And Carter Makes Three: Make Ahead Meals

I don't know if it's because it's the beginning of the school year or what, but it seems like there just aren't enough hours in the day. Too often with our family and many others, that means family dinners get cut and replaced with take out or fast food (nothing wrong with either, as long as it's not too frequent). One of the ways we solve this problem is by making a big batch of food on the weekend and then storing or freezing the leftovers to use later in the week. Since this weekend we had Tropical Storm Isaac holding us indoors, it was a perfect opportunity to make some food ahead of time. I will post a few of these recipes during the week, first up is our spin on pot roast.

Ingredients:

Top round roast (round 4 lbs)

2 tablespoons flour

6 slices of bacon (we didn't have any, so we used prosciutto instead)

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

1 bag of baby carrots (you can get regular carrots, but I didn't feel like peeling and chopping!)

2 pounds of baby yukon gold potatoes (if they are small leave whole, but if not, just cut into pieces)

2 large onions

3 bay leaves

1 pint of button or baby portobello mushrooms (cleaned with a damp rag and remove the stem)

1/4 cup of chopped fresh thyme

1/4 cup marsala wine

1 cup good quality, dry red wine

2-3 cups beef stock

Salt and pepper to taste

Vegetables cooking

Pot roast, just before going into the oven

Pre-heat the oven to 300 degrees. In a dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat and add 4 slices of the bacon or prosciutto and cook until crispy (you're not using the meat in the dish, just the rendered fat) and remove meat. On a plate, add the flour and salt and pepper, roll the beef in the flour mixture until it is covered on all sides and then add to the dutch oven. Brown the beef on all sides, then take out. In the same pan, add one of the onions (diced) and some salt and pepper. Cook the onion for 5 minutes and then add the potatoes, carrots, bay leaves, and half of the thyme. Stir until all the vegetables are well covered in the oil and seasoning. Return the beef to the dutch oven, creating a little well for it in with the veggies. Turn up the heat to medium-high and add the red wine. Add the beef stock, the amount will vary, but you want enough liquid to cover the beef and vegetables. Once the liquid is boiling, put the lid on the dutch oven and place it in the oven. Every thirty minutes, take out and stir. It should cook at least 2.5 hours (the more the better) in the oven.

Meanwhile, in a large frying pan, heat the remaining bacon or prosciutto slices over medium heat. Once they are cooked, remove from pan, leaving the grease. Add 1-2 tablespoons of butter. Once that's melted add the other onion (sliced) and the mushrooms. Cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes, or until the onions start to brown. Turn the heat down to low, add 1 tablespoon fresh thyme and salt and pepper. Cook for at least 30 minutes, or until both the onions and mushrooms are completely caramelized. Turn the heat back to medium, and add the marsala. Cook while stirring until the wine has reduced completely. Turn off the heat.

Mushrooms and onions cooking

Once the meat is pull-apart tender, take out of the oven and place on top of a burner on the stove. This is where your preferences come into play, if you like the liquid thicker and more reduced, then simmer without the lid. If you're like me, leave it more "stew" consistency, then just add the remaining thyme and the mushroom/onion mixture and serve!