Aunt Shirley's Famous Creamy Mashed Potatoes

 

These are the mashed potatoes from Food Charlatan that go with the best pot roast ever!  My only recommendation is to halve the recipe - five pounds of potatoes makes A LOT of mashed potatoes.  And while they are completely awesome, the first time the boyfriend made them we had way more potatoes than we needed for the amount of roast (as in the meat was gone, but we still had tons of potatoes).  Besides, they are fairly easy and you can always make another batch of them if you do end up needing more the next night.

Aunt Shirley's Famous Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Serves 10-12    

My Aunt Shirley is famous for her mashed potatoes! They are SO creamy, fluffy, and have TONS of flavor. They are like soft pillowy clouds that melt in your mouth. I could describe them forever but you're just going to have to make them! A very unique recipe.

Ingredients

• 8-10 large russet potatoes (5 pounds), peeled
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh garlic, smashed and minced
• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter
• 2 tablespoons Better Than Bouillon Chicken Base*
• 1 to 2 teaspoons Lawry's seasoned salt (taste it)
• fresh minced parsley, to garnish (optional)

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. 
2. Peel the potatoes and chop them into 1 or 2 inch pieces. (See photos) 
3. Chop the onion. Smash and mince the garlic.  (You can use garlic from the jar in a pinch, but fresh is always better.)
4. Add the potatoes, onions, and garlic to the pot of boiling water. Bring it back up to a boil and then lower the heat to a simmer. 
5. Simmer for 15-20 minutes, until the potatoes are very fork tender. 
6. Drain the potatoes carefully. I always use the lid and tip it over the sink but this can be a little heavy. Use a large colander if you have one. Return to the pot.
7. Add the cream cheese, butter, chicken bouillon, and 1 teaspoon seasoned salt. 
8. Use an electric mixer to whip the potatoes until ultra creamy. You shouldn't need to whip more than 1-2 minutes. Make sure you scrape the sides and bottom with a spatula. Don't over mix; once it's whipped, turn off the mixer.
9. Taste it and see if you would like to add up to 1 more teaspoon of seasoned salt.
10. Garnish with fresh parsley if you're a food blogger and need to post pictures of pretty food on the internet. Otherwise you can safely skip this step ;) 

Recipe Notes

*I like to use the Better than Bouillon brand, it's a paste that you store in the refrigerator after opening. It adds so much flavor! But if you don't have any, instant chicken bouillon granules will work too. That's what the original recipe calls for. Oh and I almost forgot, I used 1 tablespoon of chicken and one tablespoon of TURKEY base. Love that stuff. It's got tons of flavor. It's perfect for making Make Ahead Turkey Gravy, too. 

Source: This recipe, is, of course, from Aunt Shirley. :) 

Easiest Fall-Apart Pot Roast (slow cooker)

 

Here's my confession, I was never big on pot roast.  I couldn't understand the attraction.  Then the boyfriend found this recipe on Food Charlatan and made it.  I have now made it again a couple of times and it's the only way I'll make pot roast from now on.  In addition to how good it tastes, it's also really simple!  I am pasting her entire recipe below, but I don't sear it, just skip over those steps and jump to the part where she seasons the meat and adds it right to the slow cooker.  In addition, she has an amazing recipe for mashed potatoes (the boyfriend made them the first time, and I made them again this most recent time) and I will also blog them.   note: the carrots in my picture are roasted as I had to run to work and didn't have a chance to add them to the slow cooker.

The Easiest Fall-Apart Pot Roast (Slow Cooker)

Serves 6    

Super tender, juicy, fall-apart pot roast is not as hard as you think! This slow cooker recipe uses a few simple ingredients (one of them is patience...) to make the most flavorful (yet stupid easy) pot roast ever! Carrots add the perfect touch!

