Pot Roast Loveliness

This is my roast after browning and right before it headed into the oven.

There is a main topic of conversation that has a tendency to pop up during 5 am running sessions.  We seem to like to talk about what we eat.  A lot!  Especially on Monday mornings.  We've all had a lovely weekend and I usually ask what everyone had for Sunday dinner.  Is this strange?  I always ask what people eat.  My dad calls and I ask what he had for lunch.  My grandma calls and I ask what she fixed for her last get together.  My mom calls and I ask what they had at Empty Nesters.  Hollie calls and I ask if she's got anything new.  I just want to know.  It stirs my imagination.  It's my one creative outlet.  Last week I was running with my little friend Jill and she told me about the best roast she'd ever had.  It came from the Pioneer Woman and couldn't be any simpler.  I listened and thought, "mmmm...maybe I'll make that one of these days."  But then not 2 days later another friend mentioned the same roast.  She'd heard from Jill and went right out and fixed it.  Her family loved it too.   Two recommendations in as many days...I had to make this roast.

Great recipe and easy too.  If you're lucky enough to have half a cow in your freezer, just use what you've got.  If not a cheap chuck roast works well.  My family loved the dinner, and I loved that it actually made two nights worth of dinners.   I used a good 4-5 pound roast.  I saved all the juice from the roast the first night, and reheated the leftover roast in the juice the next night.  It shredded up just nicely and we topped some warm Ciabatta Rolls with the shredded beef and then dipped them in the juice.  French Dip style.  Throw in a cantaloupe or apple, and a veggie of choice and both nights became home runs!   I'd definitely make this again.  You can't beat a two for one

Pioneer Woman's Pot Roast

1 whole (4 To 5 Pounds) Chuck Roast

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

2 whole Onions

6 whole Carrots (Up To 8 Carrots)

Salt To Taste

Pepper To Taste

1 cup Red Wine (optional, You Can Use Beef Broth Instead)

2 cups To 3 Cups Beef Stock

3 sprigs Fresh Thyme, or more to taste

3 sprigs Fresh Rosemary, or more to taste

Preparation Instructions

First and foremost, choose a nicely marbled piece of meat. This will enhance the flavor of your pot roast like nothing else. Generously salt and pepper your chuck roast.

Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Then add 2 to 3 tablespoons of olive oil (or you can do a butter/olive oil split).

Cut two onions in half and cut 6 to 8 carrots into 2-inch slices (you can peel them, but you don’t have to). When the oil in the pot is very hot (but not smoking), add in the halved onions, browning them on one side and then the other. Remove the onions to a plate.

Throw the carrots into the same very hot pan and toss them around a bit until slightly browned, about a minute or so.

If needed, add a bit more olive oil to the very hot pan. Place the meat in the pan and sear it for about a minute on all sides until it is nice and brown all over. Remove the roast to a plate.

With the burner still on high, use either red wine or beef broth (about 1 cup) to deglaze the pan, scraping the bottom with a whisk to get all of that wonderful flavor up.

When the bottom of the pan is sufficiently deglazed, place the roast back into the pan and add enough beef stock to cover the meat halfway (about 2 to 3 cups). Add in the onion and the carrots, as well as 3 or 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary and about 3 sprigs of fresh thyme.

Put the lid on, then roast in a 275F oven for 3 hours (for a 3-pound roast). For a 4 to 5-pound roast, plan on 4 hours.

These Are Some Hot Buff Chicks, Dip

Running/canning gals.

Beef ready for the steam table.

Look at that equipment. It's old and I'm amazed it still works.

Cappuccino girl. (Just teasing Jill!)

The second annual running girls Sat. outing at the Preston Cannery is always such a treat. Ok, maybe not a lovely treat, but after you get home with all your goods the time is always well spent. Our adventure started at 4:20am a few Sat's. ago as we loaded our 300 lbs. of raw chicken into the back of C's truck and off we went.

I remember the first time we pulled into the parking lot of the Preston Cannery. All it was, was a tin shed with steam rising out of it. Could this really be, I thought. I think I was expecting something a little more stainless steal shiny in appearance than this, but tin shed it was. Into the shed we go with chicken in hand, as well as beef this year. There are lots of other people there making anything from sweet and sour sauce, bean dip, tomato soup and stew. I love wandering and questioning others on what they are making. I'm sure as I leave a group after asking them 20 questions they are all looking at each other asking, "Did you know her? Who is that weird lady roaming the cannery?" but hey, I'm learning a lot, and maybe someone will let me taste something sometime:)

We can chicken each year and it is the best. I've put it is pasta salads, soups, enchiladas, but my favorite is Buffalo Chicken Dip. Delish!! One of my beloved sister-in-laws made this dip years ago for a family outing, and I've just kind of Lisa-fied it. It is dang good with celery sticks, or Stacey's Naked Pita Chips, or as a topping for Bruschetta too. This dip is the reason I got up at 3:40am last Sat. I must really love it, and I love the company I was with too. Try this dip for a Thanksgiving appetizer or other family gathering. It makes quite a bit, and easily stores in a container in the fridge. When you want some all you have to do is put some on a plate and microwave for 2 mins. It's that easy.

Enjoy and thanks again running buddies for the fun time canning our chicken bosoms, hot chocolate (cappuccino for Jill), and laughs! I love it when we laugh so hard Kerry cries!

