Perfect! Pot Roast

Time is on your side with this dish. I know the craze of the Instant Pot has taken over, but this dish is delicious when cooked low and slow in a Dutch oven, which is how I do it; however, you can cook this in the Instant Pot if you prefer.

---

Ingredients:

--one 3-5lb chuck roast, fat trimmed

--salt and pepper, to taste

--2-3 TBSP olive oil *use 2 if using a smaller roast, 3 for a larger one

--2 whole onions, peeled and largely diced. (I like to use one white, one yellow)

--6 whole carrots, peeled and diced (we like smaller sized pieces, but you could slice them)

--1 cup red wine, optional, but adds great flavor!

--2 cups beef broth

--1 cup beef stock

--1 tsp celery salt

--2-3 sprigs of fresh rosemary

--2-3 sprigs of fresh thym

1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.

2. Generously salt and pepper the chuck roast.

3. Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over med-high heat. Add the halved onions and brown them on both sides. Remove them to a plate.

4. Toss carrots into the same hot pot and cook until slightly browned, about a minute. Remove carrots to the plate with the onions.

5. If needed, add a small amount of olive oil to the hot pot and place roast in the pot, searing on all sides for a about a minute; until it's nice and brown all over. Remove the roast to a plate.

6. Turn burner to high and use red wine (or 1 cup of broth is skipping the wine) to deglaze the pot, scraping the bottom with a whisk. You're going to want all those yummy bits and scraps of seared meat. Place the roast back into the pot and cover with beef broth & stock, covering about 3/4 of the roast.

7. Add in the onions, carrots, celery salt and fresh herbs.

8. Put a lid on and roast for until fall apart tender.

*3 hours for 3lb roast, for a 4-5 roast count on 4 hours*

---

Parmesan Chicken Linguini with Homemade Sauce

The quality of ingredients is really important in this dish, because you're going to want the best possible flavors! This is a relatively quick and easy meal but feels like a restaurant quality with the homemade sauce. You could substitute a jarred sauce if time is an issue, but that really would take away from the dish.

---

For the homemade sauce:

--28oz can of high quality whole peeled tomatoes (I use Muir-Glen organic)

--pinch of salt

--1 TBSP olive oil, plus more for drizzling

--2 oz diced bacon (2 slices)

--1 medium shallot, finely chopped

--1 TBSP tomato paste

--1 tsp red pepper flakes

--1/2 tsp of sugar

--1/2 cup dry white wine (I use a cheap Pinot Grigio) *you can substitute the wine with apple cider vinegar, that will give it the sweet taste, use 1/3 cup of ACV instead*

--1 TBSP oregano (fresh is best)

For the chicken parmesan:

--1/2 cup all-purpose flour

--salt and pepper, to taste

--2 large eggs, lightly beaten

--1/2 cup panko crumbs

--1/2 grated Parmesan cheese

--1 TBSP Italian seasoning

--pinch of red pepper flakes

--2 chicken breasts *boneless and skinless

Additional:

--12 oz linguine pasta

1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped

---

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

2. Pulse the whole peeled tomatoes in a blender or food processor into small pieces but not completely blended. You want some small chunks. Set aside.

3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Add the flour to a shallow bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add the eggs to another bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add the panko, Parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, pinch of red pepper flakes and salt and pepper to a third shallow bowl and mix well. In an assembly line, coat chicken in flour, dip into egg mixture, then coat well in the panko mixture. Place on the lined baking sheet. When all chicken is coated and on the baking sheet spray them with cooking spray. Bake for 35 minutes, until cooked through and golden brown.

4. While chicken is cooking, heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium heat. Add the diced bacon and cook, stirring often, until golden brown; approx 10 minutes. Add the shallot and cook about 2 minutes. Add the tomato paste and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, about 30 seconds. Then add the wine, lower heat to low and simmer until reduced by about half. Add the blended tomatoes and oregano and increase heat back to med-high. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat again to low and simmer until slightly reduced. You should be able to smell the flavors blending together, this takes about 10 minutes. Season with salt.

5. Add linguine to boiling water and cook as directed; drain.

6. Add pasta to the pot with the finished sauce and stir to coat. Slice the chicken into strips.

7. Serve pasta topped with chicken, a drizzle of olive oil and chopped basil.

---

Garlic Buttered Yellow Potatoes

As I've stated, we are a garlic loving family, so with this side dish I use 3 large cloves of garlic but if you aren't a huge fan (How dare you!!) you can cut the garlic to whatever your preference is. These potatoes are cooked, then pan fried and they end up with a crisp outside but SO soft inside.

---

Ingredients:

--1.5 lbs of yellow Idaho potatoes

--2 tsp salt, divided

--4 TBSP unsalted butter

--3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

--fresh parsley, chopped *approx 1 TBSP

--1/2 tsp pepper

--squeeze of lemon juice

---

1. Peel potatoes and dice into medium size chunks, bite-size if you will. Place in a medium saucepan and cover with COLD water and add 1 tsp of salt to the pot. Heat over high heat to a boil and let cook until fork tender, about 10 minutes.

2. When done, remove from heat and let them steam in the hot water while you prepare the butter sauce.

3. In a cast iron skillet (or 12" skillet) melt butter over med-high heat. Let the butter cook until slightly brown, watching CLOSELY so it doesn't burn. This should only take a couple minutes. Then add the garlic and parsley and cook for about 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add the squeeze of lemon, last tsp of salt and pepper.

4. Strain potatoes in colander and immediately add to butter sauce and mix, carefully, to coat all the potatoes. Allow to cook until the outside crisps a little, careful not to burn.

5. Serve immediately.

---