Homemade Sandwich Rolls, BBQ Beef, and Cabbage Salad

It's hot in Minnesota, and I love it! It's light out until 9 PM at night. I can walk outside without adorning a parka (literally). Summer is here - and early! yay! In honor of the lovely weather, I made one of my favorite dishes: Barbeque Beef Sandwiches. I love this recipe because it takes about five minutes to start in the morning as you put everything into the slow cooker/crock pot, then a few more minutes at the end to shred the beef, and then done and delicious! When I lived in New York, I always used Dinosaur Barbeque Sauce in my BBQ Beef, but now I don't have immediate access to it. : ( I plan on trying to come up with my own personal BBQ sauce, but in the meantime, I'm experimenting with the types sold in the local grocery.

I decided to make my own rolls since I didn't have any laying around the house. Bread products are generally tricky for our household with the hubby being vegan. Often there can be milk or an egg wash that might sneak its way into the recipe, so I've been making more bread at home so I know what goes into it. I found this recipe for No Knead Sandwich Rolls. The advantage to these rolls are that you can start them at the same time as the beef, and then let them sit all day, and them work on them an hour or so before you want to eat, and you're done! The hubby liked the rolls so much he requested them when he went away for a conference this last weekend. The rolls have a nice crunchy crust and are nice and soft in the middle. Mmmm.

The cabbage salad recipe is my mother's. You can add more or less mayo depending on how creamy you like yours. I prefer mine a little lighter. I'm also a purist when it comes to mayonnaise and always use the real stuff. I'd rather eat less food with more taste than more food with less taste, but that's me.

I hope that you'll enjoy these delicious and refreshingly easy recipes soon!

Barbeque Beef

2.5 - 3 pounds beef chuck roast

1 cup (roughly) of BBQ sauce of your choice

1 chopped onion

1.) Trim fat off the beef and place it into the crock-pot.

2.) Add onions and BBQ sauce.

3.) Cover and cook on low for 10-12 hours until beef is tender.

4.) Shred meat using two forks.

5.) Serve either alone or with buns for a sandwich.

No Knead Sandwich Rolls

From About.com

1 1/2 cups warm (but not hot) water

1/4 teaspoon dry active yeast

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon sugar (I used raw sugar)

3 cups flour

cornmeal for the baking pans

1.) Add all ingredients (except the cornmeal) to a bowl and mix with a spoon until the ingredients are decently mixed. The dough is going to be very sticky. Once mixed, cover the bowl with a towel or saran wrap and let the dough sit for 12 hours. (I've done as little as 8 hours with success.) After the dough has sat for at least 8 hours (ideally 12), it will be bubbly and at least doubled in size.

2.) Place a 'generous' amount of cornmeal on a baking sheet - this prevents the rolls from sticking while baking. (Note: The first time I did this, I practically covered the bottom of the baking sheet with cornmeal, and then while the rolls were cooking, my whole place smelled like toasted cornmeal. The second time I made the recipe, I just put cornmeal in the areas where the rolls would be, and it worked just fine and smelled less toasty).

3.) To prepare the rolls, place a 1/4-1/2 cup of flour on a plate or counter top. Separate the dough into 8 pieces; since the dough is very sticky, I found it easiest to take a piece of the dough and roll/dust the outside with the flour on my plate so that the outside wasn't so sticky. Then, I could mold the piece of dough into a round shape and place it on my cornmeal-covered baking sheet.

4.) Once all the rolls are made and placed on the baking sheet, let them sit for 30 minutes to 1 hour so they may rise some more.

5.) Place a pie pan half filled with water on the bottom rack of the oven and heat the oven to 425 degrees. Bake the rolls on the middle / top rack for 25-30 minutes or until they are golden on the outside and sound hollow when tapped on top. Remove from the oven, and let them cool some before using.

Mom's Cabbage Salad

1 small cabbage finely chopped or shredded

1 apple sliced thinly

1/2 red onion sliced thinly

1-2 carrots cut into fine matchsticks or coarsely grated

Sauce:

1 cup mayonnaise

1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

1 Tablespoon sugar

1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon salt

3 Tablespoons celery seeds

1.) Place all sauce ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together.

2.) In a large bowl, place veggies. Pour in dressing and toss thoroughly.

3.) If you like a crunchier salad/slaw, serve immediately. If you'd like it to soften, cover the salad and refrigerate it for 1-2 hours before serving.