Beef Pot Roast

Hey bloggers and friends! Today we are making one of my favorite dishes, pot roast. In fact, I made this dish last week and ate half of the roast by myself. No joke. Okay, maybe I'm over exaggerating a wee bit, but I really did eat like 1/3 of the roast. I'm not even ashamed. Do some of you readers do the same thing? Leave me a comment if you aren't ashamed of your pot roast love.  

Before we begin, I want to remind y'all of the new segment coming up on Sunday. It's called Sundays With Stephie. She has some wonderful ideas and I'm positive you will love her! Now grab those aprons and chef's hats and let's make some pot roast! 

Beef Pot Roast 

Yields 6 Servings 

You will need: 

• 3.5 Lbs Beef Chuck Pot Roast 
• 1 Tbsp Vegetable Oil 
• 2 Tsp Salt 
• 1 Tsp Black Pepper 
• 1 Cup Carrots, Diced 
• 1 Cup Celery, Diced 
• 1 Cup Onion, Diced 
• ¼ Cup Butter 
• 1 Tsp Dried Rosemary 

Ready? 

1. Preheat the oven to 275 degrees Fahrenheit. 
2. Pour vegetable oil into a large oven-safe pot over medium-high heat.  
3. Season the chuck roast with salt and black pepper.  
4. Brown the meat on both sides in the hot oil, and transfer to a plate. 
5. Stir carrots, celery, and onion into the pot, and cook until vegetables start to release their juices, about 3 minutes.  
6. Loosen any brown flavor bits on the bottom of the pot. 
7. Add butter, and cook until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.  
8. Sprinkle in the rosemary, stir the vegetables, and return the roast to the pot.  
9. Cover the pot with a lid. 
10. Roast in the preheated oven until the chuck roast is tender, about 2.5 to 3 hours.  
11. Season vegetables with additional salt and black pepper, if desired. 
12. Enjoy! 

Thanks for joining me in all my pot roast loving glory today! I'll be back soon, more than likely on Friday with a dessert recipe. I've been wanting to do a dessert recipe for some time; I just never get motivated enough to choose one that I enjoy more than another. Anyway, have a great evening and happy blogging to you all!

Szechwan Shrimp and Rice

Good afternoon bloggers! I'm a bit early with today's recipe but I just couldn't help myself. If you have been following this blog from the beginning, I'm sure I've mentioned somewhere just how much I love Chinese food. If you are just joining me for the first time, you will soon come to realize just how much I can't live without this delicious cuisine. Today we will be making something I've never blogged about before. We will be making a spicier dish today that is absolutely pleasing to the palate. We will be making Szechwan shrimp and white rice. Before we begin, let's learn a little bit about what we will be making.

Szechwan cuisine comes from the Sichuan province in China. It's bold and spicy due to it's use of spices, garlic, and peppers. Spicy Sichuan cuisine has been a common cuisine since the middle ages, but matriculated into American cuisine sometime during the early 19th century when more and more Chinese immigrants began relocating to America.

I love sharing little tidbits like that with y'all. Knowledge is power, right? Anyway, let's grab our cooking aprons and I'll meet you in the kitchen!

Szechwan Shrimp

Yields 4 Servings

You will need:

• 4 Tbsp Water
• 2 Tbsp Ketchup
• 1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
• 2 Tsp Cornstarch
• 1 Tsp Honey
• 1/2 Tsp Crushed Red Pepper
• 1/4 Tsp Ground Ginger
• 1 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
• 1/4 Cup Green Onions, Sliced
• 4 Cloves Garlic, Minced
• 12 Ounces Cooked Shrimp, Tails Removed

Ready?

1. In a bowl, stir together water, ketchup, soy sauce, cornstarch, honey, crushed red pepper, and ground ginger. 
2. Set aside.
3. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. 
4. Stir in green onions and garlic; cook 30 seconds. 
5. Stir in shrimp, and toss to coat with oil. Stir in sauce. 
6. Cook and stir until sauce is bubbly and thickened.

Meanwhile....

Steamed White Rice

Yields 6 Servings

You will need:

• 2 Cups Long-Grain White Rice
• 2.5 Cups Water
• 1 Tsp Kosher Salt

1. Rinse rice under cold water until the water runs clear.
2. Place rice and measured water in a sauce pan with a tight-fitting lid.
3. Bring to a boil over high heat.
4. Add salt, stir together, and reduce heat to low.
5. Simmer undisturbed until rice is tender, about 15 minutes.
6. Remove from heat but leave the lid intact for 5 minutes to steam.
7. Fluff with a fork and serve under Szechuan shrimp.
8. Enjoy!

Okay ladies and gentlemen, I will be back sometime later this week with another delicious recipe or two. I have a fun weekly treat for all of you in the works as well. Be prepared for a new segment debuting within the next few weeks. Have a great evening, and happy blogging to you all!

Grilled Cheese Mania!

