Around here, the favorite meal of the week is definitely Grandma Joyce’s Sunday dinner. At some point, she made the discovery that the single best way to build and perpetuate extended-family relationships was to have family members be able to interact on a regular basis. This has meant lots of family traditions like Easter Egg hunts and Jack-O’-Lantern carving parties, multi-family family vacations, and lots and LOTS of Sunday dinners. Those of us who live near her know we are always welcome to show up on Sunday with a salad or a few loaves of fresh banana bread, and Grandma will make room for all of us at the table. Over the years, one table has expanded into two, or three, and if there is a special event, as many tables as it takes to accommodate the whole crowd.
Now and then, however, in order to try to develop similar traditions with my own growing family, we forgo the trip to Grandma and Grandpa’s and stay home for our own quiet dinner. The problem with this is that dinner at Grandma’s is a hard act to duplicate. Not only are her meals delicious, she also seems to enjoy time spent in the kitchen preparing them. I am not as generous with my time. I like quick-fix Sunday meals because puttering around in the kitchen isn’t my favorite way to relax.
This simple Sunday roast is one of my favorite go-to recipes for a more “formal” dinner on days when I don’t have a lot of time to spend prepping the meal. So simple, even the most “inexperienced” cook can prepare it, the “Lazy Sunday Roast” takes a while to cook (so you need to start about 3 hours ahead), but preps in 5 minutes or less.
Rolling up the edges of the foil tightly around the roast helps seal in the moisture and flavor.
- 1 Beef Roast
- 1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
- 1 package dry onion soup mix
- Choose a good cut of roast from the grocery store. Look for one with a little bit of "marbling," or veins of fat running throughout the roast. This produces a tender roast with lots of flavor.
- Sear the roast on all sides. To do this, simply spray a skillet with a little bit of spray oil, and then on medium-high heat, "sear" or cook the meat for about one minute or until the outside is a light golden brown. Rotate roast to another side and repeat. Continue searing until the entire surface of the roast has been seared. This helps seal the juices into the meat so it will be moist, rather than dry after it is baked. It also makes your kitchen smell amazing--just like Sunday at Grandma's.
- Lay the roast on a large piece of aluminum foil
- In a small bowl, combine the condensed soup with the package of onion soup mix. Stir well to combine.
- Spread the soup mixture all over the top and sides of the roast.
- Seal up the entire roast tightly by rolling up the edges of the foil into a "drugstore roll" to seal in the steam.
- Place the roast into a 9x13 pan, or cake pan and roast in a 300 degree oven for 2-3 hours until a meat thermometer registers 145 degrees.
- When you unroll the foil, remove the roast to a cutting board to carve it into portions. The soup mixture will have transformed into a delicious. flavorful gravy that you can serve over the top of the finished roast.
- Add a green salad, some steamed vegetables, or a few baked cottage fries to complete the meal.
[…] course, you can also simply pair it with your favorite Sunday Meal for a quick but delicious dinner. Feel free to substitute half of the flour with whole wheat flour […]