Sunday Roast

The last words anyone would ever use to describe my husband are "picky eater". And I mean that in a good way.('cause I'm the same way!!) He will eat just about anything you put in front of him (unless said thing is onions. Don't dare serve him onions!) But if there's a meal to serve him if you have bad news to tell him and don't want him to get mad...like, spending too much at Target (not that I would know ANYTHING about that!), this is the meal! I make a roast pretty often and it never fails me. Never. It's the easiest, most fool-proof dish ever. It also helps that the Crock-Pot does all the cooking. Score! It's amazing how much closer becoming a mom brings you to this precious appliance. HA! I used it before, but nothing like I do now. 

Anyway, on to the recipe. I know there are 643,000 roast recipes out there, but I thought I'd share mine. I've used quite a few different ingredients in it, but finally found a combination that I really love. And it couldn't be easier!

Crock-Pot Sunday Roast & Vegetables

Serves 5-6

Ingredients:

Shoulder Roast (appr. 2 lb)

1/2  5lb bag red potatoes(this is all about preference)

3/4-1 bag baby carrots(the hubs LOVES carrots)

1 can french onion soup

1 soup can of water

2 8oz packets Italian dressing mix(or 1 16oz packet if you can find it, I never can)

2 bay leaves

Directions:

Dump roast in Crock-Pot, then sprinkle with dressing mixes. 

Pour soup over roast, then fill can with water and pour over roast.

Drop 2 bay leaves in.**

Cook on low 6-8 hours. (I did 7 on the dot)

**Now, you're wondering about the veggies, huh? Well, I've found that if they cook as long as the roast, they get very tender.....too tender. I like my carrots and potatoes to still be firm. Cooked through and fork tender, but still firm enough that they don't just collapse when touched. This time, I set my kitchen alarm for 3 hours, and when it went off I dumped the potatoes and carrots in. I distributed it all around well, so they were more down in the liquid. I let it finish cooking for 4 hours and it was perfect! I actually probably could've waited another hour to drop the veggies in, but it was fine. If you're going to be out all day and won't be able to add the veggies in about halfway through, then just dump them in from the get-go. It'll be just fine.

Nom nom nom! It is SO hard to be home with this thing without doing one too many "quality control checks". ;-)

Tips: I use a shoulder roast and here's why. I've used chuck roasts MANY a time and they have great flavor and are super crazy tender, BUT the one thing I loathe about them.....the fat and grease. It leaves everything else greasy and then I'm left with a film of grease on my mouth and I just don't like that.(nor does it make the tummy feel good, ya know?) You use whatever you like best. The shoulder roast still comes out tender and juicy, with tons of flavor. It's not quite that "falling apart" tender you'll get with the chuck, but it's still pretty dang good. If I'd cooked it for another hour, it would've been even more tender. Just depends on what you have time for. 

Yum. So so good! Serve with your favorite sauce (my sauce of choice is Heinz 57!) and enjoy! Now, this makes about 6 servings, and obviously there's not 6 of us, so we're having it for dinner tomorrow as well. Great way to use 1 meal for 2 dinners and save money, make a big pot of it! You could even freeze it and have it later if you don't want to have it back to back. We don't mind! I'm just hoping I can keep my husband out of it for 24 hours. ;-)

I hope y'all had a great weekend. It sure was beautiful!! I'll fill you in on our weekend tomorrow.
Have a great Sunday!