Nomz o' Clock: Pot Roast for Two

so you guys, i didn't end up going to FYF buuuut i did make a killer pot roast! Ree Drummond, aka The Pioneer Woman, is my freakin' hero. I just LOVE her. She has the best recipes and she's hilarious. If you're into american classics like i am, you'll definitely want to check out her site if you've been living under a rock this whole time and haven't checked it out yet. I think it's the whole growing-up-mexican that's made me truly crave American dishes ALLLLLL THE TIME. whenever we go to Mimi's Cafe i always end up getting their pot roast even though i know it will be dry as hell and will never ever come close to home made pot roast. 

anyway, if you couldn't already tell, this recipe is from the Pioneer Woman and you NEED to make it. i won't repost the recipe here because you have to read the way she wrote hers--she's too funny. buuut i will tell you the ingredients list if you're making this for two. A lot of the recipes i come across are always for a big family and while D & I love having leftovers, sometimes we don't get around to them, or it's just impossible for us to heat up due to our lack of microwave and probably a mix of laziness. Last time i made this delicious pot roast we used this huge pot we bought at ikea and we ended up with a tonnn of leftovers. we had some at work the day after and still had tons leftover. then we forgot about it and the rest of the pot roast died in the fridge...if you know what i mean. so all that yummy yummy food, wasted! sigh. it's really a big problem for us so we're trying to make things that won't produce more that one day's worth of leftovers. hah

ohhhh and speaking of that giant ikea pot...we had to throw it out after some pasta died in there. it was probably the grossest thing i have ever seen/smelled. lololol. oh dear. so yeah i got this super awesome lil baby 2.75 qt cast iron casserole at macys because duh it was cheap. (and it's so cute!)

and while i will forever lust over the Le Creusets, owning those is just not possible right now. but just watch me, one day i will have them! But yeah, i figured this little casserole would be good to have since it's small...but you guys, i left it unused for over half a year. HALF A YEAR. also we've been not even cooking lately so that's probably why. anyway so it just felt like i should use it for pot roast since our giant ikea pot was dead. since i have never used it before i totally freaked out when it smoked a bit when just heating up! apparently this is normal, so don't freak out. oh the joy of being relatively new to cooking. my mother wouldve probably laughed at me. haha. this is all her fault though! for never allowing me in her kitchen i'm left to experiment now that im in my twenties. okay okay enough babble. 

ingredients for two:

• 1.5 lb (or close) chuck roast
• 1 large onion (or two medium ones)
• 6 carrots (if you love carrots add more, i wish i had used more they were so yummy)
• beef stock (you only need a cup and half)
• kosher salt
• pepper (if it's freshly ground it's better!)
• 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary (trust me this is necessary)
• 3 or 4 sprigs of fresh thyme (if you dont have fresh this one is okay if you use dried)

-follow the steps for Ree Drummond's Perfect Pot Roast Recipe

• side note: since our meat would  not have fit in my small casserole in one piece, i cut it in half and then seasoned all sides. in the step where Ree says to brown your meat, i browned each piece separately, but once it was time to put it in the casserole i put them side by side and they fit perfectly. 

-you should then have this:

-then put in the oven at 280 degrees for 2 1/2 hours!
yuuuuum

i totally forgot to take photos of the mashed potatoes process but next time i make em i will. you will want to try them. it's my moms super fattening recipe so you know it's good. haha. 

Nomz o' Clock: Zucchini Boats

 

snack time! 

D & i are tryin to spend more time in the kitchen and we're trying to eat healthier. because you know, having too many burgers have made us gain a couple of pounds. yikes! also, we've become really bored with our eating routines--which usually consist of going to el pollo loco or eating chips and hummus. so when my college buddy Kane (who runs the My Fresh Bite instagram) posted this photo i decided to give it a go because it looked so easy and yummy!

prep time: 10 minutes , cooking time: 15 minutes

ingredients:

• 4 organic zucchinis (these were small btw)
• 1 tomato (yes 2 are pictured but i only used 1!)
• 1/3 of a crimini mushroom bag (also called baby bella mushrooms)
• 1 1/2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
• shredded mozzarella cheese (i just grabbed some from the bag, so just eyeball it)
• 1 tbs tapatio hot sauce (optional, we love spicy so this gives it a little kick)
• 1/4 tbs thyme (totally optional, you could probably add parsley if you want)
• pepper  

