Perfect Pot Roast + Weeknight Dessert

If you've been following this blog, you read here how Mr. Crawford has had a few medical setbacks. These setbacks have caused us to drastically change our eating habits. We are currently eating gluten free and very low sodium.

We've gotten through the gluten-thing pretty easily, as we've been working on that one for a couple of years now. The sodium thing is new and it is killin' me, yall. I am having the hardest time making meals with less than 500-600mg of sodium. It is in everything!!!!

So our meals consist of rice and beans. Literally. And Mrs. Dash is my new BFF.

I've been on the hunt for freezer meals to start prepping for the back-to-school madness. I found this great site. This chick has a gazillion freezer meals. Instead of doing them all at once, I'm trying to make one fresh and freeze another. That way I have a weeknight meal idea for now, and one in my freezer for later.

One of her recipes was for beef roast and carrots. I am normally not a big fan of roast, but the ingredients were super simple and the no-salt substitutions were easy.  Note: If you are using no-salt substitutions, like Mrs. Dash, you will need way more than one packet of seasoning to get some good flavor. See my notes below. :)

Also, she suggests to only use a shoulder roast and after making this I agree 100%. It was the most tender roast. Liquid only covered half of the roast while cooking and I kept wondering if I should add some broth or water, but I didn't and it turned out WONDERFUL! I am so glad I have another saved in my freezer.

I served this with brown rice and steamed veggies. This served our family of 5 for 2 1/2 days. The kiddos were pleased with it as well. :)


Slow Cooker Beef Roast and Carrot Recipe - Adapted from New Leaf Wellness

Ingredients:

• 2-pound boneless beef chuck shoulder roast (No substitutions!  This is the best cut of meat for the slow cooker!)
• 1-2 pounds carrots, peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces
• Chopped Celery
• Chopped Onion
• Garlic Cloves
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar - I used almost half a cup because my roast was HUGE
• one seasoning packet - (I used two packets of Mrs. Dash Pot Roast seasoning and 2 packets of Mrs. Dash taco seasoning)

Directions: Combine it all together and cook on low for 8-10 hours.

If you've been reading this blog for any amount of time, you also know that I love any and all desserts. I found this recipe on, you guessed it, pinterest! It is Caramel Cobbler and it is by far the easiest dessert I have EVER made. I have made this several times because I normally have everything on hand. It is very easy to throw together and it is wonderful served warm with vanilla ice cream. 

This dessert has a bit of a special meaning to it because Russ' grandfather, better known has PawPaw, requested this dessert on a Sunday evening and he went to be with Jesus that following Wednesday. I am so thankful that I was able to fill his request one last time. Everytime I make it, I will always think about him. We miss you PawPaw.

Caramel Cobbler - orignal recipe from Call Me PMC

Ingredients

• ½ c butter (real butter)
• 1½ c self-rising flour
• 1½ c sugar
• ¾ c milk
• 1 tsp vanilla (or almond)
• 1½ c packed light brown sugar
• 1½ c hot water
• Ice cream or sweetened whipped cream

Instructions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt 1 stick butter in 9x13 inch pan. In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, milk, and flavoring (vanilla or almond, both are excellent). Stir to combine, then pour over melted butter. Sprinkle brown sugar over top of batter. Carefully pour hot water over butter and batter. Do not stir. Cook 30 minutes until golden brown.

I hope this helps make meal planning a bit easier for you. And just because I have cute kids...

My Lyla, holding a ginormous bull frog!