Dinner has been rather uninteresting as of late, mainly due to practicality. With the fall schedule back in full swing, we have something going on every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday evening and some Mondays. Which means if I want a chance at gathering my family around the table, even for a few minutes it needs to be a meal with mass appeal and one that can be eaten fairly quickly. For now I have to put my desire to try things like the garlic mushroom quinoa and the thai chicken salad I have pinned and go with tried and true favorites. This recipe falls into that category.
I’m a midwest girl. Despite being in the South 6 years now (?!) and having a fair amount of it rub off, I’m still a midwesterner at heart. One of the meals that it seemed every midwest mom knew how to cook growing up was called Italian Beef. I remember having it at funerals, family gatherings and weeknight meals. The general gist of it was to put a roast in a crock pot, pour over italian dressing mix, add water and cook all day. Shred and serve on kaiser rolls with juice. There are variations that include pepperocinis and other acoutrements, but I like the classics.
When I first started trying to come up with ideas for fast and easy weeknight meals, this one immediately popped into my mind. After trying to find a recipe and not liking the ingredients in any of them, I decided to do my own thing.
My kids aren’t big on spicy, and most recipes call for peppers. I don’t like the high salt levels in the italian dressing mix so I add my own version of it. And why fill the crock pot up with water when you could add beer?! I started out searing my meat before plopping it into the slow cooker, but the past few times I was in a rush and just threw it in without searing. There was no difference, so I’m all about the easy route from here on out! I used grass fed lean stew meat this time because it was what I had around, but a roast would work well too. Whatever is cheaper (although with beef, my recommendation is always to go with grass fed)!
While the standby is to serve this as sandwiches, and I do that quite a bit, I’ve come up with a few additional ways to serve it as well. I always make at least enough for two servings and freeze the other one. A few of the other ways I like to use this is just over rice with a salad on the side, in tacos, to add to a grilled cheese sandwich with a light soup, and as part of a build your own burrito bowl meal. If you add sautéed mushroom, just a teaspoon of dijon and a couple tablespoons of sour cream, you can have a quick beef stroganoff as well!
Italian Beef
2 pounds of chuck roast, or 2 pounds of lean stew meat
1 bottle of beer (any will do, but I’d avoid IPA’s or Lagers)
1/4 teaspoon each of garlic powder, celery salt, and onion powder
3/4 teaspoon of oregano and basil
1 teaspoon each of agave (or honey), salt and pepper
1 tablespoon of organic Better than Bouillon beef base
Rolls, buns or rice to serve with
Place meat in slow cooker, add spices, seasonings and agave. Pour beer over, then stir in the beef base. Cook on low for 8 hours. At the end of 8 hours, press meat lightly with a fork to shred. Serve shredded meat and juice together.
