French Pot Roast

Once again I wanted to lighten things up and with a family of four men (one big and three little) we like our beef.  I thought that this recipe sounded both delicious and best of all easy!  I love using my crock pot.  My kids really enjoyed this roast and they ate the meat and the mushrooms without complaining.  It was not until after they were fininshed eating and we told them that thier was mushrooms in  supper that they even realized they had eaten mushrooms.  Make it tonight, your family will like it!

French Pot Roast

Ingredients


2 strips bacon, cut into 1/2" pieces
1/4 cup flour
salt and black pepper to taste
2 lb chuck roast, excess fat removed, cut into 1" pieces
2 cups low-sodium beef broth
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 bay leaves
2 cups frozen pearl onions
1/2 lb button mushrooms, stems removed
1 cup frozen peas


Directions
Preheat a large skillet or nonstick saute pan over medium-high heat. Cook the bacon until the fat is rendered and the bacon is crisp. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels; set aside. Leave the pan on the heat.
Combine the flour and plenty of salt and pepper in a sealable plastic bag. Working in batches, add the beef and shake until the pieces are lightly covered; remove the beef fromthe bag and shake off the excess flour. Add the pieces to the hot pan and cook until all sides are golden brown.

Remove the beef and add to a slow cooker. When all the beef has been browned, add 1 broth wine to the hot pan and scrape up any brown bits from the bottom with a wooden spoon. Pour over the beef, along with the rest of the broth, the tomato paste, bay leaves, and bacon pieces.
Set the slow cooker to high and cook for 4 hours, until the beef is tender and falls apart with pressure from a fork. In the last 30 minutes of cooking, add the pearl onions and mushrooms. Right before serving, add the peas and simmer for a few minutes to cook through. Discard the bay leaves.
Serve the stew by itself or over mashed potatoes or buttered egg noodles with a good ladle of the cooking broth.