My First Roast

I am a meat & potato kind of girl. 

Growing up, we would have roast for Sunday dinner at least once a month and my mom always did a fabulous job preparing the roast.  And she always made it seem so effortless too! Just pop it in the oven and a few hours late, we would be eating the fall-off-the-bone beef dish.  So, I decided for tonight's supper, I would cook my first roast.  Normally I wouldn't be to worried about it, but Aaron's parents are coming over to join us.  I know that they will enjoy the meal, but there is still something about making a new dish for guest that always gets me worked up. 

Ingredients:
3# Rump Roast
1# - Baby Carrots
2 - Yellow Onion
1 cup - A1 Steak Sauce
1 Tbs. - Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 cup - Water
1 packet - Kraft Ranch Dry Mix



Directions:
I started off with a 3 pound rump roast that had been slightly thawed out over night in the fridge.  I put the roast in the crock-pot for an hour by itself on LOW; then drained out all the juices that had filled the pot during that time.  I then mixed the sauces, water and ranch mix together and poured over top of the roast.  Continue to let it cook on LOW for the next two hours.  I then added the carrots and onions; letting them cook on LOW & HIGH settings for five hours, alternating the heat every other hour.  I did this cause when I checked it every hour I didn't think that the meat was getting cooked properly but didn't want it to over cook (hence why I alternated that temperature). 

Total time - roast was in crock-pot = 8 hours.
Total time - vegetables were in crock-pot = 5 hours. 

Reviews:
Zesty! That was exactly what Aaron's parents thought after the first bite (which is always a good review, right!?).  The roast and veggies had a lot of flavor and I kept nibbling and sneaking carrots out of the pot but I will be honest, it wasn't nearly as tender as my mom's roast.  No one complained about having to cut the roast with a knife but I still wasn't happy.  I think next time I will add the sauce as soon as I start the roast and I think I will let the roast cook for at least 10 hours.  I hope that it will help make the roast more melt-in-your-mouth.  But I not realize how easy it is to cook a roast and though my first try wasn't the best, I'm not giving up on this meal.

~ Kellie Anne