A Coke + A Crockpot = Delicious!

I lost my Crockpot.

I'm not sure where it went.

Maybe it ran away to a house where it might actually get used regularly.

Maybe it's just hiding in a cabinet behind the 3 boxes of Ritz crackers and 8 cans of green beans!

Wherever it is, I wish it well.

I used this as an opportunity to upgrade! My excuse for not using my Crockpot more often was that I normally work 8 to 10 hours a day during the week. So with an hour commute each way, I can be away from home for 10-12 hours at a time. With a Crockpot with just low and high settings, I always worried that I would overcook food.

So, I went with a programmable Crockpot. My new best friend has four settings (4 & 6 hours on High and 8 & 10 hours on Low) and then automatically shifts to Warm for up to 6 hours!

So here's the finished product from my test run:

I had a beef round roast in the freezer from my dad, so I have NO idea how big it was. It was wrapped in white butcher's paper and I know where and how it was raised (mostly grass-fed but enjoyed a bucket of corn every day) so I don't really care that they don't include the pounds! I thawed it in the fridge overnight.

So I unboxed my new bestie and added one of those cool "slow cooker liners" because another reason I don't use the Crockpot more often is the clean up. Yuck!

   

Then, I cut up some red potatoes, threw in some baby carrots (had some large carrots but couldn't find the peeler at 5:30 a.m.) and added the roast.

Now it gets kind of weird. My sister and a coworker swears that a can of Coke and a package of onion soup mix is all you need to make a yummy roast. They are both good cooks so I went with it!

With the Coke poured and onion soup sprinkled, I  put the lid on, set the Crockpot on Low for 8 hours, and was out the door.

I came home 10+ hours later to a tender (flaked apart with a fork), flavorful, home-cooked meal with little mess to clean up!

I think my new best friend and I have a long future together!