What's for Dinner? Slow-Roasted Pot Roast and Root Vegetables (Easy Recipe; Gluten- Free, Nightshade-Free)

This beef was so amazingly tender and flavorful, it melted in our mouths...and was so easy to prepare!

I found a chuck pot roast on sale for 50% off at Safeway yesterday. I knew I'd have to cook it pretty much right away, or freeze it. I had planned to cook it in my crockpot, but the bones in it were too long for my small pot, so I thought I would try the slow-roasting method that a friend had showed me last year while visiting us (thanks, John!). I decided to forego the preliminary braising that I was instructed to do in the online recipes I looked at, since I am a lazy cook.

I sprayed my roasting pan with some cooking spray, rinsed off the pot roast (it was the flat, bony variety) and laid it in the pan. I sprinkled dry onions on top of the roast, and salt- and peppered it. I cut some onions, celery and root vegetables into chunks. My root vegetables were carrots, parsnips, and a small rutabaga. You could also choose potatoes (which are nightshade vegetables), jerusalem artichokes, beets or turnips, depending on your preference. Even chunks of cabbage would be good (you could add them later to avoid overcooking). I laid the vegetables around the roast, and added 1/2 cup of water. In retrospect, 1/4 cup would have been fine, since the roast gives off juices.

I covered the roasting pan and put it in the oven at 250 degrees F. I turned it down to 225 degrees after three hours. I never checked it (I told you I was lazy!)...and when I took it out after four hours, it was completely cooked and so tender, it fell off the bone. The vegetables were quite done, as well. I would say, you could leave it in the oven at 225 degrees for five hours and it would be just perfect...

This is a public domain photo. I have not been able to post my own photos on Gather since JULY, 2011. My beef and vegetables were darker in color than in this photo, and I would not use these little cubes, but rather bigger chunks.