Sunday Roast

Did you grow up with a Sunday tradition of pot roast for supper? It wasn’t a ritual of my childhood, but according to Husband pot roast and Sundays go hand in hand.  His mother made a roast every Sunday.  Or so he remembers.

Recently, Husband’s mother moved to be near us and we’ve enjoyed spending more time with her, especially for weekend meals.  She’s joining us for lunch after church today and Husband made the request for a pot roast.  I could hardly say no.  But, I will let you in on my little secret…

I made the roast in my sleep last night.  Or rather, the roast cooked while I was sleeping.  And you can, too, with your Crock Pot.  Come on admit it, you have a Crock Pot?!?  Well, I’m a huge fan of the fix-it-and-forget-it appliance.  Especially when I can multi-task cooking and sleeping!

There is no right or wrong way to slow cook a roast.  You need a 2-3 lb chuck roast, some veggies, seasoning, and a cooking liquid.  Use whatever vegetables you’ve got on hand. Husband loves carrots, so they are always included in my roasts.  Sometimes I use red wine for the cooking liquid.  I’ve even tried beer, and beef stock is a good fall back too.  Today, er last night, I used stewed tomatoes just because I had them in the pantry.

Here’s what I used and a recipe for you to loosely follow.

Sunday Roast (or Saturday Night While You Sleep Roast)

1 chuck roast (2 1/2 – 3 lbs)

1 TBS olive oil

3-4 carrots, sliced (I will add more for Husband!)

1 onion, sliced

1-2 celery ribs, sliced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup crimini mushrooms (I tossed these in after I took the photo!)

1 (14.5 oz) can stewed tomatoes

1 (6 oz) can tomato paste

1/4 cup red wine (because it was the last of the bottle sitting on the counter)

1 TBS brown sugar

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat.  Brown the roast on all sides. Transfer roast to crock pot and add carrots, onion, celery, mushrooms, and garlic.  Add stewed tomatoes, tomato paste, wine (if using), brown sugar, salt & pepper.  Put the lid on and cook the roast on LOW for 10 – 12 hours.  While you are getting your beauty sleep, of course.

If you like a thicker sauce to spoon over your roast, you can easily make a gravy.  Remove the roast and vegetables to a serving platter.  Keep warm.  Add cooking liquids to a small sauce pan and reduce over medium heat.  As sauce is reducing, combine 1 TBS of flour with 1 TBS of water.  Add flour mixture to reduced roast liquid and stir until gravy forms.

What’s your favorite Sunday supper?