Slow-Cooker Pot Roast, Easy and Delicious!

Recently, I had a little New Year’s Day dinner party and for the party I decided to prepare a roast. Normally, I’d cook it in the oven or if I was really in a hurry, I’d pull out the pressure cooker.

New Year's Tablescape with Acorn Soup Tureens

 

I get bored making the same old thing so this time I decided to check online for a new recipe. I was especially interested in something that could be cooked in a crock-pot since that would leave me free to work on other things that day, like making dessert, picking up balloons, final decorating, etc…

I Googled “crock pot roast” and a Paula Deen recipe popped up at the very top. Since it had such high ratings (5 stars out of 460+ reviews), I decided to give it a try. I quickly realized my 30-year-old, 3 1/2 quart crock pot wasn’t going to be large enough to hold a roast for 10 dinner guests. I love this crock-pot and it still works great, but I decided it was time to purchase a bigger one.

Crockery Queen Crock Pot

 

This one holds 6 quarts, if I’m remembering correctly. I went for a plain stainless one but was so tempted to get one of the cute “team” crock pots. Have you seen those? They would be perfect for a tailgate party.

Crockpot for Pot Roast

 

Slow-Cooker Pot Roast

(Recipe by Paula Deen, printable version at the end of this post)

This slow-cooker recipe calls for a 3-pound chuck roast and is supposed to serve 6. Since I was having 10 for dinner that night, I purchased two roasts. I had to cut one of the roast in half to get all of of it into the crock pot.

You start by sprinkling all sides with Paula’s house seasoning, which is just salt, pepper and garlic powder.

Next, sear all the sides of the roast in a small amount of oil until they are nice and brown. I’ve always done that for the roast I cook in my pressure cooker, too. I read somewhere it helps seal in the flavor. It also makes the roast look prettier when you serve it.

slow-cooker-pot-roast-easy-and-flavorful-1_wm

 

Place the roast into the slow cooker and layer onions, bay leaves, crushed bouillon cubes and garlic.

slow-cooker-pot-roast-easy-to-make

 

Then add the Cream of Mushroom soup on top.

slow-cooker-pot-roast-easy-and-flavorful-4_wm

 

After you have all the ingredients in the crock pot, pour the Chardonnay over the top along with enough water to “cover all ingredients.” (Caution: Read the additional info. toward the bottom of this post. Next time I’m using much less water.)

slow-cooker-pot-roast-recipe

 

I also added in some carrots, halved and sliced in long pieces. I was super tempted to add in some potatoes but since it was the first time I had ever tried this recipe, I didn’t want to veer too far off course and do something I might regret later.

Slow Cooker Pot Roast, Easy and Flavorful

 

Now, I really need to mention this! When I first found this recipe online, HERE,  I noticed in some of the comments, folks were complaining if you add enough water to cover all the ingredients as the recipe states, there’s way, way too much water when it’s done.

I experienced something similar. Since I had read the comments, I tried to not add too much water, adding just barely enough to mostly cover the roast, but I still had a HUGE amount of liquid in the pot in the end. Let’s just say I could have added those potatoes I had been tempted to add and they would have cooked just fine.

I just barely covered most of the ingredients with water but the next time I make this, I’m going to use less, even if the ingredients don’t end up covered in water at the start. I couldn’t believe how much liquid there was in the pot in the end. I have no idea where all that comes from but it was crazy.

Unfortunately, since the party was in full swing, I didn’t think to take a photo of the roast once I had it on a platter. I didn’t want to just plop (that’s a specialized culinary term, so use it wisely) my roast onto a platter and call it a day…how not-appetizing would that look. So, while I was in Whole Foods earlier in the day, I picked up a big bunch of kale. It was super curly and really pretty.

Kale

Hope you can get a mental picture of this. I placed the kale all over the platter and placed the roast on top. The roast was so tender, it was tricky getting it out of the crockpot. It kind of fell apart into bigger pieces but that worked out well because a knife wasn’t needed for serving. My guests were able to just pull away pieces with a meat fork. I placed the carrots all around the edge of the platter. I think next time I make this, I may toss in some red potatoes about halfway through. They would have been pretty displayed around the edge, too.

If you make it, let me know how much water you add and how much liquid you have in the end. I’m definitely going to add less next time. Oh, one more thing, I wanted to make sure my roast was really tender so I turned the slow cooker up to high for about 2 hours later in the day, then dialed it back down. I cooked my roast around 9 hours and it did come out nice and tender.

