“Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” – Martin Luther King, Jr
NOTE: I spend my Wednesdays Unplugged from appointments. It’s my day to stay home, enjoy cooking and welcome our kids and grandkids for dinner in the evening. We end our meal with quotes from the Norwegian ‘Quote Cup’ passed on to me from my grandmother. I share a quote and a recipe here each week, along with an update and photos of what has been going on in our lives. I love trying new recipes…and love getting recipes you would like to share!
The time from Thanksgiving until now, the middle of January, is largely a blur… really felt the loss of the extra week during that time because Thanksgiving was so late this year. Khalen is grinning as he holds his new basketball shoes… and just a week later he tore two ligaments wearing them while he was playing basketball! Granddaughter Sina is modeling her new Lillunn coat design of Norway. Nissa is smiling because she got a very positive medical report on her PV (polycythemia vera). Last week we saw Leonardo at CTC… another great show that felt like watching the creation of a muppet production. And we finally got some snow!
RECIPE OF THE WEEK
This pot roast based on a recipe from southernliving.com was so tender it just fell apart… no need to shred at all. It recommended serving it with mashed potatoes, but I opted for small boiled Yukon Gold potatoes quartered and bathed in butter. I got many comments on how much they loved the potatoes.
FRENCH ONION POT ROAST
- 3-4 pound boneless chuck roast
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
- 2 tablespoons light olive oil
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pats and divided
- 3 Vidalia onions, thinly sliced (about 4 cups)
- 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 envelope French onion soup and dip mix, divided
- 8 springs fresh thyme, divided
- Mashed potatoes, to serve
Rub salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper into all sides of the roast. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add roast to pan, and cook until browned on all sides, 10-15 minutes. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
Reduce heat to medium. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in pan and add onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 6-7 minutes, being sure to scrape up browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat, stir in vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and half of the onion soup mix.
Place 2/3 of the onion mixture in the bottom of a 6-quart slow cooker. Top with 4 thyme springs. Place roast on top of onions. Sprinkle top of roast with remaining onion soup mix, thyme sprigs, remaining onion mixture, and remaining 2 tablespoons butter.
Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours, until beef is tender. Remove thyme sprigs from slow cookers. Skim fat from sauce and shred pot roast. Cover and cook on low 15-30 minutes longer to allow flavors to meld. Serve over mashed potatoes.
