Boy am I loving this fall weather!  It feels so crisp and lovely outside, and I can sense the holidays quickly approaching.

I have this issue with the fall and winter holiday seasons.  I just adore them… every other year.  During the in between years when I don’t adore them, it’s because they seem to come too quickly when I’m still exhausted from last year’s holidays. That’s how I felt last year.

So, this year… I’m excited!

I can hardly wait for all of the decorations, festivities, cooking and baking to begin.

One of the things in life that thrills me to no end, at any time of year,  is the dear wonderful Crockpot.  When I have dinner made and cooking by 9AM I feel powerful, invincible, and like nothing can beat me!

When the weather gets cool like this I love to make Pot Roast.  It’s warm, hearty, makes my whole house smell great and is fantastically easy to prepare during this busy season of back to school and midweek soccer practice and Awanas.  I make this meal often enough that I could do it in my sleep… which is good, because sometimes after a night up with a teething baby or kids having bad dreams… at 8AM, I am still asleep.

I buy my meat from Costco.

I can get two or three pieces in a package like this for somewhere between $15 and $21 depending on the weight.

If there are any vegetarians present… I’m sorry for this offensive display.

Please turn back now!  It’s only going to get Yummier… I mean… Meatier from here.

Lawry’s and McCormick both make great seasoning packets for Beef Stew and Pot Roast. You can use any of those to make a really good flavorful Pot Roast and then not have to deal with a bunch of individual spices and measurements.

These pieces of roast meat from Costco always come with a full side of fat on the bottom.  The first thing I do as I begin to prepare this meal is completely cut the fat cap off, and get rid of it.  I then rinse my pieces of meat under running water in the sink and place them in the Crockpot.

I know that a lot of people like to brown their roast first in a skillet… I’ve tried it, and it doesn’t seem to make any difference in taste or tenderness… or anything!…Except, perhaps causing the meat to be ready to eat sooner.

But if you’re going to let the roast sit in the Crockpot from 9AM until 5PM or longer, you don’t need this extra step.  It just makes your prep time in the morning longer.  Try skipping it. Trust me… it will be fine, and you’ll realize you never have to bother browning your roast again.

The next step is to generously sprinkle all the sides of the meat with salt.

I always keep little lunch size packages of baby carrots from Costco in my fridge. Remy loves snacking on them.  When it’s time to make Pot Roast I simply cut open about seven of those little bags and toss the carrots in the pot.

You can also add peas, potatoes, celery and onions.  To keep things simple and inexpensive, and to make room in the pot for more meat so that this one roast lasts for four dinners, I’ve started just doing meat and carrots.  If you want to see what I do with my left over pot roast to make a second dinner, click here.  I’ll also show you what I do for potatoes later down this page.

I’ve never paid any attention to the instructions on the back of one of these seasoning packages.  I just fill up a measuring cup with four cups of water…

Add in my seasoning…

Stir…

(Yes, I realize there are some random objects in the background of this picture, a lint roller, Clorox wipes, a shopping list, bags from my carrots.  But this is not a gourmet kitchen… this is my guest house kitchen people!  Real life is happening here… and in a very small space!)

And pour.

Mmmmm!  I’m getting hungry.

Now set it and forget it!  8 hours on Low.  Do what you gotta do.  Life is busy.  Live it up.  Head on out.  Conquer things. Dinner will be ready when you get home!

Put the lid on and walk away.

See ya later alligat… I mean… uh… cow.  Hmmm? What rhymes with cow?

See ya down the line, bovine. Ha ha ha… uh… heh.

Sorry.  My mind just does these things…

Moving on.

Seven hours later….

Time to make some mashed potatoes!

I always take the easy route with mashed potatoes and just use red potatoes… no peeling necessary.  It’s really the peeling that takes all the fun out of mashed potatoes.  If you can skip that dastardly step their as easy as using a crock pot.  Simply quarter the potatoes, throw ‘em in a pot of water, crank up the heat, and ditch em for an hour while you catch up on some news and fold laundry….

Oh laundry… my Nemesis!  We meet again! How I loathe you.  Detest you. Why if I had my way when you’re not looking I would….

Ahem…

Excuse me… I”m sorry.  I told you, my mind is not quite right.

An hour later when the potatoes are cooked and tender I dump them into a strainer to drain.  Then I pour them into my Kitchen Aid bowl.  No… I am not getting any sponsorship money from Kitchen Aid… wish I was… but I’m not.  However, if you happen to run into to someone from Kitchen Aid and you want to tell them that I love their products, and use them all the time, and they should definitely check out my website and become a sponsor… go right ahead!  No one is stopping you.

So as I was saying…

I dump my potatoes into the bowl and turn the mixer on low.  After a minute or two I crank the mixer up to high and start adding in butter, salt, and milk.  I don’t measure any of these.  You really can’t go wrong with how much butter or milk you add.  It’s the salt you have to be careful with.  You can always add more, but if you’ve put in too much… it’s ruined.  Blech!  No one wants pot roast with uber salty mashed potatoes.

Just look at that creamy goodness.

Carbs, what carbs?  Not in my food.  Ha!  Not even in my kitchen.

Boy it makes me feel better when I say that.

I’m convinced.

Let’s eat!

Viola!

Now you’re a hero.

And if you want to really be an extra special, super, fantastic hero…

Make some Jell-O at 9Am too.

I know there are tons of books and websites with Crockpot recipes, but I always like hearing what recipes mom’s are really using in their homes, that their families love.  Mom’s usually have also updated, changed, and tweaked book recipes to make them more affordable, and practical.

I really need to add more Crockpot recipes to my repertoire. If you have some that your family LOVES, and that you LOVE making… PLEASE, PLEASE, oh PLEASE help us moms out and pass it along here in the comments.

Share the love!

Now, to get the recipe for another dinner you can make with Pot Roast leftovers, click here.

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A good sized Pot Roast from Costco provides enough meat to feed my family of four (the baby doesn’t eat it yet – too much flavor for his brand new little taste buds) for three dinners… and then some.  But, instead of eating the same exact thing each night I’ve discovered that Pot Roast can be turned into some excellent Mexican Food.

In my fortunate family situation, if I cook Pot Roast on Monday, I barely have to do any dinner prep until the following Monday.  Here’s how:

Monday – Pot Roast for two adults and two kids

Tuesday – Pot Roast a second night for two adults and two kids

Wednesday- Enchiladas for two adults and two kids

Thursday- Left over Enchiladas for two adults… Mac and Cheese or PB&J for two kids.

Friday – … let’s eat out!

Saturday – Homemade pizza with Nana and Papa – a weekly tradition from Einstein’s childhood.

Sunday – Po Boy Sandwiches with Nana and Papa – a weekly tradition from Nana’s childhood.

After dinner on the first night before I put the left over Pot Roast in the fridge, I pull out some of the meat and put it in a separate container. Next I add a package of whatever taco seasoning I have in my spice cupboard.

I leave the carrots from the Pot Roast out and just use some of the meat and broth.

(Although if you’ve been reading enough “Where’s Waldo” or “I SPY” books with your kids, you might be able to notice one little carrot that snuck into this batch.  Oh well.  That’s life.  I’m dealing with it.)

Next I add a half, or a third container of salsa.  If you want to make sure it’s kid friendly remember to use a salsa that is mild.

And that’s it!

Just stir it all up, put a lid on it, stick it in the fridge and let it marinate.  Then on the following night, or the night after that, you can use it to make beef enchiladas, tacos, taquitos, burritos, quesadillas, or fajitas… which ever way you like to fold, wrap, or roll your tortillas.

It’s pretty much all the same when you think about it.

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