Crock Pot Roast Beef Or Venison - cooking recipe

Ingredients

3 lbs lean beef roast or 3 lbs venison roast
1 (10 1/2 ounce) can 94% fat-free cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1 cup cabernet sauvignon wine or 1 cup dry red wine
2 tablespoons very low-sodium beef bouillon granules
3 fresh garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon italian seasoning
2 teaspoons thyme leaves
1 tablespoon liquid hot pepper sauce or 1 tablespoon Tabasco sauce
1 large onion, diced
1 (8 ounce) can sliced mushrooms, drained
6 large potatoes, quartered (optional)
8 carrots, peeled and cut into 4 inch long pieces (optional)
3 -4 tablespoons cornstarch (optional)
1/4 cup water (optional)

Preparation

In crock pot, add soup, wine, bouillon granules, garlic, onion, mushrooms, hot sauce, and seasonings.
Stir to mix well.
Add roast.
Turn crock pot on high and cook 4-6 hours or until meat is just tender.
Serve with optional gravy, carrots and potatoes or cooked noodles or rice.
OPTIONAL POTATOES AND CARROTS: In pot of water, boil potatoes and carrots about 15 minutes until almost done, but still very firm.
Drain; add veggies to crock pot.
Cook an additional 1-2 hours until roast and veggies are very tender.
OPTIONAL THICKENED GRAVY: Remove veggies and roast from crock pot and place in covered dish to keep them warm while you make the gravy.
Make a slurry by mixing cornstarch and water until no lumps remain. (Using cold water a little at a time will help you avoid lumps.).
Use Method 1 OR 2 to thicken the gravy.
Gravy Method 1: With crock pot on High, bring broth to a boil.
Pour in the cornstarch slurry and stir to mix.
Cover and bring liquid back to boil and boil until thickened, about 1 minute.
Gravy Method 2: Pour broth mixture from crock pot into a saucepan.
Bring broth to boil and stir in cornstarch slurry.
Return to boil, boiling about 1 minute until broth mixture is thickened.