Pot Roast with Potatoes and Carrots

I don’t know what it is about fall that says pot roast is a must! It’s just such a hearty, comforting dinner at the end of a long cold day. Plus I love that this meal always reminds me of home. My mom made roast for dinner every single Sunday and it was rare that she would miss a Sunday. She didn’t usually toss the potatoes and carrots in with the roast, instead she’s do roast with mashed potatoes and gravy (which I also absolutely love) but I’ve always loved how this is a one pot meal. It’s much easier to prepare than doing a roast, mashed potatoes, gravy and a veggie separate, plus theres far less to clean up. You just need a knife, a cutting board and one pot. You don’t even need measuring cups and spoons with this one.

The red wine in this recipe is totally optional and definitely not a must. The roast still has plenty of flavor without it from the browning, the garlic and onions and the fresh herbs. Just look for a roast that has some marbling (of fat) so you end with a more tender result. The other thing that will make the roast tender is cooking it at a lower heat. My mom would even cook roast as low as 225 degrees when she had more time. The low and slow method almost always yields perfectly tender results.

I’m all about easy dinners and this one definitely makes the cut. Plus it’s a meal my whole family loves, especially my meat loving husband! A classic pot roast recipe is something we should all know how to make (unless your vegetarian of course), it’s just one of those timeless dinners everyone can agree on. And when you serve up a dinner this delicious you’ll feel like a pro in the kitchen, and no one needs to know what a breeze it was to make.

Yield: About 6 servings

Ingredients

• 1 (3 lb) boneless chuck roast or beef shoulder, trimmed of excess fat
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (14.5 oz) can beef broth
• 3/4 cup dry red wine (optional)
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 lbs yukon gold potatoes, cleaned then diced into 1 1/2 inch pieces
• 6 medium carrots, peeled and chopped into 1 1/2-inch pieces

Directions

• Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Heat olive oil in a large dutch oven over medium-high heat. Season roast all over with salt and pepper, then add roast to pot and brown on all sides, about 2 minutes per side. Remove roast to cutting board (or plate), add onions to pan and saute until they begin to brown, about 4 - 5 minutes, adding in garlic during last minute. Return roast to pan, pour beef broth and optional red wine over roast. Add thyme, rosemary and bay leaf to broth. Bring to a simmer, then cover pot with lid and transfer to oven and cook 2 hours.
• Remove from oven, add carrots and potatoes to pot and season with salt and pepper. Return to oven and cook 1 - 1 1/2 hours longer until roast and veggies are tender. Remove roast and shred or cut into large pieces, while removing fat, then return to pot. Remove bay leaf and herb sprigs. Serve warm.
• Recipe source: adapted from Cooking Light