Sunday Dinner

Above all, Sunday dinners are when families gather.

I grew up in a very diverse neighborhood that included folks of Italian, Irish and Jewish descent. Each family has their own traditions, of course, but they all seemed to gather together for a Sunday meal.

Pot roast was popular with each of these ethnic groups, differing only with seasonings and cooking methods. My mom made pot roast a number of ways and I have to admit that several of them were not on my favorites list. This one, however, is one I’ve always enjoyed.

Since my mother grew up in the UK during the Great Depression and also came from a large family, food was at times scarce and you never wasted anything even coffee. That was a caveat that stayed with my mother until the day she died.

Yes, Coffee!

Neither my mom nor dad were big coffee drinkers. My mother drank more of it than my father which I always found curious since she was British and my dad was American.

Nonetheless, sometimes the pot she’d make often had leftover coffee. Being that she was into not wasting food, the leftover coffee would find a way into other stuff she’d make–mainly in baking where she’d use it in place of water in chocolate concoctions turning them into mocha concoctions.

One time it found it’s way into the braising liquid for this pot roast. It worked and was delicious so it became one of her main pot roast recipes.

Cut Of Beef

Mom used chuck for the majority of her pot roast recipes, but this one she’d insist on eye of round. Eye of round is lean and doesn’t add much fat to the resulting gravy. It also slices well with very little, if any, waste.

I recently felt like eating this so I had eye of round on the grocery list to be delivered. To be honest, I’d prefer to select my own meat but during this stay-at-home directive, it’s delivery or pick up since I really don’t want to chance going to the store.

Anyway, the shopper who did my order probably made a mistake and picked up top round instead since the recap didn’t state that it was substituted. So I worked with what I had so trust me when I say any cut will do, but if you can, make it eye of round.

The Recipe

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Mom’s Sunday Pot Roast

The awesome gravy has a secret ingredient

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Course: beef, Main, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: easy pot roast recipes, pot roast recipe using coffee, using leftover coffee

Servings: 6

Calories: 367kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 1 tbs canola oil
• 3 lb eye round roast
• 1 garlic clove minced
• 2 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp dried rosemary crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 1 tsp beef bouillon granules
• 1 cup brewed coffee
• 3/4 cup water

Gravy:

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup cold wate

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• In a Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat; brown roast on all sides. Remove from pan. Mix garlic and seasonings; sprinkle over roast.
• Add onion to same pan; cook and stir over medium heat until tender; stir in bouillon, coffee and 3/4 cup water.
• Add roast; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, until meat is tender, about 2-1/2 hours.
• Remove roast from pan, reserving cooking juices. Tent with foil; let stand 10 minutes before slicing.
• Mix flour and cold water until smooth; stir into cooking juices. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook and stir until thickened, 1-2 minutes. Serve with roast.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 367kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 51g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 141mg | Sodium: 598mg | Potassium: 826mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 53mg | Iron: 5mg

The post Mom’s Sunday (Leftover Coffee) Pot Roast appeared first on The Midnight Baker.

Who doesn’t love pot roast?  An American favorite!

How easy can this get?  Mix a few ingredients, pop it in the slow cooker and dinner is ready about 8 hours later!

What I generally do when I make a pot roast is do it the day before, then refrigerate.  Not only does pot roast (or any stew) taste better the next day, this also give you a chance to skim any congealed fat off the liquid before you make the gravy.

Now, speaking of gravy, even though gravy mix is used in this recipe, it’s more of a condiment than an ingredient that miraculously makes a gravy.  You’ll have to thicken this juice if you want a more substantial gravy.  General rule of thumb is 2 tbs of either cornstarch or flour mixed in 1/4 cup of water per cup of juice to produce a “medium” gravy.

You can add any veggies you want into this mix–potatoes, carrots, celery, etc.  I just choose to make mine plain–just in case I want to freeze.  I serve with mashed potatoes, but many folks serve with potato pancakes (my mom did).

Enjoy!

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Classic Pot Roast

This classic pot roast recipe creates tender beef roast with mushroom gravy. The best part is that it's a hands-off slow cooker recipe!

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time8 hours hrs

Total Time8 hours hrs 10 minutes mins

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Keyword: pot roast, slow cooker beef, slow cooker recipes

Servings: 6

Calories: 587kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 4 lb beef roast like bottom round, rump or your choice
• 10.5 oz condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 2 tbsp brown gravy mix 0.87 oz brown gravy mix packet
• 1 tbsp instant onion
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms optional
• 2 beef stock cubes
• 2 cloves garlic crushed
• 1 cup water
• 1 bay leaf optional

Instructions

• Mix all ingredients, except beef roast in a small bowl. Set aside.
• Place beef roast in the crock of a 5-6 qt slow cooker. Pour soup mixture over roast.
• Cover and cook on LOW 6-10 hours. Gravy may be thickened with flour/water or cornstarch/water if desired.

Nutrition

Serving: 6oz | Calories: 587kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 61g | Fat: 36g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Cholesterol: 211mg | Sodium: 947mg | Potassium: 1131mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 39IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 57mg | Iron: 7mg

Classic Pot Roast

Classic Pot Roast

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