Perfect Pot Roast

In all honesty this pot roast was an accident. I started out following a recipe by Paula Deen and realized I didn't have half the ingredients. Minor oversight. I just started throwing things I had in my fridge into the pot. John showed up an hour before it was finished with a bottle of red wine... so I dumped some of that in there, too. Turns out adding the wine towards the end changed the quality and the flavor of the sauce in a most delightful way. And now we invite you to relax, let us pull up a
chair as the dining room proudly presents - your dinner:

Ingredients

1 (3 to 4-pound) slab of beef (vague, I know. I used a bottom round)

2 teaspoons salt

3/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 cloves garlic, crushed

4 oz tomato paste

1/2 teaspoon thyme
2 bay leaves
1 cup red wine
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon beef bouillon granules
3/4 cup water

4 large carrots

4 large potatoes

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix the salt, pepper, thyme and garlic powder in a small bowl. Rub seasoning into the roast on both sides. Heat oil in a large skillet and brown the roast, searing it on both sides. Place the meat in a roaster pan. Add and garlic to skillet for 1 to 2 minutes to absorb leftover roast juice. Place into roaster pan with meat and bay leaves.

Combine the Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste and beef bouillon into a bowl. Pour over the roast. Add water. Peel and slice the carrots and potatoes, arrange around the roast.

Cover pan with foil and bake for 2 hours, basting occasionally- after 2 hours add the wine. Cook an additional 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until tender.

Remove and discard the bay leaves.

If the gravy is not thick enough, remove the meat from the pan and pour the gravy into a saucepan. Bring to a boil and thicken it by adding 2 tablespoons of cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup cold water, stirring constantly.

If you're wondering what the original recipe looks like, here ya go: Paula Deen Pot Roast.