Buy a nice big piece of rump or chuck, put a little oil or even 1/2 a strip of bacon in your Dutch oven, get it hot....but not too hot, brown the meat on all sides....brown very well....towards the end add some chopped onion and a couple of cloves of chopped garlic, add about 1/2 to 2/3 cup red wine....add some beef broth...
Cover and cook very VERY slowly for about 3 hours until the meat is fork tender. Remove meat to heated platter and rapidly cook the broth to about 2/3 the volume.....thicken with a sl;urry of flour and broth.
Linda C

Here's a good one - you can add or sub any vegetables you like for the ones listed. I also add about 1/2 cup of red wine with the broth, and usually serve mashed potatoes on the side instead of cooking them with the meat. Enjoy :-)

Becky

* Exported from MasterCook *

Herbed Pot Roast

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 8 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories :

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
4 pounds beef pot roast (arm, blade or cross rib)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 can condensed beef broth (10 1/2 oz)
1 teaspoon dried marjoram
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
3 cloves garlic -- crushed
8 small potato -- halved
8 small carrot -- cut in fourths
8 small onion
Pot Roast Gravy

Cook beef roast in Dutch oven over medium heat until brown; reduce heat. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, herbs and garlic. Add broth. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer on top of range or bake in 325F oven 2 1/2 hours. Add vegetables. Cover and cook about 1 hour longer or until beef and vegerables are tender. Remove to warm platter; keep warm. Prepare Pot Roast Gravy. Serve with beef and vegetables.

For gravy - mix 1/4 cup flour with 1/2 cup cold water. Add to liquid in pot (you should have about 2 cups), bring to a boil and simmer for one minute.

Source:
"Betty Crocker Cookbook"

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I know you said you didn't like the onion soup/cream of mushroom recipe, but this one is a bit different. A friend made it for a superbowl party, and it was wonderful!

BEEF ROAST

Mix ½ cup rice vinegar & 1 cup water with Lipton dry onion mushroom soup package and pour over a sirloin tip roast. Roast 3 to 3 ½ hours at 350 degrees. Thicken drippings to make gravy, slice and serve as beef sandwiches.

PERFECT POT ROAST (serves 8)
4 lb boneless chuck roast
1/2 tsp each, salt & pepper
2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/4 cup flour
1 medium onion, chopped
1/3 cup olive oil
1 cup red wine
8 oz can tomato sauce
1 tsp each Worcestershire, Dijon mustard, horseradish & brown sugar
1 bay leaf
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp honey
1/2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder

Rub the roast w/the salt & pepper. Cut several small slits in the roast & insert the chopped garlic. Coat w/the flour. Saute the onion in the olive oil in a heavy saucepan until just tender. Ad the roast & brown lightly on all sides. Remove from the heat & add the wine.
Combine the tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, horseradish, brown sugar, bay leaf & oregano in a saucepan & mix well. simmer until the brown sugar is completely dissolved. Pour over the roast & add the honey & cocoa powder. Simmer 1-2 hours or until very tender & done to taste.
Remove the roast to a serving platter & serve w/the cooking juices, discarding the bay leaf.~~I serve this over noodles.

I make mine like lindac's. You have to take your time and brown the beef until it's a little darker than you think it should be and brown it on all sides before adding any liquid.

I make mine like LIndaC and Ruthanna, but instead of a slow cook on top of the stove, The whole Dutch oven goes in the oven at 325 for 2 - 3 hours.

For what it's worth- we bake a pot roast with carrots and potatoes and onions on the side... then when it's done, I take the broth and whisk in milk, flour, and pepper and salt, and I cook it till it's brownish. Obviously add the flour and milk to get the consistency you want. It's extremely basic but that's how my grandfather always made gravy and it does taste very good.

This is amazing. I used to use a recipe from Epicurious, but I like this one MUCH better.

Stracoto with Porcini Mushrooms
Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

Cook Time
3 hr 25 min

6 to 8 servings

Ingredients
1 (4-pound) boneless beef chuck roast
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 onions, sliced
6 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1 cup dry red wine
1 3/4 cups canned beef broth
1/2-ounce dried porcini mushrooms
1 large sprig fresh rosemary, plus extra for garnish
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Pat the beef dry with paper towels. Sprinkle the beef generously with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a heavy 6-quart roasting pan over medium-high heat. Add the beef and cook until brown on all sides, about 15 minutes total cooking time. Transfer the beef to a bowl. Add remaining tablespoon oil to the pan, add the onions and saute until tender, scraping up the brown bits on the bottom of the pot, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and saute 1 minute. Add the wine and boil 1 minute. Stir in the broth and mushrooms. Return the beef to the pan. Bring the liquids to a boil. Cover and transfer to the oven. Braise until the beef is fork-tender, turning the beef over halfway through cooking, about 3 hours

I made Lindac's recipe on Sunday and it was so-o-o good. Since there is only two of us, I took out part of the broth to make the gravy. I cut up the leftover roast into the broth and added the little bit of gravy that was left then refrigerated. On Monday I added a can of tomatoe sauce and a couple of chopped up tomatoes then a bag of frozen veggies. Simmered and had a very tasty soup. Thanks for that recipe - for me its a keeper.

Yikes! I just realized I left out the last 2 paragraphs of Giada's pot roast somehow - here it is again, in total. Give it a try - the gravy is absolutely to die for.

Stracoto with Porcini Mushrooms
Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

Cook Time
3 hr 25 min

6 to 8 servings

Ingredients
1 (4-pound) boneless beef chuck roast
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 onions, sliced
6 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1 cup dry red wine
1 3/4 cups canned beef broth
1/2-ounce dried porcini mushrooms
1 large sprig fresh rosemary, plus extra for garnish
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Pat the beef dry with paper towels. Sprinkle the beef generously with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a heavy 6-quart roasting pan over medium-high heat. Add the beef and cook until brown on all sides, about 15 minutes total cooking time. Transfer the beef to a bowl. Add remaining tablespoon oil to the pan, add the onions and saute until tender, scraping up the brown bits on the bottom of the pot, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and saute 1 minute. Add the wine and boil 1 minute. Stir in the broth and mushrooms. Return the beef to the pan. Bring the liquids to a boil. Cover and transfer to the oven. Braise until the beef is fork-tender, turning the beef over halfway through cooking, about 3 hours

Transfer the beef to a cutting board. Tent the beef with foil and let stand 15 minutes. Meanwhile, spoon any excess fat off the top of the pan juices. Transfer the pan juices and vegetables to a blender and puree until smooth. Combine the sauce and rosemary sprig in heavy medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Season the sauce, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Cut the beef across the grain into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Arrange the sliced beef on a platter and garnish with rosemary. Spoon the sauce over and serve, passing the remaining sauce in a sauce boat.