My first pot roast!

So to kick off my first public food blog, I have decided to start in the comfort of my own kitchen. I demanded a Crock Pot for Christmas from my boyfriend, Jay, for sole purpose of making a pot roast and he came through! It even came with the Lil’ Dipper warmer which will be used for queso and spinach dip, which I will probably feature in future blogs. 

Earlier this week I ran to Kroger and picked up about 2.5lbs of chuck roast which was on sale for $2.99/lb, along with some fresh vegetables (celery, sliced baby bella mushrooms, red potatoes, a yellow onion, garlic and baby carrots). 

Today’s recipe was made with the help of my first special guest, Jen, who showed up around noon. We each apparently had rough nights and needed to catch up over some strong coffee before getting started. About an hour later we finally got down to business laying out ingredients and starting the prep work of washing and chopping veggies and trimming the meat. We used about 6 chopped celery stalks, the whole bag of mushrooms, maybe 10 quartered potatoes, an entire bag of baby carrots (plus some I already had and needed to use), 6 or 7 sliced cloves of garlic, and half of a sliced yellow onion.  

Jen showed me where the meat needed to be trimmed of some fat, then proceeded to cut small slices into the meat and poke slivers of garlic down inside. We then coated the meat in flour, salt and pepper and seared in a large cast iron skillet on high heat with just enough olive oil to coat the bottom. 

Once all sides were nice and browned, we transferred the meat to the Crock Pot and turned it up to high heat. Then we dumped all of the veggies around and on top of the meat, poured in about a cup and a half of water, and put the lid on it. Now it was time for the waiting game. . . 

After about 5 hours I couldn’t stand my stomach rumbling anymore and the aroma hanging around the house was irresistible. I pulled the chunk of meat out, scooped out all the veggies, and whisked some roux (1/2 cup of water with about 4Tbsp of flour dissolved in it) into the remaining liquid in the pot. Once it had thickened up, I poured it over the top of the meat and veggies and plated it with some bread. The meat just fell apart with a tug of a fork and was very tender. Jay enjoyed it very much but our only complaint was that it needed a little salt. So when I put everything back into the pot to cool and put in the refrigerator, I put a few shakes of salt in. I can’t wait to make sandwiches with the leftovers! 

I hope you enjoyed my first blog! Thanks for reading and I hope to update weekly! Today’s recipe is below:

Crock Pot Roast

·         2-3lbs Chuck or rump roast

·         10 Red or new potatoes, quartered

·         ½  Yellow onion, diced

·         6 Cloves of garlic, thinly sliced

·         1 Small bag of baby carrots

·         1 Container of sliced baby bella mushrooms

·         6 Celery stalks, chopped

·         1-2 Cups of flour, divided. Enough to evenly coat meat and 4 Tbsp for roux.

·         Salt and pepper to taste

·         2 Cups water, divided. 1 ½ Cups go into pot at beginning of cooking, ½ cup for roux

·         Extra Virgin Olive Oil, just enough to coat the bottom of a large skillet.

Trim fat from meat if necessary, then poke several small holes throughout meat and poke a sliver of garlic inside each hole. Next, coat the meat evenly with flour. Place meat in hot skillet and brown each side, about a minute each. Turn Crock Pot on High and place browned meat inside. Surround and cover with vegetables. Pour about 1 ½ cups of water over the contents of the pot. Add salt and pepper if desired. Cover and cook on high for 5-6 hours. 

To make gravy, remove meat and vegetables and set aside, do not turn off heat on pot. Add 4 Tbsp of flour to ½ cup of water in a small bowl and stir until there are no lumps. This is your roux. Whisk roux into the liquid in the Crock Pot until it reaches desired thickness. Pour over meat and vegetables. Serve with buttered bread.