I have a crockpot that is barely used and has been gathering dust and
cobwebs.

Anyway, as an experiment I decided to make a pot roast in it today - got up
at 6 a.m. (that's for the birds) to prepare the vegetables and brown the
meat, since it apparently takes anywhere from 10 to 12 hours to cook. It
has been cooking now on low for about 4-1/2 hours.

For the liquid I added an undrained can of stewed tomatoes and about 1/2 cup
of water. Am I going to finish up with hard vegetables at this rate? If
so, are there any suggestions?

Dora
(crockpot ignoramus)

--

limey wrote:
> I have a crockpot that is barely used and has been gathering dust and
> cobwebs.
>
> Anyway, as an experiment I decided to make a pot roast in it today - got up
> at 6 a.m. (that's for the birds) to prepare the vegetables and brown the
> meat, since it apparently takes anywhere from 10 to 12 hours to cook. It
> has been cooking now on low for about 4-1/2 hours.
>
> For the liquid I added an undrained can of stewed tomatoes and about 1/2 cup
> of water. Am I going to finish up with hard vegetables at this rate? If
> so, are there any suggestions?
>
> Dora
> (crockpot ignoramus)

Why didn't you simply continue building your stew in the pot you used
to brown the meat... crock potting is a process like pressure
processing, not cooking.

limey wrote on 04 Feb 2006 in rec.food.cooking

> For the liquid I added an undrained can of stewed tomatoes and about
> 1/2 cup of water. Am I going to finish up with hard vegetables at
> this rate? If so, are there any suggestions?
>
> Dora
>
I like this recipe


* Exported from MasterCook *

Pot Roast With Sour Cream Gravy

Recipe By :n/a
Serving Size : 0 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories :

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
3 pounds chuck or pot roast
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
1 tablespoon oil
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon dill weed
5 small potatoes - (to 6)
5 carrots - (to 6) -- cut into 2" pcs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large onion
=== GRAVY ===
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon dill seed

Coat roast with flour, salt and pepper. Brown in oil in skillet. Put
roast in crockpot, add water and vinegar. Sprinkle dill weed over meat,
then add potatoes, carrots, onion and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook on LOW for
10 to 12 hours or HIGH for 6 hours.
For gravy, pour off 3 tablespoons drippings, add flour and heat. Measure
rest of drippings, add water to make 1 cup. Add to flour mixture and
heat
for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add 1 cup sour cream and dill seed.
Heat to boiling.
This recipe yields ?? servings.


Source:
"Waldine Van Geffen on www.prodigy.net Food BB"
S(Formatted for MC5):
"09-27-1999 by Joe Comiskey - "



- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 752 Calories; 63g Fat (73.3%
calories from fat); 12g Protein; 40g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber;
102mg
Cholesterol; 3328mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 2
Vegetable; 1/2 Non-Fat Milk; 12 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.


Nutr. Assoc. : 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0


--
The eyes are the mirrors....
But the ears...Ah the ears.
The ears keep the hat up.

On Sat, 4 Feb 2006 11:36:45 -0500, "limey" >
replied:
> I have a crockpot that is barely used and has been
> gathering dust and cobwebs.
>
> Anyway, as an experiment I decided to make a pot
> roast in it today - got up at 6 a.m. (that's for the
> birds) to prepare the vegetables and brown the meat,
> since it apparently takes anywhere from 10 to 12
> hours to cook. It has been cooking now on low for
> about 4-1/2 hours.
>
> For the liquid I added an undrained can of stewed
> tomatoes and about 1/2 cup of water. Am I going
> to finish up with hard vegetables at this rate? If so,
> are there any suggestions?
>
> Dora
> (crockpot ignoramus)

You're not ignorant just not as informed or experienced using
another easy tool.

No; your vegetables will finish at the same time as the roast.
Simply keep the lid on and let it do its job. That's the beauty of
a slow cooker. I usually cook meats the night prior so that I'm
not walking in from work to a mound of dirty dishes. The
set-it-and-leave it appeals to me.

The Ranger

On Sat, 4 Feb 2006 11:36:45 -0500, "limey" > wrote:

>I have a crockpot that is barely used and has been gathering dust and
>cobwebs.
>
>Anyway, as an experiment I decided to make a pot roast in it today - got up
>at 6 a.m. (that's for the birds) to prepare the vegetables and brown the
>meat, since it apparently takes anywhere from 10 to 12 hours to cook. It
>has been cooking now on low for about 4-1/2 hours.
>
>For the liquid I added an undrained can of stewed tomatoes and about 1/2 cup
>of water. Am I going to finish up with hard vegetables at this rate? If
>so, are there any suggestions?
>
>Dora
>(crockpot ignoramus)


I put in a can of mushroom soup and a half pack of dry onion soup mix.
-
--
---
When replying by email please leave this signature intact.

