Balsamic and Onion Pot Roast

I love slow cooking because I can come home with a delicious meal waiting for me. CC and I and some friends shared a pastured grass-fed cow again this year and I got a quarter cow from this local farmer.

This is what my second freezer look like with a quarter of beef.

Tonight, I made a recipe that is similar to a recipe that I made before, but this time I used less ingredients and the flavor is as good as that recipe.


Ingredients
*3-4 pound boneless chuck roast
*1-2 T steak rub
*black pepper to taste
*1-2 T olive oil
*1/4 cup water
*2-3 large onions, peeled and thickly sliced
*1 cup homemade beef stock
*1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
*1/2 cup tomato sauce (You can substitute one can diced tomatoes, drained well)


Direction
1) Trim the fat from the roast. Rub meat well with steak seasoning and black pepper. Heat heavy pan with small amount of olive oil and brown roast well on both sides. Deglaze pan with 1/4 cup water and add to sauce mixture.

2) Bring 1 cup beef broth to a boil and cook until reduced to 1/2 cup, then let cool slightly and mix in balsamic vinegar and tomato sauce.

3) Place onions in bottom of slow cooker. Put meat on top of onions and pour beef stock mixture over. Set slow cooker to low and cook 6-8 hours, until beef is tender.

4) Remove meat from slow cooker and cover with foil to keep warm. Drain liquid from slow cooker and remove as much of the fat as you can with fat separator or skimmer. Cook down liquid by about 1/3, and serve sauce with meat and onions.

Cream Cheese Walnut Cookies

I have been very busy with work lately so I was thinking of an easy cookie recipe to bring to the cookies exchange party tonight. This recipe allows you to make the dough a couple days in advance and bake it on the day of the party.

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Ingredients
*4 cups all-purpose flour
*1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt
*2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
*6 ounces cream cheese (not whipped), room temperature
*1 1/4 cups sugar
*2 tablespoons plus 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
*2 1/2 cups walnut halves (1 1/2 cups toasted and coarsely chopped and 1 cup finely chopped)

Directions
1) Whisk together flour and salt in a large bowl; set aside. Put butter and cream cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in sugar and vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture, and mix until just combined (do not overmix). Mix in toasted walnuts.
2) Transfer dough to a work surface. Divide in half; shape each half into an 8 1/2-inch long log about 2 inches in diameter. Wrap each log in parchment paper; freeze until firm, about 30 minutes or up to 2 weeks.
3) Preheat oven to 350 degrees with racks in upper and lower thirds. Unwrap 1 log, and roll in 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, coating completely. Cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Space 1 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
4) Bake cookies, rotating halfway through, until golden around edges, 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks. Repeat with remaining log and remaining 1/2 cup chopped walnuts.

Bacon Wrapped Dates with Cream Cheese and Almond

My friend KW made bacon wrapped dates one time at her party and I thought it was the best idea ever. Today, I am invited to go to a cookie exchange party and decided to make the bacon wrapped dates with a twist. I added cream cheese and almond to increase the flavor.


serve 30
Ingredients
*30 (1 by 1/4-inch) pieces cream cheese
*30 pitted dates (preferably Medjool)
*30 salted and roasted whole almonds
*10 slices bacon cut crosswise into thirds
*30 wooden picks

Directions
1)Heat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2) Stuff 1 piece of cheese and 1 almond into each date, then wrap one piece of bacon around each date and secure bacon with a toothpick if desired. Arrange dates, bacon seam down and 1 inch apart in a shallow baking pan.
3) Bake 5 minutes, then turn dates over with tongs and bake until bacon is crisp, 5 to 6 minutes more. Drain on a paper towel or parchment. Serve immediately.