Monday’s Menu: Pot Roast Stew by Courtney

As my husband was walking out the door the other day, on the first truly chilly day of the season, he said “hey, you know what sounds great for dinner tonight? A good, beef stew!”  Well, I had a pot roast in the fridge that I had planned to cook in the crock pot all day with root vegetables and a butternut squash.  As it happens, those are the basic ingredients of a good beef stew (less the squash). And, half of my children don’t like anything resembling soup unless it’s “chicken and stars” by a certain well-known canned brand. But they do like my pot roast. So I had the idea to cook once, but make two dishes.  It turned out great and everyone was happy.

Pot Roast Stew

Ingredients:

• 1 pot roast, large enough to fit in a crock pot
• Root vegetables of your choice such as carrots, celery, onions, garlic, parsnip and potato
• 1 Butternut or acorn squash, cut in half, seeds removed. (Note: Instead of potatoes, I made the squash and mashed it up, serving it in place of potatoes)
• 1 cup of beef broth
• 1 can of tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup red wine
• salt and pepper to taste
• Herbs you like such as rosemary, oregano, bay leaf and thyme – add them to your liking.

Directions:

1. Place sliced onions and chopped garlic on the bottom of the crockpot.
2. Place meat on top of the onions  (you can brown the meat first, if you want, but it isn’t essential).
3. Place vegetables (except squash if using) on top of the meat.
4. Pour the liquids on top of the three layers.
5. If using squash, place it cut side down on top of the veggies.
6. Put the lid on and cook everything on “low”, all day or at least 7 hours.
7. When everything is done, remove the squash, scoop out the pulp and mash, mixing with a little butter or olive oil if you wish.
8. Remove the veggies and cut some up for those who want stew. Keep them whole for those who want pot roast.
9. Remove the meat and shred some for stew. Save bigger chunks for pot roast.
10. Ladle the broth over the stew until it is as soupy as you want. Put the rest in a gravy bowl for gravy for the pot roast (I did thicken the gravy broth with a slurry of white flour mixed with ice cold water.)
11. Top the stew with a generous dollop of mashed squash. This adds a pretty pop of yellow/orange to the stew.
12. Serve both dishes with some crusty bread!

Note: Another variation is to make just the pot roast version, save leftovers and put them in a baking dish, topped with pie crust or biscuits for “pot pie” for a later meal. I often freeze the leftovers of a pot roast meal for a quick pot pie when I need something quick on a cold day.

– Courtney