Easy and Impressive Pot Roast

Who doesn't love a good pot roast? I remember that it was always cause for celebration in my house when I was growing up. And as I was perusing the meats at my local Hannaford's, I discovered that chuck roast was on sale; two dollars off a pound! Now, I don't know about you, but I can rarely ignore a sale like that. I got a small roast for a little over $3, knowing full well that my tiny crock pot could only hold so much. I also picked up some local red potatoes that were on sale, celery and carrots. Of course in any savory dish, I like to add garlic and onions, so I picked up a large head of garlic, and some yellow onions. 
When my mom would make pot roast, she would always use Lipton's onion soup mix in the pot to add more oniony flavor, so I picked up a packet of that as well. For my own spin, I snagged a bottle of red wine that caught my eye. It was only $6.50 and was called Gato Negro. Along with the pot roast, I had garlic parmesan mashed potatoes, and parsley carrots. Altogether it was a relatively inexpensive dinner with little effort and skill needed, that could impress just about anyone!

This recipe was quick to start, easy to forget about, and tasty to eat.

Red Wine Pot Roast:

• 2-3 lb chuck roast
• 1-2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 medium onion
• 1-2 stalks celery 
• 1-2 carrots 
• 2-3 small red potatoes 
• 1 cup red wine (or water)
• 1 package onion soup mix
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 1/2 tsp parsley
• 1 tsp rosemary 
• Olive oil

1. In small bowl combine parsley and rosemary with a teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Rub over roast on all sides. Let sit while you chop up the vegetables.
2. Chop onion, celery, carrots and potatoes into large chunks. Place into crock pot.
3. Heat up enough olive oil in a skillet to cover the bottom of the pan. Once the oil is hot, gently place the roast in the oil and sear on all sides. The goal it to brown the outside for flavor. Once seared, place in crock on top of vegetables. Optional: Pour pan drippings in pot as well.
4. Mix soup mix and wine together well. Pour over roast and vegetables. Set crock pot on low for 8 hours at least, or high for 4 hours.