Father's Day and Beef Pot Roast

The girls and I just returned from a two-week trip covering well over 1,000 miles of driving - some of it driven with just the three of us and some of it driven with my father. It was a good trip, but I missed my husband and our daughters missed their daddy.

However, that time spent with my father and the three of us was precious and I'm glad we made the trip the way we did. It was great bonding time for all of us. I wouldn't necessarily have chosen a live tarantula in a snap-top plastic box to be a travel partner at my feet (my dad is an entomologist), but I soon forgot about it and remembered the days that I actually used to let one crawl on my hand when I was a child hanging out with my dad in the entomology lab while he was in grad school.

My children got to see a little bit of that life on this trip with him - a day doesn't pass when they are with "Papa" that they aren't pulling him in one direction or another to show him some new bug or insect and ask what it is - to be given the scientific name of the creature. They love it. I was that child once, too. (Now I'd rather not touch them, but at least I can usually tell whether it's a friend or foe.)

I love my dad. He put up with more than his fair share, I think, of the antics my brother, sister and I (and I'm the oldest so I no doubt taught many of those antics) pulled while we were growing up but loved us through them.

And I'm so thankful my husband is the father of our children. If I had written a recipe for my future husband and father of my children, I couldn't have possibly written the recipe to create this amazing man I married. God blessed me richly with the man in my life.

I love my husband. He is such a wonderful, loving, supportive, caring, strong husband and father. Yes, I missed him.

And because we just got back and I want to hang out with him as much as possible tomorrow, I'm making a no-fail, simple slow cooker meal that we all love, so that I can put it together tonight, turn it on tomorrow, and forget about it. (The recipe is adapted from one of the Rival owner's guides that came with one of my several crock pots.) This recipe makes the most tender, fall apart roast with a great flavor. (This is also one of my favorite no-fuss meals for Easter!)

And I'm thankful to my father-in-law for being the great dad that he is to my husband, and a wonderful "Grandpa" to our children.

I wish all of you out there a wonderful Father's Day with the fathers in your life. And if your father is no longer on earth, I wish you a day filled with wonderful memories of him.

Beef Pot Roast
Projected prep time: 10 minutes; Projected cook time: 10-12 hours on low or 4-6 hours on high)
A few handfuls of baby carrots
1 large onion, roughly sliced
1 beef roast (size varies, I always use between 2-3 pounds but you can use 4 pounds)
Several sprinkles kosher salt
Few shakes black pepper
1/2 cup gluten-free beef broth (I use 1 tsp. Watkins beef soup base in 1/2 cup of water)
(Optional: 1 1/2 tsp. Watkins Meat Magic added to broth)
Several glugs of balsamic vinegar
(Sometimes I quarter up some red potatoes to throw in with the vegetables, so do that if you'd like. I prefer, however, to serve rosemary oven-roasted red potatoes with it.)

Put carrots and most of the onion (and quartered potatoes if you are cooking them with the roast) in the bottom of crock. Season meat with salt and pepper then put in crock on top of carrots and onions. Add the rest of the onions on top of the meat. Pour broth over meat and potatoes. Pour balsamic vinegar around and on top of the meat and vegetables going around two or three times (several glugs). Cover and cook 10-12 hours on low and 4-6 hours on high. If you are able, turn the meat over once or twice while cooking.

You can prepare the night before and stick in the refrigerator if you prefer to make the meal later the next day.

Happy Father's Day!

Crockpot Corn Bread Dressing (aka stuffing)

In my family, we like our turkey at both Thanksgiving and Christmas. Sometimes we'll freeze some turkey from Thanksgiving for Christmas, sometimes we'll prepare another one. This year I prepared two. Our Christmas turkey was one that had been in the deep freezer for almost a year because I was afraid to fix it. It was right out of the Christmas Carol -- Tiny Tim's turkey. A whopping 26 pounds. I'm used to fixing 18-20 pound turkeys, sometimes smaller ones. This one wasn't going to fit in a roasting bag, let alone my roasting pan. I had been bummed last year that I waited a week before Thanksgiving to get our turkey and had to settle for an 11-pounder. So I bought the biggest one I could find later, only to bring it home and realize how very big it was. Daunting. I then went out and bought a smaller one that I could fix with confidence.

But ... this year I fixed it. I cut a lot of the fat off it, then we removed one of the thighs and drumsticks so it could fit in the roasting pan and bag. It took nearly 4 hours to cook -- and the thigh/drumstick took more than an hour! It certainly wasn't the prettiest turkey, after being mutilated like that, but it was delicious, and it will make some good gumbo. I'll share that recipe with you when I make it.

