Pot Roast Hoagies

I spent my childhood consuming a lot of gravy. Specifically, hunks of meat with lots of gravy and either mashed potatoes or egg noodles. I think that's what you get when you're Scandinavian and live in the upper midwest. Most of my friends with similar upbringings share my love for gravy. Maybe you don't even have to be Scandinavian. Maybe you just have to have grown up in the upper midwest. Or maybe you just have to have grown up in the United States in the 1980s. Who knows. This staple of my childhood has stayed with me into adulthood, though I now prefer my gravy-drenched hunks of meat in sandwich form. Pot roast in brown gravy on a hoagie bun? Yes, please.

This is another pre-move clean-out-the-pantry dish. The recipe I based it off of called for brisket, but the stores around here only stock that sporadically, and the only briskets I could find were organic, free range, grass fed, Kosher briskets for somewhere around $20-30/lb. So, I used a regular rump roast instead. I'm sure it would be great with brisket, but considering I'm not Jewish and made this recipe to get rid of some pantry items, spending the money on the hippie Kosher brisket wasn't worth it to me. 

I loved this sandwich. My husband thought it was decent. But he's not a big pot roast fan so take his opinion with a grain of salt.

Please excuse the bad picture

Pot Roast Hoagies

Recipe adapted from Food Network

Prep Time - 15 min

Cook Time - 8 hrs on low, 4 hrs on high

Serves 4-6

INGREDIENTS

1 2-3 lb roast

salt & pepper

3 carrots, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 onion, sliced

3 cloves garlic, smashed

1 bay leaf

1 packet slow-cooker pot roast seasoning

2 cups beef stock

2 cups red wine (I used a Pinot Noir)

2 TBSP tomato paste

1 cup cold water

1 packet low-sodium brown gravy mix

Hoagie buns

DIRECTIONS

Put the carrots, celery, onion, and garlic in the bottom of your slow cooker. Turn the slow cooker on and put the lid on to let it get a bit warm before you add the meat. 

Heat a pan on the stove to medium-high heat and put a bit of olive oil in the bottom. Season the meat liberally with salt & pepper on all sides. Add to the pan and sear for a couple minutes per side. Put it in the slow cooker. 

In a large bowl, whisk together the beef stock, wine, tomato paste, and pot roast seasoning. Pour the mixture into your crock pot. Add a bay leaf. 

Cook on low for 8-10 hrs.

Once the roast is done, take it out of the crockpot and let it sit for a few minutes while you make the gravy.

Pour the liquid through a strainer and add to a large pan or a pot on your stove. Turn the meat to medium. 

In a small bowl, whisk together the gravy mix with cold water. Whisk this into your sauce on the stove. Let heat for a few minutes, until gravy thickens. Season with salt & pepper, to taste. 

Cut the meat and put it on hoagie buns and slather with gravy. 

Shredded Beef Patty Melts

Grilled sandwiches are my absolute favorite. I blame credit my husband for this. He makes the best grilled cheese sandwiches on the planet. Really - they're amazing. I don't know what he does, but I can't replicate it no matter how hard I try. He somehow manages to achieve the perfect balance of melty cheese and crispy, not too greasy, bread. When I try, I usually end up with nice melted cheese, but my bread gets to be a soggy mess. It's rather pathetic.

I came up with the idea for this sandwich when I realized I had a bunch of leftover shredded beef in my freezer. I didn't want to do the same old thing with the beef, which is usually making it into a French dip style sandwich. Instead, I decided to try making it into a patty melt, of sorts. I was really impressed with the results. It was reminiscent of the French dip sandwiches I usually make, but the grilled bread gave it a little something extra. I'm looking forward to making these again the next time I have leftover beef.

Shredded Beef Patty Melts

Makes 2 sandwiches

Cook & Prep Time - about 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS

4 slices sourdough bread

6 slices Muenster cheese

shredded beef  (I recommend this recipe)

caramelized onions

butter 

DIRECTIONS

Caramelize one sliced onion in about 1 TBSP olive oil over medium-low heat. Season with just a little bit of salt to help draw out the moisture from the onions. Stir occasionally.

While the onions are caramelizing, heat up the beef in a medium pot to warm it through.  

Once the onions are caramelized, heat a large pan to medium heat. 

Build the sandwich in this order: Butter one side of each slice of bread. Place 1 1/2 slices of cheese on top of the bottom slice (non-buttered side) for each sandwich (or however much cheese you need to cover the slice). Put a layer of the shredded beef on top of the cheese and put the onions on top of the beef. Top with another 1 1/2 slices of cheese and put the top slice of bread on each sandwich. Transfer to the pan and cook for a couple of minutes on each side, or until the cheese melts and the bread is golden brown.

Italian-Style Drip Beef

Yep. This is another sandwich. You'll love it, I swear. As you may recall, I recently blogged about Pioneer Woman's basic Drip Beef and was only so-so on it. I figured we would like this one better, and I was right. It was fabulous. It's basically everything you would want in a sandwich.