Here’s a printable version of the recipe. Hope you enjoy!

Pssst: You’ll find additional recipes under the RECIPES category at the top of BNOTP or click here:  RECIPES

Print Recipe
4.67 from 3 votes

Slow-Cooker Roast

This is a great roast to make when you have a busy day ahead. Flavor is great and roast comes out nice and tender.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time8 hours
Total Time8 hours 10 minutes
Course: Entree
Servings: 6

Ingredients

  • 1 3-lb boneless chuck roast
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons Paula's house seasoning which is salt, pepper and garlic powder
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 onion thinly sliced
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 3 or 4 beef bouillon cubes crushed
  • 2 garlic cloves crushed
  • 1 10 3/4 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
  • 1/2 cup Chardonnay

Instructions

  • Sprinkle all sides of roast with house seasoning.
  • On high heat, sear roast in oil until brown.
  • Place roast in slow cooker, layer onions, bay leaves, crushed bouillon cubes, garlic and cream of mushroom soup.
  • Add Chardonnay.
  • Cover with enough water to cover ingredients.
  • Cook on low setting 8-9 hours.

Notes

This is a Paula Deen recipe I found online via Food Network. I ended up with way more liquid than I would have liked in the end, so next time I try this recipe, I'm going to use a lot less water even if the roast isn't fully covered. If you make this, let me know what works for you.

 

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Comments

  1. YUMMM!! That is my crock-pot, too!! Must try that recipe (it seems I mostly use mine for chili.) THANKS! franki

  2. I normally cook beef roast in my crockpot and only use 1/2 water – and still come out with lots of liquid! I save it in the fridge, skim off the fat the next day, and make yummy lower fat gravy. FYI 🙂

  3. Sounds yummy Susan! Thank you so much for the récipe and the slow cooker idea…I think I’m gonna buy one, I don’t know why I didn’t get another after the old one broke!!!
    Hugs,
    FABBY

  4. I love my crock pot and love the extra time it gives me to multi-task. I hadn’t heard of Paula Deen’s recipe and wondered if the mushroom soup ended up more or less as a gravy? The roast sounds wonderful and just perfect for sharing with friends.

  5. Thalia swensen says

    I love all the tablescapes. A beautiful table is a must for me, even for our daily meals, and I have always set the table for my family. Even now when it is just the two of us I do. Forty years ago, when my husband moved me from the south to the west, I brought all my china, silver, crystal, flatware, & serving pieces. With the laid back, casual lifestyle in the west back them people thought I was crazy. They would dish up from the stove or set the pot on the table. You can imagine my reaction!
    Over the years I have accumulated a lot of things for my table, storage is an issue. Houses in the west don’ t come with a butler’ s pantry, no one even knows what that is . I have turned a larger closet in my home into a mini butler’s pantry, but still struggle with enough room for everything. I wondered if you could share some of your storage ideas and how you store all your beautiful things.

  6. Susan, Are you having wind down south? It’s steady at 31 mph.
    My mother used to brown her roast and then put it into the deep well cooker and put cream of mushroom soup, a can of onion soup (that’s all the liquid) and veggies and that would cook about 4 hours and was so good. I think that’s my kind of comfort food.

  7. Sounds delicious and perfect for an easy, big-family dinner. Making me hungry for mashed potatoes and gravy. Will try very soon!

  8. Your roast sounds yummy – I’ll have to give that recipe a try. I have several ways to cook roasts but my favorite is to put the roast in the crockpot, mix 1 envelope dry onion soup mix and 1 envelope brown gravy mix into 1 cup of water, and add that mixture to the salted and peppered roast. Put the lid on and cook on low all day long. Sometimes I add potatoes and carrots but I usually cook it plain and it’s delicious. The gravy is perfect for mashed potatoes or to pour over potatoes and carrots.

  9. I’ve used my slow cooker for pot roast for years. In fact your old cooker and mine could be twins! A slow cooker process does not reduce the amount of liquid, so whatever you add in the beginning is how much you’ll have at the end. The mushroom soup and the meat juices would have been enough, so either the wine or the water could be omitted and you’d still be able to cook the potatoes. Remember even the onions and carrots add moisture to the pot.

