, the cost of this meal was approx $10 and will allow 4 servings. $2:50 each - cheap at half the price!
I got a nice piece of boneless chuck roast - about 3 inches thick - about 2 1/2 lbs and seared both sides in olive oil in a large fry pan. I placed the meat in a large casserole dish and then I took a large, coarsely chopped, onion and cooked it in the olive oil until it was translucent. I placed the onion around the meat. I heated 3 cans ( 10 3/4oz each) of consomme- beef broth will do, too - and poured it over the beef and onions. I then added about 6oz of boiling water and the same amount of red wine. (Burgundy would be best but I only had Merlot which is fine.) I placed the casserole dish in a 325 degree oven and cooked the meat for about 2 hours. This is what I like about cooking winter foods - you can leave them alone for long periods!
Next, I chopped 2 large stalks of celery, 4 good sized carrots, 1 large parsnip and another onion (medium) all into 1/2 to 1 inch chunks and placed them into the casserole - you could add a handful of frozen peas too. As the veg were cooking (takes about 30-40 minutes) I peeled some potatoes to serve on the side and put them on to boil in lightly salted water. When the vegetables were tender I thickened the gravy with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch stirred into about 6oz cold water. I pulled the casserole out of the oven a little way and, using a large spoon gradually stirred in the cornstarch mix until the gravy started to thicken. I then replaced the lid on the casserole and pushed it back into the oven. I turned the oven off and then put the dinner plates in the oven to warm. I HATE cold plates!
We had our beef pot roast with potatoes and crusty sour dough bread......and it was delish.
I hope somebody will find this recipe useful.
Oh and by the way, the cost of this meal was approx $10 and will allow 4 servings. $2:50 each - cheap at half the price!
The photo above was taken as I drove down the freeway - Mr. Indi was behind the camera and the strange circle that appears in the center of the picture is the reflection of the camera lens through the windshield of the car!......(I thought it was aliens!)
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