Jo's Roast Beef

I like to find easy recipes and then cheat and make them even easier. I found this recipe on Jo's Blog:

Instant Pot Deli-Style Roast Beef

3 1/2 lb eye of round beef roast
1 12 oz bottle beer or red wine (I didn't have beer or wine, so I skipped this step) 
1/2 cup dry English Mustard (I used spicy mustard)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt (I used regular salt)
1 tsp black pepper, coarsely ground (I used whatever was in the shaker)
1 tsp garlic powder (I also added some onion powder)
1 Tbs vegetable oil

1 1/4 cups beef stock (I used a small can)

 1/4 cup Flour 

Now, if you head over to Jo's blog, you can read the steps for what is undoubtedly a better roast, but here's the easier cheater's way:

I cut my beef into chunks and browned in my instant pot seasoning the meat as I browned it with salt and pepper, garlic, and onion. Then I poured the beef broth over it and let cook on one meat cycle in the instant pot without the trivet (I think it was 19 minutes).

When that was done, I used my Pampered Chef Mix and Chop - a handy little kitchen tool that

smashes cooked meat. Once the meat was about the consistency of pulled pork, I added the brown sugar and the spicy brown mustard and cooked for another 10 minutes, adding a quarter cup of water to make sure there was enough broth to allow the pressure cooker to work.

Once that was finished, I mixed in a bit of white flour (about a quarter cup, mixed in water to avoid lumps) setting the pot on saute until the juice was made into a gravy.

I toasted some thick bread and layered it with the meat and it was delicious!

Easy Bachelor Friendly Meals #Recipes

My son, Caleb ( Boy #1)  is a smart, handsome, eligible bachelor (no, I am not trying to fix him up, however, if there are any nice girls out there around age 24...) Anyhow, Caleb was spending far too much eating out and while he may not worry about his budget, I do worry about his heart plugging up from all the Chinese take out.

I sent him the Really Real Housewives recipe for pico de gallo, which he found was as easy and delicious as the post claims. He only had one complaint: that he wasn't a housewife and thought we should make a blog for young, cool bachelors who prefer to cook with speed dial more than kitchen utensils.

So, here are some easy fixings for lazy days or lazy young bachelors.

Brunch: 
Eggs are now diet friendly. I've always been an egg fan. Fried, scrambled, hard boiled...any way you cook them, they're a cheap, tasty source of vitamins and protein.

To make the plate more interesting...add zesty potatoes.

These ones were made with Tator Tots (or their generic version, the Tator Puff) To make a healthier version, dice whole potatoes, cleaned with skins on.

Tator Tot version: Sprinkle tots with cayenne pepper and garlic salt and bake as directed.
Potato version: Dice a potato and put it in a bowl. Add a tsp. of canola oil (or olive oil), a tsp each of garlic salt and cayenne pepper. Mix and bake in oven until crispy.

Lunch or Dinner:

Easy Fajitas. 

 Using the pico de gallo  idea. I added a packet of dry taco seasoning to strips of beef like a rub. I allowed the mix to absorb into the meat, then added the peppers and onion.

I prepped the mix on aluminum foil, so I could make the foil into a cooking pouch by crimping the edges. (I always place the aluminum pouch on a cookie sheet, because it often leaks juice.)

The result? A fajita mix you could eat over rice or wrap in a tortilla. We wrapped these in low-carb tortillas and made enough to have plenty left over for lunches and snacks.

Snack Time:

And lastly, a quick, healthy snack. When my boys were little, they loved "ants on a log". They still enjoy this sweet, crunchy snack. 

Add peanut butter and raisins to a stalk of celery. It's that easy!

Clean and store the celery in a bowl lined with a 

napkin or paper towel to keep them fresher longer.