I don’t know about you, but I’m so ready for spring. We had some nasty snow and ice over the weekend, which made me super anxious for warm weather and sunshine. Although, I really should not complain. My youngest brother attends college in Dekalb, Illinois and has practically been ice skating across campus to his classes. Winters are brutal in Illinois compared to Maryland. I guess I will just have to embrace this cold weather for the next couple of weeks and hunker down at home with some warm comfort foods.
One of my favorite recipes for a cold winter day is pot roast. I love pot roast because it’s such a simple dish, but is so hearty and filling. There are so many variations of pot roast, but this recipe is my all-time favorite. I cook my pot roast in the slow cooker, which makes it a perfect weekday recipe. Many slow cooker roast recipes require that you brown the roast in a skillet prior to slow cooking, but I omit this step and just dump all of my ingredients directly in the slow cooker. Less dishes, less mess and less stress. This pot roast is cooked in a thick, savory gravy that pairs perfectly with mashed potatoes. If you don’t feel like making mashed potatoes, you can just cut up potatoes and throw them right in the slow cooker along with your roast. Easy peasy!
| Prep Time | 15 minutes |
| Passive Time | 8 hours |
| Servings |
servings
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- 1 chuck roast
- 1 cup beef stock
- 1 cup water
- 1 packet ranch dressing dry seasoning
- 1 packet Italian dressing dry seasoning
- 1 packet brown gravy dry seasoning
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 cups baby carrots
- 1 yellow onion
- 1 tsp corn starch
- 2 tbsp water
Ingredients
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Rate this recipe!
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- Slice a yellow onion and set aside.
- In a bowl, mix together 1 cup of beef stock, 1 cup of water, 1 ranch dressing dry seasoning packet, 1 Italian dressing dry seasoning packet and 1 brown gravy dry seasoning packet.
- Place 2 cups of baby carrots and the sliced onions in the bottom of the slow cooker. Feel free to add any other vegetables, such as potatoes or celery. Place the roast on top of the veggies and then pour the liquid mixture over top of the roast. Sprinkle the roast with salt and pepper to taste, and place one bay leaf into the liquid mixture. Cover and cook the roast for 8 hours on low.
- Remove the bay leaf and set the roast aside on a plate. Mix 1 tsp of corn starch with 2 table spoons of cold water in a small bowl. Stir the corn starch and water mixture directly into the slow cooker, mixing with the broth and veggies. This will help to thicken the gravy. Add the roast back to the slow cooker and cook on high for 30 minutes to 1 hour until the gravy has thickened.
- Slice the roast and serve over mashed potatoes or with a nice piece of crusty bread.
Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching, and I have the perfect chocolate dessert for you to share with your special someone. Over the weekend, our friends Shelby and Matt had us over for dinner and I opted to bring dessert. Anything chocolate is always my go to. I must confess that I am a chocoholic.
