Going in the oven now... my amazing unstuffed white wine veal roast

Get excited.  This is going to be epic.  See, for some reason its very difficult to get veal roast, so I always get excited when there's one in stock. It's smelling up my whole house now cooking at 325 covered low and slow for 2 hours.

Here's what it looked like before it went in the oven (note all the white wine)

MARINADE IN TWOS

Easiest marinade ever because all you have to remember for the amounts is the number 2:

2 1/2 lbs veal roast
2 t basil, oregano, pepper
2 cloves garlic
1/2 C white wine
1/2 t salt
marinate in a ziploc overnight

then make the stuffing

1. saute 1 giant onion in 1 T olive oil,

2. once translucent, add 1 pkg baby bella/crimini mushrooms, diced
3. add 1/2 C white wine, 3 crushed cloves garlic, salt, pepper and cook med-high till liquid is absorbed
4. food process a few pieces of leftover bread.  Since mine was frozen I broke up the slices .

5. Transfer crumbs into a bowl, add frozen pkg chopped spinich, a few sprigs of thyme, 1/2 C parsley chopped, and add the mushrooms onion mixture.  

PUT IT ALL TOGETHER:

1. put stuffing in 11x14 pan.  leave a spot in the middle for meat to sit.

2. put meat down in center of pan (its okay if the ends are resting on stuffing)

3. pour some white wine over the whole thing (cant go wrong with the white wine esp bc veal is better cooked in lots of liquid)

If I dont gobble it up when it comes out, I will try to take a pic of the finished product for you.

best ever meat manicotti

This dinner was SO delicious and I was shocked that the original recipe I doctored up had  such a funny secret ingredient- APRICOT PRESERVES!!  Love my new super secret weapon!

The other cool thing about this recipe is that you don't cook the manicotti first.  You stuff the shells straight out of their package.  You will need TWO (2) packages for a total of 1 lb / 16 oz of manicotti

TO 1 1/2 lbs of ground chuck add:

1 onion- crushed in a food processor

2 eggs

1/3 C seasoned bread crumbs

2 T ketchup 

1 T apricot preserves

salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder to taste (a few shakes of each)

1. mix all ingredients in a bowl then add meat LAST

2. combine until just mixed- do not overmix!

3. Gently stuff the raw manicotti, I wear gloves to do this.  really stuff them well.  I promise there will be enough meat.

4. place in a large baking pan

FOR THE SAUCE:

2 C marinara sauce

3/4 C water (DO NOT OMIT THIS! NEEDED TO COOK PASTA)

1 6oz can tomato paste

3 heaping tablespoons apricot preserves

2 t lemon juice (2 squirts)

1 1/2 t garlic powder

combine in a small bowl and then pour atop the manicotti.

bake covered 350 for 1 1/2 hours.  If your significant other or whoever shares this with you is coming home late add some more water and keep it in the oven at 200 till they get home.  Yeah Ali, it is in the oven now on low... story of my day...

Guest Blogger Rebecca A.

Hey Mollie and Ali,

Inspired by your recent slew of roasted veggie posts, I attempted one of my own. I made Carrot French Fries for Shabbat dinner - they were pretty good! My guests thought they were sweet potatoes or butternut squash...I kind of like that I fooled them. Anyway...

1. Take a bag of carrots and cut them into thin sticks (1 carrot yields about 8 sticks)

2. Toss them in a bowl or big ziploc with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and maybe one of sesame oil too.

3. Add 1/2 tablespoon of paprika, cinnamon, sea salt, garlic powder, and [hot mexican style] chili powder.

4. Lay them flat on a cookie sheet and roast them in a preheated 425° oven for 18-24 minutes until they look brown and crispy.

5. They taste best served right out of the oven. 

6. Enjoy :)

(I ran out of time, or I would have let mine turn a little browner, as recommended!)


Some flowers for the weekend never hurt either....thanks for letting me guest post, happy weekend :)

Stuffed Zucchini

Hey Ali-

I know you love your stuffed zucchini but you must try mine!!

I doubled the recipe because I made them for a dinner party my parents are having tonight.  You have to see how many I made

6 zucchini

2 sweet onions, finely diced

2 T olive oil

8 oz white mushrooms, finely diced

1 10oz package frozen chopped spinich, defrosted and strained

4 cloves garlic, crushed

2 eggs

2-3 heaping T flour (enough to thicken the liquid sauteing will produce)

1 heaping T both onion soup consumme and mushroom soup consumme

salt and pepper to taste and paprika to beautify

1. boil zucchini in a pot of salted water for 7 minutes

2. slice zucchinis and scoop out flesh 

3. saute onions with salt and pepper in olive oil till softened

4. add other vegis and saute for 10 minutes

5. add flour and consumes then take off stove and add eggs

6. sprinkle paprika on top and cook at 350 for 25 minutes or till browned on top

lemon-dill roasted cauliflower

1 small head of cauliflower 

1-1/2 T chopped fresh dill

1 T lemon juice
1-1/2 t dijon mustard

3 cloves garlic

2 T olive oil

salt and pepper, to taste.  I know, I know I forgot them in the picture but duhh there is always salt and pepper.  

1. cut up cauliflower and place in a single layer in an ovenproof dish

2. make sauce and pour on cauliflower

3. marinate till ready to cook

4. cook covered at 400 for 45 minutes

sweet soy sauce chicken with broccoli and brown rice

sweet soy sauce chicken with broccoli and brown rice

1 chicken cut in 8ths

3/4 C honey

1/4 C soy sauce

1/4 C olive oil

1 T garlic powder (no thats not a typo an entire tablespoon of garlic powder)

1 t black pepper

1 head broccoli

1 small box of brown rice

2 bay leaves

1. whisk the sauce and marinate it in the chicken till ready to cook

2. cook at 325 covered for 2 hours

3. meanwhile, boil broccoli for 2-3 minutes in well-salted water

4. meanwhile, make the brown rice in well salted water with 2 bay leaves (bay leaves are my secret ingredient to making rice delicious.  try it!)

Mollie,

Check out my roasted fennel! Lovely licorice taste paired with smoky notes of turmeric, tropical pepper, salt and smoked paprika. Fab and quick side dish.

Cookies n' Cream Cake Balls

Make. These. Now.

1. Bake or buy your favorite vanilla cake.

2. Once cooled, put into a bowl (you heard me right) add a tub of vanilla frosting and a few crushed oreos

3. Use a cookie scoop to make even cake balls and put on parchment lined cookie sheet.

4. Freeze balls (you have a one track mind!)

5. in a double broiler melt white chocolate or "melt-aways" (thin chocolate coins- I used white for these but they come in all colors) with a few tablespoons of oil then coat the balls.

6. sprinkle crushed oreos on top and freeze again to set.