Revisited

One of the drawbacks of having posted over 100 recipes is that I've shared with you most of the stuff I make on a regular basis. Last week I made nothing new. Not one thing. So I thought I would share what I made and maybe you will find a recipe you never read about before or one that you forgot about. I remembered to take new pictures of some of them.

Every two weeks I make my granola bars. They are healthy, delicious, and great treats in my kids' (and hubby's) lunch sacks. Sometimes the girls will even have a second one as an after school snack. I love that I know every ingredient that does into these bars.




One of my all-time favorite dinners is Lemon Chicken. I love it so much that we ate it all before I could take a picture. If you haven't tried it yet, give it a shot!

For dinner one night we had Meatloaf and Roasted Green Beans. Both sooooo good. Sometimes I like to change it up and use orange, yellow, or red peppers instead of green in the meatloaf. I didn't put any of it into muffin cups this time, though.



Friday night I made Whole Wheat Pizza. Except this time I used all white whole wheat and I think it's even better than my original recipe! We decorated the pizzas with pepperoni, red peppers, and lots of mozzarella. Bubba added banana peppers to his. The posted recipe makes four individual pizza crusts. Try it this weekend!

I also made my Healthier Banana Bread and Zucchini Muffins. Again I used all white whole wheat. I almost never use even the smallest amount of white flour anymore. The girls have state-wide standardized testing this week. Banana bread and zucchini muffins made with whole wheat, low fat, healthy ingredients are the perfect breakfast food to keep them full until lunch. Have you ever tried to take a test while your stomach is rumbling? It's so hard to concentrate! I load them up with bread and a glass of sugar-free Carnation Instant Breakfast for the protein.



March is strawberry season in Florida and last Saturday we made our annual trek to the Plant City Strawberry Festival.





From 11am to 5pm on Sunday Tink and I washed, hulled, sliced, and mashed three full flats of strawberries!



Yep, three of those. We made enough low-sugar jam to last until next year.




We also put away in the freezer a few containers of strawberries ready for shortcake. And we ate A LOT of strawberries. Tink was such a huge help!! But the best thing about making jam with her was the talking. She talked about school, politics, religion, boys *shudder*, her friends, you name it we talked about it. It was, in every sense of the word, awesome.

Of course for dessert that night we had to have Strawberry Shortcake with real whipped cream. No chemical whip will ever sully my shortcake! It was also awesome. :) (Oh, and I used all white whole wheat in the shortcakes.)



But first, for dinner Sunday we had Sunday Roast.

Give one of these recipes a try!

Enjoy!!

Sunday Roast

This recipe started with my mom, but we have differing opinions on whether or not to brown the outside of the roast before cooking. She does, I don't. I really don't think it is necessary and I think that the roast is more tender and juicy without browning first. (Sorry, Mom!) The meat comes out of the oven so tender you can practically cut it with a fork.

You will need:

eye of round roast (no substitutions)
salt
pepper
paprika
onion powder
celery salt
garlic salt





The eye of round roast is the most tender of the round roasts or steaks. It's on the opposite side of the tender spectrum from the London Broil. It's also a bit pricier. But supermarkets put it on sale all the time, so keep an eye out for the weekly ads. It's still less than $10 to feed a family of four and have leftovers.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Typically the eye of round comes with a relatively thick layer of fat on the bottom. You can have your butcher trim it for you (and they will, no problem) or do it yourself with a sharp carving knife.



I do it myself. It's not always pretty, but once it is baked you can't tell. :)



No measuring for this part. I just sprinkle on the salt, pepper, paprika, celery salt, and garlic salt.



Now pat or rub the seasonings into the roast. Repeat for all the sides and ends.



And place on a foil-lined cookie sheet with sides or in a roasting pan (although you may have to bake it a bit longer if your roasting pan has deep sides). It makes clean-up so much easier. I use recycled foil.



Place in the oven and turn it down to 350 degrees. Bake for approximately 45 minutes to and hour. I pull my roast out at 45 minutes and stick a digital thermometer in the top. 120°F to 125°F is rare, 130°F to 140°F is medium rare, 145°F to 150°F is medium, and 155°F to 165°F is well done. We like it at about 140.



See how there is barely any juice running from the roast? That's because it is all still inside!

You need to let it rest for a minimum of 15 minutes. If you cut into it right away all the juices will run out and your meat will be very dry. (Remember that it will continue to cook just a bit after taking out of the oven.)



I like to put a few paper towels under the cutting board to catch any run-off. Then I just spear the roast with a large fork and start slicing. Slice as thick or thin as you like! (I use this exact recipe when I make French Dip and just slice the meat very, very thin.)





Absolutely delicious! And did I mention tender? Because it really is--you hardly need a knife at all.



Enjoy!!