Heart Healthy -Slow Cooked Beef Pot Roast

Our second installment is this home style favorite with mashed potatoes to soak up the sauce. Leftover meat makes great hot roast beef sandwiches the next day.

Ingredients

1 (8-ounce) package presliced mushrooms

1 (8-ounce) container refrigerated prechopped green bell pepper

Cooking spray

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons ketchup

1/4 cup water

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 pounds boneless shoulder pot roast

Preparation

1. Place mushrooms and bell pepper in a 3 1/2- to 4-quart electric slow cooker coated with cooking spray.

2. Combine ketchup and next 4 ingredients in a small bowl, stirring until blended.

3. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan and roast with cooking spray. Cook 3 minutes on each side or until browned. Place roast over vegetables in cooker; pour ketchup mixture over roast. Cover and cook on HIGH for 1 hour. Reduce heat to LOW; cook 6 to 7 hours or until roast is very tender. Serve vegetables and sauce over roast.

13 foods That Fight Stress

Stress Fighter #9  –  Grass-Fed Beef

Grass-fed beef is not only better for the planet, it’s also better for people. It has more antioxidants—including vitamins C and E and beta-carotene—than grain-fed beef, and doesn’t have added hormones, antibiotics, or other drugs. And while it’s lower in fat overall, it’s about two to four times higher in omega-3s. A study in the British Journal of Nutrition found that healthy volunteers who ate grass-fed meat increased their blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids and decreased their levels of pro-inflammatory omega-6 fatty acids. These changes have been linked with a lower risk of a host of disorders, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, depression, and inflammatory disease. Grass-fed beef is pricey but well worth the occasional splurge. (If you’re really gung-ho on the concept, check out local sources for “cowpooling,” where you go in with others on shares of grass-fed cattle.)

 

 

 

 

Filet Mignon and Portobello Mushrooms with Bourbon Wine Sauce

Ingredients:

For Steaks and Mushrooms
4 filet mignon
4 portabello mushrooms (stemmed & scraped)
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper

For Bourbon Wine Sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 ounces andouille sausage or 8 ounces smoked bacon
2 tablespoons minced shallots
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
5 tablespoons jack daniels bourbon.  Note:  If you don’t have any bourbon or don’t wish to cook with it, you may substitute 1 part vanilla extract plus two parts water for each tablespoon of bourbon called for.
1 roma tomato, diced
1 cup veal stock
2 tablespoons diced butter
1 dash Worcestershire sauce

Preparation:

For steaks and mushrooms mix oil vinegar salt and pepper let marinate about 30 minutes.
Heat oil and  saute sausage or bacon about 3 minutes till brown add shallots and garlic cook about 1 minute longer.
Deglaze pan with bourbon and carefully ignite, When burned off add tomato and stock, stir in butter and worcestershire.

Pan sear the steaks and then finish off in a 350-375 degree oven to your preferred degree of doneness.  Drizzle the pan sauce over the steaks and enjoy.

 

Moroccan Meatloaf With Feta And Spinach

“Meatloaf is a dish of ground meat formed into a loaf shape, mixed with egg and breadcrumbs, then baked or smoked. The loaf shape is formed by either cooking it in a loaf pan, or forming it by hand on a flat baking pan.”   Boring!

One of the things I love the most is using spices from other cultures to enhance the flavor of a “Typical” meatloaf and turn it into something unique.

Ingredients Meatloaf:

1- 14oz can of red kidney beans,drained (1/4 of the liquid saved)

2 lbs of 80/20 ground beef

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 large onion chopped fine

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 cup fresh parsley

1/4 cup fresh spinach, chopped

1 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 cup chicken stock

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp turmeric

1/z tsp cumin

1/4 tsp cayenne

Feta Cheese

Ingredients Sauce:

1/2 cup chicken stock

1-14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes

1/4 cup raisins

Zest of 1 lemon

Salt and Pepper to taste

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350

Spray a 9×13 pan with cooking spray

In a large bowl, using a fork, mash the kidney beans with the reserved liquid. Add beef, eggs, onion, garlic, parsley, spinach, salt and pepper and mix gently but completely with your hands.

Divide mixture into two portions.  Note:  If you don’t intend to prepare both portions, you can freeze one in a ziplock bag for up to a month.

Place the meat mixture in a large bowl; add cinnamon, ginger,turmeric, cumin and cayenne.  Mix thoroughly. Shape into a 5×7 inch loaf and transfer to the greased pan.

Bake loaf 30 minutes; pour 1/2 cup chicken stock into pan.  Continue to bake until an instant read thermometer read 160 degrees. (15-20 minutes longer)

Remove meatloaf to a platter, tent with foil and let rest 10 minutes.

Make Sauce:  Pour 1/2 cup chicken stock into a pot; add tomatoes and raisins.  Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.  Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes.  Stir in zest; season with salt and pepper to taste.

Slice meatloaf and serve, placing sauce on top of meatloaf.  Crumble feta cheese lightly on top.

Note:  Rice Pilaf would be an excellent pairing to this entre’

Braised Spareribs

Ingredients:

1 cup flour
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 ounces peanut oil
3 pounds spare ribs, cut into bones
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon cayenne
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 ounces tomato puree
2 ounces good red wine
2 cups beef stock
1 quart veal stock

Preparation;

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Season flour with salt and pepper and dust ribs with it. Knock off any remaining flour and heat up oil. Brown ribs in oil and set aside.

Saute, over low heat, the onions and garlic until translucent. Add spices and stir. Add the puree, red wine vinegar, and beef stock and bring to a simmer. Place ribs in braising pan and cover with the seasoned beef stock and veal stock. Cover with foil. Place in the oven for 2 1/2 hours or until ribs are tender.

This recipe inspired by Chef Michael Symon