Yesterday was my last day on the General Medicine service at the hospital. At the end of the day, I felt like sleeping 3 days straight! Good thing I have a 3-day weekend 😉 I plan on spending a lot of it in my kitchen – oh how I have missed it!! Last Sunday I brought home a chuck roast from the butcher down the street. I wanted to make a special Sunday dinner, and thought about the pot roast recipe my mom used to make for us that I loved so much. The mashed potatoes are a must!
The best thing about this recipe is that it involves a minimal amount of time, and the results are incredible. I use my slow cooker, and just add a few ingredients to the crockpot and leave it to cook for about 6 hours on low during the day. It makes the apartment smell so good. Pot roast is so perfect on a chilly day, especially when served with creamy mashed potatoes, tender vegetables, and warm gravy. Remember, chuck roasts shrink a little while cooking!
The past 6 weeks have been an emotional rollercoaster. Some days I got to see my patients get better and go home as good as new. Other days I spent sharing the fear and sadness of losing someone you love and not being able to do anything about it. I met so many incredible people along the way….
At this moment, I am at a crossroads when thinking about my career as a pharmacist. I am faced with applying for jobs and residency programs, trying to decide what the best thing will be for me. Stay tuned, the next few months are about to get crazy!
- 1 chuck roast (~3 lb)
- ½ onion
- 1 packet classic gravy mix (sub 1 cup beef broth)
- ½ cup water
- ¼ cup red wine
- 2 cloves garlic
- ½ tbsp thyme
- Salt and pepper
- 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
- In a small saucepan, prepare the gravy according the directions on the packet (skip this step if using beef broth instead).
- Rub salt and pepper over the chuck roast (trimmed of excess fat), careful not to make too salty since the beef broth/gravy already has a lot of sodium.
- Slice the ½ onion in half, and add both halves to the bottom of a crockpot.
- Turn the crockpot on "low" and add ½ cup water.
- Cover the onions completely with the roast.
- Pour half of the gravy (or 1 cup beef broth) over the roast, reserving the other half for serving later.
- Pour the wine over the roast, then sprinkle with thyme.
- Slice the garlic cloves into small pieces and sprinkle over and around the roast.
- Cover and cook for 6 hours on low. For the last 30 minutes, add the chopped carrots.
- Serve with gravy and mashed potatoes.
I bet your pot roast was extremely tender and juicy!
Thanks, we really enjoyed it!
Totally understand the craziness of steps ahead! My fiancé is in medical school and will start the process of applying to residency programs at the end of next summer….definitely going to be a stressful time.
On a completely unrelated note, this pot roast looks amazing!! Such a comforting meal at this time of the year. Love it.
Congrats on getting through general medicine! It sounds like you REALLY deserve your 3-day weekend. Enjoy!
Whatever you decide to do career-wise, I wish you success and happiness. And happy is what I’d be if I was served this pot roast! I haven’t made one in ages, but have been thinking about it recently. Yours looks terrific – thanks.
Great that you finished the hard 6 weeks, emotionally draining for sure but it would have been great too.
Think about what you want to do and go for it. All the best.
Working in a hospital can be such an emotional roller coaster. Good luck with working out ‘where to from here’. I love the look of your pot roast. It’s very cold here today and I’m thinking this is a good option for us tonight xx
mmm I love how simple this deliciousness is!
I made a super similar pot roast last week (I got the recipe from a friend) + it turned out SO good. It was so simple, + so delicious. Love recipes like that!