Slow Cooker Roast Beef and Smashed Potatoes

Slow Cooker Roast Beef, Gravy and Smashed Potatoes

Ingredients:

• About 1 pound mini potatoes, washed, skin on
• 1 Small Beef Roast
• 1-2 Onions
• 3 Bay leaves
• Salt
• Pepper
• Basil or Thyme
• 2-4 Cloves Garlic
• Water
• Cooking spray
• 1 Tablespoon Olive oil or Butter
• About 1/4 Cup Flour
• About 1/4 Cup Ice water

Instructions:

1. Alrighty so this is a slow cooker recipe which means that you can either do all the prep-work the night before and throw the stone-ware insert into the fridge for the night or you can just do the prep and cook right away. Either way you go about it make sure the roast is given at least 30 minutes out of the fridge before it goes into the slow cooker. This will help prevent it from being in a food dangerous temperature zone for too long. Be safe my friends.
2. Lightly mist the insert of the slow cooker with cooking spray.
3. Wash and pat dry the mini potatoes and pierce each with a fork before throwing it in the bottom of the slow cooker. 
4. Season with some salt and pepper.
5. Slice the onion, and layer some over the top of the potatoes, saving about half or more for placing on top of the roast. 
6. Place two bay leaves on top of the onions.
7. Season the beef roast all over with salt, pepper. and the basil or thyme. 
8. Place the roast on top of the onion/bay leaf layer. 
9. Place the last bay leaf on top of the roast and smother it with the remaining onion slices. 
10. Mince or grate the garlic and also add it into the slow cooker.
11. Add enough water to just cover the potatoes and onions in the lower layer.
12. Turn slow cooker on. 
13. Either about 4-5 hours on high heat or about 7-8 hours on high heat.
14. After the roast is cooked, Remove the roast from the insert to a plate and tent with foil.
15. Fish out the potatoes and transfer them to a large bowl.
16. Strain the pot-juices from the slow cooker insert through a sieve and into a large pot.
17. Take about 2 tablespoons to 1/4 cup of the liquid you just strained and add it to the potatoes and lightly smash them with a fork or potato masher.
18. Bring the rest of the pot juices to a roiling boil on the stove. 
19. Thoroughly mix the flour and ice water so there are no lumps and slowly whisk into the boiling pan juices. 
20. Reduce heat and continue to whisk until the pot juices thicken and become gravy. 
21. Taste and adjust the seasonings as needed, ie extra garlic, onion, salt, pepper, parsley, thyme, etc.
22. Carve the beef roast and serve with hot smashed potatoes and gravy. 
23. Add another vegetable and this is pretty much company worthy but easy meal.

Enjoy!

Notes:

I don't always include measurements for the seasoning in my recipes because most of the time it's a personal thing. See I really love pepper, but for some people the amount I use would blow our their palettes and overwhelm them. Same for things like herbs, I might love a particular herb and use a bunch of it but someone else might not enjoy it. So use your own brain and consider what you like and add some of your own input to the recipes. I promise it shouldn't go too badly with my recipes. They tend to be forgiving.

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