Roast Beast (Best Crockpot Roast with Gravy over Noodles/Rice EVER)

Christmas Eve is always a hectic day.  I'd planned to make beef stew in the crock pot but friends of ours invited us to dinner Monday evening and they made beef stew.  I wanted to make something in the crock pot because I had to finish a paper (yeah, yeah - procrastination) and had lots of baking and prep work for Christmas.  [I just walked past the counter with all of the goodies and we barely put a dent in any of it!]  This was the perfect Christmas Eve dinner.  

My original plan was to serve the beef over rice but I only had enough rice to make a small batch.  This would also be amazing over mashed potatoes or toast (like a hot roast beef sandwich).  I don't know how I managed to get pics of this without eating it first.  We were all so hungry and it was that good!!!  It has a nice zip from the green chiles but is creamy and beefy and oh, so delicious!!!

This is a small portion of what I baked (mint browies, banana bread, and pumpkin bread).

Roast Beast [In honor of How the Grinch Stole Christmas]

1 beef roast (mine was top round) - about 2 1/2 pounds {see the end for tips for other protein options}

1 cup beef broth

1 onion, sliced

2 cloves garlic

2 roasted green chiles (use 2 cans if you don't have any)

1 teaspoon pepper 

1/2 salt

Sprinkle the beef with salt and pepper.  Pour the beef broth into the crock pot.  Place the beef in the broth.  Top with sliced onions, garlic, and green chiles.  Cook on low for 8 - 10 hours. 

Remove the beef from the crock pot.  Shred the beef. Put a strainer over a bowl to separate the juices from the veggies.

Roast Beast Gravy

3 tablespoons butter or margarine

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Broth from roast + milk to equal 3 cups of liquid

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed sauce pan on the stove.  Add the flour and mix together.  Cook for a minute or two on medium heat to cook the flour.  Pour in a little of the liquid at a time, whisking to remove any lumps.  Bring to a low boil.  Taste to check for seasoning. I added a little more pepper but we really enjoy pepper.

Add the shredded beef to the gravy.  Serve over hot noodles or rice.  

* If you don't like beef (or don't eat it very often), you could easily use chicken breast (or thighs if you like them),  turkey breast, pork roast/chops, or even ground meat of your choice (just cook it first!), or even meat substitute and substitute chicken or vegetable broth for the beef broth.