Ingredients

For the roast

• 3 to 4 pound chuck roast*
• copious amounts of salt and pepper (copious I say!)
• 1 tablespoon oil, optional (for browning)
• 1 and 1/2 cups water
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons Better Than Bouillon Beef Base**
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 (1-ounce) packets of onion soup mix
• 2 pounds carrots, peeled and chopped into chunks

For the gravy

• 2-3 cups of drippings from the meat
• 1-2 cups COLD water
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup flour
• 2 teaspoons Better Than Bouillon Beef Base
• 2 tablespoons butter, optional
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. First you are going to have to make a choice about whether you want a really good roast, or a really REALLY good roast. Browning the meat before slow cooking makes it extra special. To do that:
2. Heat a wide skillet over medium high heat. Generously salt and pepper all sides of the roast. I would say I use somewhere between 1 and 1/2 to 2 teaspoons kosher salt, and about a teaspoon of pepper.
3. Add 1 tablespoon oil to the hot pan and swirl around to coat the bottom. It should be shimmery right away if your pan is hot enough.
4. Add the roast to the pan and don't move it for about 1-2 minutes. Check to make sure it is nice and brown, then flip it over and repeat on the other side. Brown every side of your roast that you can. It should not take more than 5-6 minutes.
5. Transfer the roast to your slow cooker (6 quart or larger).
6. Keep the hot pan on the stove and add the water and beef base. Stir, breaking up any brown bits on the pan, until the beef base is dissolved. Pour the liquid into the slow cooker.
7. Sprinkle the roast with the dried thyme or add the fresh thyme. (Just throw the sprig in the pot)
8. Add the bay leaf.
9. Dump the 2 packets of onion soup mix directly on the roast (not in the water). Use your hand to rub the dry powder into the part of the roast that is exposed. Some of it will just fall off into the water, and that's fine.
10. Cover with the lid and set to low heat. Cook for 8-10 hours. If you are a bit short on time, you can turn the slow cooker on to "high" for one hour to get things boiling, then turn back down to low. I do NOT recommend cooking this on high for 4-5 hours. You can if you want, it will be cooked, but it will not be as tender!
11. If you are not browning the meat, it's so easy. Salt and pepper the meat, rub on the thyme and onion soup mix, and place in a slow cooker. You don't need the oil. Add all the other ingredients, set it on low, and you're done!
12. Add the carrots: about 3 hours before you want to eat, add the peeled and chopped carrots. See photos, they don't need to be tiny pieces, I tend to like the bigger chunks myself.
13. When the meat is fork tender and easy to shred, carefully remove it to a cutting board and let rest for a couple minutes. Then shred with two forks or slice with a serrated knife against the grain. Transfer the roast and the carrots to a serving platter and keep warm. (Taste a carrot to see if it needs salt and pepper)
14. To make the gravy: Use a fat separator to get the fat from the top of the drippings. Discard fat and add the drippings to a medium saucepan. Turn the heat to high. (Use all of the drippings that you have, up to 3 cups. You want about 4 cups of liquid going into your gravy, and at least one cup needs to be COLD water to dissolve the flour.)
15. In a measuring cup, whisk together 1-2 cups COLD water (or beef stock, if you're not using beef base) with the flour. Make sure you get rid of all the lumps.
16. When the drippings have heated to a boil, slowly stir in the flour mixture while stirring. Add the beef base and bring the mixture to a low boil.
17. Let the gravy simmer for 3-5 minutes until it has thickened.
18. At this point you can add the butter if you want. It's not necessary, but it does add some richness that I love. Season with salt and pepper. Make sure you taste it first!
19. Devour, preferably with these Famous Creamy Mashed Potatoes. To die for!!

Recipe Notes

*Meat options: For this recipe you can use a chuck roast, boneless chuck roast, chuck shoulder pot roast, etc. Look for good marbling! 

**You can omit the water and beef base and just add 1 and 1/2 cups good quality beef stock instead! This goes for the gravy too. (The ratio is 1 teaspoon of base per cup of water.) This is not a sponsored post, I just love how easy it is to keep beef base on hand in the fridge. 

