Recipe: Crock Pot Wizardry With A Chuck Roast

Seems this years already turning into a roller coaster, seeing that blogging has had to take a backseat for a second. I'm going to start posting some recipes and adaptions that I have written down over the past few years. For me, for you, quick references and all the good jazz.

This recipe was given to me by word-of-mouth from my mother. It's soooooo easy, level one easy. Amaze balls, and in the dozen times I have used this recipe, it has turned out EVERY time. I love making this and freezing the extra or even just eating it for the next week if you're budgeting.

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Ingredients::

• Chuck Roast
• Vegetable oil (I use extra-virgin olive oil)
• Carrots - generally 1-2 cups
• Potatoes - 1-3 cups (really both of these depend on how big your crock pot is and/or what else you're going to be making with this)
• Onion - 2 tbsp (optional)
• Seasoning, store bought or custom made (I like to use taco seasoning, mild or hot depending on the mood. Generally 1/2-3/4 of a pouch)
• Salt (garlic salt is what I like to use) and pepper
• Beef or vegetable broth
• Optional: Bay leaves and/or thyme (add after adding roast to the crock pot)

Directions::

1. Wash carrots and potatoes. Skin potatoes and add all vegetables to the bottom of the crock pot. Add one tablespoon of vegetable oil to the crock pot as well.
2. Season the top of the roast with salt and pepper. With butter or olive oil in the pan, brown the seasoned side and season the opposite side while it's browning. I've been using heat at 6-7 (medium to high) for about five minutes a side. Turn over and brown the other side.
3. Add to the crock pot once both sides are seared. Add seasoning onto the top of the roast, generally covering the top with a nice layer of it (about 1/2 the package). See picture below.
4. Add water to the sides of the roast, covering all the vegetables on the bottom. Add some broth so the sides of the roast are covered, roughly a CM under the top of the roast.
5. Put on lid and set to high for an half an hour. NO FLIPPING!
6. Without taking the lid off, set to low for 5-6 hours. I generally try to check this around the 5 hour mark, as your don't want that sucker to dry out.

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Next time I cook this, I'll be sure to take some pictures of the final product and update this post with how it turns out! 

Checking some rules of thumb from around the web:: "Generally, start out with about 1 to 1.25 hours per pound for cooking on high and 1.25 to 1.5 hours per pound for cooking on low." Ref

And here's the Best Yahoo Answer on dry meat.

Hope you all enjoy, I know this is one of my favorite "lazy" recipes. ;]

Enjoy and until next time.

Happy Frackin' 2015

Good <insert time of day> fellow strange ones,

I can't believe how fast last year went. MADNESS. I am still typing 2014 everywhere and having to make corrections. Blogging.. will become more of a priority in the new year. I am so O.C.D. that I get stuck on the details and have many draft posts started at once. I get in the state that it's not refined or it will take hoursssss to finish and blah blah blah. It needs to change, is what I'm getting at. Come on me, YOU CAN DO IT! (Insert Rob Schneider's voice here).

Today I woke up at 7am so I could get my shit (chores) started. I want to check stuff of a list, It's exhilarating. Eating this early is a challenge for me, but that's another "resolution" of this year that I would like to improve upon. Working in IT and now making blog posts makes me realize how much my spelling has slipped and I rely upon spell check a bit more than I use to. =[ Grammar and reading speed are a resolution as well lolz.

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When last year started, it was looking to turn into the worst year possible. I was in an outrageous situation and had little hope that anything would improve. I was in this funk until August, when my 4th Shambhala was coming up.. Then, I got in the zone. I wanted everything to change once I got back to the states. I was in the middle of moving when I left and had 1/2 my stuff in storage, 1/4 in a new room totally packed up and the last 1/4 at my old place for last week necessities. I had to borrow money and max out credit cards to make my vacation a dream and have two apartments at once in the middle of it all. But it was worth it. Best Shams of my life, and hope that things can only get better from there.

It seems putting myself in this mindstate made the entire experience a bit more... what's the word.. life changing? I've been able to work through reading a lot more books and organizing a lot of my physical shit (you know, ALL THE BOXES?!), and I donated more than any other year in my life. That felt really good, physical pounds I no longer had to carry with me. I'm not going to lie though, I do still have a 10x10 storage unit that's 1/2-3/5ths full. But at least it's all labeled and written down... Someday I'll get renters insurance... Sigh. One step at a time. ;]

This year has started off going rocketship-to-space fast. It's the twelfth!? What? lolz seriously. ;] A topic for another post.

Anyways, those drafts I mentioned in this first paragraph? I plan on posting at least one of them today and getting it finally done =] Not sure which one yet though, I guess that can be a surprise.

See You Space Cowboy..

Life Needs To Slow Down!

Holy crap, this month has blew by, barely enough time to breath. At least, breathing has become easier for my little baby lungs, 6 WEEKS (and some change), NO CIGARETTES!!!! I am so happy to be able to say that now. I told my family at Thanksgiving when I was one day away from a month, and I can say I've never seen my mother so happy. She comes from a smoking-for-decades family, all of her sisters smoked and both parents, so for her child who's been on and off smoking cigs since age 15, this is a major thing. Since starting smoking, I've tried to quit dozens of times, but everytime, I would let some stupid, unavoidable life shit get me back into the mental state that smoking isn't the worst thing in my life, thus making it okay. WELL, NOT ANYMORE.

 I don't know if I can say much has changed recently aside from moving and changing my home life situation, but more just a general appreciation for myself. I'm not unhealthy, but I can't truthfully say I feel fit. I can't run (although I am looking to change that now that my lungs aren't exploding), I'm not very athletic, but I've at least just gone by the pants rule for my whole life: If they get tight, get up and move. I am a huge jumper lolz I do plan on trying out a new workout (borrowed from a friend) I tried three of the workouts so far, KICKED MY ASS! Which is always a good thing =]

I really do have a problem just sitting down and typing, my steam of consciousness is usually too ALL OVER THE PLACE. And I am sorry for my use of caps, but... who really cares? Aside from the grammar police..

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Well, I have been reading Midwinterblood, almost done, and I have to say it is fantastic. Wonderful, and by coincidence I recently encountered the main plant of the story:: The Dragon Orchid

Such a gorgeous creation. I definitely would like one of my own soon (one of my best friends has billions of rare/tropical plants).


URL: http://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large/dragon-orchid-jean-noren.jpg