Perfect Pot Roast

To all new cooks, I recommend spending the money and getting a nice dutch oven.  Any meat cooked in a dutch oven is amazing.  I actually got two for Christmas.  Hence, I didn't spend the money to get one.  But looking back now at all those pot roasts in the crock pot,  buying one a long time ago would have been a wise choice.  I got two expensive dutch ovens,  and one is just big enough for a roast and some veggies.  This meal is perfect for a dinner party of four, or for prepping meals for the week.

It's raining today,  which is perfect pot roast weather.  Pot roast has an amazing smell as it cooks.  It fills the whole house with the smell of winter :).  Or,  the smell  of  meat which  equals winter.  Deal with my logic.

Perfect Pot Roast

Prep: 20 minutes

Cook:  3 1/2 hours

Serves: 4-5

Ingredients

3-4lb Bottom Round Roast or Chuck Roast

2 large white onions, diced

4 cloves of garlic, diced

1lb of baby carrots, cut in half

1 tsp or so of salt

1 tsp or so of pepper

2 tsp of Italian Seasoning

2 tsp of Garlic Powder

1/2 cup of Balsamic Vinegar

2 cups water

4 tbsp Tomato Paste

2 tbsp olive oil for browning

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 275 degrees

2.  Grease the bottom and sides of large dutch oven with two tablespoons olive oil and heat to medium high heat.

3.  Season the roast well with salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder.

4.  Place the roast in the dutch oven, rotating from side to side every 3-4 minutes.  Allow to brown on each side.

5.   Turn the heat down to medium.

6. To dutch oven, add onions and garlic.  Cook for 2-3 minutes, or until translucent.

7.  To the onions and garlic,  mix in Tomato Paste.  Mix the Tomato Paste in well until the onions and garlic have a red tint and there are no chunks of tomato paste in the dutch oven.

8. Add baby carrots and allow the vegetables and meat to cook together for 1-2 more minutes.

9. Add balsamic vinegar and two cups of water.

10.  Place the lid on the dutch oven, and place dutch oven in the 275 degree oven.

11.  Allow the roast to cook for  3 1/2 hours.

12.  Remove from oven and allow to cool with the lid off for 10 minutes.

13.  Shred beef and serve with vegetables and potatoes or brown rice (I ate it all week with brown rice.  I prepped it into containers with 1/2 cup of brown rice and 4 ounces of meat.  This made about 5 containers).