  10. I love to use my Crock Pot for cooking roasts but just a word of warning on the potatoes. For some reason, my potatoes never get done when I cook them along with my roast. May it’s because I’m not cutting them in chunks, but I like for them to be whole – so I end up cooking the potatoes in a pot of water, drain the water off , add a little seasoning salt – and then put them in the oven on broil for about 7 minutes before serving on my platter. The carrots do fine – just not the potatoes. And I never add over a cup and a half of water to the roast before cooking. I add it to the juices in the pan while it’s still hot after I brown the roast – then transfer it to the crock pot with the roast.. The fat and moisture in the roast will make all the liquid you need.

  11. Love a pot roast in the slow cooker. Like you said, it frees you up to do other things, and the delicious smell fills the kitchen while you work. I always cook mine longer, too, for extra tender meat. Thanks for sharing the recipe!

  12. Peggy Thal says

    I always put the onions on the bottom. I use about I cup of beef broth and wine of course. It is delicious. Add potatoes and carrots the last hour.

  13. I use my crockpot all the time for pot roast. I use a recipe a friend gave me called “to Die for Pot Roast.” super easy and tasty. I don’t brown the roast just throw it in the crockpot. I mix 1 envelope of Good Seasons Italian dressing, an envelope of brown gravy mix and an envelope of Hidden Valley ranch dressing with 1 cup of water. I pour this over the roast. I often cup up a couple of onions and add to crockpot. Then I use the small red or Yukon potatoes (or cup up larger ones) and cook them in the microwave for 10 minutes and add to crockpot. I cook small carrots the same way in microwave and add them also. Then I just put cover on crockpot and put on high for 6-8 hours. Falls apart and plenty of juice.
    I will try yours this week, it sounds yummy.
    Also, thank you for the tip on the bird feeder. Amazon is delivering it tomorrow.

    Keep up the good work, I LOVE your blog!

  14. Sorry for my typos, cup was supposed to be cut.

  15. Susan, I have the same crock pot that you purchased and it is great for all the reasons you mentioned. I add only a few tablespoons of water as the cooking process creates a steam environment thus creating all the water. Since I try to adhere to my no salt diet, I add only pepper, a few spices, onions, carrots and celery. I have also found that the potatoes don’t cook as well. I usually cook them to crisp tender on the stove and then add them to the crock pot. IF, there are any leftovers I have the perfect start for beef stew a couple days later.
    Have a blessed weekend,
    Ginger

  16. Donna Babbitt, Brea, Ca. says

    Never met a roast I didn’t love, must try this one……………….crockpots make me feel so superior all day long knowing that my dinner is “ready”……………………………..so glad you featured Paula, that woman got such a bad rap it is still making my head explode. Love your blog always!!!

  17. Sounds yummy!
    I’ll have to try it sometime with bison chuck instead of beef chuck – much healthier that way.

  18. Steam is the way the slow cooker or crockpot works when the pot is left undisturbed during the cooking time. You need minimal liquid in anything you put into a slow cooker. A little wine of choice and your seasonings are all that is really needed. You should check into the type which allows you to brown in the insert on your stovetop before you set the whole thing into the appliance. It is really a timesaver and only one pot to wash, not two!

    Potatoes turn rather dark during a long cooking time if you peel them, and somewhat dark even if you don’t. Pre-cooking those and adding them in during the last couple of hours seems to work best.

    This does look like a tasty recipe otherwise.

  19. Susan – I have seen some of the comments about the potatoes and carrots but ALL of my crockpot literature says a unique feature of the crockpot is that vegetables cook more slowly than the meat and recommends that vegetables go in the bottom of the crockpot with the meat on top and cook the entire cooking cycle. I do this always and have never had a mushy vegetable. I seldom add a lot of liquid. If I get a lot of liquid with a roast I will strain it and add gravy mix to make a great gravy (or kitchen bouquet and my own thickener if I am not too lazy) or save it for soup stock for the future. One note, the newer crockpots cook much faster than the older ones – something about them being forced to make them hotter due to food regulations. So any old recipes you have will likely cook much more quickly in your new CP . But it is my favorite appliance. I use it every week.

  20. Don’t get rid of that old crockpot! The old ones cook better. My theory is the newer ones get too hot. Do half of a roast for yourself in the small one on low allllll day and let us know which one tastes better!

  21. Yum! Bet that was good. I have not used my crockpots in some time – really need to put them to work. Thanks for the reminder.
    Hope you are enjoying the weekend.

