Most of the time, she served it for Sunday dinner. She cooked a big beef chuck roast with whole carrots, big chunks of potato and broccoli spears all afternoon along. The aroma filled the air for hours and, as dinnertime neared, we’d start pacing. We couldn’t help ourselves. The scent of this scrumptious meal drew us to the kitchen. Mom would tell us “not ready yet” and then she’d shew us away. But we’d come back. Hey, even the dog paced, too! LOL

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As serving time neared, my mom would add a thick gravy to top the roast in the pan. That was the signal that it was almost time!

Finally, dinnertime arrived. Everyone grabbed a plate -except for Duke, our boxer, who could only dream about it- and waited our turn to dish up. Quick to the table! The feeding fest had begun. “Mmm.” “Mmm.” “Mom this is so good!” Don’t worry about the dog – he got to lick a plate after we were all done and he loved it.

Pot roast is easy to make but do plan on it taking some time. A 5 lb. chuck roast will take about 5 hours. Best to start it early enough, knowing that you can always turn the oven temperature down to keep it warm if it is ready sooner than you want to eat. So, here is how my mom used to make it and I still do, today:

5-6 lb beef chuck roast

1 – 2 cooking onions

6-8 whole raw carrots

4 large baking potatoes

4 large broccoli clusters

1/2 – 1 packet dry brown gravy mix

1-2 cans cream of mushroom soup

salt + pepper

water

 

Heat oven to 400°

Place chuck roast in large baking dish

Add 1- 2 cups water

Cut onion in slices and lay all over the top of the roast

Bake uncovered for 30 minutes.

Cover with aluminum foil.

Bake another 1 1/2 hours, then…

Wash and peel the carrots and potatoes.

Cut the potatoes in big chunks 2-3 inches in diameter.

Lay the carrots, potatoes and broccoli on top of the roast and recover with foil.
Continue baking another 3+ hours till meat is tender.

 

GRAVY
About 30 minutes prior to completion…
Remove the roast from the oven and gently take the veggies off, laying them in a microwavable/oven safe pan.

 

Combine mushroom soup and dry brown gravy mix.
Add juices from the roast and mix it through – the consistency should be thick but pourable.
Put the gravy all over the roast.
Return the roast to the oven and bake another 30 minutes.

When it is ready, slice the roast.
You will find that some roasts cut better in chunks.
No worries, it tastes delicious either way!

Tip: Keep checking the roast periodically. If the water is getting low enough that it may start to burn, add more water. 

Tip: The veggies can be challenging. I have come to the conclusion that they go in 3 hours before serving time and, again, if they are softening too quickly I can pull them off the roast,  put them into a microwavable dish and nuke them later to rewarm right before serving.

Enjoy!