Anatomy Of A Pot Roast

I have already mentioned in a previous post how I like to cook a simple potroast.  I thought I’d go a little more in-depth with what I do with it once it is cooked.  One of the ways I save money is to cook meals with the intention that we will eat leftovers for another meal and that parts of those leftovers will become new meals.  Pot roasts are a great way to do just this.  I begin by purchasing the largest chuck roast I can afford, usually on sale, preferably on markdown.  In this case I bought my roast on a buy one get one free sale making the final cost $2 a pound.

 

I like to start my roast around 10:00 in the morning on high in my slow cooker and let it cook all day.  About two hours before we are ready to eat I add some veggies.  Here I’ve added celery and carrots.

 

An hour later I add potatoes.

 

This time I added zucchini thirty minutes later so it wouldn’t overcook and become mushy.

 

When we are ready to eat I remove all the vegetables to a big bowl and the roast into my big pie plate.  I cover both with dinner plates to help keep them warm.

What remains are some pretty awesome drippings which I pour into a pan to make gravy.  I add a cup of hot water to the drippings, salt and pepper to taste and then it is thickened with a slurry of cornstarch and water.

 

Our first meal is served up as a delicious pot roast dinner.  We will repeat this again this week as a leftover meal.  What is left after that will become new meals.

 

Half of the remaining pot roast itself is divided in half.  One half is chopped up for Beef Barley Soup.  I also dice up the rest of the celery, onion, carrots and zucchini for this soup with the base of the soup using up the leftover gravy.  I had a little bit of leftover peas, carrots and corn in the freezer to add as well.  The potatoes get diced up for fried breakfast potatoes.  The other half of the roast is put away in the freezer for a future meal – shredded beef tacos, another soup, mushroom gravy & rice, or French dip sandwiches; you get the picture.

A Delicious Beef Barley Soup - all from leftovers.

 

The soup will be eaten for supper with homemade baking powder biscuits and a nice garden salad.  The leftover soup and biscuits will be used for another supper in a couple days and lunches.  Nearly a week’s worth or more of meals from one chuck roast priced under $7.