Slow Cooker Pot Roast

This is an awesome recipe for pot roast that I’ve created about 10 years ago, basically by taking a bit from different recipes I’ve seen, to make it my own.  It’s savory, with a nice hint of red wine.  A couple variations include, adding fresh mushrooms, leaving out the potatoes and serving with mashed potatoes, leaving out the potatoes and serving with mashed sweet potatoes…etc.  Try it as is, or use it and tweek it to your personal taste.  That’s the great thing about this wonderful recipe!!

Ingredients

5  pound pot roast

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

Vegetable oil

3/4 cup water

3/4 cup red wine

1 (1 ounce) package dry onion soup mix

2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of mushroom soup

2 lbs fingerling potatoes

1/2 lb baby carrots

1 onion, quartered

Directions

Heat a heavy bottomed skillet to medium high, and add enough vegetable oil to coat the bottom.  Mix together the flour, salt, pepper and garlic powder.  Coat the roast with a thin layer of the flour mixture, and sear each side until golden brown.  While the roast is searing; mix the water and wine in a bowl.  When the roast is seared on each side, remove and set aside.  Add the wine mixture to the pan, and scrape up any bits that have stuck to the pan.  Place the soup, soup mix and the wine mixture in the slow cooker and wisk together. 

Place the roast in the crock pot and ladle some of the soup mixture on top of the roast.  Place the vegetables around and on top of the roast.  Cover, and cook on low for 8 hours.

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Steamed Mussels (Frenchy Style) :-)

This is an easy, tasty and pretty popular way to steam mussels. I love this recipe!!

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 lb live mussels
2 tbsp butter
1 cup white wine (please don’t use cooking wine)
1 shallot, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced

Directions

Scrub and debeard the mussels.
The shells should be closed. If any shells are open, let it sit for a few minutes, it should close.
Heat the butter over medium heat in a large, wide-bottomed pot. Saute the shallot until it is soft but not browned. Add the garlic cloves.
Add the white wine, and bring it to a boil. Add the mussels.

Cover the pot and let the mussels steam for 4-7 minutes. Most of the mussels should be open after the first couple minutes. You want them all open, but some will do this faster than others.

As soon as most of the mussels are open, turn off the heat and cover for about 5 minutes

Disgard of any mussels that did not open.

Serve with crusty bread.

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