1. cut all of your zucchinis in half, chop your tomatoes into slices and cut those into fourths 

2. preheat your oven to 375° F

3. place zucchinis on baking sheet (we foil our baking sheet because we're too lazy to have to deep clean it every time) and brush all tops with olive oil

4. sprinkle pepper to your liking on the zucchinis (we use the rainbow peppercorn grinder from trader joe's because it smells amazing! seriously, freshly ground pepper has changed my life)

5. sprinkle thyme generously (this is totally optional, i just like the way it smells)

6. add cheese to your liking 

7. add your toppings. feel free to mix them up or just individually decorate each zucchini with its own set of toppings. if you have any leftover toppings you could just toss them in on the empty space of your baking sheet

8. sprinkle with hot sauce 

9. pop in the oven for 15 minutes (depending on oven baking times some might take longer than others, i would say 15 minutes is good time to at least check on them. if you can stick a fork in the zucchini and it's too hard then leave it in for a bit longer. or you know you could eat them like that too if you like the crunch)

10. let them cool off a bit and then enjoy! yay!

a side note on hot sauce:

if you are using that fake tabasco sauce then you and i cannot be friends. for the sake of all things holy throw that garbage out and go out and get yourself some real hot sauce. drive to the nearest mexican grocery store or heck i think even your regular grocery store will have it in the mexican food aisle. if you can't find it you can totally order Tapatio online so no excuses. seriously, your taste buds will thank you.

...but if you're not that into tapatio or you're silly and can't find it, then there's always Valentina, Cholula, or my personal absolute favorite La Guacamaya (this one is tougher to find at regular grocery stores & i might be totally biased about it because it's from Sinaloa, la tierra natal, duh), just don't buy tabasco, that's basically all vinegar you're eating. gross. 

adios!

Baking Experiments: Super Easy Chocolate Cake!

As you're probably all aware, Friday was D's bday. We both had to work and I had to run errands at my parents' place and then we ended up with tickets to Cold Cave, so dinner like I had planned, didn't really happen. D doesn't ever care about birthdays, but to me they're such a big deal! Everything has to be great and exciting on your birthday! And even though we were in such a hurry I couldn't NOT do anything remotely special for my boy. So in turn I decided to make a super quick and easy chocolate cake. I would've done the Choco-Flan my boy loves so much, but our kitchen is so small and I'm lacking some necessary kitchen tools for it. Choco-Flan another day, you guys!

I'm a big believer of using what you have and if sometimes you can substitute some things in a recipe for something you actually have, i'm all for it. Whatever if it doesn't taste EXACTLY as the recipe tells you its supposed to. That's the whole point of cooking/baking, it's all a science experiment that you get to eat in the end.

Super Easy Chocolate Cake recipe adapted from the great foodess.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 2 cups of sugar (I used brown, that's just my preference, but you can use white granulated sugar)
• 3/4 cups cocoa powder (preferably unsweetened, but I had to go and make it extra sweet and rich and used Godiva Dark Chocolate cocoa)
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup of almond milk (you could use any kind of milk, we just don't ever have milk anymore unless it's almond or coconut, we're lactose intolerant. sad face.)
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• a medium bowl of fresh strawberries
• a small bowl of chocolates (optional...could be anything you like, I chose godiva gems for this one)

With the frosting there's a lot of leeway. Some people like heavy frosting, I don't. I suggest you just start with some basics, and taste as you go. Everyone's got different tastes!

Start with:

• 1/2 cup of softened butter
• 2/3 cup of cocoa powder
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract
• a pinch of salt
• 1 cup and 3/4 cup of confectioner's sugar (you can put more if you want, depends how sugary you want the frosting)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Add eggs, milk, melted butter and vanilla extract and beat until smooth.
   
