I used to always have trouble making pot roast. I could never figure out why mine wasn't tender.
I thought I was cooking it too long and it was coming out tough. Turns out I wasn't cooking it LONG enough. My favorite cut is a chuck roast. I usually use a 2 and a half pound chuck roast. For the two of us we get three meals. The first day the roast with potatoes and carrots. Second day we eat beef sandwiches on onion rolls with melted Swiss cheese and tomato. The third day we make carne guisada with guacamole in soft flour tortillas.
I also use only three ingredients making my roast. A packet of dry onion soup, undiluted mushroom soup and cracked black pepper. That's it, except for carrots and potatoes if you wish. I always cook mine in the crockpot on high for six to seven hours. It comes out fork tender with the most wonderful gravy from the two soups. Depending on your roast and crockpot, check half way through the cooking for liquid content. Add a little water if the gravy is cooking down too much. If it does cook down too much, at the end just whisk in a little milk, water or beef broth to make your gravy. I also put my carrots in during the last two hours of cooking, so they are mushy. Everyone that I've served this roast to loves it. It is truly no fail!
You can, of course, add potatoes in with your roast and I did this time since new potatoes was what I had at home. I put them in half way through the cooking time and they came out perfectly. But my family usually prefers mashed potatoes. I have a faster way of making those also. I bake my potatoes in the microwave as you would for baked potatoes. Once they cool, I scoop them out of the skins in to a sauce pan. On medium to low heat add your milk, butter, salt and pepper. I use my hand mixer right in the pan. They come out fluffy and wonderful and I didn't have to spend time peeling potatoes. Not a fan of peeling potatoes.
Have a good end to your week and great weekend.
Gina
