#9/52 Mississippi Pot Roast

I see Mississippi pot roast recommended a lot in different food groups and have never tried it. My dad brought it up in conversation 2 weeks ago and I thought maybe now was the time to try it.

Most all the classic recipes call for packets of seasonings and pepperoncinis. Something inside of me was saying no, just couldnt get into shopping for a packet of ranch and the rest. So I bought a roast and decided I would do it the usual way I do.

Then here comes Friday, when I took my daughter to a birthday party and low and behold a mom brings up making Mississippi pot roast. It sure felt like a coincidence, as she shared the recipe she utilized didn’t use seasoning packets and said she made a classic and this version side by side and honestly couldn’t taste a difference. What a win, I was stoked!

So without further ado, I encourage you to taste this recipe from The Jam Jar kitchen. It was divine and might be my new go-to every time I buy a chuck roast! We paired with yukon gold garlic mashed potatoes and green beans.

INGREDIENTS  

  • 3-5 lb beef chuck roast
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 cup beef broth
  • 1 tbsp dried chives
  • 2 tsp garlic powder
  • 2 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp dried dill
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 6-8 pepperoncini peppers, whole
  • 1-2 tbsp pepperoncini pepper juice (from the jar)
  • 4 tbsp ghee
  • salt & pepper

INSTRUCTIONS 

  • Take the chuck roast out of the fridge. Remove from packaging and pat dry with a paper towel. Generously season all sides with salt and pepper. Set aside.Heat a couple tbsp of olive oil over medium-high to high heat in a large skillet until hot and shimmering.Once oil is hot, place seasoned chuck roast in the skillet. Sear for about 1-2 minutes per side to a deep golden brown. Transfer chuck roast to the bowl of the slow cooker.
  • After removing the chuck roast, deglaze the pan over medium high heat with 1 cup of beef broth. Bring to a boil, scraping up all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan continue to cook for 2-3 minutes until the liquid has reduced by about half (doesn’t have to be too exact).Pour the liquid from the skillet over the chuck roast.
  • Sprinkle chives, garlic powder, onion powder, dill salt and pepper over the chuck roast. Arrange peppers around the meat and add a couple tbsp of juice from the pepper jar. Then top with 4 tbsp of ghee (or high quality butter).Cover with a lid and cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 5-6 hours.The meat will be fork tender when it is done. If it still feels a little tough then put the lid back on and cook for an additional hour or two.
  • Serve over mashed potatoes, polenta, rice, mashed cauliflower or on its own. Enjoy!

#6/52 Sloppy Joe Cups

I originally found these on the Instagram page of Delish, upon some other searching I also found the recipe on the Pillsbury website. Let me tell you it’s pretty tasty!

The recipe I have below is a bit of a blend of those two recipes. We used left over sloppy joe mix to make these and I can’t think of a better way to use it! My favorite topping for these was cut up claussen sandwich pickles, omg was it good. My husband decided he was going to start adding pickles to his sloppy joes after these cups!

They were advertised on Delish as a superbowl snack, and in my opinion would be good fresh, not sitting out. So if you have the technology to make that happen this Sunday, do it!

Ingredients

  • Cooking spray
  • All-purpose flour, for surface
  • 1 (8-oz.) tube crescent dough
  • 1 batch sloppy joe filling (about 2 c.)
  • 1/2 c. shredded mixed cheddar and mozzarella
  • Sliced scallions, pickles, relish, and/or yellow mustard, for serving

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375° and grease a standard 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough and pinch together seams. Cut into 8 squares. Place squares into prepared muffin cups.
  2. Sprinkle a little cheese in the bottom of the cup and Spoon about 1/4 cup sloppy joe filling into each cup.
  3. Bake cups until pastry is golden brown and filling is heated through, about 8 to 9 minutes. Remove from oven and top each with remaining cheese. Return to oven and continue to bake until cheese is melted, 3 to 5 minutes more. Let cool in pan 5 minutes.
  4. Carefully remove cups and arrange on a platter. Top with any toppings you prefer (scallions, pickles, relish, or mustard)

#5/52 Butternut Squash Chicken Chili

We tried a new soup this week, Butternut squash chicken chili, recipe from paleo running momma

The flavors were pretty great, although I’m not sure how I felt about the Butternut squash. Knowing what I am eating is fairly healthy helps me just eat it, but I think in the future I would replace the squash with white beans. Or I would make sure the squash was peeled and cut into much smaller cubes and I wouldn’t use a whole one.

After we ate dinner, I went back through the soup and picked out all the squash and added half a can of great northern beans and froze it like that. The flavors and spices were amazing, but it will not be in our soup rotation. If you try it, drop a comment on your take of the butternut squash

Ingredients

  • 1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts cooked and shredded*
  • 2 Tbsp ghee or avocado oil
  • 1 medium butternut squash cut into 3/4” cubes (about 4 cups)
  • Sea salt and black pepper
  • 1 small yellow onion diced
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 red bell pepper diced
  • 1 green bell pepper diced
  • 2 Tbsp fresh jalapeños finely chopped
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 3/4 tsp chili powder
  • 1/4 tsp chipotle chili powder
  • 4 oz can diced green chiles
  • 3 cups chicken bone broth
  • 1 tbsp fresh minced cilantro
  • 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
  • 2 tbsp nutritional yeast optional
  • Sea salt and black pepper to taste
  • Garnish: “sour cream” coconut cream see notes** avocado slices, cilantro

Instructions

  1. If your chicken needs to be cooked and shredded, do this first* and set aside. Prepare all ingredients before beginning.
  2. Heat a large dutch oven over medium heat and add the ghee or oil. Add the butternut squash and sprinkle all over with sea salt and pepper. Sauté, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes, until just beginning to brown and soften.
  3. Add in the diced onion and sauté for about a minute until translucent. Then, add in the garlic, peppers, jalapeño and spices, stir and sauté for 3 minutes, until fragrant and softened.
  4. Add in the green chilis, and broth , stir and bring to a boil. Stir in the shredded chicken, nutritional yeast cilantro and lime juice and allow to simmer for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper as desired. Serve with coconut “sour cream” (see notes) sliced avocado, additional cilantro and sliced jalapeño if desired. Enjoy!

