So my mother in law and father in law came for a visit this weekend. It was so nice to be with them. They are probably 2 of my most favorite people on Earth. I share no genetic link to them, and yet they treat me like their daughter. They are wonderful grandparents and just fun to be with. Anyway, enough of the mushy love talk…let’s get down to business. My mother in law said she had made one of her roasts this past week and how good it was. She is in fact the wonderful soul who taught me how to cook the roast I had always wanted to cook. This weekend though, she upped her game a little. Told me about a few new additions to her roast recipe and I thought I would share with y’all. I decided on Saturday that a roast would most definitely be on the menu this week. So, I hope I am not being too basic here, but roasts can be tricky. I hope you like this recipe and I promise as I get more of this blogging stuff going on, I will offer more and more recipes and some will be more complex, but being married to a good ole country boy, this is the kind of food I tend to cook more often. So bare with me and please forgive me for not always blogging like I should, it is summer time and my monkeys, I mean kids, are all under foot. Ok so back to the roast…this is what my precious mother in law–Deb the Magnificent 😉 does. It is pretty foolproof and yields fantastic results.

DEB’S CHUCK ROAST

1 3-5 lb. chuck roast
Dales marinade and seasoning
1 packet onion soup mix
Bacon grease (yeah yeah, not healthy, I know…for the purpose of this roast just comply ok? You will be glad you did)
Flour
Salt and pepper
Mushrooms (I used jarred this time because I had some on hand, but she used fresh and I will next time too)
1 cup French fried onions (the last 2 are her new additions that she says made this perfect roast even better and thickens your gravy)

Pour some Dales into a plastic container or a glass bowl that will your roast will fit in. Then put your roast in the dales. Make sure it gets on there real good. And then flip it. Same thing. Then leave it. Let it soak on one side for 15 minutes or so. Then flip it and let it soak on the other side for the same amount of time. Now pour some flour onto a large plate or a dish. Season the flour with salt and pepper. Now dredge the roast, using a big fork or some tongs, in your seasoned flour. Coat it on all sides. Meanwhile, heat some bacon grease over medium low heat (you can use some cooking oil, but Deb says use bacon grease and far be it from me to argue with her) in a large skillet. Brown your roast on all sides until it is nicely browned on all sides. Now transfer that baby into your roasting pan. Cover the roast with the French friend onions. Stir about one cup of water and the onion soup mix. Add some Dales to that. Pour the mixture over the roast. Add your mushrooms. Cover and cook in oven that has been preheated to 350 degrees for about 2 hours. I turn mine after an hour or so to ensure it cooks evenly. Now, it is ready when it is fork tender. Just take your fork and stick it in the roast. If you can turn the fork easily, it is most likely ready. The gravy will be a beautiful rich brown and be so good over rice. (Or mashed potatoes. But I don’t do that since we have potato salad with ours most times). I hope you enjoy it and let me know what you think.