Spice-Rubbed Braised Beef

I haven't forgotten about the blog, I just been traveling, which doesn't lend itself to great cooking. But I'm home this week and cooking. Here's a great recipe courtesy of Cooking Light that I made last night. Totally delicious and good for you. Since the sauce is so yummy I wanted something to soak it up, so I boiled and smashed one Yukon Gold potato per serving with a couple tablespoons of fat free milk and a couple teaspooons of butter, nothing rich, just enough to get the potatoes to hold together. When I served it I plated the potatoes underneath the meat and then covered it all with the tasty sauce.


Roast:
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 (3-pound) boneless chuck roast, trimmed

Sauce:
Cooking spray
1 cup chopped onion
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes, undrained
1/2 cup water
6 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

(You can make the sauce up to three days ahead of time, just reheat before you put the roast in it.)

1. To prepare roast, combine paprika, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, garlic powder, 1 teaspoon salt, dry mustard, and ground red pepper; rub over roast. Place roast in a large zip-top plastic bag. Seal and refrigerate 1 hour or overnight.

2. To prepare sauce, heat a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion, crushed red pepper, and minced garlic; cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Place tomatoes in blender, and process until smooth. Add pureed tomatoes, 1/2 cup water, and the next 3 ingredients (through tomato paste), and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper.

3. Preheat oven to 325°.

4. Remove roast from bag. Add roast to sauce in pan. Cover and bake at 325° for 2 1/2 hours or until tender. Serve with sauce.

Yield: 10 servings (serving size: 3 ounces beef and about 1/3 cup sauce)

CALORIES 262 ; FAT 10.8g (sat 3.6g,mono 4.8g,poly 0.5g); CHOLESTEROL 76mg; CALCIUM 48mg; CARBOHYDRATE 15.7g; SODIUM 508mg; PROTEIN 25.1g; FIBER 1.4g; IRON 4.3mg