When I was growing up we always had a roast cooking in the oven while we were at church Sunday morning. I have no idea what cut of meat my parents bought, but I know there were always potatoes, carrots and onions in the same big square Pyrex baking dish.
I've become an advocate of slow cookers, they really simplify life and make it look like you've spent so much time preparing a great dinner. Today was a cooker here in Norfolk, hot..humid... not a day to crank up the oven. Yesterday I went to Lou's (my favorite home town grocer) to buy some meat. Their meat is far better than the chain stores carry. I found a beef sirloin tip roast on sale, picked one out with even marbling that was about 2 1/2 lbs. Not that big, but with just two of us home now, that's plenty!
I rinsed it off and put it in my s.c. then sprinkled on one envelope of brown gravy mix, this is the powder stuff that weighs less than 1 oz. I then filled the envelope about half full with water to get the last bit of powder out, (how did I get to be so frugal?) and put on the lid. I set the heat level to 3 (mine goes to 5) and it was done in 4 hours. If you are gone all day, use a really low setting. If you are home and have time, toss in some veggies the last hour - but don't over cook them.
There will be a wonderful gravy surrounding your roast. If you need to stretch it or if it happens to be thinner than you like, sprinkle in some Wondra and whisk it while it cooks a bit longer. Wondra is in a tall blue round cardboard container in the baking aisle. It's the bomb...it won't lump and helps in a hurry! If you need more liquid for a larger batch of gravy use beef broth or potato water after the potatoes are finished cooking, then add the Wondra. I've also heard of people adding a small amount of instant mashed potato flakes in a pinch to thicken a sauce or gravy.
Well, it's time to get my food on the table. I'm looking at a waldorf salad with pasta for my next post. I'll try it first and let you know!
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