Crock Pot Roast with Carrots and Potatoes

I will be the first to admit that meat is not my forte.  I could probably be a vegetarian without really trying.  Since my husband and son are big meat eaters, I have had to adapt a little.  During the school year, I love to use my crock pot to have an almost complete meal ready by the time that we all get home in the afternoons.  The wonderful smells are also a plus!  One of my favorite things to make in the crock pot is roast with carrots and potatoes.  It is very quick and easy to prepare, and you just put it in the crock pot in the morning and it's done in time for dinner.  It is like having your own genie, except she's in a pot and not a bottle! 

I bought an eye of round roast.  It is probably not the most tender cut of meat, but the selection was not great, and it was bigger than the other cuts they had. (Disclaimer:  Not only do I not eat a lot of meat, I don't have a great knowledge of beef when it comes to steaks and roasts.  Luckily, my husband worked in the meat department of a grocery store when he was in high school.)  I needed it to feed a lot of people, so I opted for the eye of round, which weighed in at 3.34 pounds.  Here are the other things that you need:

1 can of Campbell's beef consomme (found with the soups)
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1 can of french onion soup (optional)
Potatoes
Carrots
Salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, Teriyaki sauce (optional), garlic powder

Place the roast in the crock pot.  Sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and any other seasonings you have or want to use.  Pour a little Worcestershire sauce over the entire roast evenly.  If you have other sauces such as Dale's or Teriyaki sauce, go for it.  Peel and cut up carrots and potatoes, depending on how much you like or need.  I like to use carrots that need to be peeled and chopped rather than baby carrots.  I just think they look better, but that is just a personal preference, and baby carrots are fine.  You may want to sprinkle a little salt and pepper over the carrots and potatoes.

Pour beef consomme, cream of mushroom soup, and french onion soup (if using) into the crock pot around the roast.  Cook on low for about 8 hours.  I was in a little bit of a rush.  I put the roast in the crock pot around 11:00 a.m. on low.  I left and came back home around 2:00.  I turned it up to high for about an hour or a little longer, and then back to low.  I turned it off around 4:00, and it was done.  I had enough to feed 5 adults and 5 children with about half left over for another meal. 

I made some rice to go with it since the soups make a really good gravy.  I did not use the french onion soup this time because I did not know how everyone felt about onions, but it is really good if you like onions.  The meat was very tender, and not fatty at all.

Just a note about the rice:  I had heard that Uncle Ben's rice was very good and not sticky.  I decided to try some, and it was great!  I normally bring my water to a boil and then pour the rice in and let it cook, but the Uncle Ben's box instructions were to place water, salt, and rice altogether in a boiler and let it cook.  I'm not sure if it was the rice or the cooking method, but I will use Uncle Ben's in the future.  The rice was not sticky at all.

Crock pot roast, carrots, and potatoes before cooking