Italian Style Drip Beef
Recipe from Pioneer Woman, adapted

INGREDIENTS
1 medium onion, sliced
4-6 cloves garlic, smashed
1 whole Beef Chuck Roast, 2.5 To 4 Pounds
2-3 cups beef broth
1/4 cup sherry
¼ cups Water
1 packet Italian Seasoning
1 teaspoon Salt
3 TBSP whole peppercorns
3-4 sprigs rosemary
½ jars (16 Oz) Pepperoncini Peppers, With Juice (I omitted, but would use next time)
cheese slices (I like Muenster)
Buttered, Toasted Deli Rolls

DIRECTIONS
Spray ceramic of crock pot with cooking spray and add onions and garlic. Season roast with salt & pepper and place on top of the bed of onions. Add liquids, Italian seasoning, peppercorns, salt, rosemary, and pepperoncini. Cook on low for 8 hrs.

Take the meat out of the crock pot after about 8 hrs and shred with forks. Season the meat with pepper.

Place meat and onions (if desired) on top of buns and then top each sandwich with cheese. Put in the oven or under the broiler for a few minutes until the cheese melts.

Pioneer Woman's Drip Beef

I love sandwiches. I really don't think there's much in the world that is more satisfying. Luckily, my husband agrees and is usually in at the mention of a sandwich.

I also love using my crockpot, especially when I use it in ways most Minnesotans don't. This drip beef sandwich recipe is a great example of this. I loved how I started this in the morning and it was all ready to go when I got home from work. My house smelled so good when I walked in the door and the meat could not have been more tender. Our one complaint is that the soy sauce flavor was a bit strong, so if I were to make this recipe again, I would probably cut the amount of soy sauce by about half.

Drip Beef

Recipe from Pioneer Woman, adapted

Serves about 6

INGREDIENTS

1 whole 3-4 lb chuck roast

1 large onion, sliced thick

3 cloves garlic, crushed & peeled

1/2 cup soy sauce (try to get low sodium)

1 cup Sherry (cooking Sherry is fine)

2 cups beef broth

1-2 cups water

3-4 sprigs Rosemary

1-2 TBSP whole peppercorns

deli rolls

sliced cheese (we used Muenster)

DIRECTIONS

Spray the ceramic part of the crock pot with cooking spray. Put onions and garlic on the bottom. Place the roast on top of the onions. Pour the soy sauce, Sherry, beef broth, and water in the crock pot. Add rosemary and peppercorns.

Cook on low for about 8 hrs.

At the end of the cooking time, take the roast out of the crockpot and pull with two forks.

Put the meat on the deli rolls, pour a bit of the liquid from the crockpot on top, and place cheese on top. Put in the oven to melt the cheese for about 5 minutes, if desired.

Serve with a bowl of the liquid for dipping.

Meatball Subs

Over the past month and a half, my cooking has taken a bit of a different turn. I've been working later hours, so I've had to concentrate on preparing things that can be made in about 25 minutes or less. On weekends, I still try to spend some quality time in the kitchen.

I made these meatball subs on a weekend, and could easily be made ahead of time and then re-heated before you actually plan on eating them. And, they're delicious. You'll love them.

Meatball Subs

Serves 4

Prep Time - 15 minutes

Cook Time - 40 minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 lb ground beef

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/4 - 1/2 cup bread crumbs

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1/2 tsp oregano

1 TBSP tomato paste

1 jar marinara sauce

hoagie rolls

Muenster cheese

DIRECTIONS

Mix together all meatball ingredients until combined. Roll into medium-sized meatballs (about 1" in diameter) and place on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20-25 minutes or until browned. Take the meatballs out of the oven, but keep the oven on.

After you take them out of the oven, put them in a pot with the marinara sauce. Cover and bring to a simmer. Cook for about 10-15 minutes.

Place meatballs and a bit of sauce on the bottom of each roll and cover with cheese (3 meatballs and 2 slices of cheese worked great on the size roll we used). Place in the oven and bake for about 5-7 minutes, or until cheese melts. Serve with extra marinara sauce on the side, if desired.

Cheesesteaks

I haven't been intentionally neglecting my blog. I started a new job a few weeks ago where I stare at a computer for most of my day, so when I get home, staring at my computer for more time isn't necessarily appealing. Anyway, enough excuses.

I've never been to Philadelphia. Despite its historical significance to the country, I really don't have a huge desire to go there, either. Unfortunately, that means that I probably will not ever have a true cheesesteak. I wanted to try making one at home, though, so I looked at some "recipes" online that claim to be authentic and took a jab at it.

We were both quite pleased with the results. How it compares to the real thing, I have no idea, but it's probably better for my psyche that I never know that.


Cheesesteaks
Serves 2
Cook & Prep Time - 15 minutes

INGREDIENTS
1/2 lb deli roast beef
1/2 green pepper, sliced thinly
1 small onion, sliced
butter & olive oil
salt & pepper
1 hoagie buns
1/3 cup melted cheese whiz or 6 slices provolone

DIRECTIONS
Season roast beef slightly with salt & pepper. Cook in equal parts butter & olive oil over medium-low to medium heat. After a couple minutes, add the onions and peppers to the pan and saute until just tender.

Meanwhile, melt the cheese whiz in a small saucepan or double boiler.

Toast the buns, if desired. Add meat, veggies, and cheese in desired amounts. Consider slicing in half to make it easier to eat, and enjoy.