One of my New Year’s resolutions for 2018 is to cook more in my slow cooker. I’m no chef, and I’m not fancy, but I’m a big believer that cooking more often results in fewer processed foods consumed.
With the recent cold snap we had here in the southern Plains, I decided this week to slow cook a pot roast. Here’s a link to the recipe I picked from a site called The Spruce. I chose this recipe because it had the fewest ingredients and looked like the least hassle.
I work in the news business, and I don’t have time to dilly-dally or for fiddle-faddle. I’m not sure what that means; I don’t have time to look it up. My slow-cooker meals need to be easy, and they need to be cost-effective.
I’m demanding that way, and I’d bet you are, too. So, I wanted to share the recipe and tell you what worked, what didn’t, how it ultimately tasted and how much it cost. The first thing I can reveal is that this pot roast recipe was incredibly easy. It took me less than 10 minutes to prepare.
The ingredients with cost included:
3 pounds of chuck roast: $17.02
Bag of new potatoes: $2.98
Bag of carrots: $1.99
Box of onion soup mix: $1.38 (used one packet, so $.69)
Two cans of cream of mushroom: $1.36
Total cost: $24.04
In the morning, I popped that chuck roast in the bottom of my Crock Pot. There were two big pieces, and they fit perfectly. Per the instructions, I combined the onion soup mix with the two cans of Cream of Mushroom soup. Meanwhile, I popped the baby carrots and potatoes into the pot — and let me tell you: what a convenience to not have to peel or slice. The last thing you add is 1.5 cups of water.
I turned the slow cooker on low, and I went to work.
Eleven hours later, I returned home, and the house smelled glorious. Holy olfactory senses! The consistency of the mixture was more soupy. If I had been home all day and had more time, I might have added some flour to the mixture to thicken the sauce.
I poured myself a bowl and slathered some butter on a couple pieces of bread, ready for comfort food deluxe.
My take: It was bland on night No. 1. The meat was tender, but it was all very fatty. With a couple of slices of bread and butter, however, it was quite palatable. Something I should do the next time I make this is to cut the meat into pieces and carve out some of the marbled fat.
Kristi’s take: “Tender. Flavorful. Garlic salt was a nice addition on night No. 2, and my favorite part was that I didn’t have to make it. I got to sit back and enjoy it!”
Mom’s take: While she didn’t have a bowl, she offered up this wisdom from afar: Onions. Always add an onion. They bring out the flavor in whatever you’re cooking.
The reason I didn’t add an onion is because this recipe didn’t call for it, and I was already adding the onion soup mix. Thought it might be too much.
In all, this recipe provided six incredibly generous servings. At a total cost of $24.04, it averages to $4 apiece. Also, it was better on night No. 2 and for day No. 3, a lunch. Garlic salt worked wonders to cure any blandness, and overall it’s worth a go. It’s an incredibly easy dish that, I swear, took me 10 minutes.
Thanks to those of you who have followed my random li’l blog so far. I know I have lots of random interests and topics, and I know that isn’t ideal in the blogosphere. We’ll see where it goes!
