Spicy Roast Beef

My family are carnivores! We love meat! I love this recipe for a nice fall day. Make it the day before and it is even more spicy!   I got he recipe from the Pioneer Woman, but I tweaked it a little to make it my own. I kind of eyeballed some of the ingredients, so you can do the same. Just remember that this is SPICY! You can use any kind of peppers and tomatoes that you have on hand. Adjust the peppers to your "heat", this is very spicy.  You could also omit the peppers and only use the broth and tomatoes to make a nice kid-friendly beef.
This makes enough for a crowd or for leftovers.  You can cut the recipe in half easily, also.

2    3 pound chuck roast each
Salt and pepper
2 TBSP butter
2 TBSP canola oil
4 cups beef broth
3-4 TBSP fresh chopped rosemary
1 jar pepperoncinis , with juice
1 jar cherry peppers, drained ( hot or mild)
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes

Hearty rolls, toasted
Sliced deli cheese ( provolone, mozzarella, Munster)

Preheat oven to 300.
Season the roasts with salt and pepper. Heat the butter and oil in a large heavy Dutch oven.  Brown each roast until paper bag brown, rest them on a plate.
Pour the beef broth in the pot, stirring up any browned bits from the pot.  Add the rosemary, both peppers, and the tomatoes. Stir all of this until combined. Add the roasts back to the pot and place the lid on. Place the pot in the oven for about 4-41/2 hours, until the meat is fork tender.
Remove the roasts from the pot and shred with 2 forks. Return the meat to the pot, and keep warm on the stove while serving.  Serve on toasted rolls and top with sliced cheese.

TIP!
Making this the day before, you can refrigerate and then skim the fat off the top before reheating.

North Carolina-Style Pulled Pork

Who doesn't like a good pulled pork Sammy? I've always had traditional BBQ pork sandwiches. You know, the kind with the red BBQ sauce. And they were good. But then I found out about this other kind of sauce. The vinegar based "Carolina-style".  And I was hooked! Mine is a bit spicy, but that makes it so much better.  My girls absolutely love the sauce.... They would love to drink it, lol!  Not really, but they do load the sandwiches up with extra sauce.  Make sure to let it rest overnight for added flavor.
I make the a large pork shoulder and double the sauce. It serves a nice dinner for 8-10 and leftovers.
I use my gas grill, but if you do use a charcoal grill, you may want to add seasoned wood chips.  And you need to cook it over indirect heat. Indirect heat is as the name suggests, the food is placed next to,not directly over the fire.  This method is used for cooking larger pieces of meat that require long, slow cooking at a low or moderate temperature(275-350). My grill has 3 burners and I light the two outside and put the meat on the center burner.  It works perfectly.  
I found a great way to shred the pork, place it in a mixer bowl and gently mix with the paddle attachment. It takes only a few minutes.


Pulled Pork

1 8 pound bone-in pork shoulder, with skin
1 head of garlic, peeled and separated
3/4 cup Memphis Shake
2 batches North Carolina-Style BBQ Sauce
8-10 round rolls

Make small holes all over the meat with a sharp knife and insert the cloves of garlic.  Rub the meat with the Memphis Shake,  cover and allow to sit in the fridge overnight.
Prepare an outdoor grill with an indirect medium-hot fire. Place the pork on an aluminum pan, skin side up with 1 1/4 cups of water. Place the pan on he cooler part of the grill. 
Make sure that the grill stays at a medium-hot temperature. Rotate the pork in about 3-4 hours. This will ensure that it is cooking evenly.
Cook the meat until an instant read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the pork registers 180 degrees, about 6 hours.
Set aside 1 quart of the sauce. With the remaining 1 quart of the sauce you will mop the surface of the pork with the sauce every 20 minutes until the instant read thermometer reads 200 degrees, 1-2 hours more.
Transfer the pork to a cutting board and let rest for a good 15 minutes.  Remove the outside skin and dis guard.  Cut large chunks from the meat and shred. Toss with the reserved sauce. About 1 cup sauce to every 3 cups meat. Pile the pork on the rolls and enjoy.  

Memphis Shake
Whisk 1/4 cup sweet paprika
          3 tbsp firmly packed brown sugar
          2 tbsp dried oregano
          2 tbsp granulated garlic
           1 tbsp ancho chili powder
           2 tsp kosher salt
           1 tsp celery salt

store in an airtight container.


North Carolina-Style BBQ sauce

3 cups cider vinegar
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup ketchup
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup kosher salt
2 TBSP crushed red pepper
1 1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Heat the vinegar and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved. remove from the heat and stir in the remaining ingredients.  Makes about 1 quart.

Grilled Cheese with Spinach and Bacon

Sometimes we just need a little comfort food. Grilled cheese makes everything feel better. I love adding a little bit of veggies to almost anything. Having my kids love something with veggies better than plain just makes me happy. 

This recipe is based on one from Giada. Her recipe calls for pancetta, which I do love and have made it this way, but I do not always have it on hand.  She uses Monterey Jack and cheddar. I think that any combination will work.  

I like to make the cheese spread and have it available for the kids to make sandwiches whenever. And I make the whole pound of bacon and leave it in the fridge to add also. 

1 pound bacon, cooked 

1/2 c. (1 stick) butter, softened

2 cups grated cheddar cheese

2 cups grated mozzarella cheese 

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp canola oil

2 cups baby spinach, chopped

Hearty bread (oat nut, whole wheat, sourdough)

In a food processor, or blendtec, combine the butter, cheeses, salt and canola oil. Blend until smooth, adding extra oil if needed. Add the spinach until just combined. ( you could mix by hand also). Spread cheese mixture on a slice of bread, top with a few slices of bacon and another piece of bread. Place in a preheated panini press