Lemon Mustard Pot Roast

Yeah, it's as good as it sounds.

I miss my Nanny. She's THE BEST at comfort foods. American Cop Suey, Shepherd's Pie, mashed potatoes with beef strips cooked in gravy, mmmmmmmmmm, and pot roast, she made it all! So when I miss her I cook.

You will need:

• 2-3 yellow potatoes
• 2-3 carrots
• 2-3 celery stalks
• 1 onion
• 1/2 lemon
• 2 beef bouillon cubes
• salt
• pepper
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 2-3 TBSP Dijon mustard
• beef roast (chuck, del monico, sirloin)

First preheat your oven to 350. Cut up your potatoes, carrots, onion, and celery stalks into quarters. Salt and pepper roast, then slather on the mustard with a knife (definitely avoid double dipping out of the mustard jar). Place the roast in a deep baking dish with a lid and surround with vegetables. Pour in water, then salt and pepper. Cut 2 slices of lemon and place them on the roast. Plop in the bouillon cube, slap on the lid, and slam that roast in the oven.

Cook 15- 20 minutes per pound and voila! It's great out of the oven and as leftovers. There's nothing quite like a pot roast sandwich with a little butter.

Love,

Liz

Mama's Lasagana, Easier Than You Think!

I personally (1) know a lot of people who are intimidated by making lasagna, and (2) know a lot of people who screw up lasagna on a regular basis. Ever had lasagna soup? That mushy, oozy, runny, excuse of lasagna? Probably.

We all know that person who thinks they can cook, has big dinner parties, then forces what ever ill-conceived culinary abomination they've envisioned down the throats of their hesitant but polite group of friends.

You don't want to be that person, so let's begin.

You will need:

• Sauce, THE MOST IMPORANT part of any Italian dish. Make it meaty, veggie, whatever. You can even try my recipe here. It's a little dated, but still holds strong.
• 8 oz. of Ricotta cheese
• 8 oz. of Mozzarella cheese, sliced or shredded
• 16 oz. box of no-boil lasagna noodles
• 1 egg 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. The most important first step is DO NOT BOIL THE NOODLES. This is the number one cause of lasagna soup. The extra moisture from the noodles seeps out during the baking process and turns the sauce watery. Gross.

 

Mix the Ricotta cheese with 1 egg. In a big baking dish, 9x13 inches, something along those lines, start with a layer of sauce that's about 1/2 inch thick. Next cover the sauce in a layer of lasagna noodles. Make them fit, but don't overlap. Then comes the Ricotta, spread 1/2 cup across the noodles. You can use a little bit more but not too much, you don't want the ingredients to overflow. Now cover the Ricotta with a layer of Mozzarella. Again, don't use too much or it will become too chewy. Back to sauce and repeat!

 

Remember to leave about 1/2 - 1 inch of room in the baking dish and cover it with tin foil. Just in case it does overflow, put a cookie sheet under it in the over. Bake for 25 minutes with the foil on, then remove foil and bake for another 15minutes.


Stick a fork in it! If it's done, the fork should go right through the gooey cheese and tender noodles. Let it stand for 5-10 minutes to solidify. Enjoy with some delicious garlic bread and a salad!


Love,

Liz

Turkey Wings and Stuffin': Home-Style Y'all!

I guess I got a little anxious for Thanksgiving and could NOT keep away from this recipe.

I found these Vigo Bread Crumbs with Romano cheese and couldn't wait to use them. Fortunately, I had a couple of turkey wings already thawed in the fridge. I recently realized that having turkey parts ample and ready int he grocery store isn't a nationwide phenomenon. Sorry, not my fault. Maybe it's YOUR responsibility to keep a turkey on-hand in case of any odd recipe.

For the turkey wings you'll need:

• butter
• 2 turkey wings
• salt
• pepper
• Romano cheese bread crumbs

Preheat the oven to 400.
Wash off the wings, salt and pepper them on both sides.
Then pour about 1 1/2 cups of bread crumbs into a large plastic bag, like a big Ziploc or  grocery bag (with no holes, mind you).
Place the wings into the bag, seal, and shake it up!
Once the wings are coated in bread crumbs place them on a baking sheet covered in foil. If need be, add more bread crumbs and keep shaking.
Put about 2 pads of butter on each wings, and pop it in the oven until the skin is golden brown, about 30-45 minutes.
Now, flip over the wings so that the underside gets crispy, too, about another 20-35 minutes.

For the stuffing you need:

• butter
• celery
• onion
• box of Stove Top (can also be substituted for any kind of prepackaged stuffing)
  

Dice up the onion and celery.
In a large skillet, heat up a big pad of butter to saute the onion and celery in.
Once the vegetables are tender, add the Stove Top  and then pretty much follow the recipe on the box from there (add some water and butter, simmer for 10 minutes, fluff with a fork and let stand for 5 minutes, if I'm not mistaken).

Scrumpty.
For all you baby birds what just left the nest, take comfort in some quick home cooking, that is, until you go home for some REAL Mommy food. And I should know, my Mommy just flew down here to make me a chicken AND a roast beef for a belated Thanksgiving. Oops! I'm spoiled, my bad.

Love,

Liz

Fried Bananagains

I. Love. Fried Bananagains. I Love Fried. Fried Bananagains.

That's a song I sing because it's true. I love fried bananas.

Bananas are a terrific source of Potassium. Potassium is good for dexterity. Dexterity is useful when performing things like surgery or when you type on the computer all day like a nerd.

This is my new favorite dessert. Since I'm broke and I don't want to get fat again, I've substituted chocolate as my main sugar intake for this addictive treat.

You will need:

• bananas
• brown sugar
• butter
• possibly some pecans or walnuts

Cut one banana into quarters, longways. Heat up a small frying pan.

Then put in a pad of butter and wait for it to sizzle a little. Sprinkle some brown sugar into the butter and next place the bananas in pan, preferably flat side down.

After a minute or so, check to see if the under side is brown, then flip the bananas. Cook until brown on each side.

I like to top mine with whipped cream, and nuts. Sooo yummy.

Enjoy!

Love,

Liz