We had a very nice surprise last week.  Our good friends, Dave and Deone flew in from

The Butcher’s Wife

Minnesota.  They drove to Niagra Falls, and then came back to Ohio on Saturday  They spent Saturday and Sunday with us.  They returned to Minneapolis on Monday.  I had planned on grilling out on Saturday night, but Mother Nature was not very cooperative.  I decided to cook a beef roast instead.  I used a frozen rump roast that weighed just over 7 pounds.  I peeled and halved 8 small, sweet onions I had purchased at the Farmer’s Market, and placed them in the bottom of my crock pot.  I lightly seasoned my roast with Michael’s Special Seasoning, and put it in my crock pot on top of the onions.  I set it on high.  I got the roast on at about 7:00 p.m. on Friday night.  With so much excitement, I was up at 3:00 a.m. on Saturday morning.  I added 3 pounds of carrots to my crock pot dinner.  Is there anyone else like me?   I don’t like to peel potatoes.  I keep red skinned potatoes on hand, because I don’t think anyone expects you to peel red skinned potatoes.  Otherwise, how would they know they are indeed red skinned potatoes?  I took 5 potatoes, cut them in half,  and added them to the mixture.   I didn’t have enough broth to cover the additional vegetables so I took 1 teaspoon of beef broth mix and added it to 2 cups of hot water and 2 tablespoons of flour.  I poured the broth mixture over the meat and vegetables.  I cooked this in the crock pot on high until 7:30 a.m. Saturday morning when I left for work.  I checked the potatoes and carrots before I left and they were fork tender.  I turned my crock pot down to “warm” and left the stew in there until we ate at 5:30 p.m.

This is a great meal to serve when you are having company.  Everything is done ahead of time, and you can enjoy your company.

Let me know about your experiences with this recipe.  Until next time…From our Butcher Block to your table.