Tender, beefy, juicy goodness that comes together while you’re at work…dinner worth opening the door to!

OK I’ve said it a million times, but it bears repeating; there’s nothing quite like coming home to the delicious smell and general good feeling of an amazing dinner that cooked all day without you. This one does require a bit more effort than most, there’s chopping of veggies, browning of roast (which YES, you could technically skip, but it reallllllly makes the whole thing more flavorful) but otherwise, this is yet another dump and run, set and forget, come home as the hero of dinnertime recipe that is making my mouth water even as I wax poetically about it.

Funny aside, my Mother apparently grew up eating pot roast and hating it, so I never had this as a kid…in retrospect, my Grandma did NOT have a crockpot which is what I will blame for my Mom’s major hatred. I feel as though I missed out not eating this more often and now I make it legit every time there’s a sale on roast cuts at the supermarket.

Ingredients

• 4 lbs. bottom round roast
• 1 packet onion soup mix
• 1 cup beef stock
• 1 cup red wine
• 1 lb. small red potatoes, halved
• 1 lb. carrots, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 bag frozen pearl onions (bonus points and extra flavor to your recipe if you can find these ones in cream sauce! They’re elusive but worth it!)
• 1 container fresh mushrooms (I used pre-sliced portabello)
• Salt/pepper to taste
• 1 Tbs. olive oil

Instructions

1. Line your crockpot with a liner, and put all the cut up veggies in the crock. Pour your wine and beef stock over the vegetables.
2. Salt and pepper the roast on all sides. Add the olive oil to a skillet and brown the roast on each side, approximately 4 minutes each side.
3. Add the roast to the crock, and sprinkle the packet of onion soup mix over the roast and around any veggies peeking out on the sides.
4. Cover and set to cook for 8-10 hours on low.

Once done you can take a few extra steps to raise this everyday recipe to greater greatness….

GRAVY

• Remove all meat and veggies from your crockpot to a serving platter.
• Place a fine strainer over a large container.
• Take your crockpot liner out of the crock and bring over to the strainer/container.
• Cut a hole in one corner of the bag and pour juices into the strainer. I ended up with about 2.5 cups of au jus. Put this container aside for now.
• Create a roux using 4 tablespoons of butter and 4 tablespoons of flour (melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, whisk in flour until no white is visible)
• Now add your strained au jus slowly, whisking as you go and VOILA! A delicious gravy to serve your meat and veggies with!! **Gravy too thin? Add more flour**

HORSERADISH DILL SAUCE

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup regular or low-fat sour cream
• 1/4 cup prepared (white) horseradish
• 1 tablespoon Dijon-style mustard
• 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1/2 tablespoon dried dill
• Dash Worcestershire sauce
• Dash Tabasco sauce

Stir together all ingredients in a medium-size airtight container until well incorporated. Cover tightly and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to overnight to allow the flavors to blend. Ideally, you could stir this up before you leave for the day, or even make the night before. If you wait til you’re ready to serve your meal, this still works, but the flavors may not be as potent.

Whether you choose to create the gravy or the sauce, this is an amazing dish anyway. In times when I’ve been a bit lazier, I just pour the juices over the meat and veggies on the plate and call it a day. It’s helpful to note that if you have leftovers, you should pour some of the juices over them as well, this will make your re-heats less dry!