Open Faced Beef Sandwiches

Edited October 6th:  Welcome friends from Mel's Crock-tober link up!

This amazing recipe starts in the crockpot and ends in the broiler.  There are a few steps, but many of them can be done ahead of time...plus the ease of the whole crockpot thing!  It's great for only your family and fun enough for company!

Please.  Try this.  It's worth the little extra work!

Who are we kidding, I rarely make up a recipe.  I'm really good at picking recipes, but I'm not going to say that I'm much of a recipe developer at this point.

This recipe, though, I did develop!  It's very loosely inspired by something I had at a restaurant, but most of it came up from my noggin :)

Along with the Island Spice Pork Tenderloin with Mango Avocado Salsa, this is one of my favorites!  

Let me introduce you...

The long name is Open Faced Beef Sandwiches with Caramelized Onions and Sauteed Balsamic Glazed Mushrooms with Melted Provolone Cheese.

Yeah, that's really long, so we'll stick with Open Faced Beef Sandwiches!

There are a few steps to this recipe, but none of them are complicated and they can all be done ahead of time.

Let's start with the beef.  

Where's the beef?

Here's the beef!

Just plop a pot roast into your slow cooker.  Add some salt and pepper and between 1/2 cup and 1 cup of water.  Cover and cook until done.  You can do it on high or low, depending on how much time you have on your hands and how big your roast is.  

Next, you're going to make the caramelized onions.  There are about one million recipes about how to make caramelized onions, but I mostly followed this one.

I used 3 red onions.  That's not what people usually use for caramelized onions, but that's what I had.  

I cut them in half through the root.

Peel them and slice.

See how I sliced them there?  Apparently that's the "authentic" way, but I really don't think it matters.

Next, melt 1-2 tablespoons of butter with 1-2 tablespoons of oil in a pan over medium heat.  Add all of your onions.  Toss with a little salt and pepper.

Let them cook for a few minutes over medium until they start to cook down.  After the first few minutes, turn the heat down to medium low.

This is the long part.  You are going to stir them every few minutes until they are all brown.  This will take anywhere from 30-60 minutes.  This isn't active time by any means.  This is wash a few dishes, stir the onions.  Flip a load of laundry, stir the onions.  

You get the picture :)

They are done when they look like this:

They really shrink down a lot.  If there seems like there's a lot of excess grease, you can put them on a paper towel lined.

Now that they are done, you can pop them in the fridge until you are ready to fix supper.

Next up, we have the mushrooms.

Wash and slice the mushrooms.  You can buy sliced mushrooms, but I like to slice my own.  I find that the pre-sliced ones are sliced thicker than I like, but that's a personal preference. 

Heat up about a tablespoon of oil over medium and add the sliced mushrooms. 

Sautee until browned.  This takes like 5 minutes.

Once they are browned, then add salt and pepper and a splash of balsamic vinegar (about a tablespoon) and the same amount of water (about a tablespoon).  It'll steam when you add the vinegar and water.  Stir until coated...about a minute.

Here's what it looks like when they're done.

They shrink a lot, too!  Set aside until you're ready to serve.

Once the pot roast is cooked, shred it, and put it back into the slow cooker to keep it warm.

See, your sandwiches are pretty much done now.  You just have to put them together when it's time to eat!

I use the ciabatta rolls from Walmart for this.  They are perfect!

Split your ciabatta rolls and toast.

You know, in your toaster.  That may seem obvious, but I felt it was worth mentioning :)

Top the bread with meat, onions, mushrooms, and provolone cheese.  If the meat, onions, and mushrooms have been in the fridge, reheat them in the microwave first.

Broil until the cheese is melted.

I love serving this to a group (probably not more than 8 adults, though).  All of the elements can be made ahead of time and the sandwiches are easily customize-able.

They would be great with Miss Felicia's Potato Casserole.  I even like serving them with a bag of chips and a salad.

Give these a try...I bet they'll be one of your favorites, too!

If you want to pin this recipe, you can just put your mouse on a picture and a little "pin it" button will appear.  Click it and you can pin it!

I'm linking up with Mel from The Larson Lingo for Crock-tober!