Pot Roast and Christmas Decorations

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas..." at least at our house, as we scheduled our decorating for this weekend. The freshly cut Douglas fir is resting in its stand, awaiting lights and ornaments. The house has decorations in every room including sage and pine-scented candles that are giving our home not only its holiday scent but also a cozy, warm glow. As we scurry around setting everything up, we needed an one-pot wonder of a dinner and so we chose the ultimate in this category, Pot Roast.

We season our 2 and 3/4-pound roast with salt, pepper, and a few shakes of dried thyme, and brown the top and bottom for several minutes each. Then we put it in our small roasting pan so it fits snugly with several baby carrots (about 2 cups) and Yukon gold potatoes (about 3/4 lb.). We add 1 1/2 packets of Lipton onion soup mix and 1 1/2 cups of water and roast it in a 425-degree oven for an hour and fifteen minutes. Then, just to brown the fat a little, we stick it under the broiler for a couple minutes.

The fragrant cooking smells fill the house as we decorate, and when it is time for dinner, we enjoy a traditional meat and potatoes feast that was easy, filling, and just right for a chilly Sunday afternoon.