"Terry" wrote in message
"limey" wrote:
>
>>Anyway, as an experiment I decided to make a pot roast in it today - got
>>up
>>at 6 a.m. (that's for the birds) to prepare the vegetables and brown the
>>meat, since it apparently takes anywhere from 10 to 12 hours to cook. It
>>has been cooking now on low for about 4-1/2 hours.
>>
>>For the liquid I added an undrained can of stewed tomatoes and about 1/2
>>cup
>>of water. Am I going to finish up with hard vegetables at this rate? If
>>so, are there any suggestions?
>>
>>Dora
>>(crockpot ignoramus)
>
>
> I put in a can of mushroom soup and a half pack of dry onion soup mix.

I added the onion soup mix at the beginning but didn't have any cream of
mushroom soup. So - I'm winging it. It's the vegetables that I'm
wondering about, but Ranger tells me they'll be OK. This is strictly a "dry
run" since I've done practically no crockpot cooking. Next time, I'll prep
all the vegetables the night before.

Dora

"Mr Libido Incognito" wrote

> I like this recipe
> >
> * Exported from MasterCook *
>
> Pot Roast With Sour Cream Gravy
>
<snipped and saved>

Now that sounds good! I've saved it and it will be my next attempt.
Thanks!

Dora

limey wrote:
> I have a crockpot that is barely used and has been gathering dust and
> cobwebs.
>
> Anyway, as an experiment I decided to make a pot roast in it today - got up
> at 6 a.m. (that's for the birds) to prepare the vegetables and brown the
> meat, since it apparently takes anywhere from 10 to 12 hours to cook. It
> has been cooking now on low for about 4-1/2 hours.
>
> For the liquid I added an undrained can of stewed tomatoes and about 1/2 cup
> of water. Am I going to finish up with hard vegetables at this rate? If
> so, are there any suggestins?
>
> Dora

Dora--your veggies should be done. I often put the carrots and
potatoes on the bottom, and meat on top to ensure the veggies get done.

Whenever I make a pot roast, I use a can of Campbell's tomato soup, a
small bottle of beer, and a packet of taco seasoning. Makes a lot of
liquid, but the sauce is nice and spicy. I also quarter 2 or 3 vadalia
onions along with the potatoes and carrots--the onions cook up
beautifully in a crock pot--r3

"tsr3" wrote in message
>
> limey wrote:
>>
>> For the liquid I added an undrained can of stewed tomatoes and about 1/2
>> cup
>> of water. Am I going to finish up with hard vegetables at this rate? If
>> so, are there any suggestins?
>>
>> Dora
>
> Dora--your veggies should be done. I often put the carrots and
> potatoes on the bottom, and meat on top to ensure the veggies get done.
>
> Whenever I make a pot roast, I use a can of Campbell's tomato soup, a
> small bottle of beer, and a packet of taco seasoning. Makes a lot of
> liquid, but the sauce is nice and spicy. I also quarter 2 or 3 vadalia
> onions along with the potatoes and carrots--the onions cook up
> beautifully in a crock pot--r3

Thank you for the tips. A little bell rang in my mind from the early
crockpot days, so I did put the vegetables in first. They included
potatoes, carrots, onions and celery and the stewed tomatoes, plus the onion
soup mix. Here's hoping, since the pot could be a godsend when going out
for the day.

Dora

limey wrote on 04 Feb 2006 in rec.food.cooking

>
> "Terry" wrote in message
> "limey" wrote:
> >
> >>Anyway, as an experiment I decided to make a pot roast in it today -
> >>got up
> >>at 6 a.m. (that's for the birds) to prepare the vegetables and brown
> >>the meat, since it apparently takes anywhere from 10 to 12 hours to
> >>cook. It has been cooking now on low for about 4-1/2 hours.
> >>
> >>For the liquid I added an undrained can of stewed tomatoes and about
> >>1/2 cup
> >>of water. Am I going to finish up with hard vegetables at this
> >>rate? If so, are there any suggestions?
> >>
> >>Dora
> >>(crockpot ignoramus)
> >
> >
> > I put in a can of mushroom soup and a half pack of dry onion soup
> > mix.
>
> I added the onion soup mix at the beginning but didn't have any cream
> of mushroom soup. So - I'm winging it. It's the vegetables that I'm
> wondering about, but Ranger tells me they'll be OK. This is strictly
> a "dry run" since I've done practically no crockpot cooking. Next
> time, I'll prep all the vegetables the night before.
>
> Dora
>
>
>

I feel your pot roast may be a bit too wet...The meat usually provides a
fair bit of liquid then there's the tomatoes and the water you added.
When converting a recipe to crock pot cooking 'They' suggest halfing your
liquids.

