Roast beef success! and 2 with no photos

We've started buying the majority of our meat from the butcher shop. We're doing this for 3 reasons. First, there is a butcher and a small grocery store about a 5 minute drive from our house. I can go there unshowered, with my hairy legs and spit-up covered yoga pants and no one notices. And the chance I will run into anyone I know is very slim, unlike the other day when I was dancing and singing to Paxton while pushing his stroller in Costco and looked up and saw someone I knew staring at me. Second, price. If I need only one chicken breast, I don't have to buy a pack of four. If I need only a pound of ground beef, I don't have to buy 2 packages of 3/4's of a pound each. And third is quality. This stuff is gooooood, much better quality than the grocery stores.

I was there a couple of days ago and they had some little tenderloin roasts on sale. I picked one up and regretted it right away, as I am crappy at cooking roasts. But why be negative, so I gave it a go.

First I took the roast out 30 minutes before cooking and unwrapped it and let it sit at room temperature.

I made a rub of
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp black pepper

and rubbed it on the roast. I heated 2 tb of vegetable oil over medium heat in a pan and browned the roast on all sides.


Then I put it in the oven at 400' for 30 minutes.


It came out around medium-ish. A little more done that I would like, but about what Scott prefers.

It was delicious; the roast was tender and the rub added nice flavor. I was pretty proud of myself and will feel more confident with roasts in the future.

I cooked a recipe from one of my notebooks. This is from Bon Appetit, Grilled Chicken Thighs. I marinated the chicken for a couple of hours before I broiled them. I love anything teriyaki, and these went over very well.
Recipe: Grilled Chicken Thighs.

And from my del.icio.us recipe list I made Mongolian Beef and I agree that this is quite a wonderful dish. I sauteed a sliced up orange bell pepper and a sliced zucchini to the pan for the final simmering. It was fabulous and quick and full of yum.