French Dip Sandwiches Crockpot Style

 

So there are days that the crockpot can really be your best friend. Busy days. Stressful days. Lazy days. Hot days when you don't want to turn on the oven. Crockpot to the rescue! Here is a super simple, man satisfying, looks-like-you-worked-hard-but-watched-the-office-while-cutting-coupons-instead kind of dinner. Just a few ingredients and a few minutes to throw together and then come back hours later to delicious dinner!


3 lb beef rump roast
16 oz can beef broth (maybe a lil more depending of size of crockpot)
1 packet of onion soup mix
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
3 minced garlic cloves
Sliced provolone
French or Italian crusty bread or roll (like a baguette)


1. Place the roast in the bottom on crockpot. Add broth, onion soup mix, worcestershire
, and garlic in crockpot. Check to be sure the meat is covered with broth. If not, add more broth or water to be sure it's fully submerged.

2. Cook on low for 9-10 hours.

3. Slice baguette or rolls and toast in oven for a few minutes. Place sliced provolone on the bread/rolls and return to oven for a minute or two, just long enough to melt.

4. Remove meat from crockpot. Slice meat and pile up on toasty, cheesy bread. Reserve leftover juices in crockpot for dipping. Don't skip this step! The au jus makes this sandwich so incredible!

Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic

Before I tell you about this recipe, let me share a little but about my unhealthy obsession with the crock pot. It's been a constant battle for me, because I love the crock pot's abilities. Slow cooking offers moist meals, little work and prep, simple steps, and lots of flavor. But every time I thought about cooking something in the crock pot a little voice in my head said, "You are cheating!" I felt that real cooking takes more time, more effort, more work and using the crock pot gave me that guilty feeling like I am taking the cop-out; the easy route. It's the same feeling I have when I get a craving for Kraft Mac and Cheese. When I was younger, I was a super picky eater, the worst you could find, and I lived on Kraft Mac and Cheese. Nowadays, I'd gladly prefer my Grandma's Mac and Cheese or Italian Mac and Cheese, but there's still a place in my heart for that blue box. Well, I've decided that this year I am resolving my battle with the crock pot and putting it to good use more often, because this dinner was amazing! It's a new favorite for sure. Even with its minimal effort, this dish was so yummy and full of flavor! The slow roasted garlic gave it a more mild flavor, and the meat was fall-off-the-bone perfect! I will say peeling the 40 cloves of garlic was let's say a but time consuming. Next time, I may purchase pre-peeled garlic...

3 and 1/2 lbs of chicken pieces, I used leg quarters

3 tbsp olive oil

40 cloves of garlic, peeled

2 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp rosemary

1 tsp basil

1 tsp paprika

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp flour

1. Rinse chicken pieces in water and pat dry with paper towels. Season with salt and pepper

2. Drizzle one tbsp olive oil in bottom of 5 quart crock pot. Place chicken in crock pot.

3. Drizzle with remaining olive oil and sprinkle rosemary, basil, and paprika. Then add the garlic cloves.

4. Let cook on low setting for 6 hours. Stir the garlic cloves and chicken around once halfway through cooking.

5. About half an hour before the chicken was finished cooking, remove about ten or twelve roasted garlic cloves and mash them with a fork, set aside.

6. Near the end of the cooking time, remove the juices from the bottom of the crock pot with a ladle and fill a small sauce pot. Add about half of the smashed garlic and one tbsp of butter and one tbsp of flour to make a yummy gravy. I also added the other half of the mushed garlic to the mashed potatoes to make garlic mashed potatoes.

Source: Adapted from A Year of Slow Cooking