Garlic-Sage-Marinated Beef Pot Roast

1 2-2 1/2 pound boneless beef chuck pot roast
3/4 cup dry red wine or tomato juice
2 tbsp. tomato paste
1 tbsp. snipped fresh sage or 1/2 tsp ground sage
10 cloves garlic, halved
2 tsp instant beef bouillon granules
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tbsp cooking oil
1 1/4 lbs tiny new potatoes or 4 medium potatoes
4 medium carrots, cut into 2-in peices
2 small onions, cut into wedges
2 stalks celery, bias-sliced into 1-in. peices
1/2 cup cold water
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Trim fat from meat. Place meat in a plasic bag and set the bag into a shallow dish. For marinade, in a small bowl combine the red wine or tomato juice, tomato paste, sage, garlic, beef bouillon granules, and pepper. Pour over meat; seal bag. Marinate in the refrigerator for 6-24 hours, turning bag occasionally. Drain meat, reserving the marinade.

In a Dutch oven brown the meat on both sides in hot oil. Drain fat. Pour the marinade over meat. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 1 hour.

Remove a narrow strip of peel from around the center of each new potato. (or, peel and quarter each medium potato.) Add potatoes, carrots, onions, and celery to meat. Cover and simmer for 45 to 60 minutes or until meat and vegetables are tender, adding some water if necessary. Transfer meat and vegetables to a platter. Cover and keep warm while preparing gravy.

For gravy, measure pan juices; skim fat. If necessary, add water to equal 1 3/4 cups liquid; return to dutch oven. Combine the 1/2 cup water and flour; stir into juice. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for one minute more. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve gravy with meat and vegetables.

Makes 8 Servings

Nutrition Info per serving: 321 Calories, 29 g protein, 28 g carbohydrates, 8 g fat (3 g saturated), 78 mg cholesterol, 345 mg sodium

Notes: To make this a whole lot easier, use a crock pot! We put it on before church and let it go until about 4 pm and it was SO good! Put carrots and potatoes in about 45 minutes to an hour. We cooked them in a pot in the juices of the roast instead. I do want to try it the other way but I figure it's simliar. And if aren't sure what a dutch oven is, google it and click on images.