*Hash*

Lately we've been having roast, carrots, and potatoes for dinner on my Monday night cooking club night...then Hash for Tuesday night. It's just an EASY meal for me when it's such a crazy night. And my family loves it. So... everyone in my cooking clubs- and a lot of other people keep wondering, "What the heck is Hash?" Well, I didn't know either, til I married Luke. Basically it's just leftover roast with a twist.

So, first you have to make a roast. The way I do it is turn my crockpot to high (if the roast is frozen, low if it's thawed) and put in a 2-3lb roast (or 2!). I pour about a cup of water over the top, then sprinkle it generously with garlic salt, onion salt, salt and pepper. (No, it is NOT too salty.) Then I chop an onion into 8 wedges and throw them in. I leave it on that setting from about 1pm to 3pm. At 3pm I add as many potatoes (halved) and carrots (halved...or baby carrots) as I can cram into my crockpot (and always wish for a bigger pot) and turn the setting to high. I sprinkle those with the same 4 spices. I leave it on high for about an hour then turn it to low again until it's time to eat. (if you can't be around all day, like I am, then just stick it all in (with a thawed roast) and turn it on low for about 4 hours) So, night 1 I serve that meal...

The next day, I chop the potatoes and carrots into bite size pieces and fry them in a layer of oil (preferrably, actually, bacon grease. Say, 2 Tablespoons...) When they seem almost fried I add chopped (bitesize) roast pieces and continue frying it all until the first piece burns. (Try not to let a bunch of first pieces burn all at once. Or you could just keep frying them until they are hot!) Now, one tip is to get the pan and oil heated up on medium heat until you can flick water into it and it sizzles. THEN and ONLY then do you add the potatoes and carrots. This is what makes them crispy. While it's all frying I like to add more garlic salt, onion salt and pepper to the pieces. Oh my goodness...until I had hash I hated roast. Now I tolerate roast to get to the hash. I've even considered making a roast and saving it for hash. But I don't think Luke would love that.

This meal is seriously SO easy. Quick clean up. And even in the summer it's do-able since it won't heat your house to blazes. Before you judge it, TRY it. At least the hash part.

Grilled Rosemary Garlic Bread*

*Once again, I find myself needing forgiveness for a recipe that is not necessarily helpful toward weight loss. (2 out of 2... I promise a healthy recipe soon!) However, this one isn't terrible and it tastes amazing. Soon I hope to try it with some whole wheat flour! I will let you know how that is asap!

~Serving tip: This bread goes well in the summer on the grill! I grill a 3oz steak (bigger for my hubby!) and butter the bread with a LIGHT butter or margarine. When the steak is almost done on the grill I put the bread on butter side down until it is just toasted. (Watch it carefully!) I serve the steak and bread with a toss salad and some Crystal Light lemonade. It is amazing and fits right in with my Weight Watchers Diet!!!

2 whole garlic bulbs
1 t olive oil
1 1/2 t dried rosemary, crushed
1 T chicken broth
6-6 1/2 c bread flour
1/3 c sugar
2 T (or pkgs) yeast
2 t salt
1 c milk
2/3 c water
1/2 c butter divided
1 egg
garlic salt

Remove papery outer skin from garlic (do not peel or separate cloves!) Cut the top off the garlic heads, leaving the root end intact. Place cut side up in a small baking dish. Brush with the oil; sprinkle with rosemary. Cover and bake at 425 for 30-35 minutes or until softened. Cool for 10 minutes; squeeze softened garlic into a bowl. Add broth; lightly mash.

*Note: I was very hesitant to try this recipe because I thought that baking whole garlic bulbs would stink my house to high heaven! Fortunately, I braved it, and was surprised to find that it doesn't seem to smell a whole lot at all! How exciting!!! Also, I usually do 6 garlic bulbs at a time and then freeze 2 containers worth and use one. It doesn't take much freezer space, but that way I don't have to do this first step EVERY time I want to make this bread!

Combine 2 cups flower, sugar, yeast and salt. In a saucepan, heat milk, water and 1/3 cup butter to 120 or 130 degrees. Add dry ingredients and mix until just moistened. Beat in egg and garlic paste until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to make a soft dough (it will be somewhat sticky). Knead for 6-8 minutes. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.

Divide dough into half. Divide each half into 3 balls. Make each ball into a "rope". Place three ropes on a greased baking sheet and braid. Pinch ends together and tuck under. Cover and let raise until doubled.
Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Melt remaining butter and mix in desired amount of garlic salt (I do about a teaspoon) and brush over the bread. Bake 10-15 minutes longer or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire rack to cool.

If you are wanting to grill this bread sometimes it works better to just make it into a round loaf (like on a pizza stone) and cut it in half. Butter the flat side and grill it butter-side-down.