SLOW COOKER POT ROAST
Winter is coming in fast and the days left to plant next season’s mums are few. As the cold air comes in we start dreading the snow that will soon cover our lawns and make travel difficult. In the midst of our complaints we may overlook the beauty of a virgin snow outside the door. When that moment comes when we appreciate that new snow we will want to celebrate it with a warm meal. Set your TV dinner table up near a window where you can see the bed of snow. Use that serenity as ambiance for pot roast from your slow cooker.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 small beef or pork roast
- 1 small diced onion
- 1 can of Campbell’s tomato soup
- 1 can of carrots
- 1 can of potatoes
- 1 can of cut green beans
- 5 Pepper corns
- 2 small sections from a garlic clove
UTENSILS NEEDED
- Small slow cooker with low and high setting
- Can opener
- Spoon for stirring
COOKING INSTRUCTIONS:
Wash the roast and place it inside the slow cooker
Dice the onion and garlic and place on top of the roast
Fill the slow cooker bowl with water to ¾ full
Allow the roast to cook for about 1 hour and 40 minutes. *** see time***
After that time has estimated time has elapsed add all the canned veggies and condensed tomato soup. Stir well.
You may need to add more water to the slow cooker bowl at this time.
Allow the pot roast to finish cooking for about twenty minutes more.
When done serve as desired.
ESTIMATED COOKING TIME:
If you use a small roast of about 2 ½ - 3 pounds the entire process should only take 2 hours. This is not a meal you want to go off and leave while you run errands because when you come back it’ll be dry and ruined.
COOKING TIPS
I purchase frozen and diced onions from Wal-Mart and Krogers. I buy pre-diced bell pepper and celery this way also.
Veggies & Your Slow Cooker:
When adding canned veggies to a slow cooker you must consider that the veggies are already cooked. The longer you leave them in the mushy they’ll get. Nobody likes mushy veggies so put them in at the end of the estimated cooking time.
When using fresh garlic and whole pepper corns place them on top of the roast. This allows the roast to let off its juices and gather the spices before those juices roll off to collect as gravy. You get better tasting gravy this way. If your pepper corns and garlic sit at the bottom of the pot they do not release the flavor evenly the way they do when their flavor is allowed to release and flow in different directions.
Cutting Board Etiquette:
When dicing veggies you can use either a wooden or plastic cutting board. There has been a lot of controversy over which is more sanitary to use. One constant is that you never use the same board to cut meat and veggies. When you change boards to cut veggies it does no good if you don’t change the knife too. If you only have one board make sure you wash it well between each use. Washing your hands and cleaning your cutting boards with bleach is your best defense against many food born illnesses.
Cutting board myths and facts:
Myth: A dull knife won’t hurt you as much as a sharp knife will.
Fact: You cut yourself few times with a very sharp knife.
Reason: When the knife is too dull we exert more pressure. We often misjudge our strength and the knife slips and cuts a finger. When we force a dull knife to cut a dense object we leave far too much room for human error. This one error can cost us a nice size gash on our finger. Always use a nice sharp knife.
To minimize board slippage put a slightly damp dish towel under it. The towel will keep the traction as you move about the board.
After reading the do’s and don’ts try not to think of cooking as a huge task. Think of it as having more knowledge that will lead to a greater cooking experience. These food safety tips will let you keep your fingers; minimize stomach upset while building on the one thing that makes the biggest difference, your self confidence.
Cooking for one is worth it when that one person is you.
Thank you for visiting
Aussie’s Kitchen
