Pinterest Win: Crockpot Italian Beef Sandwiches

I first experienced this incredible sandwich when I was home on the farm visiting my Mom, sister and her family for a weekend, and ya know what? Enjoying THIS sandwich was what made me finally say, "Okay, maybe I need to make the jump to Pinterest".

It's not so much that Pinterest came up with this recipe or anything, it's that it helps you find recipes and ideas that you would never have thought of before. Like this one.

My mouth is literally watering right now just thinking about this sandwich, and it is one of those meals that Mark gets a little excited about too. But truth be told, he gets nowhere NEAR as excited about food as I do. But then again, I actually blog about what I eat, so I think that was a given haha :)

So let's talk about how much you need to make it really soon, okay? :)

It is seriously THE easiest recipe to get going. You throw a hunk of seasoned beef in the crockpot, pour in the rest of the ingredients and walk out the door.

I've found that for just the two (sometimes 3, if I didn't add too many pepperocinis and my toddler will eat it) of us, I always do the toasting/melting cheese part in the toaster oven as opposed to the oven: It's way faster.

I discovered this recipe off this link from MommySavers.com, and it is an instant classic for my family. It makes a ton, so it would easily feed a family of 4 or maybe even 6 if you had something as a side. We can make 3 or 4 meals out of it for the 2 of us, depending on how hungry we are, and it freezes and reheats awesome!

Italian Beef Sandwiches

Ingredients

For the crockpot:

• Beef bottom roast, 4-5 lb.
• One packet onion soup mix
• 2 tsp. basil leaves
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1/2 jar sliced pepperoncini with their juices
• 3 C. water

For the sandwiches:

• Hoagie rolls or buns***
• 1/2 stick butter or margarine, softened
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• Provolone cheese

***We have tried with both, and hamburger buns are nice for a smaller sandwich, but not as easy to dip as the hoagie rolls. Both taste about the same.

Directions

Rub the beef roast with dry ingredients and place in crock pot. Add water and pepperoncini, along with their juices. Cook on low all day 8-10 hours in the crock pot, until beef falls apart.

To assemble the sandwiches, combine softened butter or margarine with garlic powder. (Note: I have accidentally skipped the butter/garlic spread, and the sandwiches were delicious even without) Spread on hoagie rolls and bake at 350 degrees until the rolls have browned. Remove from oven.

Place Italian Beef on one side of each roll and top with Provolone cheese. Put sandwiches back in the oven to melt the cheese. Serve with juices from the crock pot to dip sandwiches.