MONDAY MENU ITEM: Crock Pot Bavarian Pot Roast

Just have to share this YUMMY recipe with you! I made this yesterday. My family rarely has red meat dishes. I just don't think it's that healthy, plus the only red meat I like is a good roast (I abhor hamburger - yuck!). And you just can't have a roast very often - too expensive! While I was working on a menu for this week, I decided to make a roast for Sunday's meal, but wanted something a little different than I normally make (Roast, onion soup mix, water - in a crockpot ALL DAY - the only way to cook a roast). I found this recipe online - I can't remember where...

Crock Pot Bavarian Pot Roast

Ingredients:

1 beef pot roast, about 3 to 5 pounds (I don't really love pot roast, so I used Top Round - nice and lean)
1 tsp. vegetable oil (I used Olive Oil - again, it's more healthy)
1 1/2 tsp salt (I use Mediterranean Sea Salt)
1/8 tsp pepper (freshly ground, of course)
1/2 tsp ground ginger
3 whole cloves
4 medium apples (I used Gala), cored and quartered (leave skin on)
1 sm. onion, sliced
1/2 c. apple juice or cider
3 tbsp. flour
3 tbsp water

Preparation:
Core and quarter the apples (I cut them into 8 pieces instead of 4), and slice the onions.
Place the apples and onions in the bottom of the Crock pot.

Trim all excess fat from the roast. Lightly rub top of meat with oil.

Sprinkle meat with the salt, pepper and ginger.

Insert the whole cloves in meat. Put the roast on top of the apples and onions.
Pour in the apple juice.

Cover and cook on a LOW setting for 9 to 12 hours (with the Top Round roast, I cooked only for about 8 hours, and it just fell apart!)

Remove the roast and apples to a warm platter when fully cooked. Turn the slow cooker to HIGH. Make a smooth paste with the flour and water and stir the paste into the liquid. Cover and cook until thickened. Pour gravy over the roast when serving. Makes about 6 to 8 good sized servings. (I didn't do the gravy part. It was taking too long to thicken, and my family was dying from starvation apparently, because they weren't patient enough for gravy. :-)

I served this with potatoes: I peeled and cut the potatoes into bite-sized pieces - enough to cover the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Next came the onions - chopped, which I put all around the potatoes. I then sprinkled with salt, pepper, and creole seasoning, and stirred everything to distribute the seasoning. I put a few pats of butter on the top (ok, so this wasn't the most healthy dish - but it was good!). I baked for about 45 minutes, and then pulled it out and sprinkles the top with medium cheddar cheese. Back into the oven until the cheese melted. When I pulled it out, I stirred it to distribute the cheese and onions. We also had French cut green beans.

ENJOY! (My family did!)