A PERFECT LABOR DAY MEAL!

This is a recipe from Rachel Ray that I modified.  You can watch her prepare it online.  I like to chop my onions really thin and I use less sugar.  I often use fresh blueberries (sometimes pre-frozen).  I like my blueberry compote to be really thick so I simmer it for a long time. I zest the lemon with a peeler to get more of it off and I use it in the Couscous and on top of the Compote.  I also like to serve this meal with a side of Green Beans.

Coucous

This recipe was sent in from Daisy who had FIVE extra pounds of tomatoes from her Garden along with massive amounts of Herbs so she invented her own Home Made Italian Pasta Sauce!  It was delicious and we ate a great pasta meal during the Broncos game.

Ingredients

• 5 pounds of fresh Garden Tomatoes (cut up in chunks or puree)

• ¼ cup garlic infused Olive Oil (with Italian spices)

• 1/8 white onion, diced

• 1/4 red onion, diced

• ¼ of Garden Jalepeno, diced

• 3 big cloves of fresh elephant Garlic, finely minced

• 1 carrot (1/2 should be grated and added to saute, the other half should be added at the end of cooking and then removed)

• ⅓ cup fresh basil leaves, finely chopped

• 1 sprig of fresh thyme leaves (or ½ tsp dried)

• 1 sprig of fresh oregano (or 1 teaspoon dried oregano)

• 2 sprigs of parsley (or 1 tsp dried) {if using sprigs then remove when done}

• 2 bay leaves (remove when done)

• 1 teaspoon sea salt

• 1 tablespoon honey (or more to taste)

Instructions

1. Pour the garlic infused olive oil into a large frying pan over medium heat.

2. Add diced onions, garlic, Jalepeno and grated carrots.

3. Saute for 6-8 minutes or until onions are translucent and tender.

4. Add tomatoes, chopped basil leaves, oregano, thyme, bay leaves, parsley, sea salt and honey (optional – add honey in the end).

5. Simmer on low heat for 2-3 hours or until cooked down and starting to darken.

6. Add carrot piece for the last 30 minutes to absorb acidity. Add more honey if too spicey.

7. Remove sprigs of herbs, bay leaves and piece of carrot.

8. Use fresh or store in the fridge up to 1 week (freeze leftovers or can)

Although the marinade helps tenderize this large cut of meat, you should also make sure to slice it very thinly against the grain on a slight bias. We found that a serrated knife works best.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup cola

• 1/4 cup red-wine vinegar

• 1/2 small white onion, grated

• 1 1/2 tablespoons garlic, chopped (from 3 garlic cloves)

• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

• 1/4 cup safflower oil, plus more for grill

• 1 London broil (5 to 6 pounds; 2 1/2 inches thick)

DIRECTIONS

STEP 1

Combine cola, vinegar, onion, garlic, 1 teaspoon pepper, and the oil in a bowl. Place steak in a large resealable plastic bag, and pour marinade over steak. Seal bag, pressing out excess air. Refrigerate at least 8 hours.

STEP 2

Let steak (in bag) stand at room temperature 1 hour. Remove steak from marinade, and discard marinade. Brush off any remaining onion and garlic from steak to prevent burning, and season with 1 tablespoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper.

STEP 3

Meanwhile, preheat grill to medium-high, and brush grates with oil. Grill steak until internal temperature reaches 115 degrees for medium-rare (residual heat will continue to cook meat), 10 to 11 minutes per side. Transfer steak to a cutting board, and let rest, tented with foil, at least 15 minutes and up to 1 hour. Very thinly slice steak against the grain, and serve warm or at room temperature.

Sharon’s Roast

With a few added touches I followed this recipe to the letter. My extras are in bold
print. (Original recipe from cooks.com)

I put the meat (partially wrapped in tin foil) in my cast iron cooker and added a
half cup of water in the bottom of the cast iron pot, added the other
ingredients, covered the meat with some sliced up garlic, pulled the foil up
around the roast as much as possible, covered the pot and it it go. One hour
before it was done I added cut up potatoes, you can do carrots too. It
was so tender and juicy – and oh so easy – yummm.

CHUCK ROAST WINNER DINNER
3 lbs. chuck roast (about 2 inches thick)
2 tbsp. A-1 Steak Sauce
1 env. onion soup mix
1 (10 1/2 oz.) can mushroom soup

Place the chuck in the center of extra wide, heavy foil in a roasting pan. Brush the
meat with A-1 Steak Sauce and sprinkle the onion soup mix over it. Then spread
with the mushroom soup. Wrap loosely in foil and bake at 350 degrees for 2 1/2
to 3 hours. Makes 6 servings.

We got this great Occo Convection Oven (double boiler) given to us but the instructions are not in English.

Occo Website Link

Occo’s verbal instructions (not in English) – helpful visual

I bought this huge bag of rice and it did not have any directions with it so I found it online:

Sun Valley Rice | Cooking Instructions from eHow

• Rinse lightly (I use a metal coffee filter since too much rice falls through regular strainers)
• 2 Cups of Rice
• 2 ½ cups of water
• Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Add salt
• Reduce the heat and cover the pan with a tight fitting lid. Allow the rice to simmer (covered) until all of the water has been absorbed. Remove the pan from the heating element and let the rice sit for five minutes.
• Fluff the cooked rice with a fork and drizzle a bit of sesame oil, if desired. You can also season it with a few turns of fresh cracked black pepper. Margarine or butter can be added as the rice is boiling if you prefer a buttery flavor.