Tuscan Pot Roast

Most food bloggers will admit it.... 
Sometimes it's hard to get amped up to blog. 

Hey, we love cooking, but if you have to stop and double check all your ingredients, check if your kitchen is clean and where the HECK is your camera again, sometimes you just say "I'm just making dinner, not blogging".
And then it happens....
The dinner starts to become something you know you want to share, you want to talk about, you want your readers to know that this is the one to make too.  This made a wonderfully flavorful pot roast with Italian sauce and veggies and so comforting served over polenta. I've made polenta before, which is just about the easiest thing, but if you want a quick, easy recipe check it out.

We've been in our new house for less than a month, and somewhere my little camera sits, waiting, waiting for me to find it.  I've been using my cell phone because someone keeps telling me that it has the same megapixels as the camera I favor for blogging.  It seems different. I miss my little camera.  Oh, we have a fancy ole SLR camera, but since my hands are usually messy and food is sometimes flying in the kitchen, I just can't trust myself to be as careful as I should be. 

Finally, I had to ask for a new camera for my birthday, so going forward I am hoping my photos are better.  And now I have a spare for when I drop mine in the sauce, the sink or the soup!  huh?

I apologize that the photos aren't that great, but not too shabby with a cell phone,

Serves 4-8
Ingredients
2-3lb. beef pot roast
2-3 Tbsp olive oil
Kosher salt and fresh pepper

2 onions, cut into large chunks
2-3 stalks celery
2-3 carrots, cut into chunks
1 red pepper, cut into chunks
8 oz. mushrooms, cut into quarters
14oz can of diced tomatoes, and juice
6oz can of tomato paste
1 1/2 cups dry red wine
1 1/2 Tbsp Italian seasoning
6-8 cloves garlic, cut into chunks

Add the olive oil to a pot over medium high heat, salt & pepper your pot roast generously and brown on each side for 4-5 minutes until you get a nice brown sear.  Add the onions and peppers and stir them around the sides of the beef for a couple minutes.  

Add the red wine, carrots, celery, mushrooms, tomatoes & juice, tomato paste, garlic and seasoning.  Stir well and bring to a boil.  Cover and add to a 350 degree oven for about 1 1/2 hours.

Lazy Girl Crock pot version- Brown the pot roast and add to your crock pot.  Add the rest of the ingredients and stir well.  Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours, or high for 4 hours. If it's not as thick as you like, take the lid off and cook uncovered for the last 30-60 minutes.

NOTE: Just so you know, if you are feeling really, really lazy you could add the pot roast to the crock pot without browning it.  You get more taste from browning it, so I do recommend it.  But if you are trying to run out the door one morning when you are throwing this in the crock pot. I totally understand why you wouldn't.  I've been there, oh yes, yes I have.


This would also be great served over noodles or even mashed potatoes. Enjoy!