Instant Pot Spaghetti

Let me start by sharing that I've always considered spaghetti to be a quick and easy weeknight meal.  I'm not Italian (although I do love some Italian food) and for me, it was a matter of boiling water and heating some sauce while the pasta cooked.  But then along came the boyfriend and he wanted more (ground beef or meatballs, peppers, and onions) and it became much more effort.  However he loves the way the sauce comes out in the instant pot (in this recipe from TheKitchn, so I am back to it being a quick and easy dinner!  Yay!  Now this is the part where I say, if you have an all day Sunday sauce that you make, you probably aren't going to be as happy (I find that if you have a really good recipe for anything and then try an alternate, you're never as happy with it).  And yes, it's not really *faster* than boiling water and cooking the pasta while you heat the sauce.  But it is simpler since it's all in one pot.  You brown the beef and then add the sauce and pasta and seal and you can go sit while it comes to pressure and cooks.  Or you know, make garlic bread if you want.


INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound ground beef
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 cups water, divided
1 (24-ounce) jar marinara or tomato-based pasta sauce
8 ounces dry spaghetti
Grated Parmesan cheese, for serving

INSTRUCTIONS

Turn an electric pressure cooker on to sauté. Once heated, add the olive oil and beef. Break the beef up into large pieces with a wooden spoon and season with the salt, onion powder, and garlic powder. Cook, stirring and breaking the beef into smaller and smaller pieces, until cooked through and no longer pink, about 5 minutes.

Turn off the sauté function and add 1/2 cup of the water to the pot. Scrape the bottom of the pot to remove any stuck-on bits. Add the sauce and stir to combine well.

Break the spaghetti strands in half and spread them in one or two layers over the ground beef mixture. Do not stir from this point on.

Rinse the pasta sauce jar with the remaining 1 1/2 cups water (pour the water into the jar, twist on the lid, and shake gently) and then pour the water over the pasta. Remember — no stirring here.

Seal the pressure cooker. Set to cook on HIGH pressure for 8 minutes. The cooker should take between 10 and 12 minutes to come up to pressure.

Open the pressure release valve (quick release) as soon as the 8 minutes cook time is up. Open the pressure cooker and stir the spaghetti into the sauce. Turn off the pressure cooker and remove the insert from the pressure cooker. Serve immediately with a flurry of grated Parmesan cheese.

Cheeseburger Mac and Cheese

I haven't shared any Instant Pot / multicooker meals on here, and I realized I probably should.  Now let me take a moment to state a couple of things.  One, some people get really excited about their instant pot and try to cook *everything* in there and I don't hold with that.  Some dishes / recipes need a stove top or an oven or a grill.  Two, some people don't seem to see any benefit to using an instant pot because it's not in fact "instant".  It takes time to come to pressure (stuff I make is around 10 minutes) and there is a bit of a learning curve for how to put everything in there (follow recipes - don't try to wing it at first!).  When I share the spaghetti recipe I make, I will explain the differences and why the instant pot can be useful.  So anyway, I was reading TheKitchn (on feedly) and saw this post about 10 Instant Pot Beef Dinners to make and the last item caught my eye, so I decided to make it Saturday night.  And it was so easy!  It's not terribly photogenic, but it did taste good.

Set an electric pressure cooker to sauté and add 2 tablespoons butter. When melted, add 1 pound lean ground beef and cook, breaking up the beef and stirring, until cooked through, about 6 minutes. Turn off the heat, add 1 teaspoon onion powder, 3 tablespoons ketchup, and 1 tablespoon yellow mustard; stir to combine. 

Add 1 pound short, dry pasta (such as cellentani), 4 cups water, and 1 teaspoon kosher salt and stir to combine. Lock on the lid, make sure the pressure valve is set to seal, and use the manual setting to set for 5 minutes of high pressure. It should take about 10 minutes to come to pressure. Quick release the pressure. Turn the pressure cooker off.

Add 3 cups shredded cheese (such as American, mild cheddar, or Colby) and 1/2 cup half-and-half, and stir, stir, stir. Cover and let sit for 3 minutes. Serve immediately.