But gravy can be made from too much liquid so it can't be that bad.

--
The eyes are the mirrors....
But the ears...Ah the ears.
The ears keep the hat up.

"Mr Libido Incognito" wrote in message >
> I feel your pot roast may be a bit too wet...The meat usually provides a
> fair bit of liquid then there's the tomatoes and the water you added.
> When converting a recipe to crock pot cooking 'They' suggest halfing your
> liquids.
>
> But gravy can be made from too much liquid so it can't be that bad.
>
This is a learning process and I'm wondering about that myself. The
recipes I looked at for pot roast called for anywhere from 1/4 cup water to
3 cups!
I'll let you know later.

Dora

Dora

limey wrote:
>
> I have a crockpot that is barely used and has been gathering dust and
> cobwebs.
>
> Anyway, as an experiment I decided to make a pot roast in it today - got up
> at 6 a.m. (that's for the birds) to prepare the vegetables and brown the
> meat, since it apparently takes anywhere from 10 to 12 hours to cook. It
> has been cooking now on low for about 4-1/2 hours.
>
> For the liquid I added an undrained can of stewed tomatoes and about 1/2 cup
> of water. Am I going to finish up with hard vegetables at this rate? If
> so, are there any suggestions?
>
> Dora
> (crockpot ignoramus)
>
No, you're not an ignoramus.... I use a slow cooker. It's a
rectamgular metal pot with glass lid that sits on an electric base. I
can salt and pepper the roast and brown on all sides right in the pot,
on top of the stove. You can use a pan instead and deglaze the pan with
beef broth when you put the meat into the crockpot. I put the broth in
after the roast is browned. I also put in garlic granules to taste, a
few shakes of dried basil and about a tbsp. dried tarragon (I'm hooked
on tarragon, but you can leave this out. I leave it on med-low until
about an hour and a half before ready to serve, then add potatoes,
carrots, cooking onions (about 2" diameter) and sometimes wedges of
cabbage. Whatever we're in the mood for. The vegetables don't get as
mushy this way. when it's ready, I drain the broth and thicken it with
a cornstarch slurry. Very tasty and with two of us, lots of
leftovers...hth..Sharon

limey wrote:
>
> "Terry" wrote in message
> "limey" wrote:
> >
> >>Anyway, as an experiment I decided to make a pot roast in it today - got
> >>up
> >>at 6 a.m. (that's for the birds) to prepare the vegetables and brown the
> >>meat, since it apparently takes anywhere from 10 to 12 hours to cook. It
> >>has been cooking now on low for about 4-1/2 hours.
> >>
> >>For the liquid I added an undrained can of stewed tomatoes and about 1/2
> >>cup
> >>of water. Am I going to finish up with hard vegetables at this rate? If
> >>so, are there any suggestions?
> >>
> >>Dora
> >>(crockpot ignoramus)
> >
> >
> > I put in a can of mushroom soup and a half pack of dry onion soup mix.
>
> I added the onion soup mix at the beginning but didn't have any cream of
> mushroom soup. So - I'm winging it. It's the vegetables that I'm
> wondering about, but Ranger tells me they'll be OK. This is strictly a "dry
> run" since I've done practically no crockpot cooking. Next time, I'll prep
> all the vegetables the night before.
>
> Dora
Dora, I forgot to mention in my first reply that I added some dried
onion flakes. ....Sharon

"biig" wrote in message
>
> No, you're not an ignoramus.... I use a slow cooker. It's a
> rectamgular metal pot with glass lid that sits on an electric base. I
> can salt and pepper the roast and brown on all sides right in the pot,
> on top of the stove.

Great idea! I browned it in the skillet which, of course, made another pot
to wash.

>You can use a pan instead and deglaze the pan >with
> beef broth when you put the meat into the crockpot. I put the broth in
> after the roast is browned.

Another good tip! I used a little water plus the undrained liquid from the
tomatoes.

>I also put in garlic granules to taste, a
> few shakes of dried basil and about a tbsp. dried >tarragon (I'm hooked
> on tarragon, but you can leave this out.

