You know those times when you see a recipe on Pinterest that you REALLY want to make, and you then get really sad because you don’t have the ingredients? That happens to be the story of my life. Today, my mom told me that we had a chuck roast that needed to be cooked for dinner and she wanted to know if I had any ideas for how to cook it. Since my experience with pot roast hasn’t been the best (you can read all about that in my post about how awesome crock pots are), I was determined to find something amazing and different. My recipe best friend, Pinterest, gave me many delicious alternatives to pot roast. However, every one I clicked on had at least 2 ingredients that I lacked (cue the sad violin music).

In situations like these, it is easy to start pulling hair out over looking for alternative recipes to fulfill your needs. Believe me,  I’ve been there, and it soon becomes impossible to find something that perfectly matches the ingredients you have in your pantry.

So, the best thing to do is simply to improvise. Which is how this recipe came into existence. I grabbed things that I knew would be delicious and made a meal that surprisingly came out finger-licking good.

Disclaimer on this: This is a guesstimating recipe. There are hardly any solid measurements, and there really doesn’t need to be. Part of cooking in any setting, even in a college one, is experimenting. I made it so that you could follow the recipe without needing measurements. It is also very versatile. We made it into sandwiches and put the sauce over the meat, but you could also serve it over rice or pasta.

So here goes nothing!

Dormitory Chef’s Italian Pot Roast 

Cooking Time: 9 hours (in a crockpot)

Total Time: 9.5 hours

Ingredients for the Roast

• 3-4 pound chuck roast (boneless or otherwise)
• Olive Oil
• Garlic Powder
• Salt
• Pepper
• Onion Powder
• 1 packet Good Seasons Italian Dressing Mix
• 1 medium yellow onion
• 1 can whole tomatoes

Directions

1. Place chuck roast in crock pot
2. Rub olive oil (about a quarter cup) into the roast. Season liberally with salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and Italian dressing packet. The key to a successful meal is in the seasoning, so don’t be shy. Rub into the meat on both sides. 
3. Cut onion into thin slices
4. Place onions over roast 
5. Add tomatoes over the onions 
6. Cook on low for 9 hours until the meat is cooked through
7. Remove the meat from the pot and shred
8. Serve any way you want! We shredded the meat and made open faced sandwiches! 

Hope you all enjoy! Happy cooking! If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask!