When the weather is gloomy, grey, and cold sometimes all you need is a hearty meal to warm your insides.

This slow cooker beef is accompanied by a beautiful, deep balsamic glaze.

I opted to slice the beef (I felt like the Grinch when he cuts the roast beast!) and serve alongside mashed potatoes and fresh salad. Roasted root vegetables would be a wonderful side dish option as well.  Another alternative would be to shred the beef and serve it over a bowl of brown rice.

The leftovers would make for a fantastic sandwich the next day too. (If you have any leftovers!)

Balsamic Glazed Beef Roast

Ingredients:

• 3-4 lb beef chuck roast
• 1 C beef broth
• 1/3 C + 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar, divided
• 3 tbsp soy sauce, divided
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 2 tbsp corn starch
• 1/4 C brown sugar

Steps:

1. Whisk together beef broth, 1/3 C balsamic vinegar, 2 tbsp soy sauce, honey, red pepper flakes, garlic, and pepper. Pour over the roast placed in a slow cooker. Cook on LOW 8 hours.
2. Remove roast from slow cooker, cover with tin foil to keep warm.
3. Strain 1 1/2 C of liquid from the slow cooker. Over medium heat combine with remaining balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, and brown sugar. Bring to a boil and allow to reduce.
4. Create a slurry with the corn starch and 2 tbsp water. Pour into the glaze and stir to thicken. Continue to reduce to desired thickness.
5. Shred or slice the beef and top with the balsamic glaze.

*This recipe is adapted from Danelle at http://www.letsdishrecipes.com/2013/12/balsamic-glazed-roast-beef-2.html*

Update May 2016: Shortly after settling into our new home in California I needed a simple dinner. I looked to my slow cooker recipes and was reminded of this recipe from my index. And then I scrolled down further and about wanted to die of embarrassment when I saw the photo! I knew I had to redo this roast. When you look below this paragraph you’ll notice how vastly different the pictures are! (I love my macro lens!) The only two differences I made were using agave instead of honey because of my less than one year old son who would be trying it, and a good quality of balsamic vinegar. I used a local, thicker balsamic. For a thick glaze, simply allow the mixture to reduce until you reach your desired consistency, if it gets too thick add a little bit of water to thin it out. Both of my boys loved having this beef for lunch the next day. (My husband and I did, too, for the record.)