Everybody Eats: Some ingredients you need to have on hand

Are there things you always seem to have in your kitchen that you don't remember buying? It could be foil or cupcake liners, or spices like chili powder or curry. It doesn't matter what it is, but every time you need it, it's there.

For me, that item is Dijon mustard.

This isn't like the time I cleaned out my pantry and discovered multiple boxes of chicken stock or whenever I stockpile dried pasta because the sale is too good to ignore. Those purchases were made on purpose. Maybe they weren't smart, since I later learned I already had plenty of the on-sale items at home, but that's a topic for another column.

I am not a mustard person, Dijon or otherwise. I don't put mustard on hamburgers or hot dogs. The tangy taste of it doesn't appeal to me, so when I'm on the hunt for new recipes, I tend to skip over those that include mustard in the ingredients. And yet, for reasons I can't explain, there's always a container of Dijon mustard in the refrigerator.

To make the phenomenon event stranger, it's good! This isn't an instance of having an item past its due date hanging out with other half-used condiments. The bottle is continuously within its 'Best if used by” date.

I suppose it could be the work of my husband, but he isn't a big mustard fan, either. He also doesn't care for lemon. If I'm skipping recipes that call for mustard based on my tastes, I'm skipping those that call for more than a quarter cup of lemon juice to suit his.

The reasonable explanation is there was a time I needed Dijon mustard for something, so I bought it, used it, and promptly forgot it. Again and again, apparently. Still, I'm glad for my momentary lapse of grocery store know-how because I was in the mood for roast this past weekend and the recipe I wanted to try included Dijon mustard.

Which I had.

I may need to reconsider my practice of skipping over recipes that call for mustard, Dijon or otherwise, because I really couldn't taste it over the rosemary. Of course, this will probably bring my always having Dijon mustard on hand steak to an end.

Melt-in-Your-Mouth Pot Roast Recipe

1 pound medium red potatoes, quartered

1 cup fresh baby carrots

1 boneless beef chuck roast (3 to 4 pounds)

1/4 cup Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons dried rosemary, crushed

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/3 cup chopped onion

1 1/2 cups beef broth

Place potatoes and carrots in a 5-quart slow cooker. Cut roast in half. Combine the mustard, rosemary, garlic salt, thyme and pepper; rub over roast.

Place in slow cooker; top with onion and broth. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until meat and vegetables are tender.

Source: tasteofhome.com