Cook once, eat all week

This was today’s motto since I had a day off from work.  Hooray!  That said, I only managed to make two dishes.  I suppose three if you count a side dish.

Today I made an Autumn Pot Roast with Horseradish Sauce and a Layered Mexican Chicken.

I wanted to get some things out of the way so I began making the horseradish sauce.  Normally I don’t really care for this type of sauce but figured I’d make the exception this time.

Next came the halved red potatoes.

I then put them in a  large bowl along with the baby carrots and sweet potatoes so they’d be ready to go.

Once the meat had browned, it was ready to go into the oven.

 

I took a quick break and grabbed one of my favorite cup o’ joe’s – a nonfat vanilla latte.  I felt like I needed an extra shot of energy so I asked for an extra espresso boost.  Wowzers, did that wake me up!

Next I began making preparations for the Layered Mexican Chicken dish.

After boiling the chicken breast and letting it rest I began assembling the dish which included tortillas, sour cream, black beans, cheese, cumin and green chilies.

Shortly after I had finished assembling the layered Mexican dish, I was a bit hungry, so I decided to make a smoothie.  The bananas that I have were starting to get a bit soft so I used some of them, along with some blueberries, soy milk and a tad of vanilla extract and blended them to make my smoothie.  Next time I think I’ll add a little bit of ice to make it colder.

A little while after the pot roast was complete!

Time to eat!  I added some rice and more veggies.

 

cook’s thoughts

I have to admit that I didn’t follow the recipe exactly for the pot roast.  I used sweet potatoes instead of turnips because I didn’t feel quite comfortable using them.  I don’t think I’ve ever had them…. I also had to boil the potatoes, carrots in a pot to soften them up after the veggies had cooked with the meat; otherwise we would have eaten crunchy potatoes!  As I was getting ready to upload the pictures I took for the blog I realized that I’d totally forgotten to add the horseradish!!  Silly me.  Oh well, hopefully next time I’ll remember to add it.  It’s still sitting in the fridge, just like the directions said.  Just forgot to take it out! :D .  As I was eating the pot roast, it was a bit drier than I would have liked and decided that I’d use the leftovers to make roast beef sandwiches – it practically tasted like roast beef.  Maybe you’ll have better luck at keeping it moist.

Onto the Layered Mexican Chicken.  I thought it was OK for a lasagna-style dish.  I’m not too crazy about it.  I’ll have to get creative with the leftovers, for sure.

Autumn Pot Roast with Horseradish Sauce

prep time: 15 minutes
cook time: 2 hrs 30 min

serves: 8

ingredients

2 lbs boneless bottom round roast, trimmed
3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup reduced-sodium beef broth
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
1 1/4 lbs baby potatoes, halved
1 1/2 cup baby carrots
2 medium turnips, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 cup fat-free plain Greek yogurt
3 tbsp prepared horseradish
1 tsp Dijon mustard

directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Sprinkle the beef with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt.  Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Add the beef and cook, turning frequently, until browned, about 8 minutes.  Add the broth, stirring to scrape any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.  Add the onion, garlic and thyme; bring to a boil.  Cover and bake, turning once, 1 1/2 hours.

Add the potatoes, carrots, and turnips to the Dutch oven.  Bake, covered, until the beef and vegetables are fork-tender, 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the horseradish sauce.  Combine the yogurt, horseradish, mustard and the remaining 1/4 tsp salt in a small bowl.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Transfer the beef to a cutting board and slice across the grain into 16 slices.  Serve with the vegetables and the horseradish sauce.

Layered Mexican Chicken

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes

serves: 12

Ingredients

1 spray olive oil cooking spray
2 pounds uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast
30 oz canned black beans, rinsed and drained
3 cups fat-free sour cream
2 cups shredded reduced-fat Mexican-style cheese, divided
8 oz Chopped green chilies, two 4-oz cans
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp black pepper
12 medium corn tortillas, cut into 2-inch strips
1 cup salsa, mild, medium or hot

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Coat a lasagna pan with cooking spray.

Place chicken in medium saucepan and fill with enough cold water just to cover chicken.  Set pan over high heat and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 10 to 15 minutes; drain.  When chicken is cool enough to handle, cut into 1-inch pieces.

Transfer chicken to a large bowl and add beans, sour cream, 1 cup shredded cheese, chilies, cumin and pepper; mix well and set aside.

Arrange half of tortillas in bottom of prepared lasagna pan, overlapping pieces to cover surface.  Top tortillas with half of chicken mixture, layer with remaining tortillas and then top with remaining chicken mixture.  Sprinkle with remaining cup of cheese.

Bake until filling is bubbly and cheese is melted, about 30 minutes.  Let stand 5 minutes before slicing into 12 pieces.  Serve with salsa on the side.

Time for bed!  It’s been so nice sleeping in the past couple of days.  I just know I’m going to have a hard time getting up tomorrow morning at 6.

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