Pot Roast & Roasted Veggies

Who doesn't love a hearty pot roast. It's such a classic. I actually came across this recipe while surfing FoodNetwork.com. And you cook it in a crock pot so that it's basically ready when you get home. Generally I don't use a lot of Sandra Lee's recipes, but this was a good one.

Pot Roast with Roasted Root Vegetables

Pot Roast
1 1/2 lbs. beef bottom round roast
2 tsp. salt + more for seasoning
1/2 tsp. black pepper + more for seasoning
2 Tb. all-purpose flour
2 Tb. canola oil
2 carrots, cut into 2" pieces
2 stalks of celery
1 medium yellow onion
1 can (15 oz.) beef broth
1 cup water
1 Tb. minced fresh garlic
2 Tb. Worcestershire sauce
4 sprigs fresh thyme

Roasted Root Vegetables
2 carrots, cut into 3" pieces
2 russet potatoes, cut into 1" cubes
1/2 lb. turnips, cut into wedges
2 Tb. canola oil
1 tsp. each fresh rosemary and thyme leaves
1 red onion, sliced

For roast:
Season beef with salt and pepper and lightly coat with flour. Heat the canola oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat and brown the meat on all sides. Remove to a platter and set aside.

Arrange the carrots, celery and onion in the bottom of a slow cooker and top with the seared beef. Add the broth, water, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, and thyme. Set the cooker on low for 8 hours.

When finished, remove the meat. Let the vegetables and broth cool for about 5 minutes, then add to a blender. Slowly blend until smooth and transfer to a serving bowl. Serve the gravy with the pot roast and roasted vegetables

For roasted root vegetables:
One hour before the pot roast is done cooking, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Add the vegetables to a large bowl and add the canola oil, rosemary, thyme, and onion. Season with salt and pepper to taste and arrange on a sheet tray. Roast for 30 minutes, then toss and roast another 30 minutes. Serve on a platter with roast.

These pictures don't do this meal justice.

Nothing's easier than throwing a piece of meat in the crock pot and letting it go all day. And I don't know that this hunk of meat was any different than any other slow cooker piece of meat that I've done before. What did set it apart was the gravy and roasted root vegetables.

How easy is this gravy? Take what's left in the crock pot, throw it in the blender and let it go. And I did use an onion in here because I figured it'd get blended up later and Wes would never know. And he didn't! Granted I did not use all the leftover vegetables and liquid since it would have made a lot of gravy. But this sauce adds a nice, light veggie flavor to the beef. It's not your typical brown or gray gravy.

I loved the vegetables. I only ended up using carrots and potatoes since turnips are foreign and you-know-who has an aversion to onions. I also cut the pieces a lot smaller than suggested and cranked up the heat to about 475 degrees. I originally had it at 500, but then the oil started smoking. I didn't plan ahead for the 1 hour of roasting. The result was that these vegetables were done in 20 minutes instead of an hour. And oh man, where they yummy. Crispy on one side and so full of a nice herbal flavor from the thyme and rosemary. I would make those again with anything. I think roasted vegetables are the way to go.

So an easy meal for when you don't feel like cooking. You can prep the vegetables ahead of time and when you get home or are ready to eat, throw them on the pan and dinner is done in 20 minutes (if you cook them the way I did).

Enjoy!