I hereby declare that it takes less time to put a roast beef dinner into the crock pot than it takes to drive to a restaurant, sit in the drive-through line, order, wait for your order, drive home, and dole out the food to your hungry family.

Are there exceptions to that statement? Sure. Maybe the drive-through is on your way home anyway. Maybe there’s no one else in line. Maybe the burgers are sitting in the warmer waiting to be thrown into your mini-van. But in general, I truly think that if you…

a)  Plan ahead a little bit
b)  Spend just a small amount of prep time in the morning
c)  Would rather eat steaming pot roast with veggies intead of a fast-food burger

You can have a delicous, healthy pot roast dinner waiting for you at the end of the day instead of settling for take-out.

How? Well, first you will need to make sure you have a roast, potatoes, carrots, an onion, and some salt in your house. That’s the planning ahead part I was referring to. :)

Then, on the morning of the day you wish to eat your roast beef dinner, take a few minutes to scrub or peel your potatoes and carrots. (This takes me about 10-15 minutes, depending on how many I’m feeding. I usually plan for one potato and one carrot per person – then I throw in three or four more for the extra hungry among us.)  Cut the veggies into fourths and put them into your crock pot. 

Peel and chop your onion into a few pieces and add it to your potatoes and carrots. Sprinkle in some salt. Open your package of roast and place it on top of your veggies. Salt your meat. Add about 1/3 cup of water. Put the lid on the crock pot and turn it onto “low” for about 8 hours.

At the end of the day, your entire meal will be ready. You can use the broth to make gravy if you want (like this, except that you’ll use beef broth instead of turkey broth). Clean up is minimal. Food quality is exceptional. Taste is no comparison.

Ahhhhh…roast beef dinner. How I adore you.

What has been your experience in the time it takes to pick up food at a drive-through? Is it worth it? What sounds better…roast beef dinner or soggy fries? (I know, I know. Sometimes fast food fries just hit the spot.)  :)