3. Grease and flour baking pan (you could also do this as step 2 and set aside, it doesn't really matter)
4. Pour batter evenly in baking pan. This is something I learned from my mom when she used to bake cakes on the side: do not use a knife, or spoon, or spatula or anything to even out the batter on the pan. If you must just tilt the pan until the batter settles in where you want it. I don't remember exactly why this is important, but i've always done it and when has my mother been wrong when it comes to baking? haha.
   
   bake in oven for about 35 minutes. I use the 35 minute mark to check the cake with a skewer stick (lol), if there is cake stuff sticking to it, it's not ready. All ovens are different, so 35 minutes might work amazing for some, and for others 35 minutes is a good time to check it. For my oven it takes 45 minutes.
5. This is VERY important....let the cake cool off COMPLETELY before handling. I was under a time constraint because D was going to come home and I was trying to finish the cake before he did, so I ignored my own very important advice and my cake cracked a little. But if this happens you can handle it from there, it shouldn't be a big deal. Nothing some frosting can't cover up! ;)
6. Once the cake has cooled completely, take some thread, about 3-4 strands, obviously longer than the cake sides, and slice the cake in half. You can also use a cake leveler if you are fancy and have one ;)
7. Then, with a cake lifter separate the top of the cake from the bottom
   
8. Now the strawberries come in!
   
   Thinly slice them and layer them on top of the bottom cake layer
   
9. If you are adding chocolates, break them apart or slice them if you need to and add on top of the strawberries
   
10. Then using the cake lifter move the top cake layer onto the bottom cake layer
    
11. Now put all the ingredients for the frosting in a large bowl and mix until you get the consistency and taste that you want. I personally don't like heavy frosting, or the kind that's fudgey and gets all over the place. I like when it hardens a little after being in the refrigerator. So for easier handling, after i'm done with the frosting batter, I like to put it in the fridge for a few minutes (4-5) so the frosting can harden a little making it a little bit easier to manage. When it's in a good working shape, just use a spatula and smother your cake in frosting.
    

and there you go. a super easy simple chocolate cake! 

This cake came out so chocolatey inside (probably all the godiva) that it is best when paired with a glass of milk. Almond milk, in our case. hahaha. I feel like this recipe is great because it's not fancy at all and you don't need lots of time for it. 

Burger Time: Mustard Aioli Mushroom Burger

It feels only fitting to have the first "real" post on here be a Burger Time post. Because I mean, burgers are the reason I exist. Truly.

Last night, D & I spent our evening making these delicious cheeseburgers with sautéed mushrooms, arugula, and dijon aioli. And to accompany those, we made some roasted potatoes with garlic sauce. We got the burger recipe from Jessica of HowSweetEats.com and the roasted potatoes recipe from Jo of   JoCooks.com.

Can i just tell you how AMAZING this was? Okay, well, IT WAS AMAZING. Don't be jealous! you can make your own too! But if you do, I have some tips for ya.

For the burgers:
(cheeseburgers with sautéed mushrooms, arugula and dijon aioli recipe)

• if you are running short on time, don't make the mustard aioli sauce--Trader Joe's sells it in a jar! (we made the aioli according to the recipe and while it was really good, there was just way too much leftover. i mean, do it according to recipe if you wanna know what's in it/love it and want to keep it around in the fridge to use for the rest of the week)
• if you are confused, like i was, about what kind of mushrooms to get, crimini mushrooms also work fine, because they're actually the same thing as baby bella mushrooms. i bought some crimini at trader joe's and then went to albertson's where i found "baby bella"...but after close inspection (and a quick google search that i should've done in the first place) i found out they were actually the same thing. doh!
• make sure you check the size of your buns when you are making the patties and size the patties accordingly, or else you'll end up with fatty patties that are actually much smaller than your buns width-wise. 

For the potatoes:

(roasted potatoes with garlic sauce recipe)

• first off, you actually want to start with the potatoes before the burgers because these take the longest
• in Jo's recipe, she says to "2. Put the garlic and salt in a mortar and pestle and crush the garlic until it becomes a paste..." howeverrrrr, you actually want to do step 3 and then step 2. 
• Step 3 tells you to clean potatoes and cut into wedges etc. While the potatoes are in the oven you can do step 2 and that'll save you some time
• if you read step 2, it says you should use a mortar and a pestle...don't have one? then just do what i did and use the side of your knife and smash the garlic heads. then try to slice them all into thin little pieces. throw the pieces in a small-ish bowl and grab something you can crush the garlic with. lol, seriously:

• throw in the amount of salt it asks for and then crush actually. (obviously make sure you wash whatever you're using to crush the garlic with)
• if you're not getting an arm workout, you're not doing it right

The garlic potatoes were amazing, but don't expect to kiss anyone after. We're talkin garlic city. But who cares? Garlic is good for you!

p.s. got a burger recipe that's amazing? drop a comment and i'll have to put it to the test ;)

xoxo,

Burger Leeds