Peperoncini Pulled Beef Sandwiches with Roasted Potato & Garlic Salad – $10 or Less Meal

These sandwiches are so good and easy. There’s two ingredients involved, it takes less than 5 minutes to prep and they are perfect for summer get-togethers (and for cold winter evenings).  I got this recipe (for the beef) from my daughter-in-law and when she was telling me how good it was, I have to admit I thought it sounded kind of weird but believe me….it’s delicious! The peperoncini peppers can be found on the condiment aisle at your local grocery store. The potato salad is an Emeril Lagasse recipe from his Potluck cookbook and it pairs great with the sandwiches. Both of these recipes can be doubled if you’re having company over….if you do double the beef recipe, make sure you increase your cooking time. The beef cooks in a crock pot/slow cooker. This entire meal feeds four for $9.13.

PEPERONCINI PULLED BEEF SANDWICHES

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 4 to 5 hours on low

Serves: 4 for $5.92

Ingredients:

• 1 beef roast, boneless (I used beef chuck top blade roast that was on sale for $3.99 lb)
• 1 16 oz jar peperoncini peppers (I bought these on sale when they were buy one get one free)
• 4 hamburger buns

Skip the bun and the meal becomes gluten free.

Directions:

Cut the stems off the peperoncini peppers. Do not discard the juice! Put roast in a crock pot/slow cooker. Add the peppers and pour the jar of juice over the roast. Cook on low for 4 to 5 hours. When beef has cooled enough to handle, shred with a fork. You can roughly chop the peppers if you want or leave whole. Pile on buns and enjoy!……*This is so good as is, you don’t need to add anything to your sandwich.

ROASTED POTATO AND GARLIC SALAD

(From Emeril’s Potluck Cookbook)….I changed it up a bit to fit my budget

 Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 35-40 minutes

Serves: 4 for $3.21

Ingredients:

• 2 lb new potatoes or red potatoes, cut into bite size pieces
• 5/8 cup extra virgin olive oil (1/2 cup plus 1/8 cup)
• 5/8 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 head of garlic (the whole thing) with the top 1/2 inch cut off (you don’t even have to peel it)
• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil or extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup chopped sweet onion
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup chopped green onion
• 1/2 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon fresh chopped rosemary
• 1 teaspoon fresh chopped parsley

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place the potatoes in a large roasting pan and toss with 1/8 cup of the extra virgin olive oil. Season with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Wrap the garlic head in foil and add to the pan. Roast the potatoes and garlic until tender, about 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand until cool enough to handle.

Meanwhile, heat the 1/2 tablespoon of olive or extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sweet onion and cook until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.

Once the garlic is cool enough to handle, squeeze as much pulp as possible from the head into the bowl of a food processor. Add the egg, green onion, lemon juice, rosemary, and remaining salt and pepper. Puree until smooth. With the machine running, slowly add the remaining 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil. The mixture will thicken.

Combine the potatoes and cooked onions in a large bowl. Toss with the garlic dressing and the parsley. Serve immediately.