  22. Veggies need to go on the bottom, half a cup of liquid is plenty. i have the same crock pot and use it to cook lots of things. there are plenty of recipes on-line for crock pot cooking.
    Love your blog, thanks for sharing.

  23. That looks so yummy!!! I love my crock pot, I think it is 4 quarts………use it all the time………tomorrow I will be making tomato sauce in it. My booklet that came with the pot says to use only 1 cup of liquid per meat and veggie recipes. And that’ s pretty much what I do and there is still a lot of liquid at the end. I always add bullion cubes in the liquid, makes great gravy!! Made a pork roast last week in it with onions, carrots and potatoes, also added some chunks of celery, it really flavors the broth nicely……..veggies on the bottom and roast on the top. I also brown the roast first. Okay, now I am hungry!!!!

  24. I love to cook roasts in the crock pot. That way they are ready when we get home from school. I do my very similar to yours, although if I am making it in the morning before I leave for school and I am running late, I just throw the roast in without searing it. Also, for the past several years I have switched to “Golden Mushroom” soup. You will absolutely love it. In addition, I put a cap full (or a tad more) or Kitchen Bouquet. I never add more than a soup can full of water. Just thought you might enjoy a few more options. As always, love your excellent posts. Lori Lucas

  25. Thanks for sharing this recipe. I just picked up my annual quarter of beef from my farmer friend at school and have a lot of roasts to cook. I like crock pot recipes because it is so nice to have dinner ready when I get home from school.

  26. pam ~ crumpety cottage says

    Hi Susan,

    Thanks for sharing your roast experience. I haven’t been searing mine and I bet that is what is making the difference! But yikes, reading your comments as well as a lot of the other ladies made me realize you guys probably aren’t reading labels. The ingredients in some of these items are terrible! Please read your labels and stay healthy! Campbell’s soups, bouillion cubes, dry packets of soups, gravy, etc. have some very unhealthy ingredients and you can usually either find a better, healthier version of these things or simply use your own fresh ingredients to mimic them. Thanks. 🙂 We’ve got to keep you healthy!

  27. Now that sounds like one delicious pot roast, Susan! I need a new crock pot, like yours!

  28. wow susan, this recipe sounds sooo good! i need a new crockpot too and almost picked one up in b’ham last weekend at old time pottery..now i wish i had. i want the stainless steel looking one too.

    i can’t wait to make this one…i love pot roast and all the fixin’s!

  29. Sherry Myers says

    I love my crockpot. It was my go to almost every day when I taught school. As a matter of fact, I have the same crockpot that you have, as well as two slow cookers. I enjoy the slowcookers for browning and searing before cooking. My crockpot and slowcookers still get a lot of use today, and I find that most recipes call for too much added liquid when you are cooking on slow. The higher the temperature the more more liquid it needs. Thank you for the recipes. Your blog is always beautiful.

  30. Thanks for sharing this recipe! I’ll be certain to try it!
    Your blog is my “comfort food” –a reader since the begininning — I love to see what you’re ‘serving’ next!

