Slow-Cooked Italian Pot Roast

I don’t know about you, but I love cooking with a crockpot.

There’s nothing simpler than putting all of the ingredients in a large piece of cookware, turning on the heat, and forgetting about it.  Also, low and slow is the best way to cook certain types of meat, like pot roast and round steak, in my opinion.

I’ve made this recipe many times and it always comes out tender and delicious.    In fact, the first time I made it, I wrote this note on the recipe:  “Yum!  Mark loved it and called it restaurant quality.”

I think it’ll definitely be added to your keeper recipe list, too.

SLOW-COOKED ITALIAN POT ROAST

1 (8-oz.) package sliced fresh mushrooms (or canned mushrooms work well also)

1 large yellow onion, cut in half and sliced thin

1 (3- to 4-lb.) boneless chuck roast, trimmed of excess fat

1 teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 (1-oz.) envelope dry onion soup mix

1 (14-oz.) can beef broth (or prepare beef broth using bouillon)

1 (8-oz.) can tomato sauce

3 tablespoons tomato paste

1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning

2 tablespoons cornstarch

Egg noodles or russet potatoes

1.  Place mushrooms and onion in a lightly greased 5-to 6-qt. slow cooker.

2.  Sprinkle roast with pepper. Cook roast in hot oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat 2 to 3 minutes on each side or until browned.

3.  Place roast on top of mushrooms and onion in slow cooker. Sprinkle onion soup mix over roast; pour beef broth and tomato sauce over roast. Cover and cook on LOW 7 to 10 hours or until meat shreds easily with a fork.  (It normally takes only about 6 hours for my roast to cook, but my crockpot cooks hotter than normal, I think.)

4.  Transfer roast to a cutting board; cut into large chunks, removing any large pieces of fat. Keep roast warm.  (I turn my oven on to 175 degrees and keep it warm in a casserole dish.)

5.  Skim fat from juices in slow cooker; stir in tomato paste and Italian seasoning. Stir together cornstarch and 2 Tbsp. water in a small bowl until smooth; add to juices in slow cooker, stirring until blended. Increase slow cooker heat to HIGH (or pour mixture into a medium saucepan and cook it there.)    Cover and cook 40 minutes or until mixture is thickened.

6.  Meanwhile, prepare your mashed potatoes or egg noodles.

7.  Serve the roast and gravy with hot cooked egg noodles or mashed potatoes (my personal favorite).

This recipe is a slightly modified version of this one.