Roast beef

One of the easiest, but most intimidating things to cook is a large roasted hunk of meat. But the payoff is worth it as the leftovers are delicious in salads and sandwiches. Things to cook in the same oven as the roast - roasted green beans (or other roast-able veggie), some ratatouille, or baked potato/sweet potato/yam (all of which is comprised on my plate pictured below).

The plate is at least 50% veggie! #Eatinghealthy

Mmmm. The ratatouille is the non-pretty one, but still delish!

Ingredients: 

4 - 6 lb cut of meat for roasting (Top round, tri-tip, eye round, loin, etc)
4 to 6 cloves of garlic, minced about 1 clove per pound, but feel free to use more
2 tbsp of kosher salt
fresh cracked pepper
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Mixture of the following herbs/spices (or whatever premixed spice/herb mix you like)
1/4 tsp rubbed sage
1/4 tsp rubbed thyme
1 tbsp parsley flakes
1 tbsp dried basil
1 tbsp onion powder
quantities can be adjusted according to your taste

4 lb roast serves 8 - 12.
1 12-person portion is about 235 calories, according to MFP's recipe builder. 

Instructions: 

Preheat oven to 325. 

With paper towels, dry the surface of the meat thoroughly. Rub 1 - 2 tsp of olive oil over the meat. liberally sprinkle the salt over the entire surface of the meat.  Rub the garlic over the meat, getting into any folds. If you want, pierce the meat all over with a knife and insert piece of garlic into the slits. Apply a second coat of oil (another 1 - 2 tsp) and liberally sprinkle on or rub on the herb/spice mix. 

Heat a pan and coat with a small amount of PAM or about 1 tsp of olive oil. 

Put the roast in the pan; sear it on all sides to get some nice browning. I used some tongs to hold it up to the sides of it would sear too (2-3 minutes each surface, about 10 min total). I would have tied it with twine before this step if I had some on hand. 

Place the seared roast in a roasting pan (preferably with a rack) and cook at 325° until the internal temperature is at the desired doneness. This was 1 hr 45 min for a rare/medium rare (internal temp 140° - 145°). Remove from oven when the temperature is about 5° under your desired temperature. It will continue to cook as it stands. 

Loosely tent the roast with tin foil so that it retains more of the heat as it rests. Let rest for 10 - 15 min. (The larger the roast, the longer you'd want to let it rest. I generally do 5 min + 1 - 2 min/lb)

The roast at the very center. 

Notes:  This resting period allows the meat to finish cooking and the juices get redistributed as it cools. If you cut into it too soon, even to check for doneness, you'll end up with a dry, tough hunk of meat with the juices running all over your carving board/plate/whatever. 

If you're using a different cut of meat, check out this chart as a guide for cook temperature and times based on the kind of meat you have - http://www.recipetips.com/kitchen-tips/t--1542/roast-beef-cook-time.asp