Pot Roast

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/pot_roast/

This did not work well. I followed the directions and cooked it in the oven, at 200 degrees. The meat was cooked. I added potatoes and carrots an hour before I took it out of the oven. They were nearly raw. The recipe said to add carrots only 10 minutes before taking it out of the oven so I thought an hour would be plenty.  I had to dump out all the liquid into a pot and move the carrots/potatoes into it and boil it for a long time for it to be cooked.  Clearly the vegetables should have been put in much earlier. I'll have to look for a better recipe for an oven pot roast. The pressure cooker pot roast worked so well, so I might just do that again. I'd have to cut the meat into sections to make it fit though, if it is a larger roast.

French Toast II

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/french_toast/
This is another recipe for french toast. I like the egg to milk ratio. I do add a little vanilla to it. I used thick soft bread, which worked really well and gave a good texture. AND it worked for exactly 8 pieces of bread which was nice for planning. I think I like this better than my other french toast recipe and DH did too.

Bittersweet Chocolate and Pear Cake

Bittersweet Chocolate and Pear Cake
http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/01/bittersweet-chocolate-and-pear-cake/

This was so good. I did just what the recipe said, except I used a cake pan instead of a springform pan. I'm not sure if browning the butter really makes a difference, but I did it anyway. The butter bubbled for a while, but then quieted down and I thought maybe it needed higher heat. But within a couple minutes the butter had turned brown suddenly. So make sure to watch it the whole time so it doesn't burn during the bubbling phase (you'll need to push it around the pot to prevent that) or get too brown. It really did smell a bit nutty when it was browned. I used extra dark chocolate chips that was 63% chocolate. David and I really liked it.

Corn Macque Choux

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2008/08/corn-macque-choux-recipe.html

Corn Macque Choux

This was a fun way to prepare corn. The corn I used was sort of old and had been frozen a bit in the fridge, but it still tasted great. This would be a good way to use corn on the cob that is not so fresh anymore.  David thought it was "monotone" as a main dish but a good side dish. You say the name like "corn mock shoe."

In the recipe directions, I skipped the tomato blanching and just peeled it using a peeler.

Chunky Celery Soup

http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/chunky-celery-soup-recipe.html

Chunky Celery Soup

While this soup was good, the celery was overwhelming to me. David liked it more than I did. The wild rice did add a nice flavor, but I would have liked this soup much more if I'd used only half the amount of celery and added some roasted chicken to it. I will do that next time.

Pineapple Carrot Cake

Pineapple Carrot Cake (Combined from Aunt Marianne and Nana's versions)

2 c sugar
1/2 c oil
add 4 eggs 1 at a time. Beat at High speed
Sift and add to above:
2 c flour
2 tsp soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt

Add 2 c shredded carrots
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 c crushed pineapple with juice (not drained)

Bake in 9x13 or 10x13 pan. Oven 375 F. Bake 35-50 min. Batter is wet

Frosting
Cream together:
1 8oz pkg cream cheese or neufshatel
1 lb powdered sugar
1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
1 tsp vanilla

Variants:
Nana's Frosting, add 1 cup walnuts to frosting.
Aunt Marianne's cake:
3 c carrots (instead of 2)
1/2 c drained crushed pineapple (instead of 1 1/2 c undrained)
1/2 c walnuts in cake itself.

Carnitas or Pork Tacos

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Slow-Cooked-Carnitas-Tacos-241855

Carnitas or Pork Tacos

I used a 3 lb pork shoulder roast for this recipe. It turned out really great! My roast was not boneless, so I had to de-bone it after cooking it for a couple hours. I didn't have tomatillos or avocado on hand, and it was still really good with bell pepper, cheddar cheese, and sour cream in a warm corn tortilla.

Next time I'll be sure to have the other ingredients, as well as queso fresco on hand to make it even better.