Easiest Beef Pot Roast (aka Crock Pot, part two)

Back in the day...(before kids)I would whip up complicated gourmet meals with expensive ingredients. Dinners consisted of multiple courses paired with matching wines. Working from home, as a corporate refugee, with college tuitions, a mortgage, and no bailout in sight, my culinary endeavors are simpler these days.

While not quite as simple as the chicken recipe I posted a few days ago, this is the simplest beef recipe I know. It is also a favorite of the two teens that still live at home--who are not known as adventurous eaters. When you make it the first time, don't be tempted to play with it by adding anything else--its amazingly good with just these three ingredients.

What's Needed
*2 1/2 - 3 lb. beef pot roast (chuck or bottom round both work well)
*1 can Campbell's Cream of Chicken Soup
*1 can Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup
*Crockpot

1. Place beef in crockpot
2. Open soups, and pour over beef
3. Cover the crockpot, and cook on low 8-10 hours, or on high 4-5 hours

Serve over noodles or mashed potatoes, with whatever vegetables you have around.

Back in my gourmet days, I would have sworn that I would never have made a recipe that required canned soup--let alone two cans. But given that Campbell's is one of the companies that's doing well in this wretched economy, I suspect I'm not alone.

Easy Crock-Pot Chicken, with Bonus!

This is so simple, it probably doesn't even count as a recipe. Its the simplest meal I know, and guarantees moist flavorful chicken.

What's Needed
*Whole chicken
*Two lemons
*Seasonings of choice- I use garlic pepper and tarragon, but you can just use salt and pepper if you like--or let your imagination go wild.
*Crockpot
*Fork

1.Poke the lemons with a fork a few times.
2.Pull the giblets out of the chicken and discard.
3.Place the lemons inside the chicken.
4.Place the chicken in the crockpot.
5.Sprinkle the seasonings on the chicken.
6.Cover the crockpot, and cook on low 8-10 hours, or on high 4-5 hours.

That's it! Now for the bonus.

*When you take the chicken out, there will be juices left in the pot. You may spoon some over the chicken when serving, but there will probably be excess. Leave whatever you don't use in the pot. After you've carved the chicken for serving, put the carcass back in the crockpot. Add 2 carrots, 2 celery ribs, 2 onions, and 2 bay leaves. Don't worry about peeling the vegetables, just wash them and chop them coarsely. fill the pot with water to cover the carcass, and turn it back on to low. Allow it to simmer from 4-12 hours. Strain and discard the carcass and vegetables, and you have a flavorful stock ready to freeze or use for soup.

If you have any left-over chicken, you can use it to make a great chicken pot pie.

Scalloped Potatoes with Ham

This is an absolute favorite at our house. Its simple and comforting, and a great way to stretch that last bit of ham into a full meal.

What you need:

*5 lbs. of potatoes
*1 large onion
*1-2 cups leftover ham, cubed
*2 T chopped fresh parsley
*3 T butter (plus a little extra to grease the pan)
*3 T flour
*Salt and pepper
*1/4 tsp paprika
*2 cups skim milk

*Sharp knife (or food processor)
*4 c. glass measuring cup
*Stock pot large enough to hold potatoes and onion
with several inches left over
*Colander
*9 by 13 roasting pan
*Whisk

1. Preheat oven to 375 F
2. Prepare the Potatoes and onions
*Peel and slice potatoes and onion about 1/8" of an inch thin
*Place potatoes, onions, and parsley in pot, cover with water
*Place the pot on the stove, turn heat to high, bring to boil
*Cook for 5 minutes after it begins to boil.
*Drain
3. While the potatoes are cooking, make the white sauce
*Place butter and flour in the 4 c glass measuring cup
*Microwave on high for 1 minute
*Add milk, whisk until well blended
*Microwave on high 3 minutes
*Whisk
*Microwave on high 3 minutes
*Whisk, add salt and pepper to taste, as well as 1/4 tsp paprika
*Set aside
4. Assemble the casserole
*Grease the 9 by 13 pan
*Spread half of the potatoes and onions in the dish
*Pour half of the white sauce over the potatoes
*Layer the ham on next
*Spread the rest of the potatoes on top
*Finish with the rest of the white sauce
5. Bake for 45 minutes- 1 hour until browned and crispy at edges

Comfort Foods and the Financial Crisis of 2008

Yesterday, when the markets were in a death spiral, I wrote about Chicken Pot Pie. Well, it appears that I was on to something. Charlie Gibson did a segment on the nightly news tonight about comfort food. It appears there is not only an economic reason that people turn to basic foods in a financial crisis, but a biological one as well. Scientists have found that fatty-carbohydrate-laden dishes reduce stress--that in times like these, the "bad" foods are actually good for us! He didn't cite authoritative sources on the air--but if Charlie says it, its good enough for me.

The other interesting point mentioned in the segment was that amid the massive stock declines yesterday, one major company's stock actually went up--Campbell's.

Comfort Food for Crazy Times --Chicken Pot Pie

When the Dow falls almost 800 points, its a good day to focus on comfort food--specifically Chicken Pot Pie. What do you need to prepare this delicacy?
*Leftover chicken carcass, with some meat on the bones
*Leftover gravy
*One onion
*One box frozen mixed vegetables
*Pie crust
*Seasonings--I use fresh garlic, cardamom pods, pepper and rosemary.

Step 1: Prepare your crust. This can be as simple as taking it out of the box, or making your own. Place the bottom crust in a pie plate and set the top crust aside. If your kitchen is warm, put them both in the refrigerator.

Step 2: Chop the onion, and start it sautéing in one tablespoon of butter on medium-low heat.

Step 3: Take the meat off the chicken carcass, and set aside. You're aiming for about 2 cups. If you have less, you can add a few more vegetables.

Step 4: Measure your leftover gravy. Do you have 2 cups? Awesome! If not, add water or broth until you do have 2 cups of liquid.

Step 5: Turn your attention back to the onions. They should be soft, and maybe a little brown by now. If you needed to add liquid to the gravy, add 2 Tablespoons of flour to the pan, and sauté for a minute or so, then add the liquid-gravy mixture and cook until it starts to thicken.

Step 6: Season. I add 2 cardamom pods, a pinch of rosemary, 1 clove of garlic, and pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking.

Step 7: Add frozen mixed vegetables to the sauce, and cook until thawed.

Step 8: Add chicken to the vegetables and sauce and mix well.

Step 9: Assemble. Place chicken-vegetable-sauce mix in bottom crust. Cover with top crust, and crimp edges. Brush top crust with milk or egg yolk, if desired. Cut vents in crust.

Step 10: Bake for about an hour at 375.


Enjoy! This is one dish that comforts your wallet as well as your soul.