Crockpot French Dip Beef

My husband loves french dip sandwiches. My son and I think they are pretty good, too, especially homemade. But we haven't had them in ages because we haven't been eating much bread while following the primal/paleo diet. With a new baby arriving in a couple of months, I've been trying to get some easy, tasty, nourishing foods in the freezer so that I can just pull them out for easy dinners after the baby is born. So I decided to make up some french dip beef a few weeks ago. It really couldn't be easier to make and it is so delicious! Using homemade beef bone broth and grass fed beef makes this a very nourishing meal, as well.  We ate it for dinner one night and I was able to put two containers of the beef and au jus into the freezer to have later on this summer. Kevin and Carson ate this on some buns, which obviously is not paleo, but I ate the beef on its own with some au jus over top.  I think I actually like it better without the bun, honestly.  I served it with some roasted vegetables - asparagus, mushrooms, and broccoli.

Crockpot French Dip Sandwiches

3-4 pound grass fed chuck roast
1/2 sweet onion, sliced
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 quart homemade beef broth
2 Tablespoons coconut aminos (a healthy alternative to soy sauce)
Water or more beef broth, enough to cover the roast by about 1/2 inch - the amount, or even whether you need it will depend on what size crockpot you are using. I used a 4-qt crock, so I only needed to add about 1/2 cup.

Place roast in crock. Add onions and garlic, broth, coconut aminos, and water, if needed.

Let cook on low all day until meat is very tender and falling off the bone. Remove the meat from crock and shred using two forks. Add shredded meat back into crock. Serve on its own with au jus over top, or on buns with a small ramekin of the au jus for dipping.

If freezing, be sure to include plenty of au jus in your containers.



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Sloppy Lentils

I tried a recipe from Passionate Homemaking on Monday for sloppy lentils. They are your typical sloppy joe, only meatless. And they are delicious! I liked them better than meaty sloppy joes, actually. Kevin and Carson loved them, too. Although, Kevin said he likes his meaty joes, too. :) I took some of the leftovers over to my MIL for a dinner for her and my BIL while my FIL was gone this week and they both really liked these, too.

These were fairly simple to make, as well. I actually cooked them on Sunday so we could just reheat them on Monday for dinner. My job is insane right now, so I'm finding I have to do more prep ahead than normal if we want to eat a decent dinner.

I'll update with a picture later on.

Sloppy Lentils

3 cups water
1 cup lentils, rinsed (I used brown)
salt to taste (optional)
1 cup chopped onion
3 tablespoons olive oil
15 oz can diced tomatoes
1/2-1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup ketchup
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1 tablespoon chili powder
3-5 tablespoons rapadura, molasses, or honey (I used honey)
1 Tbsp white vinegar
salt and ground black pepper to taste
4 hamburger buns, split

Soaking Step, optional (I did this): Allow lentils to soak overnight in warm filtered water with 2 Tablespoons acid medium (I used whey). Rinse and cook as described below.

Combine water and lentils in a saucepan. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until tender, about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. The cook time may depend on the type of lentil you use, too... so keep that in mind so that you don't overcook them.

Meanwhile, cook the onions in olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat until the onions have softened and are translucent. Add tomatoes, garlic, tomato paste, ketchup, mustard powder, chili powder, sweetener, vinegar, salt and pepper. Simmer 5 to 10 minutes until thickened.

Drain lentils and reserve cooking liquid. Stir lentils into sauce mixture, adding cooking liquid or water as needed to obtain the desired "sloppy joe" consistency. Serve on buns.

(I cooked my lentils, then drained and used the same deep pan to make the sauce so I wasn't dirtying two different pans.)

Crockpot Pulled Pork

I made this for dinner one night this week. Its from A Year of Slow Cooking. This was very good and very simple to throw together in the morning before work. Definitely a keeper recipe. We all really liked it a lot - Carson wanted a second sandwich, even!

I forgot to take any pictures.

Crockpot BBQ Pulled Pork

4 pounds boneless pork shoulder
1 onion, sliced in rings
2 cups ketchup
1/2 cup warm water
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon gluten free Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
(I also added a bit of honey)

Use a 6 quart crockpot. Trim meat, and place into your crockpot. Add sliced onion. Squeeze in 2 cups of ketchup, and then pour 1/2 cup warm water into the ketchup bottle and shake. (I skipped this and just added the water.) Pour the ketchup-y water into your crock. Add vinegar, brown sugar, Worcestershire, Tabasco and salt.

Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours, or until meat shreds easily with a fork. Serve over rice, or make sandwiches on rolls or sliced bread.

Cashew Avocado Chicken Salad

I made this chicken salad for our sandwiches for lunch this afternoon. I got the recipe from my SIL. It is absolutely delicious! Its nice and creamy and just so good! Kevin just tasted a tiny bit of it since he was afraid of the avocado giving him an allergic reaction this time of year, but he did like it. Carson and I both loved it! I will definitely be making this regularly. It was especially good on our homemade whole wheat bread! Yum!

Cashew Avocado Chicken Salad

4 cooked, boneless chicken breast halves, shredded (I used some pre-cooked and shredded chicken that I had frozen)
1/3 cup prepared Ranch salad dressing (I used mayo and some of my ranch dressing mix)
1 1/2 Tbsp. chopped fresh dill
1 cup cashews (I chopped mine to make it safer for Carson to eat)
1 avocado - peeled, pitted and diced
salt and pepper to taste

In a large bowl, mix the cooked chicken, dressing, dill, cashews, and avocado. Season with salt and pepper. Cover, and chill in the refrigerator at least 30 minutes.

I served mine on homemade sandwich bread with provolone cheese and baby spinach leaves.