Foodie Friday: Crock Pot Roast Gravy

Last week I did a pot roast in the crock pot and whipped up a gravy to go with it. You can use this basic recipe to make a beef gravy or a chicken gravy - all you need is the broth from your roast.

The basic recipe is simple. Take about 3 Tbsp. of butter and melt it in a saucepan. Sprinkle on about 3 Tbsp. of flour and mix it in until it browns up and isn't lumpy - called a roux (pronounced rue). Add several cups of the broth from your roast and simmer until it thickens up. Add some salt and pepper and you're ready to serve. Delicious!

Foodie Friday: Crock Pot Roast

I've shared a crock pot roast recipe here before, but I made one today that was pretty delicious and wanted to share. I cut up an eye of round roast, browned it and put it in the crock pot. I added two Vidalia onions quartered and sprinkled it with garlic salt. I then added about a cup of blush Chablis wine and a cup of water.

Seal the lid and cook it in the crock pot on high for about 6 hours or for about 8 hours on medium. I whipped up a pepper gravy (see next week for that recipe) with the "sauce" created as it cooks. It's delicious and SO, SO easy!

Foodie Friday: Crock Pot Pot Roast

It's fall, which means it's time for hearty meals in my household. It also means I like to have dinner waiting when I get home! Thus, crock pot pot roast is a fall favorite in my house.

To make a roast, you'll need to pull together a couple things:
Eye of Round Roast
Onions
Potatoes (Red)
Italian Seasoning
Worcestershire Sauce
Light Soy Sauce
Optional ingredients:
Carrots
Zucchini
Tomatoes

First, cut off all visible fat from the roast and brown it on the stove, turning the roast so that all sides are browned. This helps lock in the flavor so to speak. Take your browned roast out of the skillet and transfer it to the bottom of the crock pot - I like to layer my veggies on top of the roast to give it flavor.

I then cut small, skinned onions into halves and layer these over the meat. For this roast, I used 5 small onions and thought I should have added more when the roast was done - I can never have enough of these roasted onions!

Wash some red potatoes and put these into the crock pot as well. You can also add zucchini or yellow squash cut into large pieces, whole tomatoes, and either baby carrots added whole or larger carrots cut into chunks.

Once you have all your veggies in the pot, pour 1/4 cup LIGHT soy sauce (cut out the salt!!) and 1/8 cup Worcestershire sauce over the whole thing. Finish off by sprinkling with Italian seasoning and a little pepper.

Cover the crock pot and cook on high for at least 8 hours - don't worry if it cooks longer. If you're at home while it's cooking, you can turn the roast about halfway through so that both sides are juicy, but it's fine to leave it as is! When you open it up at the end of the day, the roast will have cooked out some lovely juices, the onions will have caramelized to a lovely brown and your potatoes and veggies will be infused with flavor. Delicious!

Foodie Friday: Crock Pot Spaghetti Sauce

I often have the same problem when I get home from work. I'm too tired to make a gourmet dinner. I tried when I was first married to present hubby with lovely, multi-course meals. That lasted about 6 months. Now, I look for quick an easy. And that's where my handy crock pot comes into play!

I make this spaghetti sauce pretty often and can use it in many ways. Want spaghetti? Perfect. How about lasagna? Check out next Friday's post. Then there's that thing my husband called "goulash" for the first six months of our marriage that I finally figured out meant rotini or macaroni with sauce and cheese piled on. You can do that too.

Pull out your crock pot and gather your ingredients:
1 Vidalia or 3 small onions
1 pound super lean ground beef
2 large cans diced tomatoes
1 can mushrooms (stems and caps are fine), drained (optional)
2 tsp. Italian Seasoning
1/4 cup Cinnamon
Sea Salt and Pepper to taste

I cut up the onions and put them in the bottom of the pot. Since my family has no problems with onions, I keep the pieces big! Over the onions, I put in the beef and then break it up into smaller chunks.

Then I layer in the Italian seasoning, cinnamon and salt and pepper. The cinnamon gives it a sweetness that we love - it's the more Greek version of sauce. If you want a more Italian style taste, throw in a couple Tablespoons of garlic powder instead.

Here's the hard part, open your cans of diced tomatoes and mushrooms (drained) and throw those in. You can also put in peppers or black olives if you like them in your sauce. Then stir up the whole thing and cover your pot.

As for cooking, I usually cook this on high for 8-9 hours. If you anticipate being longer, you can cook it on medium for probably 12-14 hours. When I get home I find delicious goodness waiting for me as I walk through the door. I throw on some angel hair pasta and I have dinner in a snap!

Enjoy!