roast without the roasting

some days active cooking isn't a priority....but eating well is :)  This past weekend my sister got married which is AWESOME (a post will be coming in the next couple of days detailing some of my eating experiences) but on Sunday, the day after the wedding I wasn't feeling awesome.  Nooooooo, not alcohol induced so much as lack of sleep induced.  So for some reason it's 6:15 AM and I'm awake.  Up like a dart.  Perfect.  ugh.

just removed from the crock pot into
a casserole while the gravy gets made

Well I knew as on those days the reasonable feelings aren't going to last and I will be dead tired by the afternoon.  What to do?  CROCK POT.  again.  yes, I'm into the crock these days but this day in particular called for easy comfort. 



CROCKPOT POT ROAST is easy comfort.



I adapted this somewhat from the 365 days of slow cooking blog, and some other ideas too.  Here's what I did:

2 (or was it 3?) lb eye of the rnd roast (mostly thawed!) seasoned w/ sea salt and pepper (some grinds, whatever felt like enough) mixed with a couple T of flour
4 medium carrots, peeled, cut in large chunks (think thirds then halved)
5 small-med russet potatoes, peeled, halved
1 medium onion wedged
a few peeled cloves of garlic
3/4C beef broth mixed with 2T Worcestershire and a few dashes of soya sauce


Method:
I say mostly thawed because I defrosted it in the mic, and I was losing patience thawing it out so I left it as was.  I coated the roast in the flour and salt and pepper mixture.
I wedged the onion and separated the pieces and laid them down in the 6qt crock. I put the beef on top and sprinkled the veg and garlic around.   Put the broth and Worcestershire over it, sprinkled with a bit more fresh ground salt and pep, and cooked on low for just over 9 hours.


plated with accompaniments, nice gravy!



To make the gravy it was easy:  I took out all of the meat and veg, and left behind a few of the onion wedges and the garlic cloves.  I put the crock on high, removed the lid, let it reduce for about 20 minutes while I did other dinner preparations.  I then took the juices, and rogue veggies and pureed them with my immersion blender.  The flour that was in there and the veg lends nice consistency and flavour.  I added salt, pepper, and a dash of liquid bovril to taste.  good stuff.

The gravy was the best part of this meal!  It's pot roast, right? I've never actually made pot roast and I have to say that overall, yes, I prefer old fashioned oven roast BUT this was comforting, low maintenance and easy and it tasted pretty good actually.  It's cheap meat, we're not talking top sirloin or prime rib here folks :)