Easy Crock Pot French Dip Sandwiches

Adapted from AllRecipes.com user lonwolf32

Reportedly yields 9 servings:

4 pounds rump roast
1 (10.5 ounce) can beef broth
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed French onion soup
1 (12 fluid ounce) bottle of Guiness
9 slices of provolone
9 French rolls

Trim excess fat from the rump roast, and place in a slow cooker. Add the beef broth, garlic, onion soup and beer. Cook on Low setting for 7 hours.

Remove the meat from the slow cooker, slice diagonally, and place back in the sauce. Leave this in the slow cooker up to 1 additional hour on low.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), Split French rolls, and top with cheese. Bake 10 minutes, or until heated through and cheese is melted. Place beef in roll and use au jus for dipping.

Baked Ziti

This recipe was inspired by a recipe from Knottie Rosie109. I initially tripled it to feed 20 people (with leftovers). This one makes 8 generous servings.

1 lb whole wheat penne pasta (or ziti)
24 oz container of fat free ricotta cheese
8oz shredded mozzarella cheese
1 large jar Prego spaghetti sauce
1 lb extra lean ground beef
1 clove garlic, diced or pressed
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg

1- Preheat oven to 400.

2- Brown the ground beef with the garlic and drain. Cook the pasta in boiling, well salted water until al-dente (approx 8 minutes). Drain and rinse the pasta under cold water.

3- Beat the egg in a large bowl. Add in the ricotta, salt, 3/4 the mozzarella and 1/2 the spaghetti sauce.

4- Add the hamburger and pasta and mix well.

5- Place the whole mixture in a greased lasagna or 9x13 pan. Top with remaining spaghetti sauce and mozzarella, and the entire amount of Parmesan.

6- At this point, you can either refrigerate for cooking the next day, or bake for 30 minutes, or until bubbly and brown. If you refrigerate, increase the cooking time by 15 minutes to account for the initial temperature difference. Allow to rest 10 minutes before cutting.

Beef Tamale Bake

Adapted from Pampered Chef  "It's Good For You Cookbook"
Yields 8 servings

1 1/2 cups yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup hot tap water
2 egg whites
3 tbsp. melted butter (always the real thing, unsalted)

1lb. extra lean ground beef
3 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. cumin
1 garlic clove, pressed or minced
1 jar thick and chunky salsa (we like Ana's from the produce section)
1 large (more than 15.5 oz) can of beans (black, pinto, kidney, whatever you have)
1/2 cup shredded reduced fat Mexican blend cheese

1- Preheat oven to 400. Spray or butter a 9x13 pan.

2- Combine corn meal, flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Add the egg whites, water and butter and mix well. Spread the batter evenly in to the pan.

3- In a large skillet over medium high heat, brown the ground beef with the cumin, chili powder, and garlic until it is no longer pink. Add the salsa and beans and bring to a boil.

4- Spread the beef mixture over the cornmeal mixture and bake 30-35 minutes, until the crust begins to brown. Place a cookie sheet on the rack below the pan if you are worried about it bubbling over and getting the bottom of your oven all grody.

5- Remove from oven, top with cheese, and let stand 5 minutes before cutting into 8 pieces.

Amount Per Serving

Calories 365.2

Total Fat 17.0 g

Saturated Fat 7.4 g

Polyunsaturated Fat 1.0 g

Monounsaturated Fat 5.7 g
Cholesterol 55.8 mg

Sodium 722.1 mg

Potassium 375.9 mg

Total Carbohydrate 36.8 g

Dietary Fiber 6.9 g

Sugars 0.7 g

Protein 20.2 g

Sirloin Tips with Mushrooms

Adapted from Allrecipes.com
I increased the ratio of mushrooms to meat to make it a bit healthier.
Yield 4 servings

.75 to 1 lb tri tip sirloin, cut into 1 inch cubes
2 cloves of garlic, pressed
2 tbsp olive oil
10oz bag of pre-sliced baby bellas (cremini mushrooms)
3/4 c red wine
8oz can of tomato sauce
1/4 c water
1 tsp Hungarian paprika
1 bay leaf
a pinch of dried thyme
1 beef bullion cube (try low sodium)
2 cups cooked brown rice

1- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat until glossy, but not smoking. Add the beef and garlic and cook until the beef is brown on all sides.

2- Add the mushrooms and saute for 1-2 minutes.

3- Add in the red wine and use it to help scrape up all the good bits from the bottom of the pan.

4- Add the remaining ingredients (except the rice of course). Cover and simmer on low 45 minutes. The longer you cook it, the more tender the beef will be, but 45 minutes is generally a good length of time. Add more water if the sauce gets too thick.
* If you want the beef to be even more tender, get all of the ingredients up to a boil and dump them in a crock pot. Set on high for 2-4 hours, depending on how much time you have and how tender the beef gets.
5- Serve over rice.