Posted by Emily  Print Recipe

I just rediscovered pot roast and I really like it.  See what happened was, at some point in my childhood I decided I didn’t like beef.  I don’t know why.  There’s no rhyme or reason when you’re a kid, you just decide things like that.  I wasn’t a vegetarian and it’s not like I never ate beef (I’d never turn down a hamburger), but I just refused to eat most dishes made with beef.

Slowly, I’ve been adding more beef back into my life.  I like steak and I use ground beef for a lot of dishes. When I saw this recipe, it made me remember that my mom used to make Pot Roast all the time and I liked it.  So why did I stop eating it?  I guess maybe I thought it would be too complicated to make, but it’s really not.  It’s quite easy to put together and then you just let it cook for a few hours.  My mom made hers in a crockpot; I don’t have one, but it seems just as easy on the stove. I guess Pot Roast may sound really boring to some but I’m all for finding easy and satisfying dishes.

The only thing missing from this recipe was potatoes.  I remember my mom’s pot roast always had potatoes, but this recipe is from the WW cookbook, so I guess that’s why they omitted them?  So if you are on a low carb diet or whatever, they can be omitted, but in my opinion potatoes make everything better.

Classic Pot Roast

Adapted from the Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook

Ingredients

1. 2 tbsp. + 2 tsp. olive oil
2. 2 pounds bottom or top round boneless beef roast, trimmed of all visible fat
3. 2 onions
4. 1/2 carrot, finely chopped
5. 1 celery stalk, finely chopped
6. 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
7. 1 1/2 tsp. finely chopped fresh rosemary or 1/2 tsp. dried
8. 1 1/2 tsp. finely chopped fresh sage or 1/2 tsp. dried
9. 1/2 cup dry red wine (can substitute beef broth)
10. 1 can plum tomatoes (with juice), roughly chopped
11. 3 – 4 medium red potatoes, cut up into 1/2 – 1 inch chunks
12. 1 – 1 1/2 cups low sodium beef broth
13. 1/2 tsp. salt
14. Pepper, to taste

The Process

1. In a large nonstick pot/saucepan over medium heat, heat the oil.  Add the roast and brown on all sides, about 6 minutes.  Transfer the roast to the plate.  Add the onions, carrot, celery, garlic, rosemary and sage to the pan.  Saute, stirring constantly, until the vegetables are golden and fragrant, about 10 minutes.

2. Add the wine (or broth), turning up the heat slightly and scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.  Return the roast to the pan and cook 2 minutes.  Stir in tomatoes, potatoes, broth, salt and pepper (the liquid should cover about 1/2 to 3/4 of the meat, use less broth if it’s getting too high); partially cover and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer gently, turning the meat occasionally, until tender when tested with a fork, about 2 hours.

3. Slice the meat thinly across the grain.  Return the meat to the pot and warm over low heat.

8 servings

Per serving:
(2 slices of meat w/ 1/3 cup gravy)
5 points
202 Cal, 10 g Fat

[rating:4]