Gluten Free Roast Beef

Where's the beef!? That's not a question often asked in my kitchen. I tend to cook turkey, chicken or shrimp and rarely even purchase red meat. Sometimes, you just have a craving, or in my case, found a really great deal and popped a juicy roast in the freezer for a rainy day.

I'm sure I've shared this story before but in case not, my first meal I ever remember cooking was beef roast. Random, right? In high school my mom worked during the day (mid nights prior to that) and would call on her way home to have me start dinner. It was usually beef or pork roast. Super simple and in felt like a junior chef when then fork tender meat came out of the oven.

That feeling still hasn't changed. It's pretty darn amazing that you can put a large tough piece of meat in a slow cooker and a few hours later, voila, tender beef cooked to perfection!

Not the best photo but beef roasts are not the prettiest meal in my opinion.

Recipe:
1 tbsp olive oil
3 lb top or bottom round of beef
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 onion, diced
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes
2 cups red wine
2 cups beef broth
1/2 tsp thyme
2 bay leaves
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 cups peeled, chopped root vegetables, such as potatoes, carrots, etc

Directions:
1) Coat the roast in olive oil then pat with cornstarch, salt and pepper. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and brown the roast, turning on to each side to ensure entire roast is browned.
2) Place beef round roast in slow cooker, then add carrots, onion, potatoes and any other desired vegetable. Add in garlic, wine, broth, thyme and bay leaves.  Cook on Low until the meat is tender, 6 to 8 hours.