Slow Cooker Pot Roast

I just love pot roast.  I'm a meat and potatoes girl.  And maybe this makes me a non-gourmand, but I specifically love Golden Corral's pot roast.  It's so tender and full of flavor.  I've tried for a while to get my pot roast to taste the same but it always seemed to fall short until I tried this recipe recently. 

People, I have found my eternal pot roast recipe!  We are going to be so happy together! 

BEST DANGED SLOW COOKER POT ROAST
slightly adapted from When the Dinner Bell Rings

1 rump or chuck roast
2 tsp. olive oil
1 envelope onion soup mix
1 envelope brown gravy mix
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 cups water
salt & pepper, to taste
3 carrots, peeled and thickly sliced
2 celery stalks, thickly sliced
3 medium potatoes, scrubbed and quartered
1/2 onion, sliced
cornstarch, as needed for thickening, optional

Sprinkle roast with salt and pepper.  Heat oil in a skillet over med-high heat and sear (brown) roast on all sides.  Place roast in bottom of slow cooker.  Return skillet to heat and add water, onion soup mix, brown gravy mix, and applesauce and whisk to combine.  Remove from heat and set aside while you prepare the vegetables.

Place vegetables around and on top of roast.  Slowly pour gravy mixture over veggies and roast, being sure to get all potatoes covered with the sauce so they don't turn black as they cook.  Cook on LOW for 8-10 hours*. 

Remove roast and veggies to oven-safe serving platter, cover immediately with foil, and place in a warm oven.  Turn slow cooker to HIGH and whisk in some cornstarch mixed with water to thicken the gravy.  Cook for 10-15 minutes or until thickened.  Serve with roast and veggies.

*I don't always get my roast ready in time to cook for 8 hours, so I usually cook it on HIGH for two hours or so and then reduce it to LOW for another four.