Pot Roast -- Slow Roasted Southwestern Style

We awoke to very heavy storms and tornado warnings this morning. We had lots of thunder and lightning and very heavy rain. It came down so fast that at one point our backyard looked like lakefront property! By this afternoon it began clearing up, and the sun actually came out. Last night hubby and I did our Costco run after work. I had every intention of eating dinner when we got home but for some reason I felt a little sick to my stomach, so I opted to eat just a little yogurt and go to bed early. While at Costco last night I picked up a package of boneless chuck roast (there were 2 in the package) to make pot roast this weekend (there were two 3-pound roasts). I planned to place it in the crock pot this morning but didn't get it started in time. Instead, I decided to slow roast it in my dutch oven on low (300 degrees F) for 3 to 4 hours since we were going to be at home this afternoon. My roast was totally fall-apart tender in 3-1/2 hours and very tender after only 3 hours. I decided to make my Squash Casserole to go with the pot roast as well as steam some fresh thin green beans (Haricots Vert). I baked a batch of my Cheddar Black Pepper Biscuits for breakfast so I had those to serve with our dinner if anyone wanted bread. Late this afternoon, youngest son called to see what we were doing and asked what I was making for dinner...when I told him, he asked why I didn't call him to let him know...LOL. Needless to say, he left promptly to come home for dinner!  Since my pot roast was ready and I was getting ready to pull the squash casserole out of the oven, I still had 30 minutes to kill before he got home so I went ahead and baked some Chocolate Chip Cookies!  :-)  I snapped a few photos of dinner below as well as the recipe for my pot roast. Not too bad for a totally wheat and grain free meal, huh? Enjoy!

Pot Roast -- Slow Roasted Southwestern Style

Ingredients:

1 3-pound boneless chuck roast
1/2 to 1 teaspoon coarse Kosher salt (or regular grind)
1/2 to 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle chile powder, optional
2 tablespoons olive or coconut oil
1/2 medium onion, diced
3 large carrots, cut in 1/2-inch slices
3 large cloves garlic, minced
1 small seeded and finely diced jalapeno pepper, optional
1 14.5-ounce can diced fire roasted tomatoes (including juice)
3 to 4 cups beef stock
2 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.  Pat roast dry with paper towels and season both sides with salt, pepper and optional chipotle powder. In a 6 or 7-quart Dutch Oven (I used my LeCreuset), heat oil over medium heat until hot. Carefully place roast in pan and sear until brown, about 4 to 5 minutes per side; using a couple of large spatulas, flip roast over and brown remaining side. Remove roast to a platter. Add the onions and carrots and cook, stirring frequently, until lightly browned and caramelized; add garlic and optional jalapeno and cook an additional 3 to 4 minutes. Move veggies aside and make a well; return roast to pan. Dump can of diced tomatoes, including their juice, on top of roast and spread out. Pour enough stock around roast until a little over half way up the side of the roast. Cover with lid (or heavy duty foil) and roast in a 300 degree oven for 3 to 4 hours. Check roast for doneness after 3 hours by using two forks to pull meat apart in center of roast. If meat pulls apart easily, it's done; if not, return to oven for an additional 30 to 60 minutes.

*My roast was tender after 3 hours but I returned it to the oven and cooked an additional 30 minutes for  a total of 3-1/2 hours for "fall apart tender". To reduce spiciness, eliminate or reduce the chipotle chile powder and the jalapeno.