Ah, I was wondering about seasonings. I've read that one should go easy on
them and also salt and pepper, since the pot intensifies the flavors, so I
left them out. Now I can season!

I leave it on med-low until
> about an hour and a half before ready to serve, then add potatoes,
> carrots, cooking onions (about 2" diameter) and sometimes wedges of
> cabbage. Whatever we're in the mood for. The vegetables don't get as
> mushy this way.

I added the vegetables right at the beginning. I was afraid they would be
hard but they were fine and not mushy.

>when it's ready, I drain the broth and thicken it with a cornstarch
slurry.

I didn't thicken the broth since DH likes it that way when I fix pot roast.
Personally, I would prefer more of a gravy consistency.

Very tasty and with two of us, lots of
> leftovers...hth..Sharon

Sharon, I really appreciate all your tips, since I was travelling in
uncharted territory and made up everything as I went along. Surprise - it
tasted like pot roast.

Dora

"Mr Libido Incognito" wrote in message >
>>
>
> I feel your pot roast may be a bit too wet...The meat usually provides a
> fair bit of liquid then there's the tomatoes and the water you added.
> When converting a recipe to crock pot cooking 'They' suggest halfing your
> liquids.
>
> But gravy can be made from too much liquid so it can't be that bad.
>
It turned out fine, thank goodness. Tasted like pot roast! The vegetables
turned out as they should and surprisingly it was not floating in liquid.
DH likes to ladle broth on everything and there's enough left for tomorrow.
I didn't thicken the gravy for this experiment. Thanks, Alan.

Dora

limey wrote:
> [snips] Next time, I'll prep
> all the vegetables the night before.
>
You're really confusing me here. I thought crockpot advocates tout
them as labor saving devices that add convenience to their daily lives.
Yet you got up at 6 a.m. so there'd be enough time for the roast to
cook, and now you're talking about prepping the night before. Clearly,
the thing is adding work and aggravation, not saving it. Why not just
cook? -aem

"aem" wrote in message
>
> limey wrote:
>> [snips] Next time, I'll prep
>> all the vegetables the night before.
>>
> You're really confusing me here. I thought crockpot advocates tout
> them as labor saving devices that add convenience to their daily lives.
> Yet you got up at 6 a.m. so there'd be enough time for the roast to
> cook, and now you're talking about prepping the night before. Clearly,
> the thing is adding work and aggravation, not saving it. Why not just
> cook? -aem

Point well taken. This whole thing was a dry run.
I have all day to cook; I enjoy it. However, many women have jobs or
reasons that take them away from the house until dinnertime and having
dinner ready would be pretty attractive. There are times when I am away
all day also but I'd have to do a lot better than that 6 a.m. start!

Dora

limey wrote:
>
> "biig" wrote in message
> >
> > No, you're not an ignoramus.... I use a slow cooker. It's a
> > rectamgular metal pot with glass lid that sits on an electric base. I
> > can salt and pepper the roast and brown on all sides right in the pot,
> > on top of the stove.
>
> Great idea! I browned it in the skillet which, of course, made another pot
> to wash.
>
> >You can use a pan instead and deglaze the pan >with
> > beef broth when you put the meat into the crockpot. I put the broth in
> > after the roast is browned.
>
> Another good tip! I used a little water plus the undrained liquid from the
> tomatoes.
>
> >I also put in garlic granules to taste, a
> > few shakes of dried basil and about a tbsp. dried >tarragon (I'm hooked
> > on tarragon, but you can leave this out.
>
> Ah, I was wondering about seasonings. I've read that one should go easy on
> them and also salt and pepper, since the pot intensifies the flavors, so I
> left them out. Now I can season!
>
> I leave it on med-low until
> > about an hour and a half before ready to serve, then add potatoes,
> > carrots, cooking onions (about 2" diameter) and sometimes wedges of
> > cabbage. Whatever we're in the mood for. The vegetables don't get as
> > mushy this way.
>
> I added the vegetables right at the beginning. I was afraid they would be
> hard but they were fine and not mushy.
>
> >when it's ready, I drain the broth and thicken it with a cornstarch
> slurry.
>
> I didn't thicken the broth since DH likes it that way when I fix pot roast.
> Personally, I would prefer more of a gravy consistency.
>
> Very tasty and with two of us, lots of
> > leftovers...hth..Sharon
>
> Sharon, I really appreciate all your tips, since I was travelling in
> uncharted territory and made up everything as I went along. Surprise - it
> tasted like pot roast.
>
> Dora

