About 3 lbs. boneless beef chuck roast5-6 small-med. potatoes (if red--don't peel; if russet--peel), diced
About 3 cups diced or sliced carrots
About 2 cups sliced celery
2-3 Tbl. fresh sliced onion (or 1 Tbl. dried)
1 can diced tomatoes
3 cans beef broth
About 3 Tbl. fat (for making roux)
About 1/3 cup flour (for making roux)
Cut roast in small bite-sized chunks. Salt and pepper them. Dredge individually in flour, so they don't stick together. Brown in small batches in heavy pot (or dutch oven) in oil. Don't worry about cooking them all the way through, as they'll finish cooking later. Add more oil as necessary. As you brown them, remove to drain on paper towels. Brown onion and celery in remaining oil.
In large crock pot, put meat, celery & onion, sliced carrots and diced potatoes. To pan where you cooked meat, add one can beef broth--cook and scrape bottom of pan to remove browned bits. Add this broth/bits mixture to crock pot. Add another can of beef broth and 1 can of diced tomatoes (this should all barely cover meat and veggie mixture). Turn slow cooker to high and cook for about 4 hours. After all veggies and meat are tender, begin making a roux in a small saucepan with some fat (butter or other) and flour. Add one can broth to roux and whisk til thickened. Add some liquid from the crock pot to the roux for additional liquid. Then pour this thickened mixture slowly into crock pot mixture, stirring carefully to combine.
