What to do with Leftover Pot Roast

I made this super easy slow cooker post roast the other day and kept the sauce and the cooked roast separate in the fridge. When Jim and I were tired of eating these leftovers I got creative and turned leftover pot roast into a BBQ Sandwich!

I spread a little mayo on a piece of wheat bread.

Shredded the leftover pot roast, and added about a tablespoon of A-1 Sauce and two tablespoons of Stubbs BBQ Sauce, stirred it up, heated in the microwave, and then smeared on my bread, topped with sliced pickles. Voila Lunch! Jim loved it.

Hungarian Pot Roast (revisited)

I've been asked, "Why did you start a food blog?" This is my answer! I made this Hungarian Pot Roast sometime last year - read the post here - and I made it again last week with the suggested improvements. It was AWESOME!

Read my post on Hungarian Pot Roast for the FULL description. Here I'm just going to post how I changed the original recipe. When the onions were sauteing, I added more hot paprika than the original recipe calls for. (Because in the end, the sour cream added to the sauce really cools it off.) In addition to the tomatoes and onions, I added about one cup of baby carrots to the crock pot. When I removed the cooked meat from the slow cooker, I put all the juice and vegetables in my dutch oven and set the meat aside, did not shred or cut into slices.

I served the pot roast and sauce over pasta shells...Jim's favorite.

Topped with chunks of roast.

Then spooned the sauce over the top. The carrots made this a better pot roast in my opinion.

I also like that I kept the sauce/vegetables and the pot roast separate this time, instead of adding everything back to the crock pot or back to the dutch oven. I really let this boil down until reduced by half before I added the sour cream. Also, note that I added an extra 1/2 cup of sour cream this time because I had some in the fridge that was just a few days until I had to throw it out, so I used it as opposed to losing it. And instead of adding the sour cream directly to the pot of boiling liquid, I added about a cup of hot boiling liquid to sour cream, stirred until smooth and then added to the large pot. This prevented lumpy sour cream in the sauce. It's like tempering an egg.

Like I said in the original post, this is a perfect set-it and forget-it recipe. Loads of flavor! Big hit at my house!! My next post will show you what I did with the leftovers.

Spicy Garlic Shrimp with Coconut Rice

I like SimplyRecipes because the meals here are usually really simple and full of flavor. This Spicy Garlic Shrimp recipe served over Coconut Rice is a perfect example of a quick and easy meal that is simple to prepare.

Directions are easy to follow and if you keep a well stocked pantry you may have everything on hand. If not, it's a short list that won't cost you much at the grocery store.

Gather a lime, a jalapeno, coconut milk, and some sort of red chili sauce. I happen to have this Garlic Chili Pepper Sauce made by A Taste of Thai, which turned out to be great in this recipe. You also need rice, shrimp and garlic.

Start cooking the rice to the package directions.

Also, marinade the shrimp for 10 minutes by combining six garlic cloves with 1.5 cups water and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. You can put the garlic cloves, water and salt in a cuisinart and pulse until you have a chunky mixture - or if you are using minced garlic from a jar (shortcut that I love to use) just combine the right amount with water and salt and add the shrimp and let marinade in a zip top bag in the fridge.

After 10 minutes strain the water from the shrimp and garlic mixture. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large saute pan and add the shrimp, add the juice of one lime, add 1 jalapeno pepper that is seeded and julienned along with 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Cook the shrimp for one minute, then add one can of coconut milk to the saute pan. Stir and cook for one minute longer.

Now squeeze in as much Chili Sauce as you can handle. I added about a tablespoon. You could sub chili powder for chili sauce if you needed to.

When rice is fully cooked, add the other can of coconut milk to the cooked rice. Serve shrimp over rice.

Jim and I really liked this. It was fast and simple to put together. In the future I would chop the jalapeno instead of cutting into strips so there was more bits of jalapeno in every bite. This was wonderful!

Looking for more shrimp dishes? Try these other favorites of mine:

• Shrimp and Grits - a classic New Orleans recipe.
• Shrimp Bisque - this is SO good, but it takes some time - although worth it on a cold Sunday!
• Firecracker Shrimp - a PW recipe, great for a crowd.

