Cooking for Two – Pot Roast in the Slow Cooker

    Chuck roast was on sale last week so I bought one  -- thinking I would cut it in half for two separate meals.

     Meal one involved a pot roast with potatoes and carrots. Barry’s sister seasons her roast with a package of dry soup mix, which is a quick way to add loads of flavor and creates a very fragrant aroma as it cooks. I adapted her recipe to the slow cooker. Amounts are variable depending on whether you are cooking for two or ten.

     As I remember Lorraine (Barry’s sister) omitted the dredging and browning of the roast and just stuck it in the oven with water and the soup mix. And, I used to do the same when I had less time to spend in the kitchen. However, now I have the time so added the dredging step as it imparts even more flavor. Besides, the flour on the meat (and the extra I mixed in with the water) creates it’s own gravy as your meal cooks.

Pot Roast

I cut the roast in half for us; one piece
went into the slow cooker, the other was
cut up for stew meat.

Chuck Roast

All-purpose flour seasoned with salt, pepper and paprika

Oil (we prefer olive)

1 oz. pkg. of onion soup mix (I used about ¾ of a pkg. for a small roast so increase according for the size of your roast and your taste buds)

Optional seasonings: bay leaf, rosemary sprigs

Water (I used about 1½ - 2 cups for a small roast)

Potatoes, peeled and quartered

Carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks

Additional salt and pepper if needed

1.     Dredge (coat) roast in seasoned flour.

2.     Drizzle oil in skillet and heat until hot (medium to medium-high temperature). Add the dredged meat and sear on both sides.

3.     Meanwhile, add a few tablespoons of remaining flour (that was used for dredging) and the soup mix to slow cooker; gradually whisk in water (to avoid lumping). Add additional seasonings of your choice, if desired.

4.     Add seared and browned meat. Set slow cooker on high and cook for a few hours; then add veggies about mid-afternoon; add additional salt and pepper if needed – I turned the slow cooker to the automatic setting at this point. (During my teaching days, I added the meat and veggies to the slow cooker in the morning – set on low.) Add additional water or even broth if needed.

Despite cooking just a small roast, we ended up with leftovers. Hot roast beef sandwiches are good, but we opted for Beef Hash w/ Poached Eggs. Barry simply cut up the remaining roast, potatoes and carrots and sautéed them in a skillet with a little olive oil. He threw in a little frozen corn (peas are good, too) and the leftover gravy and then added a poached egg and some chopped parsley for a delicious supper dish (also great for breakfast) . . . and a wonderful way to recycle last night’s meal.

Even though this half of the roast made two meals, we still have the other half to use. I have a recipe in mind so check back later for Beef Stew over Polenta.