Yankee Pot Roast (101 of 150)

Pot roast day at Chez Jenn's. Sherrie came over for scrapbooking and it's easier to have something in the crock pot than to stop and "cook" dinner. I realize the recipe is for on the stove cooking, but a chuck roast needs more than an hour to get it tender, so I popped it in a slow cooker. 

EVERY time I make pot roast I am reminded of Dad. Pot roast was his favorite meal. He would have loved tonight's meal. This roast was tender, moist and oh so flavorful. 

I was curious why this was called "Yankee Pot Roast" and how it differs from the regular old pot roast. According to the interwebs: 

Many people have asked us what differentiates a Yankee Pot Roast from just a “pot roast.” Basically a pot roast is beef that is braised in liquid – but a Yankee-style pot roast is cooked and served with root vegetables (our recipe includes carrots, potatoes, parsnip and turnip).

So basically, the pot roast I've been making for years, is really Yankee pot roast? Ok. I can get on board with that. 

Yankee Pot Roast

Recipe from "Unknown"

Serves 8

• 1 tsp canola oil
• 2 lbs boneless chuck roast
• 1 c chopped yellow onion
• 4 c beef broth
• 1 T Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 tsp sage
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 1/2 c cubed potatoes, peeled
• 1 1/2 c sliced carrots

Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add beef to pan, browning on all sides. Remove from pan. 

Add onions to pan, saute for 5 minutes or until beginning to brown. Stir in broth, deglazing the pan. 

Reduce heat; add mustard, thyme, salt and pepper, sage, bay leaves. Return roast to the pan and bring to a simmer. 

Cover and bake at 300F for 1.5 hours. Stir in potatoes and carrots and bake for 30 more minutes.

Discard bay leaves

Bang Bang Chicken Skewers (100 of 150)

Happy Friday! It's been a couple of days / weeks since I've actually made myself a new recipe. I had to take a little break you see. I just wasn't feeling it. 

Tonight though, I had chicken out and figured I'd do myself this recipe. Bang Bang sauce was all the rage a year or so ago. The first time I had Bang Bang Sauce was at  Bonefish Grill's and they have an appetizer called Bang Bang Shrimp and OH...MY...God...is it good. 

But what is Bang Bang sauce? It's a cream sauce that is a little sweet and a little spicy. It's usually made with mayo and sweet chili sauce - then you add as much spicy as you want. 

The key for this recipe is getting that sauce on the chicken the moment it comes out of the air fryer. You want the heat of the chicken "melt" the mayo and sweet chili sauce. 

Bang Bang Chicken Skewers

Found on Instagram

Serves 2

• 2 chicken breasts, cut into chunks
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic salt
• 1/2 tsp onion powder

Bang Bang Sauce

• 1/2 c mayo
• 1/4 c sweet chili sauce

Cut your chicken into bit size pieces. 

Mix together the spices and spread on chicken. Add about 1 T olive oil to the chicken and mix together. 

Cook in your air fryer for 12 minutes at 400 (preheat the airfryer for about 4 minutes before you put the chicken in).  Cook until done. 

Brush on the bang bang sauce and enjoy.

Crock Pot BBQ Pork Chops (99 of 150)

This is likely the EASIEST and most DELICIOUS recipe I've made in a long time. The combination of BBQ sauce, onion soup mix and apricot preserves makes a nice, tangy saucy sauce. These are not only super easy, but man the pork turned out amazingly tender.

The recipe calls for bone-in pork chops. Normally I would do just that. The bone adds a ton of flavor. But this recipe is part of my "clean out the freezer" plan. I had a pork loin in the freezer. I cut it into chunks and cooked it for 7 hours.

I then shredded the pork into smaller chunks. It was amazing. 

Crock Pot BBQ Pork Chops

Recipe from The Country Cook

Serves 4

• 1 (18 oz) bottle BBQ sauce
• 1 (18 oz) jar apricot preserves
• 1 packet onion soup mix or make your own
• 4 bone-in pork chops
• 2 tsp garlic powder

In the bottom of a 5-quart (or larger) oval slow cooker, pour in barbecue sauce, apricot preserves and onion soup mix.

Give the mixture a good stir.

Season both sides of each of the pork chops with garlic powder and gently rub it in. Place pork chops into the sauce in the slow cooker and, using a spoon, cover the chops with some of the sauce.

Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours (until internal temperature reaches 145f degrees.)

