Pot Roast and Gravy

Southern Living is a treasure of a resource for everything for the home, especially recipes. So, of course, I was beyond excited to receive another one of their cookbooks for Christmas. "Southern Living All-Time Favorites" is a great blend of treats for everything from breakfast dishes to pastas to desserts. Isn't it wonderful to be from the south?! Exactly how do people in the north cook??

After a nice long trip back home to Georgia, the hubs was feeling a bit homesick when we returned to Louisiana. So, I decided that some comfort food would be perfect. So bring on, what else than, the pot roast! I've seen my mom and mother-in-law make numerous pot roasts before, but had yet to make one on my own.

Also, it was a wonderful excuse to use a wedding gift I had yet to break in (yea, yea it's been almost 2 years now). It's the French version of a Dutch oven and after one use, I'm in love! Thank you Aunt Barbara!

Country-Style Pot Roast and Gravy

Ingredients:
4-5lb boneless chuck roast (I used a rump roast because the only chuck they had at the store was HUGE. I got a 5lb rump and put half of it in the freezer)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil (or enough to fill the bottom of your Dutch oven)
1 package dry onion soup mix
2 cups water
6 red new potatoes quartered (I used russet potatoes because that's what I had on hand)
2 carrots chopped into bite size pieces
1/2 10oz package red pearl onions pealed (I just chopped up one sweet onion, because I already had one)
for gravy:
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper

Cooking Directions:
1. Brown roast in hot oil in Dutch oven. Add soup mix and 2 cups water; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 2 hours.

2. Add vegetables and return to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes.

3. Remove roast and veggies and keep warm. Add flour, salt and pepper (and water if necessary, mine was already soupy enough without it) to drippings. Stir constantly until gravy thickens.

You can serve the gravy alongside your roast and veggies or do like I did: add veggies back into dutch oven and stir into gravy. Slice roast and enjoy the deliciousness!

Oh. my. goodness. The hubs could not stop complimenting me while we were eating (lol). We loved it! The roast was super juicy and the vegetables were perfectly tender without being mushy. Hubs took the leftovers to work for supper that night, he was so in love. Plus now I have the other half in the freezer just waiting to be used in a few weeks.