There’s nothing quite like coming home after a long day out and being greeted with the heady, spicy scent of this braised beef.  It cooks up so perfectly in the crock pot.  If you’re tired enough, and stressed enough, and overwhelmed enough, it may just bring a tear of relief to your eye.

I’ve been making this beef recipe for about six years.  It was one of my first “hit” recipes.  There are many reasons to love it.  First, it’s easy.  “Set it and forget it” kind of easy.  Second, it’s delicious and special.  It’s Sunday-worthy, for sure.  Third, it’s economical.  You use top round and cook it down in the crockpot for about nine hours and it shreds right up.  You can feed a big family (like mine) and have enough to make enchiladas for later.  I make beef and black bean enchiladas that freeze up very well.  I’ll post that recipe soon.
It’s very easy to get this recipe started in the crock pot.  I hate the crockpot recipes that require an extended measure of prep work.  The whole reason why I’m starting dinner at seven in the morning is because I don’t have time for anything else.  And at seven in the morning I have a limited threshold for annoyance.  I have the time and patience for about three minutes of prep work.

All you have to do is pour all the ingredients into the crockpot, set it to low, and nine to ten hours later, it’s done.  Although I have let it cook for twelve hours, and it’s perfect then, too.  It’s the ideal recipe for the over-extended, over-worked person who still wants to eat well.

Shannon’s Braised Beef:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes

1 3-5 pound top round roast (bottom round works too)

2 teaspoons garlic powder

2 teaspoons onion powder

1 1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1 – 3 teaspoons salt.  This REALLY depends on what brand of crushed tomatoes you use.  I find that when I use my Contadina tomatoes (from amazon) 3 teaspoons (1 Tbs) salt is perfect, but with Hunt’s crushed tomatoes, 1 teaspoon salt is quite enough. 

1 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

Add all the ingredients (in the order listed), into the crockpot.  Olive oil first, then the tomatoes.  Nestle the roast right into the tomatoes and cover with seasonings.  Top it all off with balsamic vinegar.  Set your crockpot to low and cook for 9-10 hours.   When it’s done, shred, cover with sauce and serve.

This delicious beef goes with about every starch, but I find that couscous works best for us.  It’s delicate and delicious, and it’s super fast and easy to cook.  I cook couscous in my rice cooker.  It takes about twenty minutes and is fail-proof.
My Olive Oil and Pepper Roasted Carrot Sticks go very well with this beef dish.  Recipe coming soon.

I hope your family loves this recipe as much as mine does.

Thanks for reading my post.  Have a great day!