Sloppy Joes

I have realized that I have never posted Sloppy Joes on here.  We (the boyfriend really) found this recipe a number of years ago and we made it and called it good.  And then I tried to make the stuff in the can (I was looking for a quick and easy dinner one night) and ... omg - I just can't eat that stuff any more.  The flavor isn't right, etc etc.  So now I make this on the regular.  It's actually still pretty easy, chop your veg, a bit of browning the meat, add all the ingredients (start measuring out while you're tending the beef), and then let it simmer for a half hour.  I usually size it up to 9 servings and use a pound and a half of ground beef - that way I'm sure there's plenty, especially if we're hungry.



1 pound lean ground beef
¼ cup chopped onion
¼ cup chopped green bell pepper
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard
¾ cup ketchup
3 teaspoons brown sugar
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste

Step 1
In a medium skillet over medium heat, brown the ground beef, onion, and green pepper; drain off liquids.

 Step 2
Stir in the garlic powder, mustard, ketchup, and brown sugar; mix thoroughly. Reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

The Lady's Chicken Noodle Soup

The boyfriend made this last year (or so) and I really loved it.  He did the whole thing with making the stock while I was at work and then assembled the soup part when I got home.  I had been wanting it again (I really loved the creamy aspect - not something I think of with chicken noodle) so I made it last Saturday.  Because I went straight from stock to soup steps, the stock pretty much stayed at boil while I added everything in.  But I cheated - I didn't want to deal with cutting up a whole chicken nor deboning it so I used chicken tenders and thighs (to get a combination of white and dark meat).  In hindsight I used a bit more chicken than I really needed.  But soup is forgiving about that.  I do wonder though if my stock would have been richer with the bones.  Maybe that was the reason I think his tasted better than mine... or maybe it was because I didn't have to make it!


Ingredients
Stock:
1 (2 1/2 to 3-pound) fryer chicken, cut up
3 1/2 quarts water
1 onion, peeled and diced
1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon lemon-pepper seasoning
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 bay leaves
3 chicken bouillon cubes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Soup:
2 cups sliced carrots
2 cups sliced celery, with leafy green tops
2 1/2 cups uncooked egg noodles
1 cup sliced mushrooms
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
1/3 cup cooking sherry
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 cup grated Parmesan, optional
3/4 cup heavy cream, optional
Seasoning salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Crusty French bread, for serving

Directions
1.  For the stock: add all ingredients to a soup pot. Cook until chicken is tender, about 35 to 45 minutes. Remove chicken from pot and set aside to cool. Remove and discard bay leaves and onion. You should have approximately 3 quarts of stock. When chicken is cool enough to touch, pick bones clean, discarding bones, skin, and cartilage. Set chicken aside.

2.  For the soup: bring stock back to a boil, add carrots, and cook for 3 minutes. Add celery and continue to cook for 5 to 10 minutes. Add egg noodles and cook according to directions on package. When noodles are done, add chicken, mushrooms, parsley, sherry and rosemary. Add Parmesan and cream, if using. Cook for another 2 minutes. Adjust seasoning, if needed, by adding seasoning salt and pepper. Enjoy along with a nice hot crusty loaf of French bread.

Cauliflower Mac & Cheese

It was time for another cooking soup recipe.  This turned out to be easy peasy and although not quite like your original mac and cheese, it was good.  However, if you're craving the regular, you might be disappointed with this.  I served it with some chicken strips I had in the freezer (also 400*, win!).  Also, the recipe below is what was on the back of the can and what I made.  The version on the website uses the shells and adds broccoli.  I used whole milk and the shredded cheddar I found at the store.


8 oz uncooked medium shell pasta or rotini
1 can Campbell's Condensed Creamy Cauliflower Soup
1 1/2 cups shredded 2% cheddar
1/4 cup 2% milk
1/4 tsp black pepper

1.  Cook and drain pasta.  Meanwhile, heat oven to 400*.
2.  Stir all ingredients in 1 1/2 quart casserole.
3.  Bake 20 minutes or until hot.