Roasted to Perfection

The weather is turning and there is a chill in the air.  This is my favorite time of year.  The season of comfort food! I tried two new recipes this past week; French Dip Sandwiches and Root Vegetable Gratin.

French Dip Sandwiches
What you will need:  rump roast (4-5lbs), a packet of french onion soup, a packet of roast beef seasoning (I think McCormick was the brand I used), 1 can beef broth, hoagie buns, mozzarella slices, onion, green pepper

Place the roast in your slow cooker.  In a bowl mix the broth and seasonings.  Pour over the roast and cook on low for 8 hours.  After the 8 hours, shred the beef and place it back into the slow cooker for another hour.  Before serving sandwiches, saute onion and green pepper slices in olive oil.  Heat your broiler.  Line the hoagie bun with a slice of cheese on one side and the pile of meat and peppers on the other.  Place under the broiler until the cheese is melted.  Serve with a side of juice from the crock pot.

Root Vegetable Gratin
This recipe came from Sandra Lee's Semi Homemade.  I like to watch the Food Network when I'm working out.  It seems to be the only time I get to watch TV and learn new recipes.  I have never tried parsnips so I thought I would try this recipe.  Here is the link for the recipe.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sandra-lee/root-vegetable-au-gratin-recipe/index.html
I changed a few things.  I didn't have thyme so I used a bay leaf in the milk.  I did not use the canola oil, but instead used 3 tbsp of butter.  Otherwise I followed the recipe closely.  I wasn't a big fan of the parsnips.  They have an interesting flavor. The great thing about this recipe is the base you start with. If you read the mac and cheese recipe I posted, the base is exactly the same.  You can use this base for gratin potatoes as well.