Pot Roast Wishing for Rain

I've done a Pot Roast and Veggies post before (that one included Yorkshire Pudding...YUM!!) but that was a crock pot recipe. This time it's from the oven :)

It started to cool off a little over the weekend. Nope...not gonna say what "cool off" means in California cuz I know you all will just laugh at me. So let me rephrase that....for US Californians, it started to cool off a bit (read: got below 75 during the day....and thats all I'm sayin).

I was in the mood for a nice juicy, tender Pot Roast with those yummy veggies. Oh man how I was wishin for rain.

Sooo...I had a rather large roast. Not unusually large but we never even come close to eating 3+ lbs of meat. For the first time ever, I cut that Chuck Roast in half and for just us, it was perfect. Sir Sportsalot was gone for the weekend doing sports stuff....softball tournament with his work or something like that. I stayed home. I'm not dumb enough to leave two teenage daughters at home for the weekend without an adult.

Right?

I took 1/2 of the roast, made a few little wholes in it on both sides and shoved some garlic in there. Seasoned with some salt and pepper.

Got out some sort of roasting pan. Which by the way is on the small side. If I use a whole roast I have to shove the roast in there to fit. I have a larger roaster. But its kinda on the huge side. So this little 1/2 roast was perfect.

I melted some shortening in the pan and seared all the sides of my roast....

I even seared the edges. I stabbed the meat with a fork and rested it on the side of the pan to help balance it while it browned....works great!

Once that was all nice and brown....(btw, don't you wish you could smell it?) I poured in 1 can of French Onion Soup Concentrate, 1 can of Cream of Mushroom Soup, and 1/2 cup beef broth.

I heated it to a boil, covered it and stuck it in a preheated 325' F oven for about 2 hours.

I sliced up a few potatoes and carrots. I usually add onions to the mix but with the French Onion Soup in there, I figured it was already full of flavor.  Add the veggies to the pan....

I kinda gently tossed them around so they were all coated and everything. Covered again and cooked for an additional hour.

Once the veggies were tender, I took the pot out of the oven, removed the meat from the pot (be careful cuz it just might fall off the fork), placed it in a good sized bowl....poured the "gravy" over the meat, covered and set it aside.

I cranked up the oven heat to 425'F and put the veggies on the top rack, uncovered, back into the oven for a few minutes to crispify. (I think it was about 15 minutes. Just keep an eye on it.)

Well, I have a confession. This is the first time I used these soups in my roast. I usually use broth, water, or canned tomatoes....etc. But let me tell you......instant gravy that is wonderful, and the meat!

Tender!!

There's enough chewing to do so you know you're eating a good piece of meat but at the same time, it just melts in your mouth like butter!

I totally forgot about the garlic that I had shoved in there until I got a wonderfully roasted garlic enhanced bite. mmmmm

Now here's irony.

I made this meal a few nights ago... pining for rain. Guess what its doing today while I write about it?

It's raining.

And what did I have for dinner tonight?

Del Taco Beef Burrito and Fries

(I ain't right)