Day 5 in Sickville quarantine and I’m tired of crackers, water and grapefruit juice.  You’d think I would have lost 10 pounds by now, but my winter stores have fared me a little too well.  Joel is about over this flu and being the good wife that I am, I figured I would throw down a nice home cooked meal for him.

Heck, I’ve got the time; today is a holiday for my office (but not his) so I could start nice and early.  About as early as the kids’ nap time (remember, these two little peanuts are as sick as we are) which was about my only free time today.  A great “set it & forget it” recipe for a cold day is a hearty, flavorful pot roast.

Prep for this pot roast is super easy.  Active cook time is under 10 minutes.  Slow roast time is where this baby takes up the afternoon.  But all you have to do here is set a timer and go back to play and snuggle with the kids.  Joel will think I labored over this to create the depth of flavor this dish packs, but that’s part of my secret: layers of flavor cooked onto each other.  Every step in this is an added layer of flavor that will taste like it took hours of work.

Gather your fixings.  A beef chuck roast, salt, pepper, rosemary, thyme, onion (quartered), carrots (peeled and cut into 2 inch chunks), garlic (rough chopped), broth, wine & olive oil.

Heat the oil in a cast iron Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  When the oil starts to lightly smoke, it’s hot and ready.  Add the onions and carrots and cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes, until browned, but not burned.  Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more.

Remove the veggies to a plate.

Generously season one side of the roast with kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper.  Add to the hot pot, seasoned side down.  While that side is searing, about 1-2 minutes, season the naked side with salt and pepper.  Flip the meat to sear the opposite side for another 1-2 minutes.

Remove to a plate.

De-glaze the pot with 1 cup of red wine (thanks, Justin!  This Tempranillo was last year’s birthday gift.  We cracked this bottle open earlier this month and I knew it was flavorful enough to hold its own in this dish), stirring with a whisk. The super hot pot will bubble, steam up and hiss at you.  Power through, don’t let this scare you.  Scrape up the browned bits and cook for 1-2 minutes to burn off the alcohol.

Put the meat back in the pot and add enough beef broth to cover up ¾ of the meat.

Add the veggies and the herbs.  Cover and roast in the oven for 3 hours.

Good timing; Drew is up from his nap and ready to play!  The ibuprofen has his fever holding at 100, but he’s in good spirits.

Next free chance I get, it’s time to peel and cook the potatoes.  I just need to peel myself away from my darling sickie-poo here.

For just the 4 of us, I use the hand masher and add butter and milk to the hot pot after draining.

Here’s my secret to getting the pot roast fork tender: after the first 3 hours of roasting, remove from the oven, take the meat out of the pot, rough chop into large chunks and return to the pot and roast in the oven for about another hour.

Ding! Even better timing, I only had to steal away from the boys for about 20 minutes to get the potatoes going, and Joel got home right as I was pulling the pot roast from the oven.  Our first real meal since getting sick as a family this weekend and it really hit home.  Delish!

Best Pot Roast Recipe

• One 3-5lb chuck roast
• Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper
• 1 large yellow onion, quartered
• 6-8 carrots, peeled & cut into 2-inch chunks
• 3-4 cloves garlic, rough chopped
• 1 cup red wine (good enough to drink)
• 2-3 cups beef broth, low sodium
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees.

Heat the oil in a cast iron Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  When the oil starts to lightly smoke, it’s hot and ready.  Add the onions and carrots and cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes, until browned, but not burned.  Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more.  Remove the veggies to a plate.

Generously season one side of the roast with kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper.  Add to the hot pot, seasoned side down.  While that side is searing, about 1-2 minutes, season the naked side with salt and pepper.  Flip the meat to sear the opposite side for another 1-2 minutes.  Remove to a plate.

De-glaze the pot with 1 cup of red wine, stirring with a whisk.  The super hot pot will bubble, steam up and hiss at you.  Power through, don’t let this scare you.  Scrape up the browned bits and cook for 1-2 minutes to burn off the alcohol.

Put the meat back in the pot and add enough beef broth to cover up ¾ of the meat.

Add the veggies and the herbs.  Cover and roast in the oven for 3-5 hours (3 hrs for 3 pounder, up to 5 hours for the 5 pounder).  Remove the meat, rough chop into chunks and return to the pot and oven for another hour.  Remove from the oven and serve with stovetop mashed potatoes.

