Beef Pot Roast

My Pot Roast recipe is pretty standard stuff. I think I got my first variation it out of "Boys Life Magazine" when I was a scout as a kid. I'll just say at the top that the secret ingredient is (once again) ketchup.



Ingredients:
1 hunk of beef
some lowery season salt
a few twists of fresh ground black pepper
one onion, chopped
one potato, cubed
a couple of carrots, chopped
a dash or two of worstershire sauce
a dash or two of tabasco sauce
2 bay leaves
a pot of boiling water

Brown the beef in a bit of your favorite oil, (I like peanut oil because it takes the heat very well) in a dutch oven or roasting pan. At the same time, in a separate pot, boil about a quart of water. After the beef is brown on all sides, take it out of the pan so you can pour off the excess oil. Sweat the onions with a bit of salt in the roasting pan. At your discretion, add the carrots and potatoes. Add the dry seasoning. At some point when everything starts to smell good, place the hunk of beef back in the pan. By now, the water is certainly boiling in the other pot. Pour enough of it into the pan to almost cover the beef. Add the liquid seasonings and the bay leaves. Here's where I add the secret ingredient, about a half of a cup of Ketchup. I like Heinz. Stir it a bit. You could add some more water, at this point, until the meat is submerged. Cover the pan or dutch oven, and turn the heat down to a simmer. I like to cook it for about two hours or until the meat is so tender you can cut it with a dull knife. Adjust your seasonings from time to time and check to make sure the water has not boiled out. There it is,