Beef Roast and Orzo

Of all the Sunday Dinners I've made in my life, this was, by far the easiest. It is exactly impossible to screw up the meat, and virtually impossible to screw up the orzo.

First the meat. You need to have a very heavy pan with a tightly covering lid. I use my dutch oven. It is the best investment in the kitchen. Get one if you don't have one.

Next put in your meat. I used a 3lbs beef arm roast. Use any roast you want (round, pot, etc). The key is to have a cheap cut of meat with some fat on it. Throw it into the pot.

Cover the meat with a 28oz can of tomatoes. Break up the tomatoes with your hands, a fork, a knife, whatever. Then, break apart a head of garlic. No need to peel it, just throw it in.

Cover and put in a 300 degree oven. No need to pre-heat the oven.

Keep it in the oven for 3 to 4 hours. That's it. Salt and pepper to taste once you pull it out.

Orzo is just a pasta. Cook to package directions. Serve meat and tomatoes over the orzo.

Next weekend I'll have to do something more difficult, this was way too easy.

Maraschino Cherries

Maraschino Cherries, the real kind, are fun and easy to make.

First, you need a cherry pitter:
We got this sweet Oxo brand cherry pitter.

Next, pit a bunch of cherries. It takes like 5 minutes to pit enough of them to fit two of the jars like you see above.

Loosely pack in the cherries into a sterilized jar. Cover with Maraschino Liquor. Put in your fridge for a few weeks and they are a ready to go.

Perfect for all your liquored fruit needs, like your Old Fashioned.

Greatest Chili Ever (IMHO)

So, I only won 4th place on the chili cook off, but CJ and I think it is great chili.

Start with 6 poblano chilies. Roast them over the open flame on your stove top, then put them in a paper bag and let them sweat. Chop and remove the seeds. Set aside.

Cube 3-4 lbs of pork shoulder. Salt and pepper them and coat with flour. In a deep, heavy pan (I use my dutch oven) brown the meat in a bit of oil. You don't want to crowd the pan, so do multiple batches.

Remove the pork and set aside.

In the same pan, add 3 chopped onions and saute until soft. Add 6 cloves of garlic, 1 T of oregano and 1 T of cumin. Saute for a couple minutes.

To the pan add in 5 cups chicken stock and one can of tomatoes. Deglaze the brown bits the best you can. Then add in the peppers and the pork and any juices.

Bring the whole thing to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer uncovered for the next 2-3 hours. I had to turn it up at the end to get it to reduce to a nice sauce.

In the last 30 minutes, add in 2 T of chili powder and season with salt and pepper to taste.

It is not a spicy chili. It is a flavorful and succulent chili. The meat falls apart and is perfect.