It All Started With a Pampered Chef Party...

      Three months ago I hosted a Pampered Chef party through my friend/consultant Danielle.  I've wanted a deep covered baker ever since my mother ordered one years ago and made a fall-off-the-bone Thanksgiving turkey in it.  Of course, when your order the baker you have to order the cookbook that goes with it ensuring that you'll actually use your new purchase.  And of course, being Pampered Chef, every single recipe looks absolutely delicious!

     My amazing husband christened the baker and made a three-cheese mac & cheese as the first dish (uh...DE-licious!).  Now that he's recuperating from shoulder surgery (a result of a work related injury) I'm in charge of meals - a daunting task when your husband is an excellent cook and has pretty high standards. One Saturday I decided I'd try my hand at making a pot roast.  They make it look so good in the photo and there are just a few ingredients so how hard can it really be?  Right?

     Well, it's actually pretty easy!  I think the hardest part was not lifting off the cover while it was cooking to take a peek.  My husband absolutely loved the roast, says the gravy was savory and the cooked vegetables made the perfect side dish.  I also served it with some homemade sour cream mashed potatoes.   

All-American Post Roast

1 large onion

3 celery stalks

3 carrots

1 boneless beef chuck pot roast (3-3.5 lbs)

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

1 cup beef broth

1/2 cup dry red wine (I'm not a fan of red wine so I left this out)

1/4 cup tomato paste

4 garlic cloves, pressed

3 stems thyme

2 bay leaves (we didn't have any so I didn't use this)

3 tbsp water

2 tbsp all-purpose flour

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Dice onion, cut celery & carrots and season roast with salt and pepper; place in deep dish baker.  Whisk together broth, wine, tomato paste and garlic then add broth mixture, thyme stems and bay leaves to baker.  Bake covered 2/12 hours or until beef is tender.  **I purchased a 3lb roast and found that 2 hours was more than enough cooking time.

2.  Remove baker from oven, remove beef from baker to cutting board and tent with foil.  Carefully strain vegetables and drippings.  Allow fat to rise to the surface of the drippings and slowly pour off juices into a skillet.  Discard fat.

3. Bring juices to simmer over medium heat.  Combine water and flour in separate bowl and whisk until smooth.  Add flour mixture to skillet, whisking to incorporate.  Cook, stirring constantly, 2-3 minutes or until gravy is thickened.  Slice beef; serve with gravy and vegetables.  Enjoy!

And then there's the Chicken Pot Pie... coming soon!