  31. I am new to this wonderful site and just discovered the recipes. Susan, you remind me so much of my former self, before chronic progressive illnesses took my job, our financial security, my identity as a professional, but also my identity as a person who loved all aspects of making a home. I share your love of redecorating, setting a lovely table. I have quite a collection of stoneware, chinaware, crystal, tables ape, decor items. I would change with the seasons, holidays. My husband loved it and appreciated my efforts. He’s very handy and would help me.,Your taste is like mine and your site feeds my soul. Now I’ve discovered the recipes! I apologize for a long post to explain our situation so you and your readers have necessary information to help me help my dear husband. My questions come two years after the discussions about this recipe. I used to have your older crockpot, but was gifted a new stainless six quart one. With limited space, I gave away my old one. I now regret that. I’m having a problem with my roasts developing a dry top since, unlike Paula, none of my recipes call for covering with liquid. I’ve gotten so frustrated by the dry top phenomena that I’ve tried turning the roast half way through cooking. Is my problem due to the crockpots cooking faster? Any suggestions out there? Actually, it’s my husband getting up in the middle of the night to turn the roast. He cannot prepare the crockpot in the morning as I did. Just don’t go there. He likes to do it in the evening after he gets home and use the food the next day. It’s hard for him to adjust his routine and he insists on being at school by 6:30a.m. So we are up at 5:00a.m. He’s extremely organized like me so he’s doing laundry, paying bills while preparing me a nutritious breakfast served on a tray in my bed. It’s a long time til he frantically runs home for lunch, or not. We cannot afford help, except for general housekeepers every two weeks, which isn’t sufficient to keep our home clean for a person with no immune system. We can’t afford for him to retire, so we both must adjust-a lot! Due to my illnesses, my loving, a bit rigid, but willing hubby must now do all shopping and cooking, as well as laundry and housekeeping duties. Finding things in the grocery store is an issue, due to not wanting to ask for help. Sigh. Or shopping when the store supplies are so depleted. And not remembering because he is on overload. Funny, his personal routines are difficult to change, but he’s flexible with his students and much beloved by them. A true master teacher every child deserves, working with special needs students, classes of up to 50 students. He now focuses on young students and assists with the high school students. Teaching keeps him sane in our situation. Did you know immune systems reside in our GI tracts? mine is irreparably damaged. I’m allergic to all milk sugars, including the casein protein in dairy. I loved to use the several cream of soups, and cheese, but cannot now. We like flavorful foods, but neither of us can take overly spicy or hot recipes anymore. As a band director in a highly successful program, he has a more than a full-time job. He married me because he adored me, still does, God bless his soul for all that we have been through, but one particularly attractive quality was my ability to cook well on a limited budget. His mom was not a good cook, so my meals were a revelation to him. I feel helpless and frustrated as his load becomes more difficult, but in reality no more than what I managed with a family, a marriage, and a very stressful but rewarding school district administrator position in a large suburban public school system where I was on call 24 hours a day. We all can relate from being moms with busy, responsible jobs. We need your readers help with easy to find ingredients requiring little to no prep for crockpot roast with carrots and potatoes, his favorite. Any other beginner cook level recipes he can cook would be helpful. Over explain and assume nothing in recipe directions because it may be one of those days where I cannot fill in what sauté means. I’m must limit gluten, sugar, too, so brown rice works much better for us than noodles. And no yeast producing recipes or yummy yeasty bread. Oh, well, it tends to pack on the pounds unless you are very active at our age. Most gluten free versions of recipes are yucky and much to complicated for my exhausted cook at the end of his day. And I don’t have a true gluten allergy.In addition to the roast recipe, I would love some boneless chicken strip recipes that make a sauce to pour over my brown rice to give it some flavor. The boneless breasts are too much for me and seem to be more dry when baked by my new cook so we have substituted the boneless breast strips to allow for easy portion size adjustment between his appetite and mine. We long for juicy , flavorful chicken. I don’t have the energy to problem solve well any more as my illnesses have become more vicious. We love leftovers. It’s just the two of us. I cannot depend on friends or grown children to help. Everyone’s “too busy”. My love and I keep a good attitude and cherish our time together. Especially me because I’m alone all day into the evening. I miss my sweet kitty who died last fall. I digress. I just know you and your thoughtful readers will help us with tasty recipes. And solve the problem with dry roast on top. My former crockpot was smaller, so the roast was more covered by the limited wet ingredients I used. You should see his smile when he is successful in the kitchen. It makes my day. I know you all understand my desire to ease his stress and mine. We’ve loved each other for 43 years and more to come. I’ve defied expectations with these diseases and I know our relationship has a lot to do with that. Thank you for reading my long post.

    • First, I will send prayers to our Heavenly Father to bring you help. Are you able to have home health services? My daughter has done much in the home with her occupational health training. Can someone bring you books from the library that will help you? How about neighbors? This is such a difficult thing to go thru. I have a husband and son that have had colon cancer 3 times. They have a genetic problem called Lynch syndrome. We are surviving and searching all t he time for help.

    • Kathleen, I’m so sorry you are sick with such a difficult auto-immune disorder. I have heard that, how our immune system is in our gut. Your husband sounds wonderful and I know you are a blessing to each other.

      I’m very much an amateur cook, thank goodness for recipes! I do love to share recipes I find and love here on the blog but I’m not the greatest at improvising. I’ll email a friend and fellow food blogger and ask her if she has any suggestions for keeping a roast moist on all sides while it’s cooking. In the meantime, I found this thread where folks are discussing this issue with roasts drying out and there were some great suggstions. You’ll find that discussion here: http://what-a-crock.livejournal.com/668534.html

      Carol’s suggestion about having Home Heatlh come in is a great idea. Have you talked to your doctor about that? I’m guessing you probably have but just wanted to second that idea in case you haven’t. Usually insurance will help pay for those services.

