COMFORT FOOD RECIPE: Pot Roast with Onions, Potatoes & Carrots in the Crockpot or Slow Cooker

I have made pot roast many times over the years.  I have even posted a couple of recipes on this blog--one using a crockpot and one using a Romertopf clay baker.  Here is a slightly revised recipe that I made last weekend using the LAYERING THE FLAVORS technique, but in a different way.

INGREDIENTS

• Large roast [I purchased one on sale from Sam's Club]
• Vidalia onions, peeled and sliced
• 1 head of garlic [not cloves, HEADS]
• 10-12 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 5 -6 potatoes, sliced
• Lawry's Seasoned Salt
• Worcestershire sauce
• Thyme
• Sage
• Pepper
• Sea salt
• Other seasonings you may like

DIRECTIONS

• Spray the crockpot with olive oil
• Prepare the carrots and potatoes and put them in the bottom of your crockpot
• Sear both sides of the roast for about 5 minutes in a skillet
• Season the roast with the herbs and spices, rubbing them in or sprinkling on top
• Put the roast on top of the vegetables
• Sauté the onions and garlic until they smell great and are browned
• Put the cooked onions and garlic on top of the roast
• Put the lid on and cook on LOW for 8-10 hours [cooking on low gives a much better flavor generally than cooking on high in the crockpot]

This took about 30 minutes.  I love putting the lid on, walking away and forgetting about it and then at dinnertime, like magic, having a nice meal all ready to serve.  :)

• Slice the meat thin and put the meat and veggies in a casserole dish to serve.
• Pour out the drippings from the crockpot to use as a gravy.

I usually set up the crockpot on a small table in the dining room to keep my kitchen counters free.

Voila!

I served it with fresh baked bread and watermelon.  Mmmm...

You would have thought that my family had never been served a roast before.  They ooh-ed and aah-ed over this dish and said it was delicious, asking what I did differently.    I have to admit, it  really did taste good.   I surprise myself sometimes.  :)  The simple step of cooking (almost caramelizing) the onions and garlic and THEN adding them to the dish to continue cooking, made all the difference in the world in flavor.  Try it.  You and your family will love it!  I intend to make roast this way and look for other ways to "layer the flavors" in recipes  from now on.

LEFTOVERS:  A couple of nights later, I made beef stroganoff and in addition to hamburger, used the one piece of roast that was left over in this dish. Instead of adding just water  to cook the pasta and meat, I used the remainder of the gravy plus enough water to make one cup.  It also tasted really good since the flavorings had already been layered.  :)