Delicious served with a side salad and some veggies!

Smothered Chicken with Green Chili Sour Cream Sauce (98 of 150)

I guess its green chili week. A second recipe using green chilis. They're yummy so I don't mind. 

This recipe was delicious. A little salty for me and I'm not sure where I went wrong there but you may want to hold off salting until the end. 

The big tip here is when ever you have to add cheese to be melted into a sauce ALWAY use freshly grated cheese. Never use pre-grated cheese. That cheese comes with products to help it not stick together and that also causes it to not melt smoothly. I mean honestly, how hard is it grate 1/2c of cheese. 

Side note, I think this would also be delicious with Monterey Jack cheese or pepper jack.

Second pro tip, this is one of those recipes that moves along at a nice pace. You should have all your ingredients out and measured so you can focus on cooking and not tracking down ingredients.

As I was cooking this recipe I kept thinking of other things I could add to this recipe. 

1. Adding some veggies. I think zucchini or diced tomatoes would be delicious with this recipe.
2. Add some beans. Pinto beans would be nice. As would black beans.
3. Black olives sliced would be good.

I served this with Mexican rice, but there was enough sauce that as I was eating I thought this over pasta would be AMAZING.

Smothered Chicken with Green Chili Sour Cream Sauce

Recipe from Carlsbad Cravings

Serves 4

CHICKEN

• 2 large chicken breasts (about 24 ounces)
• 2 T flour
• 1 tsp EACH chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, salt
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika, pepper
• 2 T Danish Creamery Premium Butter
• 2 T olive oil

GREEN CHILI SOUR CREAM SAUCE

• 1 T Danish Creamery Premium Butter
• 3 T flour
• 2 c low sodium chicken broth
• 1 4 oz. can mild chopped green chilies
• 1 tsp EACH ground cumin, garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp EACH onion powder, salt
• ADD LATER
• 1/2 c sour cream
• 3 T chopped cilantro
• 1 T lime juice
• 1/2 c freshly shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Toppings:

cilantro lime rice

chopped tomatoes

chopped avocados

crushed tortilla chips

minced cilantro

Cotija

Slice the chicken breasts in the half through the equator to create 4 fillets. Cover with plastic wrap and pound to an even thickness (use a meat mallet or side of a can). Pat dry.

Whisk 2 tablespoons flour and all of the chicken seasoning together in a shallow dish. Dredge each cutlet in the mixture, shake off any excess, then transfer to a dry surface.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in 2 tablespoons oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add chicken and cook each side for 3-4 minutes (depending on thickness) until golden and cooked to 160 degrees F on an instant read thermometer. Transfer chicken to a plate, don't wipe out the skillet.

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in the chicken drippings over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook for 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low and gradually whisk in the chicken broth followed by the green chilies and all seasonings.

Bring the sauce to a simmer while scraping up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan; simmer until sauce thickens almost to desired consistency (it will continue to thicken once you add the sour cream and cheese), stirring often.

Reduce heat to low and stir in the cheddar cheese until melted, followed by the sour cream. Stir in lime juice and cilantro.

Add chicken back to the pan and spoon some sauce over top. Serve with desired toppings such as Cotija, tomatoes, jalapenos, cilantro, avocados, crushed tortilla chips etc.

One Skillet Green Chile Cheese Dip (97 of 150)

Last night was a dinner party with some British friends who were making us a traditional British Sunday Roast meal. So much food and it was so delicious. I'll write more about that on the other blog. 

My contribution was an appetizer. I rarely get to make appetizers so I spent a good 30 minutes trying to figure out the right thing to bring. I was going to stay "in theme" but then I found this appetizer and it just sounded so delicious. And, boys and girls, it was yummy-licious. 

I almost didn't bake it because it was toasty yesterday, but then decided it would probably be better baked. Honestly, it would have been better cold (IMHO because I'm not always a fan of baked cream cheese). At any rate, it was a hit and it was delicious. 

One Skillet Green Chile Cheese Dip

Recipe from The Salty Marshmallow

Serves 12 easily

Cheese Dip:

• 1 8 ounce Package Cream Cheese Softened
• 1 4 ounce Can Hatch Green Chiles
• 1 c Monterrey Jack Cheese Shredded
• ½ c Cheddar cheese shredded
• 1 c Salsa Verde
• 1 Clove garlic minced (can use garlic powder if preferred)
• Tortilla chips for serving

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Blend all ingredients together in a large bowl with a hand mixer.

