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| Make Meal #1 of this 3 Envelope Roast a traditional supper of roast & mashed potatoes and Meal #2 can feature these yummy sliders made with caramelized onion and Swiss cheese on toasted buns. |
Three Envelope Crockpot Roast Beef
A well loved recipe, this Three Envelope Roast could possibly be the easiest roast recipe ever. Made with one envelope of dry onion soup mix, one envelope of dry Italian dressing mix, and one envelope of dry brown gravy mix and a little bit of water - dump it all in a crockpot and that, folks, is it!One important thing to note here. Since this roast recipe is based on the use of convenience products, don't be tempted to add any additional salt or other seasonings. Additionally, you would likely want to avoid this recipe altogether if you are on a sodium restricted diet, since there is just no way to reduce the sodium in these packaged products, except to make your own copycat replacements of each of these envelope packets. Skip the Salt website is an excellent resource to make your own packets and they have substitutes for all three packets used here.
One of our Facebook readers reminded me of this roast recently, and it'd been awhile since I'd made one. With the big game around the corner, I thought it'd be a flavorful roast to use to make some roast beef sliders.
Just as I was about to put this roast in the crockpot, the doorbell rang and the UPS guy handed me a box containing samples of Pace Picante Sauce. I wondered if adding picante sauce to this already flavorful roast could possibly transform it even further. In case you missed it, the other jar was used to make a terrific Picante Shrimp Dip, using some leftover shrimp from the New Orleans Style BBQ Shrimp I had just made. The dip was amazing and I loved the added flavor from the Pace Picante Sauce.
I stuck the chuck roast in the crockpot, though any braising roast will do, then whisked together those three envelopes with a cup of water and poured it over and around the roast. Then all I had to do was pop the lid on the Pace Picante Sauce. You could also sear your roast first if you like - I didn't.
Pour the picante sauce right on top, cover and cook the roast on low for about 8 hours, or until the roast is fork tender. Time is gonna depend on the size of your roast, and the efficiency of your crockpot.
Of course, y'all know that meal number one out of this recipe had to be a plate of roast with mashed potatoes and gravy. For the gravy, I poured off the pan sauce into a saucepan, just so that I could get it heated faster. Added a slurry of 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with just a enough water to loosen it, bring to a boil and then simmer for a few minutes. The Pace Picante Sauce worked well with this roast and I liked the additional tang of it. The Cajun said the roast was so tender you could "cut it with a spoon." Just marvelous.
The leftovers went into the fridge to make meal number two sliders the next day. If you want intentional leftovers for the sliders, purchase a slightly large roast.
Now... for the sliders, I decided to add some caramelized onion. Glad I did. Despite the fact that the roast was cooked with an envelope of onion soup mix, the caramelized onions were a perfect accent for the sliders. While the onions were going, I toasted the rolls in the oven. I just used a package of split dinner rolls.
Then I finely grated some Swiss cheese. I thought the fine shred would work better than slices on these mini sandwiches. I then gently warmed up the beef in the microwave and pulled it apart with a fork to shred it. Remember the beef is already cooked so you don't want to overcook it. Just use the warm or low setting on your microwave to take the chill off.
Pile the beef on the toasted buns and top with a pinch of the caramelized onion.
Pile on a little bit of the shredded cheese and top the sliders. I wrapped the whole tray tightly with foil and returned it to the oven just long enough to melt the cheese. You could also run them through the microwave for a few seconds to melt the cheese if you prefer.
Stack 'em up and pass 'em out while they are still warm - though they are pretty darned good even at room temperature. I only made a half dozen here - you know, just for testing purposes. You can make as many as you have the roast left for!
For more of my favorite slow cooker recipes, visit my page on Pinterest!
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Disclosure: As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received a free sample of PACE Picante Sauce.
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