Easy, Tasty Crock Pot Dinner

 (please do not judge this recipe by the picture shown above...it doesn't look appealing here at all but, I promise it is quite delicious!!)

By now I'd say that most of you are well aware that I am not a fan of cooking. I love watching cooking shows, looking at yummy food pictures and recipes in magazines and even listening to other people talk about food and what they like to cook but, that is where my interest ends. It's such a shame that my interest in those things doesn't translate into cooking passion. Sorry hubby, daughter and any future children I might birth. Meals around our house are going to be very routine and seldom exciting.

 One of the few meals that I actually do prepare and actually enjoy eating is my modified crock pot chuck roast. In the past I cooked my chuck roasts with only salt and pepper to taste and I would usually throw in some potatoes and carrots half way through the 8 hour cook time. I never enjoyed the roast and neither did my husband but, it was easy so I kept making it and we kept suffering through it. Then, a couple of years ago, we ate dinner at a friend's house and she happened to make her roast with sauerkraut. I was not a fan of sauerkraut at all and I was actually quite nervous about trying to choke it down in effort to be a polite guest. Well, imagine my surprise when not only did I not need to choke it down but, when I eagerly asked for lots of extra sauerkraut on my second helping. Chuck roasts have never been the same for me since. So, that being said, if you are like me and are feeling skeptical about using sauerkraut in your recipe, at least try it once. You might be as pleasantly surprised as I was!

 I posted the above picture on Instagram today and got a few recipe requests and I've had other requests in the past so here is me actually trying to be punctual about a blog post for a change.

I never measure this recipe out so I do not have specific amounts but, the good news is that you really cannot go wrong with a crock pot chuck roast.  You will probably find that you will also modify this to suit your tastes and that is great!  That's what cooking is all about...or at least that's what I'm told...I wouldn't know because I don't like it.  lol

Ingredients:

*One nice, big honking chuck roast (make sure you can fit it in your crock pot!). 
Mine usually serves 4 comfortably.  salt and pepper to taste.

*1-2 cups of beef broth (give or take) I like to have a lot of broth to serve with mashed potatoes

*1 tablespoon of fresh crushed garlic (give or take. I buy the semi-fresh crushed garlic in a jar)

*3 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce (I add a lot.  This is kind of my special ingredient.
 I love the way this makes the roast taste!!)

Stir these ingredients around a little bit and then plunk your roast in.  Pop the cover on. 
Set your crock pot on low and give it about 8-9 hours to simmer. 

About 4 hours in I toss in the sauerkraut and carrots. You could definitely do it at the beginning but, I don't like my carrots falling apart.
*carrots (I usually buy a small bag of baby carrots and pour them all in)
*1 16.5 ounce jar of sauerkraut (I could easily use a 30 oz. jar but, that's just me:)
optional veggies: potatoes, celery, fresh cabbage
Serve with mashed potatoes and a salad.  YUM!!!