Pour mixture into a large oven-proof skillet or baking dish.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, until hot and bubbly.

Mom's Pasta, Grape and Olive Salad (96 of 150)

Photo from California Grape comission

This recipe filtered to the top when I was looking for a pasta dish to take to Sunday dinner last weekend. Mom made this a handful of times and I remember absolutely loving it. So I figured I'd give it a try. 

First problem, I couldn't find (anywhere) packaged dry blue cheese dressing. I now have several packets (thanks Amazon) but those arrived a little too late. So I subbed in ranch dressing. Not sure you get the same impact as you would with blue cheese, but it was still delicious. 

Everything else I kept the same. It's a delicious pasta salad and I highly recommend making it

Mom's Pasta, Grape and Olive Salad

Recipe from Mom

Serves 12 easily

• 2 c pasta, uncooked
• 1 can black olives, halved
• 2 c red grapes, halved
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped
• 1 package Dry Blue Cheese Dressing
• 1/2 bottle Cheesy-Garlic Italian Dressing (I used Bernstein's)
• 1/2 c mayo
• Salt and pepper to taste

Mix mayo, Cheesy-Garlic Italian dressing, blue cheese dressing mix, salt and pepper. 

Cook pasta. Drain, rinse, cool and dry. 

Add grapes, onions, pasta to a bowl. Add dressing and mix well. 

Air Fryer Cauliflower (95 of 150)

I have a love hate relationship with cauliflower. As a flavor profile, it's fine with me. The texture is OK
if it doesn't get mushy. If it gets mushy, then all bets are off. 

I have gotten pretty good at air frying cauliflower and NOT making it mushy. I just know to cook it less than the recipe usually calls for. 

Tonight I made a rookie mistake and over cooked the cauliflower. I used smaller florets than I should have and that resulted in mushy cauliflower. I ate it, well most of it. 

I've made a bunch of recipes like this one. It's a solid recipe. Just don't overcook your cauliflower. 

Air Fryer Cauliflower

Recipe from Wholesome Yum

Serves 4

1 head Cauliflower (cut into florets)

3 T Olive oil

2 tsp Lemon juice

3/4 tsp Smoked paprika

1/2 tsp Garlic powder

1/2 tsp Sea salt

1/4 tsp Black pepper

Tap on the times in the instructions below to start a kitchen timer while you cook.

Preheat the air fryer to 380 degrees F.

Place the cauliflower florets in a large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice. Season with garlic powder, sea salt, and black pepper. Toss to coat.

Add cauliflower to the air fryer basket in a single layer (cook in batches if needed – don’t crowd the basket). Cook cauliflower in the air fryer for 7-10 minutes (depending on the size of your florets), shaking the basket halfway through, until browned on the edges.

Korean Style Grilled Flank Steak (94 of 150)

It's another beautiful day in Seattle. Great day for grilling. And I'm on an mission to eat through my
freezer again. So this week's meals are all because I have that meat in my freezer. Sadly, it won't clean it out, but close. My goal is to eat all the stuff in the freezer by end of July WITHOUT buying new meat. Totally doable. 

I made one small mistake with this recipe. I misread that it was supposed to be chunk pineapple. I had pineapple juice already and wanted to use that up. I think it made almost no difference. 

I marinaded this for about 4 hours. It was a tasty marinade. Not too spicy and not too salty. 

Korean Style Grilled Flank Steak

Recipe from Closet Cooking

Serves 6

• 1 c pineapple, coarsely chopped
• 1 small onion, coarsely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced/grated
• 1 inch ginger, minced/grated
• 2 green onions, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 c soy sauce
• 1/4 c gochujang (optional)
• 1 T brown sugar
• 1 T sesame oil
• 2 pounds flank steak

Puree the pineapple, onion. garlic, ginger, green onion, soy sauce, gochujang, brown sugar, sesame oil in a blender or food processor until smooth, and marinate the steak in the puree, in a fridge, for 2-8 hours.

Shake off the excess marinade and grill over medium-high heat until cooked to the desired level of doneness, about 3-5 minutes per side.

Let sit for 5 minutes before slicing thinly across the grain and enjoy!

Southern-Style Green Beans (93 of150)

Photo from Spicy
Southern Kitchen

This house smells amazing. All day I've had Dad on my mind because the smell of these bad boys cooking reminded me of him. 

