I Haz Crockpot ~ Pot Roast

I have mixed feelings about my recent attempt at Pot Roast. Although Carlos ate it with much gusto, I thought it was a vertiable Pot Roast FAIL. My biggest problem with Crockpot cooking is timing. I don't like the thought of leaving the Crockpot on while I'm at work (what if my apartment goes up in flames?) and I don't quite have the time on Sunday afternoons to devote 8-10 hours to leaving the Crockpot on and cooking. Especially when I don't get home with fresh produce and my other groceries until noontime on Sundays. So when this recipe called for 10 hours and I only could give it 5, it was destined to fail.

Here is the recipe as it should be done.

Ingredients:

2-3 lbs of bottom round roast
(seasoned with paprika, salt, pepper and onion powder)

1 large onion chopped
2 shallots peeled and halved
3-4 garlic cloves smashed
3-4 carrots peeled and chopped into 1 inch pieces
a small bag of red-skinned potatoes
5-6 celery stalks from the heart with the leaves, chopped
mushrooms halved
dried thyme and oregano

1 5.5 oz can of V8 juice
1 10 oz. can of beef broth
a few splashes of white wine (optional)
1 14.5 oz. can of diced tomatoes (with juice)

1/4 cup of flour


Sear the roast by cooking it 2-3 minutes on each side in a hot skillet with olive oil. This picture is quite commical. See how my little skillet is trying sear this gigantic piece of meat? It did the job!

Add all the vegetables to the bottom of your Crockpot.

Don't forget your mushrooms!

Add the tomatoes, V8 juice, white wine and beef stock to the mixture. Season with thyme and oregano.

Nestle the behemoth piece of meat into the vegetables. I added the mushrooms on top because they couldn't quite fit into my 6-quart crockpot.

Cook for 8 hours. Then take out the meat and slice with a serrated knife if you have one. Set slices aside. Add the 1/4 cup of flour to a small bowl. Take 1 cup of the broth from the Crockpot and slowly incorporate into the flour. Whisk so you don't get any lumps. Pour the flour mixture into the Crockpot and stir. Add back the slices of meat and cook for another 30 minutes.


Serve hot! This picture would have been nicer with some fresh parsley sprinkled on top. Oh well!