Spicy Garlic Shrimp with Coconut Rice

Adapted from Simply Recipes

Serves 4

1 1/2 cups long grain white rice
1 pound, about 20 large jumbo shrimp (peeled with tail on or unpeeled, but veins removed)
6 large garlic cloves
1 1/2 cup of water
Salt
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and cut into strips
Juice of one lime

1 Tbsp olive oil
2 small cans (5.6 ounces) coconut milk
1/2 to 1 teaspoon of red chili sauce, or to taste

Start cooking rice from package directions. Combine minced garlic, water and 1/2 teaspoon salt with shrimp and marinate for 10 minutes. Strain the water from the shrimp and garlic mixture. Add the lime juice, jalapeño, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the shrimp. Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil on high heat in large sauté pan. Add shrimp. Cook one minute. Add 1 small can of coconut milk. Cook one minute. Mix in red chili sauce to taste. Put rice into a large bowl. Mix in the second 5.6 ounce can of coconut milk to the cooked rice. Serve shrimp on rice. Enjoy!

Sticky Balsamic Ribs

When Jim and I took our engagement photos, the photographer asked Jim to look down and talk to me...about anything. Jim looked like he was drawing a blank, and then he said to me "The Bronco's play on Sunday and experts say..." I didn't hear what he said after that. I was laughing so hard. Our photographer quickly caught on and anytime during the day he wanted to see that "sparkle" in Jim's eye, he would strike up a conversation about the Broncos. Needless to say, Jim is passionate about football and especially the Denver Broncos. Another way to get Jim's eyes to sparkle, mention BBQ Ribs. And I'm sure after the Broncos, and after BBQ Ribs, you mention ME and his eyes will light up too!

Today, because it's Sunday and the Broncos are playing, and because I'm leaving on a work trip for five days, I'm making Ribs so all Jim's favorite things can collide in one day. It will be a joy overload!

I'm using a recipe from the July 2009 issue of Gourmet Magazine, a recipe developed by food editor, Ian Knauer. I like the bones of this recipe (pun intended) but because of what I have on hand and the time I have, I'm actually not following this recipe exact...but since when do I follow a recipe exact? Ha!

I believe the success of these ribs...any ribs... lies in a straightforward three-part process. Long marinating in a sweet, garlicky rub ensures the ribs soak up loads of flavor. Next, a leisurely roast in the oven makes them fall-off-the-bone tender. Finally, a mop of balsamic-brown-sugar glaze and a few minutes on the grill gives the ribs a whiff of smokiness and caramelizes their edges.

Here is what you need to gather for the ribs: 8 large garlic cloves, minced. 2 tablespoons finely chopped rosemary - I used a mix of dried and fresh. 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar, dark is preferred but I only had regular brown sugar. 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar and 1 teaspoon cayenne.

A note about ribs: Recipe calls for 8 lb baby back pork ribs but if you can only get larger ribs (4 racks), you will need more glaze; use 12 large garlic cloves, 3 tablespoons finely chopped rosemary, 3 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar, 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, 1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne, 1 1/2 tablespoons salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper. Ribs can be roasted and glaze can be made 1 day ahead and chilled separately (covered once cool). Bring to room temperature, about 30 minutes, before glazing and grilling. Ribs can be broiled 3 to 4 inches from heat (instead of grilled) about 8 minutes.

The first thing to do is to peel off the membrane from the back of the ribs, yes it's gross, but not as gross as touching fish skin! Removing the membrane is an important first step.

To make the marinade, mince and mash garlic to a paste with 1 tsp salt.

Stir together with rosemary,

brown sugar, vinegar,

cayenne, 1 Tbsp salt, and 1 tsp pepper.

Put ribs in a big roasting pan and rub the marinade evenly all over ribs.

Don't be afraid to get right in there with you hands!

My addition is about 2-3 tablespoons of dark soy sauce. Marinate, chilled, 8 to 24 hours.

I'm going to cook these LOW and SLOW! Sunday before we go to church, I preheat the oven to 170 degrees and let the ribs cook for 3 hours, uncovered.

After 3 hours in the oven.

