Cajun Pot Roast

Recently, Ox and I had a chance to sit down and go over one of my many cookbooks to see what recipes we wanted to put up – well, we went over what I had in the cookbook that she was interested in getting, and agreed that putting them up here would be the easiest solution.

We’ll start with a crock pot recipe that we both think sounds very tasty.

Cajun Pot Roast

Serves 6

1 2 to 21/2 pound boneless beef chuck pot roast
2 to 3 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1 14 ½ ounce can Cajun style or Mexican style stewed tomatoes
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
¼ cup quick cooking tapioca
2 gloves garlic, minced (or 1 teaspoon of the bottled minced garlic)
Hot cooked rice

Trim the fat from the roast. Cut the roast so that it will fit into the crock pot. Rub the meat with the Cajun seasoning. In a large skillet, brown the meat on all sides in hot oil.

In a 3 ½ to 4 quart crock pot, combine undrained tomatoes, onion, celery, tapioca, and garlic. Place the meat on top of the vegetable mixture.

Cover and cook on low heat for 10 to 12 hours, or on high heat for 5 to 6 hours.

Slice the meat and serve with the sauce over rice.

Source: What’s for Dinner? From Better Homes and Gardens Books, Inc. © 1995

Notes from the Hare

If you are using a slow cooker instead of a crock pot (or crockery cooker, if you prefer), the cooking times will be too long and will need to be adjusted. I can’t venture a guess as to by how much you’ll need to adjust the cooking times, however.

Leftovers can be used in sandwiches later on. Shred the meat with a pair of forks and heat through in a skillet. Serve on hard rolls with slices of tomato and green onion. The mixture can be frozen for up to three months as well – thaw overnight in the refrigerator before using.

Instead of buying cajun seasoning, you can make your own by combining 1 to 1 ½ teaspoons seasoned salt, ½ to ¾ teaspoon ground red pepper, and ½ to ¾ teaspoon ground black pepper.