Savory Slow Cooker Pot Roast

Growing up in a family with two working parents, meals were sometimes prepared and cooked while we were away or busy with other activities. Savory Slow Cooker Pot Roast is a meal that can be prepared and left, while you are busy taking care of every day life.

I make this yummy recipe on a regular basis and it has become one of my favorites to make for friends or to take for potluck dinners. I hope you enjoy the simplicity of making this tasty dish. I serve it with traditional foods such as: mashed lowfat cream cheese potatoes (using the gravy from the pot roast), steamed carrots or green beans, and a piece of seasonal fruit.

Here are some important food safety reminders when using a slow cooker:

Clean
Always begin with handwashing, before, during and after preparing food. Make sure all utensils, equipment, and cooking areas are clean prior to handling food.
Refrigerate
Chill all foods before preparation in the refrigerator. To save on preparation time, I wash and cut up all my meats and vegetables for separate storage in the refrigerator prior to the time for cooking.
Never add raw frozen meat or poultry to a slow cooker. Because of the slow cooking process and thawing time, food could potentially remain in the temperature danger zone 40 to 140 degrees for more than 2 hours. Foods with high moisture content, such as chili, soup, stew, spaghetti sauce or others with sauce, tend to do well in slow cookers. If using a commercially frozen slow cooker meal, prepare according to manufacturer's instructions.
Filling the Cooker
A slow cooker should be filled no less than half full and no more than two-thirds full to allow for optimum cooking. Vegetables cook slower than meat and poultry in a slow cooker so if using them, put the vegetables in first. Then add the meat and desired amount of liquid such as broth, water or barbecue sauce. Keep the lid in place, removing only to stir the food or check for doneness. Every time you open the lid, you are increasing the amount of cooking time and lowering the temperature in the slow cooker.
Cooker Setting
Most cookers have two or more settings. Foods take different times to cook depending upon the setting used. Certainly, foods will cook faster on high than on low. However, for all-day cooking or for less-tender cuts, you may want to use the low setting.

If possible, turn the cooker on the highest setting for the first hour of cooking time and then to low or the setting called for in your recipe. However, it's safe to cook foods on low the entire time — if you're leaving for work, for example, and preparation time is limited.

While food is cooking and once it's done, food will stay safe as long as the cooker is operating.
Power Outage
If you are not at home during the entire slow-cooking process and the power goes out, throw away the food even if it looks done.

If you are at home, finish cooking the ingredients immediately by some other means: on a gas stove, on the outdoor grill or at a house where the power is on.

When you are at home, and if the food was completely cooked before the power went out, the food should remain safe up to two hours in the cooker with the power off.
Leftover storage
Store leftovers in shallow covered containers and refrigerate within two hours after cooking is finished. Reheating leftovers in a slow cooker is not recommended. Cooked food should be reheated on the stove, in a microwave, or in a conventional oven until it reaches 165 °F. Then the hot food can be placed in a preheated slow cooker to keep it hot for serving—at least 140 °F as measured with a food thermometer.

Refer to the April 5th blog: “Tips for Slow Cooking by Emily” for more information.

Safe & Happy Slow Cooking!
Dee Lee