German food - German inspiration!

The following dinner was inspired by these two questions: "What is in the fridge that will rot by the end of the week?" and "How can I make more space in my cupboard?"

German culture food

.....because nothing was left in the fridge :)
This German-inspired dinner is dedicated to my friend Ina, in Hamburg.

German food - ingredient list

Here are the critical foodstuffs that framed my decision for tonight's meal:
-1 lb of Buffalo chuck roast (had been defrosting in fridge for 4 days)
-Fresh, green thyme that had been sitting in a moist paper towel for a week
-a misplaced box of spaetzle (b/c the "correct" shelf is currently full)
-a bag of celery that only has a few days left
-A packet of Sweinebraten mix (there are too many packets of German food mixes on the spice rack-which by the way, is the same gift from you, Steph!)
-leftover scallions from last night's dinner

Typical German food

Sweinebraten is a German pork roast, however my parents gave me a ton of buffalo (and it's taking up half the freezer) so I'm making a buffalo roast. HERE GOES!

German Food - Schweinebraten

Brown 2 spoonfuls of scallions in garlic-olive oil, in my Le Creuset dutch oven on med-low. Sprinkle some garlic on the meat-brown both sides & remove from heat. Add 1.5 cups of water (per packet mix instructions). NOW: Since this aint no pork dish, I'll add a spoonful of beef broth for flavor. And heck, even a bay leaf. Stir stir stir, bring to boil.... aha!

Add browned meat to pot. NOW: the husband is a big fan of vegetables. So, like ye olde pot roast I'm going to put in some vegetables! In goes chopped celery, and chopped carrots for kicks. (Avoiding potatoes b/c the accompanying side dish is quite evil...)

Now for some extra flavor: gotta get rid of this thyme! In it goes. Hey, we have a rosemary hedge outside and some fresh parsely.... (If you know my husband, he can't pass up anything rosemary). SO in it all goes.

Add packet of Sweinebraten mix-stir stir stir... let's cook this for 45 min. or so on med-low.

German food - Spaetzle

Spaetzle is cooked like gnocchi: in salt water or broth. Yours truly chose salt water.

Drain out spaetzle into baking dish and reserve 1/8 cup of "pasta water" in pot-. Add the rest of the scallions to "pasta water", added some coursely ground peppercorns for flavor. boil for a minute. Add to spaetzle in the dish- stir it all around really well.

Grate gouda cheese- sprinkle all cheese onto spaetzle & scallions. Add panko bread crumbs to the top. (mine were 'plain'- so I threw on a bit of italian herb spice for flavor). Cook on 375 for 25 minutes. You won't regret it.

German food - the verdicts:

Meat gravy turned out fantastically thick and flavorful.
Gravy goes especially well with spaetzle.

Spaetzle with gouda cheese is freaking awesome.