Crock pot roast with gravy

I tried this a Sunday or two ago and have been wanting to pass it along. It was one of the easiest and best Yankee-style pot roasts I've had ever - you don't even have to brown the roast first. Don't let the extreme ease fool ya - it's super tasty.

You'll need:

a 1 and 3/4 lb. beef roast (I used a cheap old chuck - my favorite)

1/2 c. flour

salt and pepper to taste

1 envelope onion soup mix

1 envelope brown gravy mix

2 c. cold water

Rub the roast with about 1/4 c. of flour (or more, if needed) and salt and pepper. Place in a 5 quart slow cooker.

In a bowl, combine soup, gravy mix and remaining flour; stir in water and continue stirring until well blended. Pour over roast. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until meat is tender. Slice roast beef and serve with gravy.

(I haven't tried cooking the veggies in with the roast because it is a very thick sauce, but when I do, I'll report back.)

Easy Sunday Dinner

So - what did you have for Sunday dinner?

We had Swiss steak, mashed potatoes, biscuits and corn on the cob (with my super secret corn sauce.)

If you haven't tried Swiss steak on a Sunday, I'd love to recommend it. It's easy peasy lemon squeeze-y and when you are done, it looks something like this.

For this ridiculously simple meal, all you will need is a round steak large enough to suit your family (lately, I've preferred a small chuck roast for this since I am cooking it a long long time) and a few cans of pre-seasoned tomatoes.

There are fancier versions of this recipe, but the Amy-version goes like this:

Season the steak (I use garlic powder, salt and pepper.)  Coat it in flour and brown it well.  (If you have a cast iron skillet, that would be best and would make this a one pan entree.)

Once it is browned on both sides, remove the steak from the pan and drain the excess oil. 

If using cast iron, return the steak to the pan and just add a couple of cans of pre-seasoned tomatoes to the top of the meat.    It  will look about like this (looks gross - tastes good!)  For my family, usually one large can and then one smaller can of the tomatoes does it. If you aren't using cast iron, just put it all in a casserole dish.

Cover the skillet (or casserole dish, if you needed to use one) and I cook it at 250 from when I leave for church (usually 10:30 am) until whenever we are all home (usually 4:30 or so.)  

Growing up, I think my mom added mushrooms and onions to the mix, but you know Shawn's not going to touch that with a 10-foot pole.  But mushrooms and onions are great in it, if you ask me.

That picture isn't uber appealing, but I tell ya, it's pretty tasty. It'll fall apart to the touch of your fork and is one of those Southern comfort foods that lots of families enjoy.

Later, I'll reveal my super secret corn sauce recipe.  But you'll have to pinky swear to tell it to no one outside of our circle.  

Tacos tonight!

Every mom wants to make something tasty for dinner that's relatively inexpensive that everyone in the family will enjoy. If it's also healthy, then the woman deserves an award for Mother of the Year!

This is a fun meal we enjoy a lot on Sundays.   I serve it as a buffet and everyone can either fill it all into a burrito or they can eat a pork taco with other "stuff" on the side.  I usually have all the typical taco fixings (sour cream, tomatoes, lettuce, cheese, green chiles, etc.) and then rice and beans, and finally chips and salsa.

Here ya go!  If you have a variation or improvement, I'd love to see it!

SLOW-ROASTED PORK FOR TACOS

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

10 garlic cloves, peeled

2 pounds pork shoulder, preferably boneless and in 1 piece

1-2 teaspoons peppercorns

2-3 teaspoons oregano

2-3 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons fresh orange juice

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

To prepare pork: Sliver 4 garlic cloves. Using thin-bladed knife, poke holes all over pork. Insert garlic slivers into holes.

Rub the peppercorns, oregano, cumin and salt into the pork.  (Those spices are really "to taste" so add as little or much as you like.)  Put the roast in the crock pot and then pour the juices on it.

To cook pork: Set the crock pot on high for 6 hours or so.  It should be very tender and you can pull it apart with a fork when it's ready.  (If you notice the pork is getting dry, you could always add more juices, but I've never seen that happen.)