All Hail the Slow Cooker!

My sister (another foodie) sent a great recipe to me the other day for Italian Pot Roast. I read it, wiped the drool from my chin, and filed it away, thinking "This will taste great next winter." That's when it dawned on me: Why do we feel like the minute warm weather hits, the crock pot has to go into hiding? I realize that this time of year we are all grilling nearly everything we eat (including dessert, and that's another post). However, isn't a crock pot the perfect warm weather cooking tool? It certainly doesn't heat up the house, the way an oven or even a stove does. And who doesn't like to come home from work to the smell of dinner lingering throughout the house?

Now, I do realize that summer dinner's tend to be on the lighter side. Or do they? Is a grilled steak really considered a light meal? I don't care if you serve it with a salad...it's still a big hunk of meat on your plate, and there's nothing "light" about that. Light meals can really just mean smaller portions, even of something that's considered "heavy", like Italian Pot Roast.

Although I haven't yet made this dish, my sister did and she said it is "easy and very good". I'm all for easy and very good, especially in the summer.

Italian Pot Roast
4 medium potatoes, cut into quarters
2 cups fresh or frozen whole baby carrots
1 stalk celery, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 medium Italian plum tomato, diced
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
2 1/2 pounds beef bottom round roasts or beef chuck pot roast
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed Tomato Soup
1 cup water
1 tablespoon chopped roasted garlic or chopped fresh garlic
1 teaspoon dried basil leaves, crushed
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves,crushed
1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes, crushed
1 teaspoon vinegar

If you have time, sear the meat on high heat for a few minutes on each side. You can skip this step, as I usually do. However, you'll gain a lot of flavor by doing so.

Place potatoes, carrots, celery and tomato in 3 1/2-quart slow cooker. Season roast with pepper and place on top.

Mix soup, water, pepper, garlic, basil, oregano, parsley and vinegar. Pour over all.

Cover and cook on LOW 10 to 12 hour or until done.

As an FYI, my sister did not cook hers in a slow cooker.  She used a roasting pan in the oven, 300° for the first three hours, then 250° for one more hour.

I think I'm going to give this recipe a try this weekend.  I'll keep you posted on the results.  Since I don't have a photo of this dish, I'll just pass along a photo of my little companion Buddy.  He likes to hang out with me while I write.