This post isn't about my huge turkey, however, it's about the dressing. Stuffing, as I also sometimes call it. You can't have a turkey without it, right? I realize it's a little late to be providing such a recipe but it's fresh on my mind right now, and this way you'll be sure to have it for next year's Thanksgiving.

There is a corn bread dressing recipe that has been used in my family for generations. It's amazing. But it's not the one I make. After I had children, I wanted something simpler. I'd heard rumors of a delicious crockpot recipe, but could it compare to my family recipe? The only way to know was to try, and try I did. And it was. After going gluten-free, I wasn't sure but gave it a try with some different ingredients. If anything, this dressing is better than the one I grew up with. It certainly tastes very similar, and my mouth waters just thinking of it waiting in the refrigerator right now. I adapted this recipe from http://www.food.com/recipe/crock-pot-cornbread-dressing-146944.

Note: Setting the bread out 2 days before will save time later - and so will making your gravies ahead of time!
Projected active prep time: 45 min; Projected cook time: 5 or more hours
(Printable Recipe)

6 c. corn bread (just use an entire skillet from this recipe)
*4 slices Food For Life Rice Pecan bread
*4 slices Food For Life white rice bread (you can use other bread for this recipe, but I've found this bread works best)
4 large eggs
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 c. celery, chopped
2 green onions, chopped
1 1/2 tbsp. poultry seasoning (with sage)
1/2 tsp. black pepper
*1 recipe Watkins cream gravy (makes approx. 3 cups) from Watkins Cream Soup & Gravy base
*1 recipe Watkins chicken gravy (makes approx. 1 c.) from Watkins Chicken Soup & Gravy base

*3 cans Pacific Foods gluten-free cream of chicken soup (this replaces the gravy mixes in old version)

12 oz. gluten-free chicken stock
1/4 c. salted butter
Salt to taste
*If you don't have the cream of chicken soup, you can use 3 cups of your own preference of thickened cream soup or cream gravy, and 1 cup of thickened chicken gravy
*You can use eight slices of any other GF bread, but a denser bread works best. Schar works well. Try to combine a darker/multigrain bread and a white bread

Two days before you fix your dressing, break up bread slices into large crumbs. (If you don't have two days, dry them out in the oven at a low heat.)

Crumble the corn bread and add to the bread, mixing all up and spreading onto a large cookie sheet. Let it sit out like this to dry for two days, mixing through it every so often so it dries evenly. The gluten-free bread is denser, so it needs longer to dry and cook.

Chop up your veggies and have them ready any time. In this photo, they are actually thawed from the freezer because enough was chopped up at Thanksgiving.

If you aren't using canned soup, make your gravies ahead of time. Either earlier the day you plan to cook the dressing or sometime that week (then refrigerate). Skip the gravy steps if you are using canned soup. Make the cream gravy ...

And the chicken gravy ...

Mix them together.

Break your eggs into a very large bowl and add your bread crumbs, black pepper, poultry seasoning and a little salt. In my case I usually take two or three good sized pinches from my salt cellar.

Mix very well.

Add veggies and chicken stock. I know it's better to make your own, but I just don't always have time for that. I usually use Kitchen Basics for my brand.

Add your canned soup or gravies now, as well. Mix it all well and pour into a very well-buttered (bottom and sides) crockpot.

The gluten-free breads take much longer to cook. I usually put it on high for a couple of hours in the covered crockpot until it looks like it's cooking well, then switch to low for two or three hours. If it looks like it's not cooking through again, I switch it back to high. I also sometimes crack the lid open a little if it looks like it's retaining too much liquid.

After it looks like it's cooked through, dot it with the butter and cover again, letting it melt and cook into the stuffing a little.

Serve warm. Store leftovers in the refrigerator or freezer. Yumm!

Zesty Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken

A real quick recipe for you. With my range out of commission yesterday, I had to come up with something else for supper. Crockpot or griddle. A friend had just sent me a crockpot recipe she'd enjoyed and I thought I'd give it a try. I had everything I needed on hand (I used chicken breast tenderloins). Just make sure your bbq sauce is gluten-free as well as your Worcestershire sauce.

I snapped a picture just in case I blogged it. I was debating this, but it was pretty good and one of you may find yourself in a similar situation and find this helpful. I served this with some microwave "roasted" sweet potatoes and butter on the side. Here's the recipe link: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Zesty-Slow-Cooker-Chicken-Barbecue/Detail.aspx?src=etaf