It's a Roast!

Hey there folks - it's been a couple weeks, but it's been busy! So, to kick start my blogging again, I'll fulfill the request of my friends, Amanda and Kevin Kohler, to give my "recipe" for a roast. (You can check out Amanda's blog - which is much cooler and way more interesting than my blog - here.) No worries, I'll be blogging about how life's going in the coming days, but until then...It's a Roast!

It all starts with a crockpot. Not the most glamorous or trendy of all kitchen utensils, but definitely a tried and true tool for any "real," non-Martha Stewart/Good Housekeeping, working girl. ;)

Then, you've got a roast! This is a sirloin tip roast (Brad and I invested in a quarter of a buffalo last fall and are still not through all of it.) My favorite roasts to use are arm roasts or rump roasts - both of which are a little more tender. 

 

I believe that it's pretty stinkin' hard to mess up a roast. So, the instructions may seem short and simple, but that's because it's all I do for one. I always wake up, throw the roast in the crock pot. Then I peel some potatoes, chop an onion in half and throw those around or on top of the roast. I pour about 1 Tbs of "kitchen bouquet" (which is a browning, seasoning liquid) in about 2 cups of water and then pour that over the top. Note: You don't NEED the kitchen bouquet stuff, it's just something my mom always used from my childhood, so I use it too. Also, for added flavor, I sometimes cut little slits into the roast and stick peeled garlic cloves down into it (as seen in the top left picture below).

I throw in a little salt and pepper and WABAM! The prep work is done. I turn it on high until I leave for work (about 2 hours) and then bring it down to low until I get home (6-8 hours).
After you pull the roast out of the crockpot, you have the option of making the drippings into gravy (which I prefer, but my waistline doesn't, so we rarely do it). Just pour it into a saucepan, bring to a boil and thicken with a mixture of cold water and cornstarch. Yummy!

Oh and this may seem a might bit stalker-ish for Amanda and Kevin, but when I was over at their house the other night, they had the most delicious looking dinner. So, without asking for the recipe or looking it up online, I tried to recreate it...I mean, the entire meal, asparagus and couscous too. :) It was great! And Brad really liked it as well. Neither of us had had couscous before and we both REALLY enjoyed it. We'll make it again!