Crock Pot Beef Roast

Where I got the recipe: Made it up

Tools You'll Need: Crock Pot, fork, knife, cutting board

Ingredients: Beef Roast

1 packet Onion soup mix

1 medium onion

pot roast seasoning

3 medium potatoes

2 cups water

When I made it: Friday/Saturday

If you have even the slightest ability to plan ahead, the crock pot is a marvelous thing. It's almost like it came from the future. You just drop in the ingredients, and out comes food. Better yet, you knew you were going to be hungry at some point in the future, so you sent yourself back in time to prepare something that would be ready when you wanted it. It's the amazing power of the crock pot. It's also called a slow-cooker, but that implies you have to wait a long time, and nobody wants to do that anymore. Besides, it's not like you have to stand there and watch it, wasting time. Quite the contrary. I prepared this dish before I went to work Friday night, and when I got home, the feast began. I didn't have to stand over the stove for eight hours, or even stir occasionally. A crock pot recipe is the cooking equivalent of preparing for an earthquake: You get all the stuff you'll need, put it all in a safe spot, then go about your life until you need it.

I didn't indicate a size for the beef roast in the ingredient list. Basically, you'll want one that fits into your crock pot, leaving plenty of room for the other ingredients. The liquid will increase as it cooks, so leave room for that, too. If you're not sure, before you go to the grocery store, stick your head into your crock pot (Disclaimer: Crock pot should be unplugged and at room temperature. Do not force your head into your crock pot. Do not attempt to walk or read with your head in a crock pot.) and see if it fits in there. If it doesn't, then buy a hunk of beef that's smaller than your head.

First, prep the veggies. There's no need to peel the potatoes. Just wash them and slice them into wedges or cubes. Put them into the crock pot first. Slice the onion into wedges. Break them up, and put those on top of the potatoes. Sprinkle half of the packet of onion soup mix onto the onions. Add the roast, and sprinkle liberally with the pot roast seasoning and the rest of the onion soup mix. The pot roast seasoning seems to be an important ingredient, as a relative recently told me that she tried the pot roast recipe included in my book and had never used pot roast seasoning before. She was very pleased with the resulting added flavor. This recipe isn't the one in my book, but it's the one I took a picture of so it's the one I'm passing on to you.

Add the water, and turn the crock pot on low. Again, adjust your water to the size of your crock pot and the other ingredients. The liquid will increase as it cooks, so leave room. You could also add some beef boullion if you like. Adjust the amount of boullion you use to the amount of water you add. Put the lid on, and go about your life for seven or eight hours. This is the part of the recipe where I tell you what else I did while I was cooking. It might have been watching football, or admiring my reciept from the grocery store and reflecting on how much money I saved. But since eight hours go by between when you start this recipe and when you get to eat some, I'll skip it this time. Besides, there's good chance I did something embarassing in those eight hours, and don't want to relive it. Don't open the lid again until it's done.

If you're waiting for another reason to use the knife I listed in the "Tools You'll Need" part, you won't find one. If you didn't open the lid while you went about your life for the last eight hours, this roast will practically fall apart if you try to get it out of the crock pot with the fork. Here's a bonus for those of you who've read this far: You'd be better off using a ladle if you want juice, or a slotted spoon if you don't. Of course, use a bowl with the juice, or a plate without. Serve and enjoy.

Bob is the author of "Don't Fry Bacon with Your Shirt Off!  A Single Man's Guide to the Kitchen" a PublishAmerica book.