Slow cooker beef roast: Cook once and eat twice!

My new favorite thing in the whole wide world is strategizing how to slow cook one meal and then easily turn it into a second meal.

This not only means less time cooking, it also means one less meal I have to plan.

Meal planning is my nemesis. I love to cook. I hate to come up with “What’s for dinner?”

A slow cooker beef roast is perfect for cooking once, eating twice. The beef roast benefits from a long, slow cook time, so it needs to cook an 8 hour day.

I do believe in giving it a quick sear on all sides before putting it in the slow cooker. It means one more dish, but other than that, it’s a pretty quick and painless process to get all the ingredients into the pot then just hit “cook on low” and walk away.

In this recipe, I picked up a boneless chuck roast from Whole Foods on sale for only $3.99/pound. That means my roast only cost me $11.50! From Whole Paycheck! And I’m splitting that cost across two meals. Can you say inexpensive?

I suggest you purchase a roast based on your family size. Our family of 4 – all with adult appetites – does well with a 3 pound roast. That breaks down to about 3 ounces of meat per family member per meal.

If your family needs a larger portion of meat to be satisfied, buy a larger roast. No matter what size you buy, it’s the same amount of cooking time. Booyah!

Slow Cooker Beef Roast

Slow Cooker Poblano Beef Roast

3 to 4 lb boneless chuck roast
Salt and pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup beef broth
4 cloves garlic
3 poblano peppers, seeded and chopped
2 bay leaves
1 large onion, chopped

Season roast with salt, pepper and garlic powder. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Sear beef on each side. Transfer beef to slow cooker. In a small bowl, whisk together broth and  garlic. Pour over roast. Add peppers, bay leaves, and onions. Cover and cook low on 8 hours. Shred roast.

Reserve 1/2 of shredded beef and ¼ cup of cooking liquid for Tacos with Jicama-Orange Slaw before serving.

Serve roast topped with poblanos. Excellent over rice or cauliflower rice with a side of black beans.

Tacos with Jicama-Orange Slaw

Reserved beef from Poblano Roast Beef
¼ cup reserved beef broth
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
1 medium jicama, peeled and shredded
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon grated orange rind
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper
Corn tortillas
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
Optional: avocado

In a saucepan, bring roast, broth and cumin to a simmer over medium heat. Cook until heated through.

In a medium bowl, toss together jicama, jalapeno, cilantro, orange rind, orange juice, oil, salt and pepper.

Heat tortillas according to package directions. Top tortillas with beef and slaw and serve with onions for topping. Optional: Add avocado

These tacos seriously take no time at all to prepare. And the flavor is on point.

The Poblano Beef Roast is Paleo, Whole 30, and Sugar Detox compliant as is. If you are following any of those plans, serve your tacos on lettuce wraps to be compliant.

Do you have any slow cook once, eat twice meals you make?