Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Pot Roast

I could have sworn I had a pot roast post, but alas, I do not.

Maybe I was confusing the slow cooker roast beef?

No worries! I made pot roast last night!

2 lb. chuck roast (or other budget cut that will benefit from a long cooking process)
4 small potatoes, chunked
1 medium onion, chunked
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 or 4 carrots, chunked
3 or 4 stalks of celery, chunked (include some of the delicious leaves!)
~5 cups water
1 vegetable bouillion cube
salt, pepper, spices to taste
bay leaf

Begin by chopping and chunking all the vegetables. I literally just chunked mine up - it's a rustic, homey dish, so I wasn't concerned about beauty.

Spray the inside of your crockpot and toss all the vegetables in the bottom. Next, season both sides of your meat with spices of choice, salt, and pepper. Place over the vegetables.

Pour enough water to cover the vegetables and fill half of the crock pot. Mix in one bouillon cube for extra flavor and throw in a bay leaf. Cover the crock pot and put it on low for 6-8 hours.

The fat in the meat will render down and a lot of the moisture will come out of the vegetables, so about half-way through the cooking process the liquid should cover most of the meat. I usually come take a peek at this point to give it a quick stir and to flip the meat over. It's not necessary to do this, but I just feel like somehow it's making it "even."


When it's time to eat I remove the meat, remove the large pieces of fat, and chunk the rest into manageable bites. Then I put the meat back in with the vegetables and broth to keep it moist.

You can now choose to serve this on a plate with meat, vegetables, and potatoes strained, as most restaurants serve it. But, since we're dining at home I choose to just scoop everything into a big bowl with a little bit of the broth.

There are tons of leftovers, which I store together in the broth. I think it keeps everything moist and flavorful. If we do not finish the leftovers on their own, I will definitely be using them for a beef pot pie. Just reserve the broth, thicken it with some cornstarch, flour, and reducing, and use that as the gravy!

Another Freezer Meat Challenge victory! Have you checked out my progress lately? I've made quite a dent and my freezer seems so neat and clean now!

Blogger Secret Ingredient (BSI) this week is being hosted by Guilty Kitchen. You have until this Sunday, August 30th to turn in your Fig recipes!

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

That looks GOOOD! Don't make fun, but I have never really had pot roast before...because my mom only cooks Korean food and pot roast is such a homey dish that you don't find in restaurants...But I've been meaning to make one myself sometime!

Nowheymama said...

Mmm. The leftovers are also good as hash.

A@ Please Don't Eat Me! said...

oh this looks delish! i love a warm homey meal every once in a while.. this would be perfect in the fall! of course we have a cold front rolling through- maybe i should make some tonight! lol

Anonymous said...

I love comfort food like that! I need to get a better crock pot - if Tony isn't home to turn it off it overcooks my stuff!

Christina said...

Why would I make fun Sophia!!? haha There's plenty of stuff out there I have yet to eat!

Sarah I've never had leftovers as hash - sounds good!!

A - it was only in the 60s here yesterday and raaaainy. At first I thought it'd be too fallish of a dish, but then I decided I was ready for a homey warm meal.

Biz - that stinks!!! My mom has a name brand crock pot that she got as a wedding gift 27 years ago and it still works perfectly. She actually bought mine as a present when she stayed with us - it's the Hamilton Beach Stay -or- Go and was at Marshall's or TJMaxx for only $30ish!!! Target just had a great sale (might still be going on) for 4qt sized ones $16!!!

Anonymous said...

oooh that really looks like a Chinese soup dish that instead of potato, we use thick chewy noodles. :) Too bad i don't eat beef, otherwise i bet i'd find that yummy!!!

P.s. Is my gmail account crazy or have there been no new updates on the potluck? hahah

Christina said...

Hey Michelle I just fwded the info to both your accounts again. Hope you get it this time! Maybe I'm being marked as spam ;)

Jenn@slim-shoppin said...

I never think about spraying my crock pot with cooking spray!

What a great idea.

I love pot roasts like that!

nora@ffr said...

vat a great idea!! i shud try this sometime! sound delish!

Laura said...

I love pot roast! Good fall dinner, it's fall here already

Together We Save said...

Yummm... I can not look at food blogs before lunch. Way to yummy.

Maggie said...

You know, I have a slow cooker that I inherited from my apartment and I have yet to use it. I really should :) This looks great. I even have freezer meat!