      Do you have a Senior Services program in your area? Sometimes they are aware of local programs for seniors.

      Also, I don’t know if you have “Meals on Wheels” where you live but with that program, someone brings a meal out to you each day and you pay according to income, up to a fixed amount. It’s very reasonable in cost. I’m not sure if they have meals that would be appropriate for your dietary needs, but it might be worth a call just to see.

      Big hugs sent your way!
      XX
      Susan

      • Hey, Susan,
        After my initial reply to you, It occurred to me that I didn’t mention anything useful about the link you posted. As a follow up and to combine the link suggestions with your readers’ suggestions, here’s my summarization. The link was full of ideas, but most had been suggested by your readers. Some smart cooks you have! Here’s a list of the most common suggestions for a tender, juicy roast.
        1. Use a meat that is not lean. Suggestions were chuck roast, chuck steak. I confess I had gone toward leaner meats because I cannot stand that covering of congealed white fat present after refrigeration. I remove most of it before reheating because I can see our arteries clogging! Methods to remove fat globules while the liquid is hot have never worked sufficiently for me, so I’m yuck about eating all that bad fat. It gives meat flavor, but is not really healthy. I’m going to go back to my tried and true chuck roasts, only larger ones with well marbled meat. I’ll explain to Steve, my husband, what marbled meat is.
        2. Shorten the cooking time to four hours. There’s debate about high or low settings, but most people agreed the new crockpots cook at a higher temperature. Some new ones come with a meat thermometer. I don’t have that model. We are going to cook four hours on slow and check with a meat thermometer, adjusting to high for additional cooking time needed.
        3. Turn the meat over once during cooking.
        4. What kind of liquid and the amount varied, as well as suggestions for spices sprinkled on meat. It’s a matter of personal taste. To sear or not also varied, but most say searing helps retain moisture. Crockpot instructions now say searing is not necessary for the larger new ones, according to one person. I always seared mine and enjoyed the cream of mushroom soup, dried onion soup mix with a soup can of water recipe. I’m going to stay close to that, using beef broth rather than the soup and water. I will sprinkle seasoned salt on the meat prior to searing.
        4. Add some carbonated liquid to help tenderize. Beer, Coke, ginger ale were mentioned. We choose to use about five ounces of sparkling water or maybe club soda because of the yeast and sugar in beer and the high sugar content of ginger ale and Coke. Another dietary restriction I have is to limit sugar.
        5. Use fresh ingredients when you can. Some are understandably limited by cost of groceries, very real time limitations, or poor health that requires limited prep time. I’ve always said do your best with what you can afford and don’t feel guilty about necessary choices. It was my mantra as a working professional with a family and remains so now with limited finances and lots of medical bills.
        All of these had been discussed by your readers. The only new suggestion, was to use a large enough roast to cover 3/4ths of the larger bottom of my new crockpot. I believe without going back and reading all the original discussion, one of your readers made a reference to this with a comment about using one and a half roasts.
        My newby cook and I will use these suggestions for a recipe for success, thanks to all of you.
        Susan, I must clarify that I don’t have an autoimmune disease. In autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatic arthritis, your immune system is overactive, attacking your body as if it were a foreign bacteria or virus. Your immune system becomes your enemy in an autoimmune disease, attacking your tissues, rather than foreign enemies like bacteria.
        In my case, I have neurological Lyme Disease which is an infectious disease caused by bacteria from infected ticks getting into your bloodstream when the tick bites you. It triggered my genetic predisposition for Parkinson’s Disease, a neurological disease. Lyme Disease results in the weakening of my immune system, to the point of almost no response.
        My immune system was overwhelmed, weakened by the bacteria present for four years before diagnosis. By the time it was identified, the infection was so pervasive, attempts to kill it were unsuccessful, further weakening my immune system to the point I couldn’t fight off any type of infection whether it was bacterial, yeast, viral or fungal. I hope I’ve explained the difference in cause.
        Why is this happening? Why didn’t my doctor identify my Lyme early and treat it? It’s entirely curable with antibiotics then.
        Outdated, restrictive diagnostic criteria proven to be ineffective failed to identify my Lyme infection. Those same criteria are still used by our doctors 15 years later, unless you have access to a few savvy specialists. This continues to fail thousands of others just like me every year, causing a terrible, persisting infection, disability, and ruining productive lives.
        It’ reprehensible this is still happening. Congress, under the influence of powerful medical/insurance lobbyists, refuses to pass legislation that would more accurately diagnose early Lyme, preventing my illness for thousands of people per year.
        To put in words that relate to your blog, it’s the same as failing to do basic maintenance on your home that prevents bigger, more expensive problems, some so serious they can destroy your home, while focusing only on new drapes.
        Kathleen

        • Kathleen .
          Please go to a health food store and get Cats Claw , Or other wise known as Una Del Gato, It is an imunne builder like no other. Has deminnished Lymes disease. Go On line to find out EWhat amounts and how often to take .

