Lazy Dinner

I know some people don't know how to cook.  I can almost understand it.  Almost.  Maybe your parents didn't teach you.  Maybe you didn't take home ec.  I don't know.  But this here is a lazy, from scratch dinner.  You can do it.  It's one of the first things I ever learned to make.  It's a forgiving recipe, and I've included some ideas for making it your's.

No, not the prettiest dinner.  But easy and delicious.

Pot Roast in the Crock Pot (aka Yankee Pot Roast)

1 roast of your choice -- Now right there, you might be panicking.  Relax.  Your local grocery store probably has some roast on sale right now.  My personal favorite is rump roast.  You could go with a chuck roast or a sirloin roast.  Anything will work.  The photo is of a rump roast, which often has this string netting over it.  You can cook it with the strings on, then just cut them off at the end.  What weight should it be?  Whatever you think will feed your family.  Mine is probably a good 5 lbs.  We might eat it all.  If we're lucky, there will be leftovers for Hub for lunch.

carrots -- I had 2 small bags of carrots from a local farm, so I put them all in (scrubbed and left whole, as they were only 3-4 inches long).  I usually put in at least 1 lb. of carrots.  You can add more if you like them.  Somehow, meat-flavored carrots are just extra yummy.  You could just halve them and they'll be fine.

potatoes -- Again, I had some red potatoes from the farm and most were small.  I scrubbed them and just threw them in whole.  You could use any potato, though something like a red or new potato would hold up better than a russet in the crock pot.  But any kind works.  You can halve them, too, or quarter them.  Or leave them whole if they are smallish.

onion -- I used a medium purple onion.  Need more onion flavor?  Use more, or use a different type, like a yellow or white onion.  Want a sweet onion?  Go ahead with the Vidalia or Walla-Walla.  (I just wanted to say Walla-Walla).  I peeled, then halved, my onion.

seasoning -- This is a lazy dinner.  So while I could've gone all fancy, I didn't.  I used the Costco version of Mrs. Dash.  And some kosher salt.  

Place cut veggies in bottom of crock pot.  Top with roast.  Again, if you have a rump roast, you can leave the string on.  Sprinkle seasoning over top.  I probably used about a teaspoon, maybe a bit more, of the fake Mrs. Dash and just a light sprinkling of salt.  I'll taste it when it's done and season it again if need be.

Add about 1/2 cup water (or beef broth) to the pot.  Put the lid on and set on low for about 8 hours or so.  Remove meat and veggies to a platter or bowl.  Don't forget to taste it all again.  Often, the veggies will need a bit more salt as most of it went on the meat.

If you're feeling crazy, you can use the juice in the bottom of the pot to make gravy.  But that's another post.  I usually just spoon some over top of the meat.