If you live anywhere near the Midwest and have had to drive to work every day this week; if you shoveled your driveway Tuesday, then Wednesday, and felt your nose hairs crystallize while you got into your car Thursday; if you (heaven, help you) were on Metra Wednesday morning, in the midst of the gun scare that turned out to be just a misunderstanding; this is for you.
[By the way, if you also, I don’t know, had to go out and buy the biggest, cheapest puffy parka you could find, one with a crazy fur collar and an extra layer of lining underneath, just so you could survive through the rest of your Chicago winter: well, send me an e-mail, would you? I’d like to know I’m not alone.]
Maybe it’s the fact that so many of the storms this year have hit during my commutes to and from work, maybe it’s the fact that I am always, no matter where I am, cold, down to my toes. Whatever the case, I have to tell you something: it’s high time for some comfort food.
[I'm glad to know I'm not alone in this, at least.] Yesterday, @ChicagoBites: “I need comfort food but I don’t want to go out to get it.” Well said. Maybe you feel the same?
This pot roast may not be the prettiest, but it makes up for its modest appearance with a very dependable character: you can really count on this one. The first time I made it, I was in college, I think, home for an extended period of time. It was the kind of meal you make when you’re pretty green in the kitchen, not completely sure of what you’re doing. You make it because it’s easy, with a short list of ingredients and an even shorter list of instructions. You make it again, though, (and again and again) because it’s delicious. Really delicious.
Pot roast, essentially, is as good as it gets this time of year (well, short of a vacation to someplace like Miami, but I digress). It’s warm and hearty, paired with chunks of potatoes and chopped carrots, and it’s tender, succulent, flaky, falling onto your fork and moist with its own gravy.
Because it’s so easy, this is the perfect recipe for a lazy weekend: assemble everything into the crock pot before going to bed and have it ready for the next day, or start it all when you wake up and have a satisfying dinner.
It’s the perfect way to get your comfort food without leaving the house, and, let’s be honest, at least around here, that’s what we all need right now.
Crockpot Pot Roast
Adapted from Fix It and Forget about It
Ingredients:
4 baking potatoes, cut into chunks (halves or quarters)
2 large carrots, cut into large pieces (or a desired amount of baby carrots)
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 to 4 pounds pot roast, cut into chunks
1/2 cup water
Directions:
Put vegetables in bottom of crock pot, and stir in salt and pepper. Add chunks of pot roast meat, and then add water.
Cover pot. Cook on low for 10 to 12 hours.