These Are Some Hot Buff Chicks, Dip

1 large can chicken breast or 2 bosoms chopped or 1 small rotisserie chicken

2 8 oz bricks cream cheese

1 c. Franks Hot Wing sauce

1 c. ranch dressing, or mayo, or sour cream (whatever you've got)

1 c. or more crumbled blue cheese

1/8 c. sugar (totally optional)

Mix all the ingredients together in your mixer. The chicken gets completely pulverized. It turns pretty dang smooth. Place the mixture in a large baking dish. I use a deeeeeeep dish pie plate

The Best Race Yet

Jed's trophy!

Handsome boys I've got, don't you think!

Sat. morning the alarm didn't go off at 5:10am as it was supposed to.  Luckily I had been dreaming about running a 1/2 marathon where there were pear tarts, and apple pie, and all sorts of goodies that I ate at every stop.  Pretty soon I couldn't run anymore.  All I could do was waddle and I still had 11 miles to go.  It was a frightening dream.  I woke up because of the stress the dream was causing and luckily I was only 5 minutes behind schedule.  Yeah!   Good thing I had everything laid out in advance.  I was ready in a couple of minutes as well as James, and Jed.  Yes you heard it right......James and Jed ran with me too.  

I've run a few 1/2 marathons with my running gals, but my boys decided to join me this year.  I was glad since I'm a bit slower than years past and I thought James and Jed could stay back with me.  I don't know why, but I've been sucking wind the last few weeks and I didn't want to hold the other girls back. Um, maybe it's the homemade marshmallows, or Lomond View Peanut Butter bars or other delectable treats I've been sampling. Just a thought:)  James ran with me the whole time and Jed just took off at his own pace.  He did awesome!!  1 hour and 54 mins. and 3rd place in his age division!  Isn't that great!!  James and I came in a bit later, but I was so happy for Jed who cares if I was slow.  Colette and Wendy were cheering me on across the finish line, I saw my best friend from when I was in elementary, and her mom who was one of my favorite YW leaders!  I love days like that. 

1 Weekend, 12 Friends, and 189 Miles CRAZY

Carla was running leg 4 past my house.  This was our lovely van!

The team after our first run of the day.

Black girls

Pink girls

Tired driver!  Don't worry.  Collin and I helped out with driving.

Mother to son---almost done!

The end of our race!!!  It was great!

I am still wondering how I got talked into this one.   Actually it was dang fun, and now that it has been a week since we did the RAGNAR Wasatch Back Relay, I think you could talk me into it again.  Maybe:)  Every June my cute little part of Cache Valley gets to witness the most exciting little race as it travels over our dirt pass and on to Park City.  It is called the RAGNAR Wasatch Back Relay. 12 team members spread out in two vans who take turns running over the back roads from the heart of Logan to Park City, Utah.  Each team member runs anywhere from 13 miles to 18 over the course of 36 hours.  I really didn't think it would be bad.  My little gang of running muthers have run quite a few half marathons, and we do a long run every Sat.  This would be a piece of cake as Colette and I thought. 

Handoff from Colette to Lisa at the bottom of Trappers Loop.

 I wasn't quite expecting what all the adrenaline, lack of sleep, and not eating much would do to one little body.  It was hard.  Dang hard!

You become good friends really quick if you weren't all ready.  Talk about stinky, sweaty, gals.  We started our relay adventure Fri. morning at 7:10am.  Colette started us off.  I was next and then Heather, Dallin, Carla, and Erin. 

I love this pic!  1 down 2 to go!

 The other car was filled with cute girls from Payson who we didn't really know, but quickly became friends with.  The path led from Logan out to Avon, over the pass to Liberty, on to Snowbasin, down to Morgan, and off to Kamas, Heber and then Park City.  It is a beautiful scenic road, and it was fun to be a part of all the excitement.

  James made a great sign that hung on our pioneer house in our yard.  I love that guy!!  

The biggest question of the night from all the loved ones who called to see how we were doing was, "Where are you going to sleep?"  Well somewhere between Erin and Heather and Colette I figured:)  Actually it was on some soft grass at the Oakley Rodeo grounds.  There we threw our sleeping bags out and luckily had the first night without rain in a few weeks.  It was a bit chilly because nobody would "spoon" with me that night though.  I tried not to take it personal.  I'm still a bit irratated though with team #164.  It was about 1:30am and all I could hear was, "Team 164 we need a runner!!  Where is your runner team 164!!"  The runner for team 164 had reached the handoff before the team van and they were yelling over the loud speaker for the team to step forward.  They could have at least had some respect for all of those runners who were trying to sleep.  Oh well!!  There were some really hard runs during those 36 hours.  I was so proud of all of us though.  We made a rule that as long as the van did not see you walk, then you didn't walk even if you may have!  And guess what.....nobody must have ever walked.  We run our little hearts out.  A big thanks goes out to all the girls and 2 boys. 

 Carla's son Dallin and husband Collin were the best!  Collin was our "night time bike rider" to keep us company during the darker hours, and Dallin always made up the time that I'm sure I lost  when those runs were just dang hard!! 

Heather had the worst last leg.  8.1 miles uphill.  Way to go!

  Thanks girls and guys!!  It was a great weekend, and you all did so good.  I'm proud of us, and I'd stink up a van with you anytime!