Crockpot Italian Beef Recipe

Several years ago, our neighbor kids kept raving about the delicious Italian Beef dinner they were going to have. FINALLY, my neighbor was kind enough to save a tiny bit for me to try….

Can I say….YUM?

After tasting, I can assure you it is DELICIOUS. And, I was kind enough to share with David that night anyway.

Fast forward to today….on Facebook I commented on how much I liked my neighbors recipes. And then she messaged me to ask for the recipe again….so I thought in honor of good neighbors, school starting, and not having blogged for a very long time (I know, but summer time is soooo busy)….I am posting the recipe here.

Enjoy.

You will. No doubt about it.

WARNING: This is likely to become one of your families favorite recipes. You might have to fix it for multiple birthdays, have it requested at familygatherings, etc. Consider yourself warned.

4 1/2 to 5 pound beef roast (we like to use London Broil or sirloin or bottom round….less fatty, so we watch for them on sale…we also sometimes cook about twice this much at once. Two big roasts are my norm….and I do the rest shifting measurements to how we like it….make it once and make your own adjustments!)

32 ounce jar of Italian Giardiniera, drained

32 ounce jar Pepperocini Peppers

1 envelope Zesty Italian dressing

10 ounces can condensed beef broth

Preparation

Combine dry salad dressing mix with condensed beef broth and put in bottom of crock pot. Add beef to mixture. Drain Giardinieraand pour over roast. Add Pepperocini peppers, including liquid.

Cover and cook on LOW for 12-14 hours until meat is tender (very tender). Remove meat from crock pot and drain crock post mixture saving the juice. Put juice back into the crock pot with meat. Add 4 cups hot water with 8 beef bullion cubes dissolved into crock pot.

Shred meat with fork into the mixture.

Put on sub sandwich rolls or french bread.

Serve with the veggies and peppers, chips and raw veggies….not much else is needed or wanted with this yummy dinner!

Since I have been avoiding soy, we make a few substitutions. We use Organic Full Circle Broth, or some other boxed broth with no msg. instead of any of the broth…we add the equivilant of a can at the beginning and then the rest at the end in place of the water or bullion. We add some salt and garlic powder to this to make up for the salt.

We also have made up a combination of spices for the zesty Italian dressing. Tablespoon of Italian seasoning, teaspoon of sugar, teaspoon of salt, tablespoon dried minced onions, 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder. This is a pretty good approximation (that or we have just forgotten what the original tastes like!) And, in addition to not having any of the stuff I can’t have, it saves us a dollar or two!

The other meal that we love from these neighbors are called Haystacks. I will share those another time….isn’t it great how lives and food intertwine? What favorite recipes have you gotten from your friends? And when do you serve them? Thanks, Barb, for the memories of our lives living next to you! It was a blast and a blessing!