Crock Pot – Pot Roast – Yankee Pot Roast Recipe

A traditional family dilemma – no time – needs a modern solution – crock pot pot roast. I am the first to say with all the demands on my time, I find it difficult to get a healthy meal on the table.

This is the main reason I cook with the crock pot. I know that if I just hurry and get the meal done it is going to pay off tonight when I get home. If I haven’t convinced you yet then here we go again, CROCK POT COOKING is truly the most affordable way plan cheap meals for your family.

When I do make the time, it is usually spent finding free recipes and breaking them down to be cost effective cheap meals that are easy to prepare. But I do have a few old time favorites that I wouldn’t dare dream of converting. This traditional Yankee Pot Roast Recipe is one of those. I have prepared my Pot Roast Dinner with this exact recipe since, well the beginning of time – lol okay since I got married and decided I better learn to cook or at least make the attempt anyway. It’s a simple dinner recipe, the ingredients are basic and of course with crock pot cooking you can add and omit as to your preference but my recommendation would be to leave it alone, its that good.

And for those you need a little guidance with the homemade gravy recipe after the Yankee Pot Roast is done, I have just the article for you. I myself faced this dilemma with my first Pot Roast and Potato meal.

This is a great step-by-step guide on How To Make Gravy.

How to Make Gravy – Homemade Gravy Recipe That Is!

(just click the link, it will open in a new window)

Crock Pot Pot Roast – Yankee Pot Roast Recipe

Rival Crock Pot Recipes

Crock Pot - Pot Roast

Crock Pot - Pot Roast

Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 8 1/2 to 9 hours on Low
Serves: 10-12

 

Cheap Cooking Ingredients:

  • 1 beef chuck roast (about 2 1/2 lbs.)
  • 3 unpeeled baking potatoes (about 1 lb.) cut into quarter
  • 2 large carrots, cut into 3/4 inch slices
  • 2 stalks celery, cut into 3/4 inch slices
  • 1 medium onion – sliced
  • 1 large parsnip, cut into 3/4 inch slices (optional but even better with it)
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 tsp. dried rosemary
  • 1/2 tsp dried thyme
  • 1/2 cup beef broth*

Easy Dinner Directions:

  1. Trim excess fat from beef and discard, cut beef into serving size pieces and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
  2. Combine potato, carrot, celery, onion, parsnip, bay leaves, rosemary and thyme in crock pot.
  3. Place beef on top of vegetables and pour broth over beef.
  4. Cook on low 8 1/2 to 9 hours or until beef is fork tender.

*Use reduced sodium beef broth heart healthy crock pot recipe.

Looking for some different quick dinner recipes? Take a look at these:

7 Quick Dinner Recipes With Chicken

February 16th, 2009 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Category: Best Crockpot Recipes, Dream Dinners Made Cheap | 13 comments

How to Make Gravy – Homemade Gravy Recipe That Is!

As I recall the first time I prepared a homemade pot roast dinner everything went splendid, (crock pots are amazing) until I realized I didn’t know how to make gravy. Not a clue, my mom wasn’t available to call and the world wide web wasn’t an option back then! So out came the YUCKY beef gravy packets that no matter how hard I tried to make taste good, it just wasn’t going to happen. The dinner was a success, even with the YUCKY gravy.

 

How To Make Gravy

How To Make Gravy

As time went on my mom taught me how to make gravy by adding some flour, stir a lot, wait for a boil and WOW that was her recipe for homemade gravy. So what was the problem? Her directions on how to make gravy were to basic, she was one of those that could just add a little of this and that and create a delicious meal. I followed them to a tee, well as well I could anyway – 3 scoops of this and a rolling boil of that were not enough for me, I needed details. I did own measuring cups and measuring spoons and although they didn’t get used often, I did know how to read them.

 

After years of lumpy gravy that tasted more like flour than anything, I was able to find the detailed recipe I needed. (Thanks to the world wide web being bigger, better and FREE!) So to those of you that need the exact recipe on how to make gravy, here it is:

How to Make Gravy

  • Step 1 – After cooking the meat (roast, chicken, turkey or whatever it is) remove the meat and use a ladle or strainer and transfer the cooking liquid into a measuring cup ( I use a glass 4-cup one). Let the cooking liquid stand for about 5 minutes. You will see the fat raise to the top, skim that off and toss it, the fat that is. Take note of amount left in the measuring cup once the fat has been removed.
  • Step 2 – Pour the cooking liquid into a sauce pan and start heating over medium heat. For each cup of cooking liquid (the remaining amount you took note of in step one), mix 2 tbsp of all-purpose flour and 1/4 cup of cold water until smooth. (trick I put the flour and water in one of those small Ziploc containers and shake like crazy)
  • Step 3 – Stir flour mixture into boiling cooking liquid, stirring constantly 1 minute or until thickened.

So there it is, that’s how I make gravy. It’s simple and quick. But wait one more thing, if you have a big family like mine, sometimes the cooking liquid will not make enough gravy for everyone. No worries- add canned broth* to the measuring cup with the cooking liquid, but remember to take note of the amount for proper measuring of the flour mixture.

*Hot water can also be used in place of the canned broth but you will need to add seasoning like salt and pepper. If not it will taste like homemade flour gravy – trust me it’s not good!

Oh and if you burn the gravy – like I have so many times, I can help with that too. Click the link for a list of quick and easy recipe rescue tips! Kitchen Tips and Recipe Rescue

February 9th, 2009 | Tags: , , , | Category: Cooking Tricks & Tips | 19 comments