    • Kathleen/Susan,

      I am sorry I do not know much about crockpot cooking. My meals looked like the dog’s breakfast so I gave up on it. I just did not have much luck.

      When I first developed my allergies I started with bread and learned to make it since it is a staple in my life. I made yeast breads (which she says she cannot eat). I also made cornbread muffins, flat bread, and pancakes, portioned them out and put them in the freezer. I defrost them in the oven since the microwave will make bread into hockey pucks.

      Rather than focus on what I could not have I made a list of all the foods I could tolerate and then went about a search for recipes. I tried to keep the recipe to minimal ingredients so not to get caught up in ingredients called “spices” since soy (my problem) can hide in that ingredient. The fresher the ingredients the less apt to cause a hidden problem since you will know exactly what you are eating. I usually make extra and then freeze the meal in portions so not to get desperate for something to eat.

      Since she said they like brown rice, may I suggest they make up a large batch – I make mine in the oven since it cooks slowly in the oven and then I portion out in freezer bags – smashed flat for an easy storage and for a quick defrost.

      I sometimes buy a rotisserie chicken. I cut off the two breasts for a meal with brown rice and serve with either stewed tomatoes or a nice mustard sauce or wine/shallot pan sauce and fresh vegetables. I cut the meat off the legs and thighs for enchiladas or tacos or a pasta. I then throw the bones/carcass in a pot with a stalk of celery and a small onion, cover with water and make stock for soup – it freezes well. She can add some rice or pasta and some vegetables when she defrosts it. I know she said they live on a limited budget – three meals out of one chicken – so it doesn’t get much cheaper than that.

      Also, I cook and freeze soup in portions. It makes it handy to pull out and defrost quickly. Your butternut squash soup freezes well and it is gourmet in a few minutes. I did not think it expensive.

      Trader Joe’s makes some nice sauces in the refrigerated part of the store. She probably needs to read the label to see if she can have it. In the winter when I can’t get good tomatoes I use the salsa and the tomatillo sauce (no preservatives) to cook over fish (usually a ten minute meal) or pork tenderloin cut into medallions that take a few minutes to sear/brown and a few minutes to simmer in the sauce. Pork tenderloin may sound expensive to her, but remember there is no waste – it is all eatable. She should tell her husband to be sure remove the silver skin (slip a knife under the skin) since it will never get tender.

      Susan, I am not sure if this was helpful to her since she has different issues than mine, but this is my approach. Everything I make usually takes less than 30 minutes total. I make extra and portion out and freeze which I find helpful. As it turns out because of my problem I now eat better than ever. I won’t say it has been easy, but it does get easier. It may be my blessing since I eat much more healthier than ever before.

      Kathleen, if you would like you can email me at makeminelemon (at) gmail (dot)com. Maybe I can help research more recipes for you.

  32. Bridget Zill says

    I added some corn starch until the liquid thickened up and had a wonderful gravy!!! Try that next time!!!

  33. Robin Lanier says

    Your recipe for Slow-Cooker Pot Roast sounds great but I have one member of the family that doesn’t eat mushrooms even in a soup. Do you offer any other suggestions for soup in this dish.

    • Robin, I’ve seen a lot of similar type dishes use Cream of Celery, so you could use that instead of the Cream of Mushroom. I think it would be great as a substitute.

  34. You only need about a half a cup of liquid in the bottom of the pot… The steam rotating around the pot roast let’s sit cook without being dry at all. I’ve been cooking pot roast this way for years.

    I have learned that if the pot roast and all the vegetables , do not totally fit in your pot , you can make your pot much bigger, by using a metal , or glass oven serving bowl, that fits exactly on the top of the pot ,up Side down.. Use it as a lid. Then you roast can even be above the pot, but still cook perfectly, because it has the Bowl, as a dome lid

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