Roast Beef

We have put ourselves on somewhat of a weekly schedule for our healthier eating.
Sunday = vegetarian
Monday = meat night, chicken or beef
Tuesday = vegetarian
Wednesday = fish night
Thursday = vegetarian
Friday = vegetarian
Saturday = pizza, and that usually includes meat
Sunday = vegetarian

Today is Monday so that was meat night.  I made a beef roast.  Now I'm going to come right out and say it... I'm not a big fan of roasts.  They are usually dry and then you smother it with gravy.  Not my choice of eating meat.  I would much rather have a steak cooked medium-rare.  But then again, roasts are easy to make, and we have some in the freezer, so that is what was made.

First I seared the roast on all sides in an iron skillet.

Then I put it the the crock pot with a mierpoix (50% onion, 25% each carrot and celery), some Worcestershire, a bit of red wine vinegar, salt, pepper, and water.  Set it on low overnight because it was still frozen.

This morning I took it out of the crock pot and let it cool in the fridge before slicing it.

I made gravy with all that yummy juices left over in the crock pot.  Added salt and pepper, a bit of thyme, a bay leaf, and balsamic vinegar.  I experimented and used ground up oatmeal for the thickener instead of flour.  A slurry of flour and water tends to make it too thick and clumpy for me.  The oatmeal worked, I just had to let it simmer a bit longer and then strain it.

When it was close to dinner time I sliced the roast and re-heated it with gravy on top.  Made mashed potatoes and heated up green beans with a bit of corn.

That is Boston Iced Tea in the background.

It was good, I guess.  Everybody always raves about my mashed potatoes.  I don't know why.  All they are are mashed potatoes with the skin on, milk and/or cream, salt, and pepper.  This time I added sour cream. 

I'm still not a big fan of roasts.

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