Welcome bloggers to another exciting edition of The Tasteful Texan. As you can tell my blog underwent some drastic changes to prepare for the Fall season. I was obviously in the mood to start Fall early despite the season not actually starting until later this month. Anyway, today we will be having a grilled cheese fest! I've had the worst kind of craving for grilled cheese lately, so much so that I sent a text to my best friend requesting that we make Ultimate Grilled Cheese Sandwiches the next time I go over. I might have a problem... I don't see it as a problem, but others might especially if they aren't big fans of the toasty, tasty, cheesy delight. 

Again, I digress from the real reason we are here... Grab those aprons and meet me in the kitchen for two amazing grilled cheese recipes!

Bacon, Avocado, and Pear Grilled Cheese

Yields 4 Servings

You will need:

• 8 Slices Sourdough Bread
• 1/4 Cup Butter
• 8 Slices Thick Cut Bacon, Cooked
• 8 Slices Pepperjack Cheese
• 1 Red Onion, Sliced Into Rings
• 1 Avocado, cut into 1/4-Inch Slices

Ready?

1. Lay bread on a work surface and spread butter on one side of each slice.
2. Layer bacon, 1 slice of cheese, onion rings, avocado slices, and another slice of cheese on top of the unbuttered-side of the bread. 
3. Top with the second slice of bread, buttered-side facing up.
4. Cook sandwiches in a skillet over medium heat, flipping once, until both sides are golden brown and cheese has melted, about 3 to 5 minutes per side.
5. Enjoy!

Let's move on to our final delicious grilled cheese recipe. This one is a real kicker!

Dulce de Leche Grilled Cheese

Yields 2 Servings

You will need:

• 1/4 Cup Cream Cheese, Softened
• 1 Tbsp Dulce de Leche (Milk Caramel Spread)
• 1/2 Tsp Ground Cinnamon
• 4 Slices Cinnamon Raisin Bread
• 1 Small Apple, Peeled, Cored, and Sliced

Ready?

1. In a bowl, mix the cream cheese, dulce de leche, and cinnamon until thoroughly combined. 
2. Spread 2 slices of bread with the mixture, half on each slice. 
3. Divide the apple slices in half, and arrange the slices on top of the cream cheese topping. 
4. Top with the remaining bread slices to make 2 sandwiches.
5. Spray a large non-stick skillet with cooking spray, and place over medium heat. 
6. Pan-fry the sandwiches until toasted and golden brown on each side, about 3 minutes per side.
7. Enjoy!

I hope you enjoyed making these sandwiches as much as I've enjoyed sharing them. Have a great evening, and happy blogging to you all!

Italian Calzones

Good evening fellow foodies and bloggers alike! Welcome to another edition of The Tasteful Texan. Tonight I decided on making something that I don't eat very often. Usually, when I do eat this dish, it's loaded with red sauce (marinara) and gives me the worst type of heartburn... Can you say oy vey? Instead, we are taking a different spin with this dish and avoiding red sauce altogether. This dish can be made many different ways. If you aren't a carnivore, you can pile this bad boy up with vegetables and call it a day. If you prefer meat, you can additionally add all the meat you like or enjoy! It's completely versatile. Anyway, I know the suspense is high, so let's get going. Tonight we will be making... 

Calzones 

Yields 8 Servings 

You will need: 

• 1 Package Active Dry Yeast 
• 1 Cup Warm Water 
• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil + 1 Tsp Olive Oil 
• 1 Tsp White Sugar 
• 1 Tsp Salt 
• 2.5 Cups All Purpose Flour, Divided  
• ½ Cup Ricotta Cheese 
• 1.5 Cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese 
• ½ Cup Pepperoni, Diced 
• ½ Cup Fresh Mushrooms, Sliced 
• 1 Tbsp Dried Basil 
• 1 Egg, Beaten 

Ready? 

1. To Make the Dough: In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in water.  
2. Add the oil, sugar and salt; mix in 1 cup of the flour until smooth.  
3. Gradually stir in the rest of the flour, until dough is smooth and workable.  
4. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface for about 5 minutes.  
5. Lay dough in a bowl containing 1 teaspoon olive oil, then flip the dough, cover and let rise for 40 minutes, or until almost doubled. 
6. To Make the Filling: While dough is rising, combine the ricotta cheese, cheddar cheese, pepperoni, mushrooms and basil leaves in a large bowl.  
7. Mix well, cover bowl and refrigerate to chill. 
8. Preheat oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit. 
9. When dough is ready, punch it down and separate it into 2 equal parts.  
10. Roll parts out into thin circles on a lightly floured surface.  
11. Fill each circle with 1/2 of the cheese/meat filling and fold over, securing edges by folding in and pressing with a fork.  
12. Brush the top of each calzone with egg and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet. 
13. Bake for 30 minutes.  
14. Enjoy! 

Thank you for joining me for an extremely delicious meal. In case you were wondering, there is definitely a difference between a calzone and a stromboli. It's the dough! Calzones are circular pizza dough while stromboli is square pizza dough. Th recipes vary as well. Another difference is that stromboli has the marinara sauce inside (something that I'm not a huge fan of), while the calzone has the sauce served over it or on the side. The more you know, right? Anyway, have a great evening and I'll be back later this week with another recipe! Happy blogging!