Lately I’ve been on a kick to make and eat simple foods. One of my family’s Sunday traditions growing up was to have a beef roast for lunch. So I recently decided to try one myself. I was shocked at how tender and yummy it was! (Meat doesn’t always cooperate like that for me.) Here’s how I fixed it.
- First, I started by picking out a rump roast because it’s known to be tender and have great flavor. (Side note…When I was a kid, I refused to eat rump roast once I found out which part of the cow it was. If you have picky eaters, I suggest not telling them where the meat came from. 
)
- Second, I browned all sides of the roast in about a tablespoon of olive oil. (I used my handy-dandy Chefmate stockpot because it can go straight from the stovetop to the oven.)
- Third, I left the roast in the pot and filled the pot with about one to two inches of water.
- Then I put the lid on and let it cook in a 300-degree oven for 3-4 hours.
When we got home from church, the smell in our house was divine! That day we paired it with some basic sides and veggies. (This is the kid-sized version. )
Or if you want to spruce it up with an Amish-classic twist, you could cook some egg noodles and make beef and noodles. Put it on top of mashed potatoes and you’ll have extra yum.
Or if you have leftovers like I did, you can cut up the roast beef and make a salad. I left the meat cold, but you could warm it up too. This salad has Romaine lettuce, the leftover beef, shredded carrots, sunflower seeds, and dried cranberries.
It would taste awesome with any salad dressing, but I mixed up my favorite combo (thanks to my friend Karin at All Points Whole!)–Olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Yum!
So there you have it. One meat, three meal options.
Do you have any foods that do triple duty? What’s your traditional Sunday lunch?
Have a great weekend!
We don’t really do the traditional Sunday afternoon lunch. But my family loves to make paninis after church. We mix it up and make different kinds. Our goals is to try and make restaurant-quality sandwiches w/o restaurant prices.
What a fun tradition, Heather! I love the idea of doing paninis. I tend to forget about those as a meal option.
This is the perfect time of year for a roast like that one, so comforting! I’ll often make enough of a meal to stretch it into two nights’ dinner somehow. It’s always nice the second night when most of the cooking’s done!
I agree, Joanne! I love that second night when the work is cut in half.
Traditional Sunday lunch is usually either a roast, a crock pot meal, or spaghetti. Our latest favorite has been Chicken in Mushroom Sauce. It’s 4 chicken breasts, 1 can cream of mushroom soup, 1 cup sour cream, and 4 bacon strips. Put it all in the crock pot (3 qt.)on low for 4-5 hours. Sprinkle bacon on top. I have also added green pepper and fresh mushrooms to this. Absolutely easy and delicious! That’s what we look for in our Sunday dinners because we are sooooo busy on Sunday mornings!
Funny, Debbie. I can tell you and I are in the same family.
We’re the same way on Sundays. By the time we get home from church, the meal has to go straight on the table and then it’s naptime. 
Sounds yummy! I like to put a roast in the crock pot, but this is a better option for it to be ready after church. I think I need to try this.
Boneless chicken breasts will go a long way for us. I bake them in the oven or put them in the crock pot, and season (depending on my mood) and then serve it for dinner and leftovers. Suddenly I am hungry…
Have a great weekend!
Chicken’s a Sunday favorite in our house too, Karen! And you’re right…This method will get the roast cooked faster than the crock pot. And juicier too, if that’s possible!
I think I need to advocate for your family’s Sunday tradition. Looks great.
Our family usually attends night church so meals prior to that are a free-for-all.
LOL, I’m picturing campaign signs hung up around your house with pictures of beef on them.
I love simple Sunday roasts and yours is ultra simple..sounds delish.
Yep, it’s ultra simple, Julia! It doesn’t even need salt to taste good.
We eat a ton of left-overs. A classic at our house is Mexican throw together. Nothing like a taco.
Wow, that sounds yummy & healthy.
Ohhh, I love a good Mexican throw together, Wendy! I just did one of those for lunch the other day.
Yes, we, too, have the usual Sunday roast, Sarah. I usually do rump or a pike’s peak and use a can of French onion soup (w/one added can of water), pour it over the meat, and spoon the onions over the top of the roast, and add extra carrots and potatoes and celery stalks. (I place the whole shebang on a trusty stainless steel wire rack where the juices can drizzle through, but still steam it while tenderizing, and wrap the entire roasting pan in a tent foil.) Mmmm!
I can’t wait to try your deelish salad or the Amish version of beef and noodles! Thanks for your tips and ideas–I’m always looking for different ways to kick it up a notch!
Oh my goodness, Cynthia, my mouth literally started watering when I read about your roast, LOL! I think I need a snack.
We used to have a big family dinner each Sunday, roast, or turkey, chicken, or ham when I lived with my parents, but with my kids schedules we haven’t gotten into that. We do have at least one such meal a week, but we fit it in on any given day that it works best when all are available.
We do eat together each day, though, it’s just quicker meals, like boneless chicken breasts with salad, or pasta and meatballs, or the girls favorites : Chicken Caesar Salad or Phillybeef casserole. Things that can be thrown together fairly quickly with short cooking times.
I’ll have to try the searing technique next time I do a rump roast. Bet it makes for great gravy!
I’ve heard suppers have to be quicker as children get older. Sounds like that’s the case for you, Eileen. And yes, the searing seems to enhance the flavor and moistness somehow.
This reminds me I promised a roast to one of my mission sisters. Hmm, another weekend project:)
The only trouble is it takes so long to cook for the meat to get tender. Oh well, it’s worth it for that forkful of meat.
It does take a long time to cook, Tamika, but the beauty is that the oven is doing the work, not us! I’m all about that.
Looks yummy! Love roast and potatoes!
I’m making one this weekend!
Oh yes, Loree, I forget to mention that you can pop baked potatoes in the oven for the last hour of baking. An easy meal-in-one option!
In case no one mentioned the Amish/Mennonite fav with this–the gravy!!
After you take the roast from the roasting pan to the platter, leave the roaster sit on top of the burner. Scrape all the drippings loose from the bottom of the pan. Then put about 1-2 tbsp corn starch in about 2 cups water and stir. Turn on the burner and when the meat drippings left in the pan start to simmer, pour in the cornstarch water and whisk it until it thickens. Add water to expand to proper thick/thinness. Add salt to taste. If you want more flavor, brown your roast in butter instead of olive oil. I know its more fattening, but like Julia Childs says–everything’s better with butter! Now you have great gravy for those homemade mashed potatoes.
Yum.
You are making me hungry Sarah!! Time to get a roast on for Sunday dinner.
Oh yum, Anne, I forgot to mention the gravy! That was always a staple of my mom’s when I was growing up. I tend to skip it since I’m trimming down on the fat, but it tastes AMAZING especially on top of those beef and noodles and mashed potatoes, right?
Roast was always my fave growing up!! I normally eat something easy on Sundays (unless I have company) so I can get straight to the nap!! I usually really cook on Sunday nights so I have food for the week!
I agree, Bekah, the nap is always important on Sunday. It’s all about priorities, right?
i love that your olive oil has kroger on it. i grew up shopping at kroger, and sincerely miss it here in california. but that aside, our sunday tradition was always something very similar. crockpot main dishes, easy-made sides. mom would often put meat in the oven on the way out—she did pork chops and BBQ chicken, stuff like that. it was awful when we’d get home and it WASN’T DONE. the smell, being so divine, made me attempt life and limb to try to steal things out of the kitchen when i didn’t think she was looking….
I *heart* Kroger, Jeannie! I’d be so sad if I moved somewhere that didn’t have it.