Harvest pot roast, gone wild

Coastal living in Texas means lots of seafood.  It is a mainstay for us during the summer, and I love experimenting with different recipes.  We tend to give it a Yucatan flair for the most part, but a big pot of peel 'em and eat 'em shrimp is always a welcome meal. Except in the eyes of my 14yo. He does not like seafood.  I think someone switched him in his bassinet at birth, because he is the only one of my 4 children who has seafood avoidance issues.  He also does not like going to the beach.....which is where we live.  Ahem. Add to that that both his father and I are avid surfers and, well, I rest my case. ;*) 

Surfing father.

The heat has been brutal here, soaring into the upper 90's up to 104F. That makes it tough to want to cook.  I would rather every night be cereal night when we are all melting like that.  Thankfully, the last few days we have been greeted with mornings in the 60's!  When that happens, I switch gears.  School has started, mornings are cool, and it is time for some Fall cooking!  We will ignore the fact that it is in the 90's again by 3pm.  Bring on the stews, soups and roasts!!

I love using my crock pot.  Load it up and I can head out and go surfing guilt free.  Dinner is cooking itself while mom has some fun.  Yesterday I put a large shoulder roast into my crock pot. I mixed together 2 cups of red wine (I used Fall Creek Vineyards Caberbet Sauvignon.....I also took a tiny sip. Shhhh. I'm Italian and it was 5 o'clock somewhere), 1/2 cup water, 1 package Lipton Onion Soup mix, 1 tsp fresh rosemary, and a couple of unusual spices. It may sound weird, but trust me. They MAKE this roast. Drum roll.....1/8tsp each cloves and allspice.  Mixed with the red wine it is superb. Pour this over your roast.

Now, I am feeding 6 people.  This includes 2 teenagers, so adjust your amounts as needed on the following:

1-2 peeled and cubed sweet potatoes
1 peeled and cubed acorn squash (make these cubes large so they don't get mushy)
3/4 of a yellow onion, sliced
1 cup sliced raw mushrooms

Put all veggies on top and put the cover on your crock pot.  I set mine to high for 4-5 hours, or on low of 8-9. 

Yummy!!!  Now go surfing!  Or swim. Shop. Do the laundry. Whatever floats your boat.  I tend to shirk my duties and load my board in the car and head to some surf.  My husband surfs obsessively too, so I have his approval. :*)

When you come home, the veggies will not be as bright and pretty.  They soak up the dark color of the red wine. Baste them in the juices, then cover it back up and start dessert.  For that night I made some brownies so the kids could make brownie sundaes.  Yum! I did not make these from scratch.  I used Duncan Hines Chewy Fudge brownie mix.  I followed the low fat substitution recipe and used only 1 egg, 2 Tb of water and 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce.  They turned out moist and delicious. 

Wine for the grownups was Fall Creek Cabernet to compliment the roast, that turned out tender and wonderful!  The allspice and cloves gave the veggies an AMAZING flavor!

The veggies are bland looking due to the red wine, but they were seriously the best part of the meal....for me.  The kids devoured the roast.  There were ZERO left overs.

Onward to dessert!! I made some fresh, homemade whipped cream.  So easy, and nothing else will do in our house.  It is just too simple to pass up.  I pint whipping cream, 3 Tbs of turbinado sugar, 1tsp vanilla.  Whip the cream and as it thickens, gradually add in the sugar and vanilla. Continue to beat until the desired thickness, but not too long or it will clump. 

Put a brownie on a plate, top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, drizzle carmel topping over it and then top with whip cream and a cherry!

Yum!  Small, adorable, girl-child not included.  You will see much more of her.  She is always next to the dessert.

See?