Prep time: 10-15 minutes

Cook time: 4 hours

Makes: 4-6 servings

Stove Top Mashed Potatoes Recipe

• 4-6 Yukon gold or russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
• ¼ cup of butter or margarine
• ½ -1 cup milk
• ½-1 teaspoon salt & pepper, to taste

Peel and quarter potatoes, add to salted, cold water in a saucepan.  Cook over medium-high heat, covered, at a full boil for about 20 minutes.  Once the spuds are fork tender, drain and return to the pot.  Let the residual heat dry them out.

Add the butter, milk, salt and pepper and smash together to as smooth as you like your potatoes.  Personally, I like them a little lumpy so I know they’re not boxed.

Cook time: 30 minutes

Makes: 4-6 servings

Strep has been ruled out, but the flu was not.  Drew was kicked out of school with a nasty virus on Thursday morning (running a temp of 102), by late evening Joel had come down with it, and by mid-day Friday, I started to feel it coming on.  Up until 6pm Sunday, Aiden was the last healthy Wood standing…throw that out the window.

We are all miserably sick and un-antibiotic-able.  Our sore throats are keeping us from being able to eat much, the amount of snot produced in this house this weekend alone could fill a swimming pool (ewww, gross!),  and all I want is my mom.  I don’t crave the traditional chicken noodle soup, but put a bowl of her hot steaming rice soup, or traditional Chinese chicken congee (chicken soup with rice, fried garlic chips, scallions and lime juice) in front of me and I’m in sickie heaven.

She also makes this hot, yes, I said HOT grapefruit juice that soothes my throat, hydrates me and makes me feel full when I can’t get a meal down.  We’re talking serious fiber, vitamin C and potassium all in one.  Mom’s concoction, Dad’s muscle; I told you – they are my dynamic duo.

Lucky me; 5lb bags were on sale this weekend.

Double lucky me; they are Texas Sweets.  Taking it from my sister-in-law, Amanda, there is nothing sweeter & juicier than Texas pink grapefruits in season.

Find your juicer.  I’m old school.  This manual juicer has been in the Chan household for 10 or 15 years (yep, snaked it from Mom & Dad for authenticity).  An electric juicer works just as well.

Let the kids play around with ‘em.  I tell them to roll them around, go bowling, play catch.  This helps soften them up and let the juices flow.

(Please disregard any drool or buggers here, these kids were seriously sick this weekend!)

And don’t judge my child labor tactics – I am super sick here, and reserving my strength for juicing by hand!  Maybe it’s the extra elbow grease’s worth of love that makes this so soothing…

This deliciousness is just fine straight up, but then it’s not quite Mom & Dad’s remedy.

Once your grapefruits are juiced, turn your tap water on hot; get your sugar bowl and a spoon.

Pour the juice into a cup, remove any seeds that made it through the sieve, add hot water, top with sugar and stir.

Serve through a stainless steel straw for easier consumption if your throat is really tore up (not sure why this helps, but it does).

Hot Grapefruit Juice Recipe: Cold Remedy

• 2-3 pink grapefruits, sliced in half for juicing
• ¾-1 cup hot water, depends on how strong you like the grapefruit flavor
• 1-2 teaspoon sugar 1 teaspoon of local, raw, honey
• Optional: 2-3 drops Grapefruit or Citrus Fresh essential oil (can be add to a little sprinkle of Himalayan pink sea salt for even disbursement)

Remove the large, visible seeds from the grapefruits.  Juice using a manual citrus juicer or electric citrus juicer.  Remove the smaller seeds that made it through the sieve.

Sprinkle a little sea salt into the bottom of your glass and add essential oils, if using. Pour juice into a glass or stainless steel cup or mug, add warm water & sugar honey. The amount of water & sugar honey will depend on your preference (do you like the strong grapefruit flavor, were your grapefruits potent and juicy, were they super sweet or mildly sweet?).  Stir and serve warm.

Prep time: 10 minutes

Makes: 24-ish ounces

** 12/2017 edits**

Since we’re all smarter and wiser now to what sugar does to your body, especially when sick, I’ve updated the recipe to omit the sugar (sorry mom!) and replace with local, raw, honey.  Also included an option for Grapefruit or Citrus Fresh essential oil which may help boost immunity, detox and energize!

