Slow Cooker Pot Roast

by Millie Bentley

Greetings. One great piece of kitchen equipment to use when making one (or several) of these hearty meals is a slow cooker, or crock pot. They’re just wonderful to have when you want to start a meal before you go to work and have a delicious dinner waiting for you when you get home tired and not wanting to cook. Just the aroma is worth the trouble.

Crockpots or slow cookers are more and more popular these days, but if you don’t have one, just remember these recipes can be made using the stove top or oven with a few changes in time. Here’s one that is plain and simple – and delicious.

Slow Cooker Pot Roast

Beef chuck roast, boneless, about 4 pounds

Bacon fat or olive oil, optional

Salt and pepper

4 pounds red potatoes (or white), scrubbed

3 large carrots, peeled

2 parsnips, if available, peeled

1 celery stalk

1 large onion, halved, then sliced

6 or 7 fresh mushrooms, sliced (optional)

2-3 bay leaves

1 teaspoon each: dried thyme, rosemary, and oregano

Black pepper to taste

1 can (10 oz.) beef bouillon, broth, or water

Trim and discard fat from beef and cut into 2 or 3 inch chunks; season with salt and pepper. Brown lightly in bacon fat or oil. (Browning can be skipped if desired.) Cut potatoes into quarters or large chunks; slice carrots, parsnips and celery into 1 1/2” pieces.

Place all vegetables in crockpot; drop in bay leaves; sprinkle with pepper, rosemary, thyme, and oregano. Stir a little to distribute seasonings. Place meat on top of vegetables and pour in bouillon.

Turn cooker on to low and cook 8-9 hours or until meat is fork tender. When ready to serve, remove meat to platter and surround with vegetables. Keep warm while gravy is prepared or serve with meat juices.

For gravy: measure liquid from pot into a sauce pan and heat on high. For each cup of liquid, mix 2 tablespoons flour with ¼ cup cold water and stir until smooth. With a whisk in one hand stirring the boiling liquid, slowly pour flour mixture in. Continue cooking and stirring about a minute or until gravy thickens. Serve immediately. Yumm-mm! This is delicious with a nice green salad and a loaf of hot, crusty bread.

Until next week, dear Reader, vaya con Dios.