Did you know that it’s quite easy to torture a nerd? Just take away their wifi. *grin* My modem died days back and I’ve been kicking it 4G in the meantime. It’s amazing how much housework and crocheting gets done when I can’t access SL, Amazon Prime, or my games. Pinterest only works part of the time without the wifi, so I’ve been rather productive. Lol. However, that also means that when I want to blog I have to try and do it through my phone, which has become a bit awkward now. The laptop is a little bit easier for me now, so a few potential posts have been put off until I’m running on full service again. *grin*
In the meantime, I wanted to share a super easy recipe I have been using. I found it on Pinterest, although it hails from www.plainchicken.com originally. If you follow me on Pinterest you’ll find the pin, plus my notes about it and the direct link, on my Successful Pins board.
First off, start with a 3-4 pound bottom round roast (although I’ve done a 4.5 lb. with an extra half hour of cooking and it was still perfect). Trim what you can and put it in your crockpot. In a measuring bowl combine one cup of water, one cup of salsa, one envelope of Italian Dressing powder mix, one envelope of onion soup mix, and one packet of Au Jus mix. (Now, after my first by the book try, I’ve changed out the salsa for an additional cup of water and two beef bullion cubes. I like the flavor and texture better, but this goes to show how easy it is to tailor this recipe to your preferences.) Once you whisk everything together pour the mixture over the roast, cover it, and cook the roast in your crockpot for 8-10 on low. Maybe my roasts are always a bit stubborn, but 10 hours is my sweet spot for some reason, with 10.5 hours for a 4.5 pound roast. You know it’s ready when you can shred it with your fork (or when you try to lift it with your tongs and it falls apart lol).
Now, you can ladle your broth mixture into a saucepan and thicken it into gravy if you’d like, but honestly we love to pour it as is right over some hot rice, and then nibble the roast. If there is any broth left over after our second meal, I keep it and use it over mashed potatoes or we soak it up with some biscuits. It is sooo tasty! The one thing I really want to caution against is adding salt. It’s tempting, since most crockpot meals tend to be a bit bland, but with the packets (and especially if you use bullion), there’s quite a bit of sodium all ready.
The original recipe states that they use the shredded meat on sandwiches, but ours never makes it that far. Truth be told there’s always a chunk missing before dinner time anyway because the last two hours of smelling it throughout the house is pure torture and no one can see me attack it like a rabid bear. *grin*
Here’s a quick look at the yummy dinner. Please forgive me, but the rice and broth were irresistible, so it doesn’t look quite as nice as it did. *grin*
I hope you enjoy it as much as we do. The best part is that it’s so easy that you can make it a go to when you know it’ll be a busy day. There’s maybe 5 minutes of fuss, and that’s if you have a lot of trimming. 🙂 Now that’s something to cheer about!
Georgia's Pampering 