Made pot roast the other night. Didn't have the canned mushrooms I usually put over the top, and my son isn't the biggest fan of cream of crap, so made it with some fresh mushrooms I had and it turned out great! (Last time I tried to use fresh mushrooms, I put them on top like I do the canned, and they dried up and shriveled). This is the recipe I emailed to him after we ate it, because it came out better than usual. I've taught him to cook both with recipes and "by feel", so he can follow most my recipes now.
Slab of chuck roast (ours was about 3 lbs)
14-16 or so oz of beef broth (I used home canned broth, but we don't always have that on hand, so added the can size as for future use)
Heaping spoonful of "better than bullion"
3 large mushrooms (or a small can of mushrooms), sliced in large pieces (we used crimini)
1/2 rib of celery, cut up (it's what I had in the freezer)
1 onion, quartered
Potatoes (I like a lot), halved or quartered, depending on size
Carrots (a few handfuls, baby carrots or chunks of regular carrot)
Just over 1/4 cup flour (measured in a half cup measuring cup)
Salt
Pepper
Garlic (fresh, granulated, powdered, whatever)
Worcestershire sauce
Oil
Leave the roast on the counter for about an hour to let it start getting to room temperature.
Preheat oven to 375°.
Coat the roast completely with the mix of flour, salt, and pepper. Let sit about 10 minutes.
Drizzle the bottom of the dutch oven with oil and heat just above medium.
Brown the chuck roast, brushing any flour that fell off into the D.O. (it will help make a gravy that you don't have to thicken up when it's done cooking). Get both sides.
Add the broth, celery, onion, mushrooms (if you use the canned mushrooms, dump them on top of the roast instead of under), garlic, and better than bullion to the D.O. Lift the meat and put it on top. Smear some of the better than bullion over the top of the roast to "clean" the spoon.
Cover and cook about 1 hour 20 minutes.
Add the potatoes and carrots. Turn the roast over, if desired, and put on top of the vegetables (try to submerge the potatoes in the liquid as much as possible). Splash a little Worcestershire sauce on top of the roast and vegetables.
Cover and cook another 45 minutes.
Take roast out and let rest 10 minutes. Continue cooking vegetables if the potatoes are not tender.
If you need to thicken the gravy, make a roux with flour and butter, then add the roast drippings and more broth/water/milk if needed.