Pot Roast

I left this simmering in the crock pot for my visiting mother in-law and our kids, but I didn't stick around to eat it. My husband took me to Red Lobster for dinner. Hey- it's not that often we have someone to babysit. I was outta there! Below you can see the roast all cozy in the crock pot, snuggling up to the veggies and ready to cook.














There are many ways to prepare and season a pot roast. Common examples are: mushroom soup, a can of cola, beer, soy sauce, bouillon....the list goes on.

Here is how I make a pot roast:

*1 piece of beef for roasting
It happens that the roast pictured about is a rump roast. Brisket, chuck roast, sirloin tip roast, and blade roast are other examples and also work well.
*1 package of french onion soup mix
*crushed rosemary to your taste. I use about a teaspoon.

Rub the roast with the soup mix and rosemary and place in a slow cooker.

Place the following around your roast:

*4-6 carrots, peeled and cut into 3 inch pieces
*3 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
*1 medium onion, cut into chunks
*2-3 ribs of celery, cut into 3 in. pieces
*cabbage is good too!
*salt and pepper, to taste

Place the lid on your slow cooker and set to cook 8-10 hours.

If you like gravy, then save the drippings from the pot roast once you have transferred the veggies and meat to a plate. I pour the drippings through a strainer into a 2 cup liquid measure. Then, if needed I add enough water to to make 2 cups of liquid. In a small bowl mix 1-2 Tablespoons of cornstarch with 2 Tablespoons of cold water. I heat the strained broth or drippings in a small saucepan and then stir in the cornstarch. Cook until thickened. There you go...gravy!

Now I know that on my meal plan I listed French Apple Pie. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of the French Apple Pie that I prepared. You'll have to take my word for it, it was beautiful. And it was SO good that it disappeared before I remembered to get a picture. So, you'll have to settle for the recipe. Here is my absolute favorite apple pie recipe:

French Apple Pie

Filling:
6 cups sliced baking apples
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Stir together and press into an unbaked pie shell. Confession: I know how to make pie crust, but I usually buy my pie shell in the freezer section of the grocery store.

Topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup flour
1/2 cup butter

In a medium bowl, mix brown sugar with flour. Cut in butter until pea-sized crumbs form.
Spoon over the apples until the pie is evenly covered with topping. Gently pat into place.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Topping and crust should be golden brown.

A side note: I used Melrose apples for the first time in this pie. I would certainly use them again. The flavor was perfect and the apples held a little bit of a crisp. Not underdone, just the right texture.

There you have it, the savory and the sweet. Now get cookin'!