Recipe Notes

Notes:

*if you don’t already have cooked chicken, season your chicken breasts with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and smoked paprika. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until cooked through, then shred before using. You can also use a rotisserie chicken, just check ingredients for Whole30 compliance if needed.

** To make Whole30 compliant sour cream with coconut cream, mix 1/2 cup of thick, cold coconut cream with 2 tsp lemon or lime juice and 1/8 tsp fine sea salt. I like to use the 365 brand (Whole Foods) for this as it’s very thick and creamy. Feel free to adjust the salt and lemon to taste.

52 New Recipes in 2023, #1/52 Sublime Swordfish

2 years ago, I started a journey to lose some weight in a healthy way, my New Year’s resolution was to make one healthy snack a week. Well, this year my New Year’s resolution will be to make one new recipe every week for a year. As a domestic engineer, meal planning multiple meals a day is exhausting. I have found that I am more motivated to cook when I am trying something new! So, please leave me some comments if there is a favorite dish you love and want me to try. I am really excited to embark on this culinary adventure and grateful to have you here for the ride! If you haven’t subscribed yet, you can do so at the end of this blog post.

The first new recipe of the year is Swordfish. I decided to try the Best Grilled Swordfish recipe from Tasting Table, and I am so happy I did! This is definitely a recipe I will make again in the future; the taste was sublime. I decided to pair it with pesto spinach and cheese tortellini and sauteed green beans. If you try it, let me know what you think too.

Ingredients

  • 3 lemons
  • 4 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • ½ cup olive oil, divided
  • 4 (6-ounce) swordfish steaks
  • 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt, divided
  • 1 bunch fresh basil, coarsely chopped
  • 1 bunch fresh parsley, coarsely chopped
  • ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

Instructions

  1. Wash and dry the lemons and fresh herbs.
  2. Zest and juice 1 lemon into a 1-cup glass measuring cup. Juice a second lemon into the cup, but do not zest it. Then, add the thyme to the mixture.
  3. Finely mince the garlic or paste using a garlic press
  4. Add ½ the garlic to the lemon and thyme mixture. Then, add ¼ cup of olive oil. Whisk to combine the marinade.
  5. Dry the swordfish with a paper towel.
  6. Using 1 teaspoon of salt, season both sides of the fish.
  7. Place in a zip-top bag and add the marinade.
  8. Place in a shallow dish and marinate in the fridge for up to 20 minutes.
  9. Meanwhile, make the vinaigrette. Pick the fresh basil leaves and fresh parsley leaves from the stems, and coarsely chop. (You are looking for about ½ cup of each basil and parsley after the leaves have been chopped.)
  10. Add the leaves to a food processor. Add the juice from the remaining lemon, ½ teaspoon of salt, the rest of the garlic, ¼ cup of olive oil, and the red pepper flakes. Pulse until the herbs are finely chopped (do not process until smooth), about 5 to 7 pulses.
  11. Heat the grill using high heat for 7 to 10 minutes. Clean well with a grill brush. Then, reduce the heat to medium.
  12. Remove the fish from the marinade and place it on the grill.
  13. Grill the swordfish for 3 to 5 minutes per side, until it easily releases from the grill and the inside is flaky and opaque — or a probe thermometer registers 130 F in the thickest piece of fish.
  14. If desired, cut an additional lemon in half, and grill it for 3 minutes. Serve with the fish for a final squeeze of freshness.

Meals for 2+

I don’t know about you, but leftovers are not my favorite to eat. To mitigate having so many, I have started cutting everything in half and it is the perfect amount for our small 3 person family. Sometimes there are even leftovers for me or my daughter to have lunch the next day.

So today I wanted to share our go to meatloaf recipe, a perfect comfort food for those cold day cravings. It’s pretty basic and classic, but it’s how we like it. I also started a food Instagram recently, so if you want more meal ideas then I have time to blog check it out!

—–>> https://www.instagram.com/sahmthingtasty/ <<—–

Ingredients

  • 1 pound of 80/20 ground beef
  • ½ envelope of dried onion soup mix
  • 1 beaten egg
  • 3 ounces water
  • ½ Tbsp. Italian seasoning
  • ¾ cup crushed Ritz crackers
  • ½ onion, diced
  • 2 to 3 garlic cloves
  • Glaze:
  • 1/4 cup ketchup
  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • Mix, and brush evenly on top of the meatloaf before it goes into the oven.

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
  2. Line a loaf pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper
  3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together onion soup mix, egg, water, and Italian seasoning.
  4. Add the ground beef, breadcrumbs, onions, and garlic, and mix thoroughly until just combined
  5. Place mixture in the loaf pan, pressing down lightly. It is smaller so you will make a “loaf” shape as it won’t fill out the pan. (it might if you double the recipe!)
  6. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 45 minutes or until the middle reaches at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit
  7. Let it stand for 10-15 minutes before removing from the pan and serving

Notes

  • Don’t overmix the meatloaf or try to press down too much when you fill the pan; this will result in an overly-dense, tough meatloaf.
  • I make the glaze twice so I have extra to drizzle on top after we bake it, yum!