Slow Cooker Beef Pot Roast

We got a great deal on a beef roast at Safeway, so into the crock it goes ^^. I've made this on several other occasions, and it's great, because it could be a one-pot meal--meat, veggies and carbs in one! It's also really cheap because you can use the cheapest cuts of meat, the the slow cooker makes it tender.

Ingredients (serves 3-5):
3 lb beef chuck roast
5 russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
3 medium carrots, cut 1" thick
5 stalks celery, cut 1" thick
2 medium onions, cut into wedges
water
maggi seasoning
worcestershire sauce
dried parsley and oregano
flour for thickening


Method (for a 6qt crockpot):
Trim meat of excess fat.
Rub beef with maggi and worcestershire sauce.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Rub on dried parsley.
Place a layer of carrots on the bottom of the crock, followed by onions.
Place beef in the middle and top with celery.
Fill the area around the meat with potatoes and remaining veggies, keeping potatoes to the outside.
Fill the crock about 1/3 full with water (if you know your crock won't dry out, use less liquid).
Sprinkle on oregano.
Cook on low for 7 hours and check for doneness. If it is just a bit pinker than what you want, take out the meat, cover loosely and let rest 20-30 minutes. The residual heat will cook the meat the rest of the way.
Mix the remaining items in the pot and use the liquid for gravy, if desired.
Season gravy to taste.
Goes great with red wine. (We had Merlot)


Comments:
You can brown the meat first for more flavour. I only had 25 minutes before work, so I didn't bother.
The heating element is on the side and bottom of the crock, so carrots and potatoes are preferentially put there.
I had originally inserted a meat thermometer, and I'm not sure how well that turned out, because Will reported over the phone (I was in transit) that the temperature was 85C when he took it out. Yet, it was not cardboard-y. Weird.


Verdict:
So tender, and nothing beats roast potatoes ^^. It was a bit bland, but you can add salt to the gravy, or do as Will did, and have it with HP Sauce.