Secret Recipe Club: Pot Roast

This is my first month participating in the Secret Recipe Club! I love the idea - so much fun to have a chance to get to know another blogger's site and look through their recipes and figure out which one looks just right for my family (and hope another blogger isn't having too hard of a time finding something they will enjoy here!) This month I had So Tasty, So Yummy and had a great time browsing her fabulous recipe index! SO many delicious options ranging from tasty, filling dinners to sandwiches to yummy cookies!! I had a tough time deciding which direction to go. I was really drawn to several of the cookie recipes, like the Big Fat Chewy Chocolate Chips (drool) or the Monster Cookies! There were TONS of great chicken recipes as well that I debated on, but in the end I settled on Pot Roast! I've had one thawed in the refrigerator for a couple days now and needed some inspiration for how to prepare it. I was excited to find this option and knew it would go over well with my boys. Anything meat and potatoes is usually pretty well received here.

The roast cooked beautifully in the oven, although I did think it needed a tad more seasoning (salt and pepper). It was tender, and the veggies were perfectly cooked and delicious. My boys very much enjoyed this dinner, and I loved being able to put this one in the oven and forget about it for 4 hours!

All the ingredients, ready to go.

Cutting the potatoes into large chunks.

Sauteing the carrots and onion.

Sauteing the potatoes.

Adding salt and pepper to the roast.

Browning the roast in the Dutch Oven.

Adding red wine and deglazing the pan.

All loaded up and ready for slow cooking in the oven.

Straight out of the oven after 3 1/2 hours.

Plated up and ready to enjoy.

Pot Roast slightly modified from So Tasty So Yummy

Ingredients
1 3-4 pound chuck roast
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 whole onion
7-8 small russet or red potatoes (or mixed)
1 pound of carrots, peeled (5-6 large)
1 cup red wine
1 14-oz can beef broth
2 sprigs fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dried)
2 sprigs fresh rosemary (or 1 tsp dried)
1 bay leaf

Directions

1. Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, then add olive oil. 
2. Cut the onion in half, cut peeled carrots into 2-inch chunks, and cut the potatoes into rough chunks (about 2-3"). When the oil in the pot is very hot (but not smoking), add in the halved onions and carrots, browning them on one side and then the other. Remove the vegetables to a plate or bowl. 
3. Throw the potatoes into the same hot pan and toss them around a bit until slightly browned, about a minute or so.
4. If needed, add a bit more olive oil to the very hot pan. Season the roast generously with salt and pepper. Place the meat in the pan and sear it for about a minute on each side until it is nice and brown all over. Set the roast to the side with the vegetables.
5. Turn off the heat, but leave the pan on the burner, and use the red wine to de-glaze the pan, scraping the bottom with a whisk to get all of that little browned bits off the bottom. 
6. When the bottom of the pan is sufficiently de-glazed, place the roast back into the pan and add enough beef stock to cover the meat halfway. Add in the onion, carrots, potatoes, as well as the rosemary, thyme and bay leaf (if using dry seasonings instead of fresh, add them to the liquid before adding the roast and vegetables to the pan).
7. Put the lid on, then roast in a 275 F oven for 3 hours (for a 3-pound roast). For a 4 to 5-pound roast, plan on 4 hours.