Then when we return to the house I add 1/2 cup water to the pan, turn the heat up to 400, cover the pan tightly with foil and braise for 2 hours, until meat is falling off the bone.

Ribs after one hour at high temperature.

Remove ribs from the roasting pan and cover with foil.

Add 1 cup hot water to the roasting pan and scrape up brown bits.

Add 1 cup balsamic vinegar and 1/2 cup packed brown sugar and continue to stir and scrape.

Next, I used my gravy skimmer to separate the fat from the drippings and sauce.

Transfer liquid to a saucepan and bring to a boil.

I let this violently boil for about 15 minutes until it was reduced to about one cup of liquid.

Prepare grill for direct-heat cooking over medium-heat.

Brush some of the glaze onto both sides of ribs. Grill, turning occasionally, until ribs are hot and grill marks appear, about 6 minutes.

You could say these are FALL OFF THE BONE good.

Brush ribs with more glaze and serve remaining glaze on the side.

Jim and I have been talking about a "Rib Cook-Off" and I'm sure to WIN with this recipe. I loved the sticky and sweet flavor - these are finger licking good. Next time I would add a little more cayenne pepper, the ribs had a slow heat, but I would have liked them a tad bit spicier.

I have one more note. I have labeled this post "meat, ribs, easy" because I promise you that this recipe is super easy. Cooking ribs sounds so intimidating, but I swear to you there are three steps. Remember to plan ahead... buy the meat a day or two early, make a rub and let them marinade overnight...then you put them in the oven! And walk away! Finish on the grill, or not, you could also finish them under a broiler. I wouldn't lie to you. Impress your friends, impress your spouse, impress your neighbors... make these for your next gathering (or football game) and I am confident you will be named "Champ of Ribs."

Creamy Chipotle Ranch Dressing

As you may have heard, Texan's tend to want to dip everything in Ranch Dressing. When I have meetings at hotels, I try to put some sort of vinaigrette salad dressing on the table along with...you guess it... Ranch. I like to dress up Ranch at my house. Here is a little something different than my Jalapeno Ranch Dressing. For Creamy Chipotle Ranch Dressing you will need the following ingredients: garlic, salt, mayo, buttermilk, chipotle peppers in adobe, cilantro, scallions and lime zest.

Start by adding 2 minced garlic cloves to a mortar and pestle along with the salt.

Blend together to make a coarse paste.

In another bowl, add 1/3 cup of mayonnaise.

Add 2 Tablespoons buttermilk.

When a recipe calls for buttermilk and you don't have any, here's what you can do: for every cup of buttermilk, mix 1 tablespoon vinegar with 1 cup milk. Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes or so. The combination will come close to the tangy creaminess of buttermilk.


What is buttermilk, anyway?


Real buttermilk is the sour liquid left over from the process of churning cream into butter. That's usually not what you get when you buy a carton at the store, however. Most commercial buttermilk is made by adding a culture to milk (like you would to make cheese). As the culture converts lactose to lactic acid, the milk thickens and sours. (Commercial sour cream is made by a similar process.) Info from cookthink

Chipotle peppers can most likely be found on the Mexican food aisle of your grocery store in a small can. The peppers come in adobe sauce. Mince one small chipotle with adobe and add to the bowl. Careful, these are hot!

Mince a handful of cilantro and add 3 tablespoons to the mixture.

Thinly slice one scallion, the green and white parts. Add to bowl.

Using one of my favorite kitchen tools, zest a medium lime until you have one teaspoon.

Add the garlic and salt paste, stir to mix. Voila, a creamy homemade chipotle ranch dressing! Serve with EVERYTHING in Texas!!!

Creamy Chipotle Ranch Dressing

2 garlic cloves, minced
½ teaspoon salt
1/3 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons buttermilk
½ to 1 small chipotle in adobe, minced
3 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro leaves
1 scallion, green and white pats, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon freshly grated lime zest

Mash minced garlic and salt together to make a coarse paste. Add remaining ingredients, mix together for a creamy dressing and serve on everything.

Here are some of my other favorite dipping sauces:
Salsa Veracruz
Ninfa's Green Salsa
French Onion Dip
Spinach-Green Chile Dip