We do eat vegetables in this family, really, we do!  And lately, I’ve been craving a particularly super cute, super little green veg that packs a combo punch of vitamins C & K AND is loaded with fiber…can you name it?

Oh!  You’ll never guess.  It’s not your common table green and it has gotten a bad rap all these years because it’s kind of a stinky little fella when steamed or boiled.  OH!  I’ll just tell you, the suspense is killing me.  It’s these adorable little Brussels sprouts!  Plural because you can’t cook or eat just one.  These must be served in multiples.

…what?  The title of my post gave it away, huh?  Don’t be shy, step right up and try this easy roasted Brussels sprout side dish at your next family gathering.  You won’t think of Brussels sprouts the same after this quick, easy recipe makes its way to your table.  You might even find yourself dreaming about them.  I do.

Rinse and dry these little beauties, trimming away any brown ends and removing any yellowish outer leaves.

Halve the larger ones for size consistency…or heck, halve them all.  I love to see the dark green outer leaves against the bright green and yellow gorgeousness of the inner leaves.  This will allow the entire little popper to cook up nice and tender.

Toss them in a bowl with olive oil, kosher or sea salt and fresh cracked pepper and pour them onto a rimmed baking dish.  Roast for 20-25 minutes, stirring every 5-8 minutes to allow all sides to brown up evenly.

Remove from oven, turn out onto a serving platter and sprinkle with a touch more salt.  Serve warm, as is, or top with fresh grated parmesan cheese.

I had to fight every urge to not add bacon to these so I could keep this a vegetarian recipe.  If you can’t fight the feeling, feel free to add 4 slices of cooked, crumbled bacon to the top before serving.

Best Roasted Brussels Sprouts Recipe

• 1 pound Brussels sprouts, trimmed & rinsed
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• ¾ teaspoon kosher or sea salt, plus some for sprinkling
• ½ teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
• Optional: fresh grated Parmesan cheese or 2-4 slices cooked bacon, crumbled for topping

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Wash and trim Brussels sprouts, removing any brown ends and yellowish outer leaves.

Halve the larger sprouts and place in a mixing bowl.  Add olive oil, salt and pepper.  Stir to combine.  Pour out onto a rimmed baking sheet.

Roast in the oven for 20-25 minutes, stirring every 5-8 minutes to allow all sides to brown up evenly and the sprouts to get tender.  Remove from oven and turn out onto serving platter.  Sprinkle with a little extra salt and serve warm.

Add Parmesan cheese or bacon if desired.

Cook time: 25-30 minutes

Makes: 4 servings

Heading to a playoff game party and need a quick & easy appetizer to share?  This easy, cheesy, corn cup recipe is a major crowd pleaser at our house; it flies off the serving tray faster than I can get them plated and off of the baking sheets!

We’ve been forced to make a milder version of this Rachel Ray adaptation because of the kiddos, but this easy recipe is so versatile that there are quite a few variations you can try.

Cheesy Corn Cups Recipe

• 2 (8 oz) blocks of low-fat cream cheese, at room temp
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup medium cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 cup Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels
• 1 bag Tostitos Scoops tortilla chips
• Chives or cilantro, chopped (for garnish)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl, mix the cream cheese & eggs together and blend until smooth.  Add the shredded cheeses and corn and stir together.

Place scoops on a rimmed baking sheet, removing broken cups as they won’t hold the filling well.  Get as many as you can on 1 sheet (this will minimize the need to bake in batches).

Using a small cookie scoop, fill each cup with about 1 teaspoon of filling.  Alternatively, you can put the cheesy corn mixture in a large storage bag and cut about an inch off the bottom corner to make a homemade pastry bag.  Don’t be shy; fill these cups all the way up to their tops.  Bake for about 20 minutes to allow the filling to set.

Serve warm, topped with chives or cilantro as a garnish.

Variations:

• Swap cheeses for shredded pepper jack
• Add 7 oz can of fire roasted green chiles (drained).
• Serve topped with fresh salsa, or place a bowl in the center of your serving tray for dipping.
• Garnish each cup with a thinly sliced fresh jalapeno round, or sprinkle with a finely diced jalapenos & cilantro mixture (omit chives).

Cook time: about 25-30 minutes

Makes: about 50 cups

Be brave!  Let your imagination and your taste buds be your guide.  Make multiple batches with different flavor combinations for variety.  Enjoy!

Go Broncos!  Go Tebow!

I still believe.

xoxo,

~pw