Oven roast beef with Brussels sprouts and baked potatoes

For those days when you prefer to make a puzzle with your little ones or to watch the latest episode from "Grey's Anatomy" instead of  spending time in the kitchen, here's an idea for a healthy and tasty lunch that needs minimal intervention from the "cook".

For the roast beef I used:
- one piece of lean beef, about 600g;
- one cup of water;
- 4 Tbsp oil;
- 2 sprigs of fresh thyme;
- 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary;
- 2 garlic cloves;
- a pinch of Cayenne pepper;
- 1 tsp sweet paprika;
* if you don't cook for babies,add salt by taste.

Place the meat in a ceramic baking dish (or Pyrex), add the waterm drizzle the oil on top and sprinkle the spices all around and on top of the meat. Cover with the lid (or with baking paper) and place in the preheated oven (180-200 C) and let roast for 1,5-2h, until the meat is very tender (you should be able to break it with a fork). While roasting, make sure that it's plenty of water in the dish, otherwise the meat will get dry. After about 1h, you can turn the piece of meat so that the upper part won't get too dry.

Once the roast beef was ready, I made also the side dish.

- 500 g fresh Bruxelles sprouts;

- 4 small potatoes;
- 2 Tbsp oil.

Wash the Brussels sprouts and remove the yellow dry leaves/parts if any. Peel the potatoes and cut them in wedges. Place the vegetables in a tray lined with baking paper and, using a brush, cover them with a very thin layer of oil.
Place the tray in the oven (200 C) for about 30 minutes, until the Brussels sprouts are golden brown. remove the sprouts and leave the potatoes for another 10-15 minutes, until golden (you can even increase the temeperature a bit to get a crunchy crust).
Enjoy!