Ingredients:
2-3 lb. boneless roast (chuck roast or shoulder roast for the crockpot.)
1 heaping tbsp. of coconut oil
Fresh cracked black pepper
2 cups of water
1 packet of Lipton’s Onion Soup/Dip Mix
1 packet of Au Jus Mix or brown gravy mix
1 packet of Italian Dressing Mix (I used Good Seasonings brand in Regular Italian.)
Baby carrots
Two large potatoes, peeled and diced
Directions:
In saute pan or Dutch oven, heat coconut oil over medium-high until melted. Pepper one side of roast. When pan is hot, add roast (peppered side down). Brown until lightly golden, 3-4 minutes. Pepper top of roast and flip. Brown until lightly golden, 3-4 minutes. Place roast in crockpot (do not add excess oil).
Take one tablespoon of reserved coconut oil from pan and put in mixing bowl. Mix oil with water and all seasoning packets and whisk until well blended. Pour mixture over roast and arrange carrots around roast. Cover and cook on high in crockpot for 3 hours or on low for 8.
After 3 hours on high, add potatoes around roast and stir to spread juices over veggies. Continue to cook on high for an additional 60-90 minutes. If cooking on low, add potatoes after 5-6 hours.
*Notes (if you want gravy):
After the roast was cooked for the full duration, I removed the roast and veggies from the crock and transferred the remaining juices to a sauce pan. In a "shaker," thoroughly mix about 1/2 cup of cold water with a heaping tablespoon of flour. Pour the flour/water roux into the sauce pan with juices and whisk until thickened.