Dinner That Practically Makes Itself: Pot Roast, Potatoes, and Carrots

Much like I didn’t care for meat loaf, I don’t care for pot roast. Or at least I didn’t until, well, see below.  Growing up, Mom never made it.  I don’t really know why.  We just never had it.

Liver and onions? Yes.

Brussels sprouts? Yes.

Hominy? Yes.

Sauerkraut? Yes.

Pot roast?  No.

So, when I married a man who loves pot roast, I had to figure out how to make it.  I got a basic recipe from a church cookbook ( the BEST kind!) and worked on it till I got it just right.

When we have people over, (and by people, I mean dudes, friends of my husband) they gobble this thing up by the forkful. If you’re lookin’ for a man, this will catch you one.

I love it because it’s so easy.  I can put it in the Crock Pot, work all day, and my guests still think I’ve slaved over a hot oven for hours.  Win-win.

Plus, it’s versatile.  Take my version and make it your own:

Add mushrooms (I would, but my patchwork family refuses to eat the fungus; Big Daddy says he won’t eat anything that grows in a turd) if you like.

Subtract carrots if you hate them (my fam likes them, except the Diva, who picks around them).

Add other veggies or flavorings to suit your style.  Don’t do the potatoes my way, but make mashed potatoes, if you’d rather.  This makes a DELICIOUS gravy all on its own. Gravy should be a food group.

Here’s what you’ll need:

roast (I like sirloin tip. This one’s about 2 lbs; however, if dudes are coming, get a bigger one.  In this case, size only matters in the sense that you need enough meat to feed everybody.)
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
2 beef bouillion cubes (I don’t have the cubes.  The granules work fine.  Just measure the equivalent of 2 cubes.)
1/4 cup of water
Pam for spraying the Crock Pot
Crock Pot (duh!)
stock pot
veggies: on today’s menu are carrots (I use a small bag of baby carrots because the work’s done for me) and potatoes (I like the baby reds, 2 lbs. but get whatever’s on sale)

Oh, and this:

One package of any beefy flavored Lipton Onion Soup mix.

Oh, and one, loyal dog lying on the rug nearby waiting for some food to fall.

Laila-dog

If you don’t have one, you can borrow mine.

No, really.  Come get her.  I don’t mind.

I kid!  She’s a fantastic dog.

Back to the point: wash the potatoes and cut them in half.  If there are some that are smaller than others, leave them whole, so that all the potatoes are about the same size.  Put the cut/whole potatoes in the stock pot.

Dump the carrots on top and cover with water. Put on the stove and boil for about 20 minutes.

While that’s cooking, let’s go back to the other stuff.

Spray the Crock Pot with Pam and lay the meat on the bottom.  Layer on top the mushroom soup, boullion, onion soup mix, and water.

Plug the thing up and turn it on low.  Ignore the glaring NutriSystem advertisement in the background.  I know I did.

Except for Marie Osmond’s shoes.  They’re hideous.

Focus!

When the carrots and potatoes have boiled for 20 minutes, drain them…

YUM!

…then, add them to the Crock Pot. Just dump them on top.

Now, usually I do everything I’ve just described to you the night before, as I’m making the Diva’s lunch for the next day.  I put the filled Crock into the fridge, leaving the Pot out on the counter to remind me to plug it in and get it going the next morning.

Then, when I come into the kitchen bleary-eyed at 5:30am to make my girls’ breakfast, I take the Crock out of the fridge, put it in the Pot and plug her up.

Either way, cook on low for 8-10 hours, depending on how many fires have to be put out at work and how late you get home.

However, when you do get home, your house will smell beef-a-licious!  Oh, my stars! Open your doors and men will flock from miles around. If you’re in the market, that is. If not, keep those doors closed tightly and take in the beefy goodness.

At the end of 8-10ish hours, it will look like this:

Check the gravy action!

I usually serve the whole thing on one platter together. Like this:

Going in closer:

See how it just came apart while I was taking it out of the Crock Pot?  And the potatoes aren’t mealy or anything. They’re downright perfect.  NG1 says the carrots are good, too.

I’ll have to take her word for it.  I don’t do carrots.

Put the gravy on top and some in a bowl to serve over the bread or mashed potatoes.

Put some bread on the side (biscuits, Sister Schubert’s yeast rolls, heck, even loaf bread), and you’re good to go.

Serve with ketchup. Of course.

Sit back and wait for the smiles.

Then, the groans, ‘cuz they ate too much.

Printable  recipe card here. Click, print, cut, and go.

Crock-Pot Pot Roast with Veggies