Roast Beef Dinner with Sourdough

Italian Beef Pot Roast (Crock Pot)  So easy, so good.

1 - Chuck Roast (*wait until they're on sale)

1 pkg. Brown Gravy Mix (dry)

1 pkg. Ranch Dressing Mix (dry)

1 pkg. Italian Dressing Mix (dry)

Open and mix all the packages of dry mixes. Put chuck roast into the crock pot (no need to sear or brown), sprinkle all the dry mix on top, pour 1/2 c. water around edges, cover and cook on low for 8 - 12 hours (or high for 4 - 6 hours). 

Charlie loves this salad

Ingredients

1 (10 to 12-ounce) package baby spinach, washed and dried Used mixed greens

1/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted   Used pecan pieces

1 pint strawberries, hulled and quartered

1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and finely diced

Dressing:

1/2 lemon, juiced

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar  Used pineapple balsamic vinegar

1/3 cup sugar

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 teaspoon poppy seeds

Directions

In a large salad bowl, add the spinach, almonds, strawberries, and cucumber and toss together.

For the dressing:

In a small glass bowl or jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine the lemon juice, vinegar, sugar, oil, and poppy seeds. Whisk together in the glass bowl or shake if using a jar.

Dress the salad right before serving.

Recipe courtesy Paula Deen

Carrots peeled and put in water to cover with about 3 or 4 Tbls. honey for a few hours then boiled for about 10 minutes.

Peas nuked from frozen

Mashed Potatoes

about 10 red new potatoes, peeled, boiled then mashed with butter, milk, salt and pepper and sour cream. About 2 T. butter 4 T. sour cream and 1/4 C. milk.

Gravy

Pan juices with butter, flour and water to make about 1 1/2 C. plus additional Better than Beef to taste.

This is the recipe I started with but used less flour and didn't use cornmeal

SOURDOUGH BREAD WITH YEAST

1 1/2 CUPS LUKEWARM WATER

5 1/2 TO 6 1/2 CUPS ALL PURPOSE FLOUR

1 TABLESPOON SUGAR

1 TABLESPOON SALT

1 TABLESPOON ACTIVE DRY YEAST

1 TABLESPOON VEGETABLE OIL

1 CUP SOURDOUGH STARTER

CORNMEAL TO SPRINKLE ON PANS

Making the Sponge:  In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the sugar and yeast in the warm water.  Let this sit for 10 minutes or so until bubbly.  Add the starter and stir.  Gradually add 3 cups of flour, stirring until well mixed and smooth. 

Cover this sponge and set aside in a warm, draft free place for 4 to 5 hours.

Making the Dough: Stir down the sponge. Stir in 1 cup of flour, the salt and oil.  Gradually add flour until the dough no longer sticks to the side of the bowl.

Turn out the dough out onto a lightly floured board and knead for 3 to 4 minutes. let the dough rest while  you clean and grease your bowl.  Continue kneading another 3 or 4 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic.  Add only enough flour to the board to keep the flour from sticking.  Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled in bulk, 1 to 2 hours.

Shaping and Baking:  Knock the dough down and shape it into two long French or Italian style loaves.  Place them on a cornmeal-sprinkled baking sheet and let them rise for another 1 to 1/2 hours.  

Toward the end of the rising period, place a baking pan on the oven bottom (or the lowest rack) and preheat your oven to 450 degrees F. 

Just before baking, slash the tops diagonally every couple of inches, about 1/4 inch deep, and brush with cold water.

Pour 2 or 3 cups of water into the pan, put the loaves on the rack above the steaming water and bake for about 25 minutes.

The crust will be very hard when you remove the bread, but in 5 minutes it will be soft and chewy.  To make the crust crisp and chewy, turn off the oven and leave the bread inside for an additional 5 minutes.