Italian Pot Roast

When I think of pot roast, I think of brown gravy and potatoes and carrots.  So this one is a little bit of a different take on pot roast, because the sauce is more tomato-y and it's served with noodles instead of potatoes.  But it sounded yummy.  This is from the Oct/Nov 2015 Simple & Delicious.  One of the things you do at the beginning is put these whole spices into cheesecloth.  I can't remember where I got this cheesecloth, but as a nurse, it was difficult to use this without remembering the dozens and dozens and dozens of wounds I have dressed/packed/dabbed with gauze that looks EXACTLY like this.

So that was weird.  Probably someone is laughing somewhere as they  manufacture gauze that is both for cooking and wound dressing...

Italian Pot Roast
1 cinnamon stick (3 in)
6 whole peppercorns
4 whole cloves
3 whole allspice
2 tsp olive oil
2 lb boneless beef chuck roast
2 celery ribs, sliced
2 med carrots, sliced
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup beef broth or dry sherry (guess which one I used? Yep beef broth)
1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
¼ tsp salt
Hot cooked noodles for serving

Place the cinnamon stick, peppercorns, cloves, and allspice on a double thickness of cheesecloth.  Gather corners of cloth to enclose spices; tie securely with string.

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat.  Brown roast on all sides; transfer to slow cooker.  Add celery, carrots, and spice bag.

Add onion to same skillet; cook and stir til tender.  Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer.  Add broth or sherry, stirring to loosen browned bits.  Bring to a boil; cook and stir until liquid is reduced to about 2/3 cup.  Stir in tomatoes and salt; pour over roast and vegetables.

Cook, covered, on low, for 6-7 hours or until meat and vegetables are tender.

Remove roast from slow cooker; keep warm.  Discard spice bag; skim fat from sauce.  Serve pot roast and sauce with noodles.

Of course this smelled amazing all day.  And the meat was falling apart, which is just how we like it :)  the noodles I served this with are GF white bean pasta.  I got them at the Natural Living Center.  It's the second time we've had them.  I do like the texture, and they only take 3-4 minutes once the water is boiling.  But they cost probably twice as much as the two other GF pastas I usually buy, and Emma doesn't like these.  So, so long white bean pasta, it was nice while it lasted.  The sauce was very good drizzled over the noodles.  As you can see, we had this with corn, too.  A yummy meal and I'm sure I'll make this again.

This has lots of spices that I happened to have already that have accumulated on my spice rack through the years.  But if you don't have them, I could see not wanting to spend a lot of money to get these all at once.  I hardly ever have to buy a spice any more, but it's been like 10 years since I started doing New Recipe Night so I've had lots of time to gather.  They keep for a looooong time, despite what expiration dates may tell you.  There are a couple that can go bad, but I can't remember what they are...my mother in law told me, and maybe she'll comment on the post.  I think one might have been paprika.  Anyway you could sub with small amount of the dried spices mixed with the broth/tomato mixture before you pour it over the meat and I'm sure the flavor would be about the same.