My own pot roast

This is my first attempt at making a pot roast of my own. Usually this is Aaron's thing. But since he was sleeping after a night shift I thought I'd take a stab at it. I think I did well

2 Tbsp olive oil
4 lb pork shoulder roast (you can use less, that's just the size I had)
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 medium onion, cut into chunks
1/2 lb baby carrots
2 stalks celery, cut into chunks
3 medium potatoes, (skins on) cut into chunks
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 bay leaves
fresh Parsley, finely chopped
fresh Basil, finely chopped
fresh Oregano, finely chopped
(I didn't really measure the fresh herbs, but I think it was about 1 tsp each.)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Heat the oil in a large skillet. Sear the roast on all sides. Place in slow cooker. Add remaining ingredients. Cook on low 6-8 hours. I cooked it on low for 3 hours, and then after seeing the rawness of it. Cut the roast into about 6 chunks and cooked it on high for the last hour. It was done. If I could go back I would have liked to add more fresh herbs and used tomatoes instead of tomato sauce. I was worried I wouldn't have enough liquid, but the liquid came as everything cooked.

Angel Hair Pasta with Shrimp and Basil

Aaron made this for dinner on Sunday. He omitted the wine, and halved the recipe for the same amount of noodles. We didn't have Italian style tomatoes, so he added some Italian seasoning to the tomatoes and about 1/2 tsp salt. Again, no Angel hair, but a little fettuccine and spaghetti. We topped it with Parmesan cheese, but I forgot to do it before the photo. Hey at least I remembered to take one! I love digital cameras. Both David and Timothy wanted me to take one of their food. And I did, then deleted them. They didn't turn out very well.

Angel Hair Pasta with Shrimp and Basil

• 1/4 cup olive oil, divided
• 1 (8 ounce) package angel hair pasta
• 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
• 1 pound large shrimp - peeled and deveined
• 2 (28 ounce) cans Italian-style diced tomatoes, drained
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• 3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and add 1 tablespoon oil. Cook pasta in boiling water until al dente. Place pasta in a colander, and give it a quick rinse with cold water.
2. Heat remaining olive oil in a 10 inch skillet over medium heat. Cook garlic, stirring constantly, until the garlic is tender, about 1 minute. Do not let the garlic burn. Add shrimp, and cook for 3 to 5 minutes. Remove shrimp from the skillet, and set aside.
3. Stir tomatoes, wine, parsley, and basil into the skillet. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until liquid is reduced by half, 8 to 12 minutes. Add shrimp, and continue cooking until the shrimp are heated through, about 2 to 3 minutes. Serve the shrimp mixture over the pasta. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies

David wanted to make some cookies, and these definitely get me in the Halloween/Fall mood. the only change is to omit the nuts and substitute half of the all purpose flour for whole wheat flour. With the pumpkin you can barely tell! Oh, and I put a little more nutmeg in - 1/4 tsp.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies

• 1 cup shortening
• 2 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 pinch ground nutmeg
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the shortening and white sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Stir in the vanilla and pumpkin until well blended. Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg; stir into the pumpkin mixture. Mix in the chocolate chips. Stir in the walnuts if desired. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until edges begin to brown. Allow to cool for a few minutes on the baking sheets before removing to wire racks to cool completely

Original Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies

I made these with the boys last week, and never posted the recipe. I took it straight off the bag. But I got the copy from their website I omitted the nuts since I didn't have any. Otherwise followed it precisely. Although I usually add a little more flour.
Of course they only look like this if you add some chocolate chips on top of the dough after you put them on the cookie sheet and then put them in the oven!

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
• 1 cup chopped nuts

Directions:
PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

PAN COOKIE VARIATION: Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan. Prepare dough as above. Spread into prepared pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pan on wire rack. Makes 4 dozen bars.

SLICE AND BAKE COOKIE VARIATION:
PREPARE dough as above. Divide in half; wrap in waxed paper. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm. Shape each half into 15-inch log; wrap in waxed paper. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.* Preheat oven to 375° F. Cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices; place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

* May be stored in refrigerator for up to 1 week or in freezer for up to 8 weeks.

FOR HIGH ALTITUDE BAKING (5,200 feet): Increase flour to 2 1/2 cups. Add 2 teaspoons water with flour and reduce both granulated sugar and brown sugar to 2/3 cup each. Bake drop cookies for 8 to 10 minutes and pan cookie for 17 to 19 minutes.

Angel Hair Pasta Chicken

I thought I had posted this one already, but I guess not. I made this one very similar to that recipe except used one very large chicken breast and Fettuccine, because I didn't have angel hair pasta. I also used fresh broccoli which I cooked with the carrots. I also don't think it really needs much chicken broth, or that much oil. But it's a great light meal.
angel hair pasta chicken

• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cubed
• 12 ounces angel hair pasta
• 1 carrot, sliced diagonally into 1/4 inch thick slices
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen broccoli florets, thawed
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2/3 cup chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add chicken and saute for 5 to 7 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through (no longer pink). Remove from skillet and drain on paper towels.
2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 2 to 4 minutes, or until al dente; drain and set aside.
3. While pasta is cooking, heat 2nd tablespoon oil over medium heat in same skillet used for chicken. Stir fry carrots for about 4 minutes, then add broccoli and garlic and stir fry for another 2 minutes. Finally, stir in broth, basil and cheese and return chicken to skillet. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 4 minutes.
4. Place drained pasta in a large serving bowl. Top with chicken/vegetable mixture and serve immediately.

Meatballs

I used my regular spaghetti sauce minus the sausage. Aaron made the meatballs. He added a few more spices (oregano and basil) and some milk. they turned out to be a little like meatloaf. But still tasted good. I'm still looking for something more like the ones from Costco.

Italian Spaghetti Sauce with Meatballs

• 
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 cup fresh bread crumbs
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 egg, beaten

1. In a large bowl, combine ground beef, bread crumbs, parsley, Parmesan, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, garlic powder and beaten egg. Mix well and form into 12 balls. Store, covered, in refrigerator until needed.
2. Brown in frying pan. Keep warm until sauce is ready.
3. Prepare spaghetti sauce and add meatballs before covering and simmer 30 minutes more. Remove lid and simmer for 10 minutes or until desired thickness.
   

Garlic Chicken with Orzo Noodles

This was quick and delicious. I added about 1/4 c. onion, chopped and about 4 button mushrooms sliced, and my cloves of garlic were fairly large. I actually used crushed red pepper from a packet that I got with a pizza. It gave it the right amount of kick. Any more and it would have been too spicy for the kids. And they didn't even notice they were eating spinach!
Garlic Chicken with Orzo Noodles

• 1 cup uncooked orzo pasta
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into bite-size pieces
• salt to taste
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• 2 cups fresh spinach leaves
• grated Parmesan cheese for topping

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add orzo pasta, cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until al dente, and drain.
2. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat, and cook the garlic and red pepper 1 minute, until garlic is golden brown. Stir in chicken, season with salt, and cook 2 to 5 minutes, until lightly browned and juices run clear. Reduce heat to medium, and mix in the parsley and cooked orzo. Place spinach in the skillet. Continue cooking 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until spinach is wilted. Serve topped with Parmesan cheese.