Simple Pot Roast with Cheesy Polenta

There are two kinds of Sundays on the ranch right now. There’s s a “BBQ outside Sunday” and there’s a “Roast in the Oven Sunday.” Both I love deeply, and both feel especially necessary right now, because the end of the school year somehow manages to feel just as busy as the winter holidays…just without all the sparkling magic that I love so much!

So Sundays have become my anchor. I look forward to them all week: being home, catching up on house chores, working in the garden, cutting flowers and bringing them inside for the week ahead, and of course, eating something really, really yummy. There is something so lovely about ending the week with a meal that took care of itself while you took care of everything else. When Sunday dinner is already handled, I feel ready to take on whatever Monday has in store, and I love that feeling.

This last week I made a Simple Pot Roast with Cheesy Polenta, and it was just perfect. All I had to do was prep the meat in the morning, let it go slow and low all day, and the house smelled cozy from morning to night. By the time we all sat down together, there was this big, beautiful meal waiting for us, and it felt exactly like what the end of the week called for. If you want to make it even easier, skip the polenta and serve it with a baguette. (The polenta soaks up all that yum sauce in the most wonderful way though, so I’ll always make the case for it!)

This time of year also brings up something I find myself thinking about a lot, especially as I watch my boys finish out another school year. The pride I feel seeing them go after the things they love is hard to put into words. And even when they don’t land exactly where they were aiming every time, what I love most is just seeing them go for it. I think as adults it’s important to remember that — the willingness to try, to put yourself out there, to reach for something even when it feels a little scary, a little silly, or maybe even a little unrealistic. It’s hard, but why not?

I think about that in my own life too. It is hard to go after your dreams as an adult. It is even harder to say them out loud to other people without feeling foolish. I was at a conference recently where a speaker said that anyone who starts a business has to have a little bit of “delusional optimism”, and honestly, I couldn’t agree more. I keep coming back to this Einstein quote that I love too: “Failure is success in progress.” It’s such an important lesson to teach our kids, and an even harder one to keep teaching ourselves as we get older and more tentative about the moves we make.

So here is to all the graduates, all the success stories, all the failures that make us stronger, and all the adventures still ahead!

xo,

Elizabeth

If you are still figuring out what to give your child's teacher this year, I have you covered. My go-to is a bottle of our Rancho San Julian honey paired with a Beeswax Apple Candle, handmade by my dear friend Katie Rose. It is the sweetest little gift, literally, for the hardest working people in our kids' lives. Simple, thoughtful, and something they will actually use, because teachers deserve all of it!

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This is the kind of recipe that does most of the work for you. A simple chuck roast, cut into generous pieces, braised low and slow in red wine, crushed tomatoes, and broth until it’s fall-apart tender. Served over creamy, cheesy polenta, it’s the Sunday dinner you’ll look forward to all week. Honestly, the hardest part is not eating it straight out of the dutch oven before it even makes it to the table!

ACTIVE TIME: 30 minutes

TOTAL TIME: 4-5 hours (Fair warning: this will take most of the afternoon, and that’s exactly the point. Let it do its thing while you do yours, and enjoy the fact that your house will smell amazing the entire time.)

SERVES: 4-5 guests

FOR THE ROAST:

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 lbs of Chuck Roast, cut into large pieces (about 4”x 4” x4”)

• 2 large yellow onions, chopped

• 4 large carrots, peeled and cut into 2-3 inch pieces

• 6 cloves of garlic, minced

• ½ cup of olive oil

• ¾ cup of red wine

• 32-28oz jar of crushed tomatoes with liquid

• 3 tablespoons of salt

• 1 teaspoon of ground black pepper

• 2 bay leaves, dried

• 1-3 cups of beef/bone broth (if desired)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 °.

2. Put meat in a large bowl and mix with 2 tablespoons of salt, 4 garlic cloves, and pepper. (Be sure to pat the meat dry before you season it because that will insure that the seasoning sticks.)

3. In a large dutch oven on medium heat add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and brown each piece of meat on all sides and then set aside the meat in a heatproof bowl.

4. In the same large dutch oven over medium heat add onions, 2 cloves of garlic, ¼ cup of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of salt until onions are soft.

5. Add red wine to the onion mixture and let simmer for 5 minutes.

6. Add tomatoes with juice and let simmer for another 5-10 minutes.

7. Taste the sauce. This is the time to make any changes. The sauce might need some more salt or fresh lemon juice.

8. Add in broth enough that you think will cover all the meat once it is put back into the dutch oven. Let the sauce come to a simmer and taste again. Add the beef back into the sauce- making sure that meat is for the most part covered.

9. Cover the dutch oven tightly with a lid and place in the oven and let it slowly cook for 3-4 hours. Be sure to check on it every hour to make sure the liquid is still over the meat. Add a bit of broth if needed.

10. An hour before serving, bring the dutch oven out, add the carrots, stir ingredients carefully, place the top on again anf put back into the oven until ready to eat.

11. Pull out of the oven and serve warm.

12. Serve on top of the polenta.

FOR THE POLENTA:

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup of cornmeal/polenta

• 1 cup heavy cream

• ½ stick of butter

• 2 cups of Parmesan cheese, grated

• 2 teaspoons of salt (and more to taste)

• Black ground pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large heavy duty Dutch oven, bring 5 cups of water to a boil. Add 2 teaspoons of salt.

2. Bring down heat to low, add polenta and mix well. Cover the pot with the top and cook on low for 25 minutes.

3. Take off the top and add cream and butter and continue to cook unless butter and cream are mixed well. About 10 minutes.

4. Turn off the heat and stir in parmesan and salt and pepper to taste.

5. Serve immediately.

My vote for this recipe is to always make it with polenta, but if you are building out a full Sunday table, here are a few of my favorite sides that would make this meal extra delicious!

• Butter-Lettuce Salad with Avocado Buttermilk Dressing: light and creamy, this salad is the perfect thing to put next to something rich and saucy. It keeps the table feeling fresh without a lot of extra work.

• Beet, Carrot, and Arugula Salad: earthy, a little peppery, and honestly beautiful on the table. The carrots in the roast and the carrots in this salad feel like they were always meant to be on the same menu.

• Classic Bruschetta: If you are skipping the polenta and going the baguette route, lean all the way in and start with bruschetta. It sets the tone for a really lovely, simple Italian-inspired Sunday dinner.

• Kale, Apple, and Cranberry Salad with Garlic Parmesan Dressing: hearty enough to hold its own next to the roast, with just enough sweetness from the apple and cranberry to balance all that savory sauce.

• Shaved Carrot Salad: bright, simple, and takes almost no time to put together. Sometimes the easiest thing on the table ends up being everyone’s favorite

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