The secret to doing it all…and making a super nutritious pot roast
February 27th, 2012
This past week I received an email from a woman asking for my secret to doing it all. She said I must have a team. Hmmm. Actually, I do – let me introduce you to Team Funnyhouse (as we are known by our friends in Boston who, early on, gave up on spelling Pfennighaus).
Team Funnyhouse
- Me
- Danny, who keeps me motivated to get stuff done before his nap ends.
- My husband, who helps me get out of the house without Danny a few times a week.
- A twice-monthly housecleaner, who is worth every penny.
- 2 cats, who demonstrate the fine art of doing nothing.
- My slow cooker
Maybe I should get us all matching t-shirts. Especially the slow cooker. Cute.
Really, my 2 big secrets to doing it all is prioritizing and list making. Constant and always shifting priorities in a running list. This way, when the opportunity arises, I know exactly what I’m going to do with those 4 minutes. Or 2.5 hours. (Danny took 1 really long, amazing nap last week.)
The 3rd secret is saying no. No, I am never going to garden. Nope, not going to get the car bumper fixed. Never going to be a big hallmark card sender. Oh well. I don’t wash my jewelry or makeup brushes like I should. I decline evites more often than not. And I’m never, ever going to clean the toilet – hence the housecleaner.
But cook dinner? Oh yes. That’s right up there on my priority list.
You know that.
My slow cooker is SUCH an amazing team player when it comes to dinner. It’s a huge part of my no-fuss style in the kitchen. So it’s getting MVP this week, for this recipe:
Super Nutritious Pot Roast
The quality of the meat you use has a big impact on the nutritional value of this meal. Grass fed beef from local, happy, health cows is what I recommend. What makes this recipe extra nutritious is the addition of kale and kombu. To save time, chop all ingredients the day before and store in the refrigerator until you are ready to use them.
3-4 lb. chuck roast
3 cloves garlic
small handful parsley
8 sage leaves
2 Tbl. olive oil
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 postage stamp-sized piece of kombu
6 oz. sliced mushrooms
2 cups thinly sliced kale
2 Tbl. tomato paste
2 cups red wine
2 cups beef stock
28 oz. can crushed tomatoesMake 5-10 deep slits into beef. Mix garlic, parsley and sage and stuff into the slits. Then dredge beef in flour. Heat oil in a large skillet, brown beef on all sides.
To your slow cooker, add all other ingredients. Place beef on top. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.
Remove beef and blend the liquid (an immersion blender works nicely) to make a gravy for mashed potatoes or similar.
