Roast: when you forgot to cook...seriously.

So yeah, I had the roast all ready last night to throw in the crock pot and cook super slow all day long, so it comes out like butter.  Like Butta! So I got up this morning and started wandering around the house, aimlessly.  Looking for my coffee, finding my coffee, drinking my coffee cold.  Then I looked at my school-work, super dooper bad idea there.


Then I picked up the kids from school, and Madison asked, "What's for Dinner."

Well, crap, just crap.

So I said, "Roast, Madison, of course."  She asked if I cooked it in the crock-pot.  Well thanks for adding insult to injury.  No, Maddie I did not...meany!

So I get home and grabbed my dutch oven--yes this is how people cooked roast in the olden days before crockpots with crazy gadgets and things to hold the lid on. Whatever.  Madison looked at me in awe, like "What, on earth, mother, are you doing?"
 Here's what you do:
Turn the oven on to about 350, 325 if you have a little more time than I did--I had about 2.5 hours until dinner was DUE.
Get the roast, mine was about 4.5 pounds--I have three growing kids and a starving, frozen husband, don't judge.  Peel about half agin (yes that's right I said agin.) as many carrots as your roast looks big.  I went with four medium carrots roughly chopped about an inch long.   Add a few potatoes. Good stuff, this is about how much you like here too, I went with about five small red new potatoes. Add some celery--a few stalks cut the same size as carrots.  One medium sweet onion.  Unless you're cooking for my mother then one medium sweet onion and one medium red onion. cut in quarters, about-ish. 

Throw all that in the bottom of the dutch oven. Put the roast on top.  Grind some sea salt and some fresh peppers--put a few cloves of garlic along the sides.  Add some yummy herbs--I went with my trust "Italian Seasoning" mix. Drizzle with some olive oil.  Yummy, olive oil.

Now put the roast int he oven with the lid to the dutch oven on it.

Cook for about 1.5 to 2 hours. Then turn the oven down to 275.  This will braise the meat for a little longer, and give it the really, really slow cooked butta texture. Serve when the outside looks crispy but not black and you have trouble lifting it out of the dutch oven without it breaking apart--about 45 minutes.

Your sides are in the bottom of the pan--you you could be adventurous.  I served mine with Caprisi Salad--because its simple, takes 5 ingredients and is super cooling and delish.

Enjoy.  I wish I had taken pictures but it was sooooo good when i tried the 'taster' bite I didn't save enough fast enough.

Enchiladas

Now let's all be honest here.  We usually do not go out and make our own enchilada sauce.  I have a few favorites, and I am sure you guys do too.  But if you're in the mood and it seems like you have a ton of time on your hands, by all means go ahead.  Might I suggest this recipe, it looks wonderful. (http://www.cooking-mexican-recipes.com/enchilada-sauce-recipe.html)

Now the secret to enciladas when you're pressed for time is the trust crock-pot.  Yeah thats right.  And no, you are not making the enchiladas in there, just the filling.

Get a roast.  I don't care what type, a pork roast is always yummy, as is beef, or even several of those boneless skinnless chicken breasts you find in the freezer section. Cook about 2-2.5 pounds of meat (again, any kind) in the crock pot with some seasoning.  I find salt, pepper and a few herbs from one of those mixed herbs you can get at any grocery store.  Don't over season it though, a lot of flavor is going to come from the sauce later on.

Cook that roast several hours--I leave my crock-pot on low all day long, often while I am at work. Do not take it out until it is literally falling apart. Literally.  Completely falling apart. 

Put the falling apart roast, or chicken in a fry-pan on medium, and pull it apart.  You want strings of meat here.  As its mostly falling apart, add half of your enchilada sauce.  (I usually go for one of my two cans here).  Simmer it for just a few minutes getting the sauce over everything. EVERYTHING. 

Add about half as much cheese as you have meat.  Mix in the melting pot. Simple, no?

Now get out your tortillas.  Here you have to go ahead and make or get good ones.  Don't get cheap totillas, you will just be mad at yourself later, after that crockpot spent all day cooking for you.

Fill the tortillas with the gooey mixture. Fill them I say.  Dont skimp.  Put each filled tortilla in a baking casserole type dish. Layer them right next to each other, snuggly. It's kind of like a one-layer Enchilada Lasagna.

Once all the tortillas are filled, cover them with the rest of the sauce.  Spread it around so it looks like you took the time to make these traditionally, dredging the tortillas in the sauce then filling, and so on.  Put s sprinkle of cheese--again don't go cheap on the cheese, you want flavor, no? A Vermont Sharp cheddar is fabulous, as is a nice Mexican or Monterrey jack mix of already shredded cheese.

Put the Casserole in the oven at about 350-375 for about 10-20 minutes, or long enough to write a blog post.

Top with sour cream and enjoy.