Back on Track...

It has been a hectic few weeks. We've been pretty busy so I have not tried any new recipes. We are still eating healthy but we've been repeating some other recipes, ones that I've posted about in the past. Remember that I said that I wanted to start trying recipes that are already online so that I can share them with my readers? Tonight I tried a recipe from the American Heart Association called Pot Roast Ratatouille and Pasta: here it is...  http://heart.org/HEARTORG/General/Pot-Roast-Ratatouille-and-Pasta_UCM_304677_Recipe.jsp

I screwed up a couple of ways with this recipe. The recipe calls for a 1.5 pound roast. I bought the correct type of meat but the smallest roast size was 3.0 pounds. The recipe called for a cook time of 2.5 hours. I knew that I would have to increase the cook time, but I did not know by how much. I started out by increasing it by 30 minutes. Well, to make a long store short, I needed a total of another hour and a half to have the roast turn out tender.

I've learned from trial and error that if you cut into a roast that has been cooking a while, and it is gray, it is not done. Roasts should be tender!!!! I think one of the biggest mistakes people make when cooking roasts is that they don't cook them long enough and they turn out "tough"...low heat and longer cook times (often covered--so it doesn't dry out) should help make your roast tender.

So, since the roast took so long to make, it was not even close to being done for dinner.

In the future, I would brown the meat in a pan and then I would put the roast and all of the other ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. I am sure it will give the same results as what we got in the oven and you don't have to stay at home because the oven is on. Also, for the summer it is nice to keep the house cooler without having the oven on.

When the roast was finally done, my husband said that it was amazing and he is looking forward to leftovers. The roast calls for a pasta to accompany the the dish, we are serving brown rice with it instead. 

Just wanted to add one more thing that if you don't know how to prepare eggplant, just take the skins off and slice it up like you would any other vegetable. I read online that you can leave the skin on, however often the skin is tough and does not cook well.

Try it, you'll like it! Once you've made it, come back and leave a comment on this blog and tell me what you think of the recipe!