After our heatwave-filled summer, there’s nothing like the scent of a pot roast wafting through the house on a brisk autumn day.
In her very first cookbook, Ree Drummond — aka “The Pioneer Woman” — offers a very simple pot roast recipe that my family turns to time and again when the temperature begins to drop. Published a decade ago, The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl is Drummond’s cookbook I use most often, especially in the cooler months. A weekend dinner treat is either her “Perfect Pot Roast” or, if time allows, her chicken pot pie with a homemade crust.
Once the onions and carrots are sauteed in olive oil and the roast is browned for a minute on each side, just add beef stock, rosemary and thyme (we also add a bay leaf or two), put a lid on it and slide it into the oven. Let it cook away in a 275-degree Fahrenheit oven for about three hours for a 3-pound roast, or four to five hours for a larger roast. While the veggies and meat become tender and juicy and your mouth begins to water, go ahead and watch the Steelers game, catch up on your Netflix shows or take a nap — you deserve a break!
Check out this link from Drummond’s website for her “Perfect Pot Roast” recipe, or if you would like to page through her entire cookbook, you can request the physical copy or e-book on Overdrive/Libby.
