Jim's Slow Cooker Pot Roast
by Jim Cummings
Brown a pot roast of beef in a skillet with a small amount of canola oil. While the roast is browning, dissolve 1 Tablespoon of flour in 2 cups of water, add 2 beef bouillon cubes and bring to near boiling in either a pan or the microwave oven until the cubes dissolve.
To this mixture add 1/2 teaspoon of thyme leaves, 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder, 1/8 teaspoon of black pepper, 1 Tablespoon of dried minced onion, 1/4 cup of ketchup and 1 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce. When the roast is browned, put it in the slow cooker, pour in the sauce and cook for five to six hours on high, or ten to twelve hours on low. This will be fork tender when done. Remove the roast and set aside.
Then sprinkle in Wondra flour, which comes in a small canister, to thicken the gravy as it continues to heat in the cooker, this should take about five minutes. If you don't have any Wondra on hand, dissolve one or two Tablespoons of flour in 1/2 cup of cold water and add that and cook until the sauce has thickened.
I serve this with oven roasted vegetables: Peel and cut into chunks any combination of potatoes, beets, carrots, turnip, onions, parsnips (especially good) and winter squash; and some chunks of celery.
Place in a roasting pan and brush with olive oil, salt and pepper to taste, and cook about 40 minutes, depending on the size of the chunks, at 400 degrees. Turn vegetables once during cooking.