Hot Beef Sandwiches Au Jus

I know what you're thinking, where's the sandwich? When my boyfriend and I were planning this meal, we decided to minus the bun to be a bit healthier. Plus, then nothing could take away from the flavor and tenderness this meat got! It was perfect plain or dipped in the heart cup full of jus. 

[sidenote: yup, it is just jus. My cookbook taught me the yummy juice is just called jus. Au jus means "with the juice."]

This was the first time I made this. Also, this was the first recipe I made from my new slow cooker cookbook I got for Christmas from my roommate, Tonia. Thanks again! I'll definitely make this hot beef recipe again. But not for awhile because I froze two containers of it. This recipe makes a lot! 

Hot Beef Sandwiches Au Jus

recipe from Crock-Pot's Best Loved Slow Cooker Recipes book

Ingredients
4 lbs beef rump roast
2 envelopes (1 oz each) dried onion soup mix (I used Lipton)
2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
2 cans  (101/5 oz. each) beef broth
1 can beer

Instructions
1. Trim fat from beef and discard. Place in slow cooker
2. Combine soup mix, sugar, oregano, garlic, broth, and beer in large mixing bowl
3. Pour mixture over beef

4. Cover and cook on high for 6 to 8 hours or until beef is tender
[Every once in awhile, I flipped the roast over but this is not needed - you can leave it alone for the whole cook time if you want]
5. Remove beef from slow cooker. Shred beef with two forks. Return to slow cooker and mix well
6. Serve on rolls or alone with extra jus on the side for dipping
7. Enjoy!

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Easy Chili

This is a simple chili recipe that you can make for picky eaters or to use as a baseline and add ingredients (aka to be creative!). My stepmom makes this recipe all the time because it is one of the family's favorites.

I was really craving chili since two of my roommates made batches once the weather started to get colder. But, I didn't have any chili leftovers stashed in my freezer from home (when I visit home its always a request I make). So, I got the recipe from my parents and I realized it's pretty easy! Usually I see it being made on the stovetop but since my day was going to be busy, I opted for the slow cooker. I had an afternoon badger basketball game to go to and the Big 10 Championship game to watch after. I prepared it in the morning and it was ready to enjoy when the football game began. It was perfect - the chili was great and the badgers won!

Easy Chili
from my stepmom, Jennifer

Ingredients
1 large can Sacramento tomato juice
3/4 lb. ground beef
3 to 4 c. elbow noodles
3 Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp sugar

Directions
1. Brown ground beef and drain grease
2. Cook elbow noodles according to box
3. Mix together tomato juice, chili powder and sugar
4. Place beef and tomato juice mixture into crockpot. Put on low for about 4 to 6 hours, stir occasionally (or when you want to peek)

5. Put cooked noodles in fridge for later (I like my noodles close to al dente so I did not add it to the crockpot - they may get mushy if they are added)
6. After 4 to 6 hours, add the noodles and stir

7. Enjoy with shredded (Wisconsin) cheddar cheese :)

Root beer Pulled Pork

I love this recipe! It is super delicious but super easy! The first time I ate root beer pulled pork, my boyfriend made it for me on my birthday. He had never had it before but was confident it would taste great. Since then, it has been one of our favorite dinners to have together. 

I made this one week day when we were both craving it. It is super easy to put together in the morning and let it cook all day as you're in class or working (or in my case, spending the whole day writing and perfecting a paper). Plus, it always leaves us left overs to enjoy later in the week. 

Root beer Pulled Pork

Ingredients

1 pork tenderloin (approximately 2 pounds)

2 cans of root beer (or enough to submerge the tenderloin)

1 bottle of Sweet Baby Ray's Barbecue sauce

Directions

1. Pour root beer over the pork tenderloin in a slow cooker (make sure the tenderloin is not frozen)

2. Cook on low for approximately 7 to 8 hours

3. Drain the root beer and shred the pork with two forks

4. Add the Sweet Baby Ray's barbecue sauce and cook on low until warm (about 15 minutes)

5. Enjoy!

Crockpot Barbecue Beer Pulled Pork

One of my favorite things about going to graduation parties when I was in high school was always the food.  Besides the cake (shout out to Craig's Cake Shop in Verona, WI!), you could almost always count on there to be some sort of hot sandwich served, and most likely that sandwich was going to be pulled pork.  I usually got my fair share of pulled pork to last until the next graduation party season, but now that I'm in college, my pulled pork needs are just not being met!

So, I decided I needed to take matters into my own hands.  I've always heard that it was pretty easy to make, and seeing as it was a Badger football Saturday and roommate Tonia wanted everyone to get up early to tailgate before the 11am game, I thought it would be a pretty good occasion to try out my luck.

Ingredients

• 3 lbs pork roast (mine was actually 3.3 lbs)
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 8 ounces beer
• 32 ounces barbecue sauce

Season both sides of the pork roast with the onion powder, paprika, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.  I did not measure them out exactly but instead approximated.

Add the pork roast, beer, and most of the barbecue sauce to the crockpot.  I used Bud Light but would maybe suggest using a darker beer to add a little more flavor.  

Set the crockpot to cook on low.  It will need to cook for about 8 hours.  When I got back from the Badger game (victory over Indiana!) the pork had been cooking for about 6 hours and I found that it had floated to the top of the sauce, so I flipped it over to make sure both sides got thoroughly cooked.

A couple hours later I came back to get ready to shred the pork.  Mine actually ended up cooking for closer to 9 hours.

Pull the pork out of the crockpot and set it on a cutting board or pan.  Then take two forks and start pulling the pork apart and shredding it.

After the pork is shredded, put it back in the crockpot and stir in with the sauce.  Add more barbecue sauce as desired to taste.

Serve on a bun and enjoy!  

I shared my pulled pork with three of my roommates and my boyfriend, ate some leftovers the next day for lunch, and still had probably four sandwiches worth that I put in the freezer.

Recipe adapted from this crockpot barbecue beer chicken recipe.