Glad to know it worked for you...Sharon

limey wrote:
>
> "aem" wrote in message
> >
> > limey wrote:
> >> [snips] Next time, I'll prep
> >> all the vegetables the night before.
> >>
> > You're really confusing me here. I thought crockpot advocates tout
> > them as labor saving devices that add convenience to their daily lives.
> > Yet you got up at 6 a.m. so there'd be enough time for the roast to
> > cook, and now you're talking about prepping the night before. Clearly,
> > the thing is adding work and aggravation, not saving it. Why not just
> > cook? -aem
>
> Point well taken. This whole thing was a dry run.
> I have all day to cook; I enjoy it. However, many women have jobs or
> reasons that take them away from the house until dinnertime and having
> dinner ready would be pretty attractive. There are times when I am away
> all day also but I'd have to do a lot better than that 6 a.m. start!
>
> Dora

Dora, most times a four hour cook would do too. Lots of baked pot
roasts (braised, I guess) only go into the oven for four hours and turn
out nice and tender....Sharon

limey wrote:

> "Mr Libido Incognito" wrote in message >
> >>
> >
> > I feel your pot roast may be a bit too wet...The meat usually provides a
> > fair bit of liquid then there's the tomatoes and the water you added.
> > When converting a recipe to crock pot cooking 'They' suggest halfing your
> > liquids.
> >
> > But gravy can be made from too much liquid so it can't be that bad.
> >
> It turned out fine, thank goodness. Tasted like pot roast! The vegetables
> turned out as they should and surprisingly it was not floating in liquid.
> DH likes to ladle broth on everything and there's enough left for tomorrow.
> I didn't thicken the gravy for this experiment. Thanks, Alan.


I got a new Rival 5 - quart crockpot for Christmas, this weekend I
finally got around to using it...

Yesterday I made spaghetti sauce, it turned out well. It was a large
quantity and so plenty to freeze...

As I write I have a 5 lb. bone - in pork loin in the thing. I browned
it, then put it atop a "base" of onions, celery, ginger, garlic, a
coupla jalapenos, etc. Added cider vinegar, paprika, lemon pepper,
etc. It smells divoone, I think it will turn out okay...

I like the "set it and forget it"aspect. This week I am going to make
some kind of cabbage soup...

I intend to be selective about what I cook in it, I have too many
memories of eating crockpot stuff years ago that all tasted like the
same glop...

--
Best
Greg

On Sun, 05 Feb 2006 10:39:03 -0500, biig > rummaged
among random neurons and opined:
>
>limey wrote:

>> Point well taken. This whole thing was a dry run.
>> I have all day to cook; I enjoy it. However, many women have jobs or
>> reasons that take them away from the house until dinnertime and having
>> dinner ready would be pretty attractive. There are times when I am away
>> all day also but I'd have to do a lot better than that 6 a.m. start!
>
> Dora, most times a four hour cook would do too. Lots of baked pot
>roasts (braised, I guess) only go into the oven for four hours and turn
>out nice and tender....Sharon

Yahbut, if you get home from work at 6:30 p.m., as I used to do,
coming home to a ready dinner is enough to bring tears to your tired
eyes and well worth a little prep the night before. At least, I'm
inferring from your post that you suggest that one would have time to
do a roast in the oven after work. If not...never mind.

Terry "Squeaks" Pulliam Burd
AAC(F)BV66.0748.CA


--
"Just what kind of jackassery do I have to put up with today?" Danae
in "Non Sequitur"

To reply, replace "spaminator" with "cox"

i use CHUCK roasts in my crock pot, with an envelope of onion soup mix.
NO LIQUID added.

later i pour the drippings into a pan, boil them down, and then and sour
cream, with a small amount of cornstarch.

Michael "Dog3" Lonergan wrote:

> Cabbage was on sale last week. I bought 2 big heads. I've got to look up
> Jill's cabbage soup recipes. I might just use the crock pot. I'm the only
> one that will eat the soup so I need to freeze it after I'm sated
>
> Michael <- loves Jill's cabbage soup


Ah, that's the recipe I'll use...

Right now I've got pork stock going in the crockpot, it smells divoone
on a cold winter's day like this ;-)

This is only the third time I've used the cooker (in as many daze) but
it really is handy. I've got plenty of the spaghetti sauce in the
freezer (I made it Saturday). have the roast pork I made yesterday, and
now I'll have lots of this stock. If I keep it up I'm really going to
consider buying a little deep freeze to store some of this stuff in...

--
Best
Greg