Shirley’s Oven Baked Roast Beef

(this recipe can be put into a slow cooker also – cook on low for 6 to 8 hours for fall apart tender – add vegetables with about 1.5 hours left)
3 to 4 pounds Boneless Beef Chuck or English Roast
Butter or Margarine (butter does make a big difference!)
One can Campbell’s Golden Mushroom Soup (do not add water)
One packet Lipton’s or Knorr’s Dry Onion Soup Mix
Fresh Sliced Mushrooms
Optional – other fresh vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, onions
2 to 3 Beef Bouillon Cubes
Salt & Pepper to taste
Sear roast beef on top of the stove 1 to minutes on each side in margarine or butter in a Dutch oven that can be put in the oven.
Spread Campbell’s Golden Mushroom Soup on top of the roast (do not add water to the soup concentrate). Sprinkle Lipton or Knorr Onion Soup Mix over the soup concentrate. Add sliced fresh mushrooms on top of the soup mixtures. If you wish to add other vegetables such as carrots, potatoes, or onions, add them later in the baking process – about 1 hour left in the baking time. Add one soup can of water to the bottom of the Dutch oven. Do not pour directly onto the soup layers.
Bake in 325 degree F oven in the covered Dutch Oven. Cooking the roast 3 to 4 hours at this low temperature will make the Chuck Roast very tender and falling apart. English Roast using this method will still need to be sliced – it will not fall apart. The soup/water mixture keeps the meat very moist even cooking it this long.
Remove roast and vegetables from Dutch oven and place on a serving platter or storage dish. Spoon some of the thin beef stock onto it. Cover with aluminum foil to keep warm.
On top of the stove, add beef bullion cubes for added seasoning to the thin mixture in the Dutch oven. Taste mixture. If it is too rich, add a little water. This is the time to add salt & pepper to taste. Bring to a boil – use a corn starch/water thickening to bring the consistency to the level that you prefer for gravy.
The thin beef stock can also be saved the way it is to do noodles another day. Don’t thicken the stock if you are going to cook noodles in the mixture.
The gravy is great with mashed potatoes.
Leftovers are wonderful as a sandwich with fresh bread and your favorite toppings such as yellow mustard or horseradish sauce and including the cooked mushrooms. Warm the mushrooms and beef slightly, put on buttered bread with condiments. Yum! Mert’s favorite!