French Dip Sandwiches

 

 

Looking for a yummy, delicious and cheap dinner recipe for a busy day? Then look no further, this meal takes about 5 minutes prep work and it’s flavor is phenomenal. It only takes is a few simple ingredients to spice up a cheap cut of beef. These French dip sandwiches are loaded with fall apart tender beef if your roast isn’t fall apart tender after cooking it 8 hours then you may want to consider a purchasing a new slow cooker, I used one once that had a gap between the lid and the slow cooker so it didn’t have a good seal on it, therefor the roast cooked unevenly and wasn’t anywhere near tender enough. Cheese is optional but I’d say it’s a must, it perfectly compliments all the flavors of the beef.
Serve this sandwich with a side of kettle chips and you’ve get a dinner that couldn’t get any simpler. Yes you could brown the beef in olive oil prior to slow cooking it, and you could replace the onion powder and garlic powder with the real thing but I made this recipe to be quick, basic, and incredibly delicious without sacrificing any flavor. No time wasted on chopping veggies and searing the beef. Just toss everything in and relax while the slow cooker does all the work. 

Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches

preparation time :5 min

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

·         2 1/2 lbs beef chuck roast

·         1 can beef broth

·         1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce

·         1 1/2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

·         1 tbsp honey

·         1 tsp liquid smoke flavoring

·         1 1/2 tsp onion powder

·         salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

·         3/4 tsp garlic powder

·         6 Hoagie buns or 2 crusty baguettes cut into thirds

·         6 slices Swiss, Provolone or Muenster cheese, optional

You have to do

• Place chuck roast in a slow cooker. In a mixing bowl, whisk together beef broth, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, honey, liquid smoke flavoring, salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder. Pour mixture over roast in slow cooker, cover slow cooker with a lid and cook on low heat 8 hours.
• Remove cooked roast from slow cooker and place on a cutting board, reserving broth in slow cooker. Shred roast with two forks. Using a fine mesh strainer, strain reserved broth from slow cooker into a bowl. Return shredded beef to slow cooker (no more cooking necessary) and pour 1/2 cup broth over shredded beef and toss to evenly coat. Sandwich beef between hoagie buns or sliced baguettes (buttered and toasted if preferred) and top warm beef with sliced cheese. Serve immediately with a side of remaining reserved broth for dipping.

Macaroni and Cheese

Bacon plus Wisconsin Feta Cheese combine to create this indulgent and intensely yummy macaroni and cheese. Cheddar macaroni and cheese is sort of becoming a thing of the past for me. I considered adding some fresh herbs to this pasta, but I decided to skip it because I really wanted the flavors of the cheese to shine. If you absolutely can’t resist adding something, I’d recommend fresh dill or fresh basil, two of my favorites which pair perfectly with Feta Cheese. If you wanted, you could also substitute the Wisconsin Provolone Cheese with a Wisconsin semi-hard cheese of your choice such as Swiss or Gruyere, but in my opinion Provolone is the perfect fit for this dish. I chose it because I wanted a milder cheese to pair with the tang of the Feta Cheese. I can nearly guarantee this flavorful twist on macaroni and cheese will become an instant hit in your home just as it has in mine. 

Yield: 6 Servings

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

3 cups or 12 ounces dry elbow macaroni

3 tablespoons flour

3 tablespoons butter

2 1/2 cups milk, preferably 2%

1 1/3 cups or 8 ounces Wisconsin Feta Cheese, crumbled and divided

1 1/2 cups or 6 ounces Wisconsin Provolone Cheese, shredded

8 slices bacon, fried, diced and divided

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions

• Cook pasta according to package directions; drain well; set aside.
• Meanwhile, in medium saucepan, melt butter, whisk in flour and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. While whisking vigorously, slowly pour in milk and whisk until well combined. Bring mixture to gentle boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low and simmer about 2 minutes, stirring frequently, until thickened.
• Add 2/3 cup Feta Cheese and Provolone Cheese to milk mixture; cook over low heat, stirring constantly until Provolone has melted (Feta won't fully melt). Season mixture with salt and pepper to taste.
• Add drained pasta to sauce mixture and toss to coat; add 3/4 of diced bacon and toss. Pour mixture into buttered 11 x 7-inch baking dish. Sprinkle top evenly with remaining diced bacon and Feta Cheese. Move oven rack three racks below broiler and set oven to broil on high, cook macaroni under hot broiler until Feta Cheese is golden brown, 1 - 3 minutes, watching closely so it doesn't burn. Serve warm.

Chicken Teriyaki Japanese dish

Slow cooker meals, aren’t they just amazing? Throw the food in, say goodbye, then several hours later say hello to dinner. It really doesn’t get much easier. I had to try it. I think I’ve finally realized another reason I love slow cooker meals, because I always have dessert after dinner so if I’m making dessert it’s nice to have a simple dinner to throw together. Also, I can never get over how tender and flavorful the meat is that’s been slowly simmered all day in the slow cooker.
You will noticed if you follow the link that the recipe is nearly entirely different, yes I will admit rarely do I ever stick to someone else’s recipe. It’s just too fun to add my own twist. Feel free to try it either way I’m sure the original rendition is amazing too. Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Chicken Teriyaki

Yield: 4-6 servings

You will need

3 lbs boneless and skinless chicken breasts

3/4 cup low sodium soy sauce regular would work too

1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

1/3 cup packed light-brown sugar

1/4 cup honey

3 Tbsp orange marmalade

1 tbsp finely grated fresh ginger

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 Tbsp cold water

1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch

Cooked long grain white rice, for serving

Sesame seeds, for garnish if you like

You have to do for cooking this dish

• Place chicken in a slow cooker, set aside. In a mixing bowl, whisk together soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, light-brown sugar, honey, orange marmalade, ginger, garlic and pepper. Pour mixture over chicken in slow cooker, cover with lid and cook on low heat 5 - 6 hours. Remove chicken from slow cooker and shred. Strain sauce from slow cooker through a fine mesh strainer into a medium saucepan. In a small mixing bowl whisk together 1 1/2 Tbsp cold water and cornstarch. Pour cornstarch mixture into liquid in saucepan and heat mixture over medium high heat, stirring constantly, until mixture begins to gently boil. Allow mixture to gently boil about 20 seconds until thickened. Return chicken to slow cooker and pour teriyaki sauce from saucepan over chicken. Toss mixture gently to evenly coat. Serve warm over cooked rice garnished with optional sesame seeds and serve with diced fresh pineapple if desired.