Meat's

Pot Roast with Gravy and Vegetables

• 1 roast, 2 to 4 pounds - lean chuck,
  bottom round, rump, etc.
  
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/4 cup water
• 4 tablespoons flour
• 1 teaspoon Kitchen Bouquet or other
  gravy browning/seasoning sauce
  
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 medium onions, cut in wedges
• 4 to 6 medium potatoes, peeled and
  cut in 1-inch chunks
  
• 2 to 4 carrots, halved and quartered

Place roast in the crockpot; sprinkle with salt
and pepper. Make a paste of the flour and cold
water; stir in Kitchen Bouquet and spread over
roast. Add garlic, onion, potatoes, and carrots
(or use any other root vegetable such as
parsnips or rutabaga). Cover and cook on low
for 8 to 10 hours. Taste and add more salt and
pepper to taste.
Serves 4 to 6, depending on the
size of the roast.

Raspberry Chicken

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• a pinch of salt
• fresh ground pepper
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 Tablespoon raspberry vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 shallot or scallion minced
• 1 cup fresh raspberries, rinsed
  and picked over
  
• 1 cup chicken or vegetable stock

Sprinkle salt & pepper on breasts. Place in a
single layer in a shallow bowl. Mix together
vinegar and honey. Pour over chicken. Mix to
coat. Let marinade at least 15 minutes...
longer is better!

After marinading, preheat oven to 200.
Heat butter over medium-high heat in a heavy-
bottomed skillet. Add breasts and saute for
about five minutes each side or until golden.
Place chicken on serving platter. Place platter
in warm oven.
Add wine and shallot to skillet. Deglaze pan and
reduce liquid until until it barely coats the
pan, leaving about 2 Tablespoons of liquid.
Reserve about 20 raspberries for garnish. Add
stock and the rest of the raspberries to the
shallot/wine reduction. Reduce this mixture to
half (about 3/4 cup).
Puree the mixture in a food processor or blender
and strain through a sieve. Return sauce to
skillet and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and
spoon over chicken. Serve.