Dad would frequently get a box of green beans and then cook them for hours with a ham bone. Sometimes he'd toss in potatoes. But the smell of cooking green beans is a smell that I associate with dad. 

I've never made Southern Style Green beans - which is basically cooking them for hours, like dad. So I made them for book club. Janet was making pulled pork and I thought this would be a nice side. 

These were scrumptious (can green beans be scrumptious?). I had to make the bacon part twice because the first round of bacon got eaten - weird. I will be making these again. Super easy, just requires a little planning for them to cook for 2 hours. 

Southern-Style Green Beans

Recipe from Spicey Southern Kitchen

Serves 6

• 4 slices bacon,, diced
• 2 pounds green beans ends snapped off and longer beans snapped in half
• 2 c chicken broth
• 2 c water
• 1 tsp seasoned salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 T butter, optional

Brown and crisp bacon in a large pot. Remove bacon from pot and reserve.

Add green beans to pot along with all remaining ingredients, except butter.

Bring to a boil and then turn heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer for 1-2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Drain beans and add butter if using. Check beans for seasoning and add extra salt and pepper to taste. I like lots of black pepper. Sprinkle with bacon and toss to distribute the bacon and butter.

No-Bake Nutella Oatmeal Cookies (92 of 150)

The Pantry Goat was over for dinner last week and she brought me this HUGE tub of Nutella. So, since I had so much Nutella I figured I'd make myself some cookies. 

Now, if you've been following along you know I'm trying to eat healthier and, well, cookies don't really fall into the healthy category - especially no bake cookies. So, to make this lower in carb, I swapped the 2 c sugar with 2 cups Swerve sugar.

I also didn't put spoonfuls on parchment paper. I put the whole kit and kaboodle in a lined 9x9 pan. Its quicker and easier.

No-Bake Nutella Oatmeal Cookies

All Recipes

Makes 24 cookies

• 2 c white sugar
• ½ c butter
• ½ c milk
• 4 T cocoa powder
• ½ c chocolate-hazelnut spread (such as Nutella®)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 c quick-cooking oats

Combine sugar, butter, milk, and cocoa in a saucepan over medium heat until they are a smooth liquid. Bring to a rolling boil; continue to boil for at least 1 minute.

Remove from heat and stir in chocolate-hazelnut spread and vanilla extract until dissolved. Return the pot to the still-warm burner, or the lowest setting on gas stove, and add oats. Mix well.

Leave the pot on the warm burner while you drop cookies by heaping spoonfuls onto wax paper. Let set and serve.

Slow Cooker Carne Picada Tacos (91 of 150)

It's a day off for me today. The 4th of July is tomorrow and I figured there was no reason to work today. So I took the day off. 

Since I wasn't working, I put this Carne Picada into the slow cooker this morning and let it go. 

This is quite honestly one of the easiest recipes ever. You just toss everything in the slow cooker. Though, admittedly, I didn't follow instructions for the jalapenos. I thought they'd be better cooking with the meat all day. 

And, as you can tell by the photo, I didn't eat this with tortillas. I chose to make rice instead. Either way, this is a great recipe for quick meals and good leftovers.

Slow Cooker Carne Picada Tacos

Eating Well

Serves 8

• 2 pounds beef brisket (flat end), trimmed
• 2 tsp ancho chili powder
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• 1 c water
• 2 T tomato paste
• 8 small jalapeño peppers
• 16 corn tortillas, warmed
• 2 c thinly sliced romaine lettuce
• ½ c crumbled cotija (see Tip) or feta cheese

Place brisket in a 4- to 7-quart slow cooker and sprinkle with chile powder, cumin, 1 teaspoon salt and oregano. Whisk water and tomato paste in a small bowl and add to the slow cooker. Cover and cook on Low for 8 hours or High for 4 hours.

About 20 minutes before serving, heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add whole jalapeños and cover. Cook, shaking the pan occasionally and turning the jalapeños with tongs as needed, until charred and blistered on all sides, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 10 minutes to soften.

Meanwhile, prepare avocado salsa: Combine avocado, cilantro, tomatoes, sweet peppers, minced jalapeño, lime juice and salt in a medium bowl.

Transfer the brisket to a clean cutting board. Shred it, then finely chop. Slice the blistered jalapeños.

Serve the brisket in tortillas, with lettuce, the jalapeños, cheese and the salsa.