Pot roast, Part II

I try a lot of recipes ... some work out and some don't. Some just don't deliver what I -- or my husband --think they will. Some just don't suit our tastes.

So for Easter when my in-laws were visiting, we made pot roast, one of her family favorits that she hadn't had in a long time. Not long after, my husband came home from the grocery store and announced that he'd bought a roast and wanted pot roast again. (He even invited a close friend whose spouse was out of town.)

So I got out the roasting pan and tossed in some carrots, celery and onions and chicken broth. Shoved it into the oven at 350 degrees and checked on it three hours later. This version differed from my mother-in-law's version because hers included a couple of cans of cream of mushroom soup. (Mine's soupless.)

It was great and I imagine that until the weather here in Houston hits the true summer highs, we'll likely have pot roast a couple more times.

Along with the pot roast I made some mashed potatoes. I also made green beans and biscuits, recipes borrowed from Potter's House first lady Serita Jakes. They're simple, but familiar and comforting. Serita's recipes will appear in my cookbook, "Sunday Dinners," which is under way now and will be out in the fall of 2013.