Crockpot Love

I don't know about you but life at my house can get crazy quick! I often find myself getting lost in the day and before I know it it is dinner time AGAIN and I am buried in things to do. So whenever I can find a crockpot idea I pounce on it and hope it will solve the dinner stress! I haven't tried this one yet but it sounded promising and so I thought I'd pass it along in hopes that it will also solve your dinner woes!

Simple Crock Pot Roast Dinner

Kent said this was the best roast he’s ever eaten.  Your house will smell amazing in a few hours after the flavors get going in the crock pot.  I use an arm beef roast from our local farm, but you could use another type of roast, too.  I’ve also used one arm roast and one pork loin — my Mom used to make beef and pork roasts together and they were always so moist and flavorful.  I’ve started this as late as 10:30 in the morning for a 5:30 supper, but the longer it cooks, the better.

Throw the following into a crock pot:

I use one like this (it’s big and lead-free)…

• Two 3-4# beef roasts OR one beef roast and one pork roast (or one or two pork loins) – really anything works, so just use what you have.  (If you’re starting with meat that is already thawed, you could first brown it on all sides in a frying plan with bacon grease or ghee for more flavor, but I rarely think ahead enough and just end up throwing them in frozen.)
• 2 Guinness or other dark beer (If you only have one beer, add a little water with it.  Also, if you don’t have a dark beer, any beer will do, but it won’t have quite as much flavor.)
• 6 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 6 T. palm or coconut sugar
• 6 T. paprika
• Optional:  Add a bayleaf or two
• Sprinkle some parsley all over the top

Two hours before you want to eat, toss in the following:

• Peel and chop carrots, potatoes, celery, turnips, etc.  Anything your family will eat and as much as you can get down into the liquid in the crock pot where it will cook and get soft.  I use organic as much as possible.
• Add pepper and sea salt to your taste.
• Note:  If you’ll be getting home just shortly before you want to eat, you can steam your veggies first to get them soft (it’s faster than in a crock pot) and then add them to the juices in the crock pot to get them flavorful, or just serve them with gravy.
• When you’re ready to eat, you can either eat it as it is, or if you want gravy (and who wouldn’t?), remove the meat (cover with foil to keep it hot) and pour the juices into a frying pan on the stove.  Bring to a slow boil.  Stir together about 1 cup of water and 1/2 cup arrowroot, sprouted flour, or organic cornstarch (you want a pasty substance that’s not too thick or not too thin – you may need to play with it a bit) and mix well.  Whisk into the meat juices, it will thicken quickly.  Season with sea salt and pepper to your taste and serve over the meat and veggies.  YUM.

Let me know what you think!  Is this how you make your roast dinners?  If not, let us know what you do differently so we have variations to try, thanks!

-Courtesy of www.catholicmom.com