Roast, Potatoes and Gravy ~ Homestyle

I know I say on here about lots of recipes "this is IT Guy's favorite whatever",  but roast, potatoes and gravy ranks right up there in the top two, I'd say. When I make this and he walks in the door at the end of the day, he will almost always say something like "Ohhhh..it smells GOOD in here". And he's right. I think there's almost nothing as wonderful as a roast that's been cooking all day and the aroma that has permeated the whole house. The door to our house from the garage is right by the kitchen and this smell even takes over the garage. Cooking a roast in the crock pot is so easy and so nice to do on a hot summer day. No need to heat up the oven...just pop the roast and potatoes in the crock pot early in the morning and let it go. Whip up some gravy...and you're done! I use just a cheap chuck roast and it always come out fork tender. It's comfort food at its best!

Roast, Potatoes and Gravy ~ Homestyle



1 2-pound chuck roast
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
1/2 cup water
4 - 6 potatoes - peeled
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup water
salt & pepper
Kitchen Bouquet

Place roast in the crock pot. Pour in half cup water. This is where a lot of purists might disagree with me. Some cooks don't put a drop of water in with their roast...but I'm such a rebel. I've always done it this way. I feel like it makes more gravy. ( And if you knew IT Guy like I know IT Guy, the more gravy the better. In fact....I've got a funny story about IT Guy and gravy that I'll post at the end of this recipe.)

Sprinkle the dry onion soup mix over roast. Place peeled potatoes around the walls of the crock pot. After cooking all day, the sides of the potatoes that are touching the sides of the crock pot, will result in a golden brown almost-crust. SO good!

Place lid on crock pot and turn on low and allow to cook for 8 hours or so.

Remove roast and potatoes from crock pot and place on a plate into a warm oven.

Pour liquid from crock pot into a medium saucepan. In a small mixing bowl, mix cornstarch and 1/2 cup water together until smooth. Pour into saucepan and cook on medium until thick and bubbly. Add salt and pepper to taste. Then pour in a tablespoon or so of Kitchen Bouquet. Stir to combine.

The best way to serve this is to shred the roast, chunk/mash the potatoes and pour gravy over the whole thing!

 
This is what you need.

 
Put the roast in your crock pot. 
You can even put it in frozen, 
did you know that? Same results.

 
Nestle the potatoes in there so they 
are touching the sides of the crock pot.

 
Let 'er rip for about 8 hours or so. 
This is what you get! Dreamy, huh?

 
Here's the liquid from the roast 
that's been cooking all day.

 
And here's the ingredients 
for my gravy. Some people 
use flour which is fine. My MIL 
uses Wondra flour. Good stuff, right there.

 
Mix up the cornstarch and water 
then pour into the drippings.

 
Add the Kitchen Bouquet. Ever used it? 
Also...good stuff, right there.

 
Mmmm...can you smell it yet?

 
I had a few pieces of roast leftover 
and IT Guy got it in some sandwiches 
for his lunch the next day. I dipped 
the sliced bread in some of the gravy...
slapped the roast on there...added some cheese and voila!

Funny gravy story:

I met IT Guy when I was 16. He was 19. It was immediate infatuation for us both. He was a college student and I was in high school. He lived 120 miles from home and like any college student far from home, he craved home cooked meals. So one Sunday after church, I invited him over for a Sunday pot roast dinner.  A home cooked meal AND time with the new girlfriend?  He couldn't accept fast enough. My mom had made a roast dinner similar to this recipe, not knowing IT Guy was a gravy addict. Frankly, neither did I. But in his family, gravy was considered a beverage. After my mom had dinner on the table we all sat down to eat. With IT Guy being the guest, he was the first one served. Roast, mashed potatoes, a vegetable, some bread...it all came around the table. Then it was time for the gravy. IT Guy drowned his plate with the brown liquid gold and passed the gravy boat to my dad. My dad looked inside, then looked at IT Guy's plate and asked my mom for more gravy. She looked at my dad like he was from another planet and then informed him that what was in the gravy boat was all there was. I glanced at IT Guy and watched a look of horror cross his face. He was absolutely mortified. Here he was...a guest in our home....having dinner with us for the first time...and he had inadvertently taken all the gravy. Fortunately for IT Guy, my parents liked him well enough that they forgave him this small indiscretion and allowed him to marry me a year later. The lesson learned here is that the women in our family, now make LOTS of gravy when they know IT Guy is coming over for dinner.