Pot Roast, Scalloped Potatoes, and Olive Bread

Today is Sunday, and Travis' day off. I have been studying hard all weekend because I have another CPA test Tuesday. There is a football game and a hockey game. Plus we had to put our beloved cat Snickers down on Friday thanks to the rapidly advancing cancer. So I decided to make a real Sunday dinner. On the menu, Pioneer Woman's Olive Cheese Bread and Perfect Pot Roast as well as Mrs. Stoller's Kosher Scalloped Potatoes.  This is a recipe I picked up a long time ago from a friend's mom. She followed a Kosher diet and these are the potatoes she prepared to be eaten with meat dishes. I fell in love with it and can't get enough, though it takes a while to cook. I started this adventure at about 3:45 pm.

First I needed to bake my french bread for the Olive Cheese bread.

Thank goodness for Pillsbury.

While that baked. I started on the roast since it was going to need 3+ hours to cook. First step, finding a lid to the pot I was going to use. There has got to be a better way to figure out which lid goes with which pot. Once I had accomplished this task, I heated the olive oil. I love the smell of olive oil. Is that just me?

On a side note, I love this pepper.

While oil heats, salt and pepper the roast. Mine is 3lbs. Next I was to seer two onions cut in half and 6 to 8 carrots cut into pieces. I cheated. I used 1 cup diced onions and 16 baby carrots. Then I seared the edges of the meat.














Then everything goes into the pot with rosemary and thyme and enough beef stock to half cover the meat. Then cover the pot and cook at 275 for about 3 hours.

While this was cooking, I started on the potatoes. This way I can put everything in the fridge and just have to put them in the oven at the right moment, not hope my timing is right on preparation.

These potatoes in their original format were kosher. I use butter instead of a butter substitute so they are no longer kosher. Super good either way. Also, I hate mayo and I love these.

Melt 6 tablespoons of butter in a pan. Then slowly add 1/2 cup flour until thick.

Then add 1/2 cup mayo (the real stuff) and 28 oz of chicken broth. Heat on low and stir until thick. By thick we mean all combined and beginning to thicken.

I only had 20 oz of chicken broth (apparently I missed counted for grocery day) so I used 8 oz of left over beef stock from the roast. Now I don't have waste!

Slice peeled potatoes into 1/2 inch slices. You will need between 5 and 10 potatoes. I usually place them in cold water while I wait for my sauce to get thick.

Layer sauce then potatoes into dish. I usually end up with 2 or 3 layers. Remember to end with potatoes. You are supposed to bake for 1 and 1/2 hours at 350. Because my roast is in at 275, I am baking at 310 for a little longer.

Next up, Olive Bread. This was one of our Sweet as Pie Cooking Club from April of last year. I didn't get around to it because 1. it was April and 2. because I didn't have a reason. Travis doesn't like olives. But everything I flip through my PW cookbook I see it. And it looks so good. So I planned making a half batch tonight. Travis can eat the other half of the french loaf. Because I can't read my own hand writing at the store and only ended up with 4 oz of olives (instead of 10 oz) I am cutting the recipe by 1/4 (kinda). Really need to work on reading recipes before grocery shopping.

Originally this called for 14.5 oz of black olives and 6 oz of green. Yuck to the green. Also, I am lazy and I picked up a 4 oz can of already sliced black olives. Instead of 2 green onions I will add just 1. These both need to be diced and put into a bowl with 2 tablespoons of softened butter, 1/8 cup of mayo, and 1 cup of Monterrey Jack cheese (I may have used some Pepper Jack for a little kick).

I am really glad I quartered this recipe. It took up half the loaf. Now to just let everything finish baking!

The potatoes were as always, melt in your mouth delicious. The olive bread wasn't bad. I probably should have diced the olives. This is good for a party, but I won't make it just for us again. The pot roast was good, but nothing special. Next time I will probably use my crock pot recipe. Though in truth we don't have pot roast very often since Travis isn't a fan. I plan on taking my left overs to my brother and his roommates. They eat anything.