seriously this might be the perfect adhd/disabled cook's Nice Meal

you just

you just slap a slab of meat in a pan. peel potatoes and put em whole or halved in a circle around the meatslab with some baby carrots. sprinkle some stuff. dump a couple cans of cream of mushroom all over it. cover with tin foil. oven at 325

AND THEN YOU LEAVE IT

FOR HOURS

it smells really really good for a while before it's ready so you can't even completely forget about it and fuck up the timing

i even took a nap

[image id: @princesssarcastia replied to the post saying "would LOVE to see the directions for this, it sounds great"]

:D it IS and if you ever try it out, let me know how it goes!

stuff:

• 1 chuck roast (size only matters for how hot your oven/how many hours it's in there/what your budget can handle)
• russet potatoes (however many fit in your roast pan/large baking dish; we used half a bag)
• seasoning salt (i used Lawry's) and meat tenderizer (brand is whatever)
• 1 packet of onion soup mix (lipton's or off brand is fine, i used off brand); it normally comes in a box of two of em and you use one packet
• 1-2 cans of cream of mushroom soup (1 might do but buy 2 just in case)

how do:

• preheat your oven to 325 (if you have an especially enormous meatslab or need to shorten cooking time a bit, 345, but not hotter)
• slap your chuck roast slab in the center of your roast pan/large baking dish
• season the top liberally with meat tenderizer and seasoning salt. you do not have to stab or beat it with a hammer
• peel and rinse your potatoes (full disclosure; we don't currently own an acutal potato peeler and my hand steadiness ain't shit, so i tapped @odairiver for the peeling)
• you want your potatoes roughly the same size, so some might need to be cut in half. stick em in a ring around your meat slab
• add baby carrots, as many as your heart (or enjoyment of carrots) recommends
• sprinkle over all of this the packet of onion soup mix
• open 1 can of cream of mushroom soup and dump it out on top. spread it around thoroughly with a spatula/knife/spoon/whatever, and if your meat/potatoes/etc aren't sufficiently covered, open can 2. extra gravy is never bad
• cover your pan/dish with tin foil, tucking around the edges
• place your dish on a rack placed mid to high in your oven
• leave it for 3-4 hours (on average; we left this one in around 5 for fall apart tenderness)

@odairiver educated me on how to know it's done (it will smell amazing for at least 1 hour before it's ready, brace yourself and snack lightly if needed):

you can take the dish out of the oven, stab a potato to make sure it's cooked through, and then stab the meat. if it goes in with little/no resistance into the meat and pulling slightly to the side starts separating a chunk from the rest, it's ready

FEAST

edit: @silvain-shadows made a good point in another reblog that you can use red potatoes instead of russet. red potatoes don't need peeling, which is a huge bonus if you don't have a roommate who will peel taters for you.

i have not tried doing this (obviously, tonight being my first roast), but my only concern at all would be that they'd overcook to being too soft in the oven that long, since red potatoes cook faster and more easily than russet. still, i'm sure they'd be plenty tasty

some updates!

since I have made several more roasts since the original roastpost, i wish to share and report some more stuff i've learned through experimentation:

• two cans cream of mushroom, not one. one simply does not give you enough gravy and the gravy is key to making sure your roast comes out fallapart tender
• if you're cool with a minor extra step, get a small mixing bowl, dump your cream of mushroom cans in it, add your onion soup mix, and stir together until smooth and even in color. just makes sure your gravy is more fully constituted, whereas skipping this does mean you may have unmixed pockets in your finished roast. not a tragedy if you just don't feel like doing this
• the red potatoes do work just as well as the russet. i like the russet better overall personally, but the red potatoes are very good in it also and do indeed require less prep
• 3-5 hours is a delicate time range and you need to stab-check your roast at least at the 3 hour mark. if it's not done then, check it again at hour 4; left one in 5 hours on blind faith one time and it overcooked more than pleased me
• did tonight's Big Food Day meal as a roast and actually cooked it at 350. was perfectly and completely done at exactly 3 hours and extremely delicious. we did just move, so remember ovens are unique and stroppy snowflakes and learn how yours behaves

as always, check the post's notes in comments and tags where people have left their own tips and favorite recipes for roasts, slow-cooked meats, and straightforward adhd-friendly meals! great resource tbh and one of my favorite things about how this post has gotten around

go forth and roast, my darlings, enjoy the experimentation and learning process, and i hope you all have wonderful food <3