I don’t know how many times even just my hubby and I can’t agree on what we want for supper. I can’t imagine how hard it must be sometimes to feed a large family! I’ll eat just about anything I’m not allergic to, but the hubs, well, let’s just say he has earned his nickname, “Mr. Picky Picky Pants”! I’m sure there’s at least one in every family! When I was a child, it was ME! So I can sympathize! 😉

Though he has come a long way since I first met him, he’s still far from, shall we say, “adventurous” when it comes to the food world. He’s learning to trust me and try new things, but it’s still like pulling teeth and not a guarantee that he’ll like it.

If your family has picky eaters and greatly different palates, this might be a fun solution for you, too!

I decided to take a chuck roast and season it well, but keeping it basic enough to be able to use in a variety of completely different sandwiches, but all having at least some common toppings to keep it all inexpensive and not overly out of control. This ended up working beautifully!

The amount of seasonings may seem like a lot, but it wasn’t. So just trust me and go with it. 😉

I simply cooked the beef in the crock pot with a can of beef consommé, fresh garlic and basic seasonings until fall-apart tender. I then removed the meat, discarded the fat, and pulled the meat into nice, succulently juicy chunks.

I strained the broth from the crock into a glass measuring cup and refrigerated it until the fat rose to the top and solidified. I removed the fat, ladled a little of the clarified broth over the beef to keep it moist, and then transferred the rest of the “au jus”, or beef broth, to a freezer-safe container and froze it for a later use.

One package of pita bread, some lettuce and tomatoes were purchased, and the rest of the ingredients were already on hand to make several different kinds of pita sandwiches!

The first one up was for my hubby! He loves Mexican-style food, and I happened to already have lots of goodies to play with!

So I softened the pita bread in the microwave, wrapped in damp paper towels until it was pliable, and leaned it up against a glass to fill it easily and keep a fold in tact.

I started with a nice base of spicy refried beans!

I piled it with big, juicy chunks of the tender beef….

…then simply added some bottled taco sauce for the extra seasoning so that it would have a Mexican flavor!

Next added was a nice handful of shredded lettuce….

….and chopped, fresh tomato.

I had a dab of Mexican-blend shredded cheese begging to be used, so a generous handful of that was added, too!

A big dollop of sour cream topped this hearty, two-hand pita sandwich beautifully! (*After I took the photo, the hubs finally found the guacamole in the fridge! It went on, too, but my hungry hubby dove in and I didn’t get a photo of that added.)

If this one had been for me, I would’ve also added some pickled jalapeños. But you can dress this up any way you choose! 😀

Once the beef is cooked, pulled and put into a bowl or container, the sandwiches come together quickly and easily, and the meat reheats in the microwave beautifully! They make for a wonderful lunch or quick summertime supper!

They are VERY hearty and filling, though! I only used a 1/2 cup of beef on mine and that was more than plenty for me. The hubs has a much heartier appetite and his had a whole cup. So just know what everyone can handle when assembling.

These were absolutely DELICIOUS and a huge hit! And you can have fun topping them with whatever ingredients you like on your tacos or burritos! Other fun toppings would be sliced or diced avocado, pico de gallo, salsa, hot sauce, black olives, shredded radishes, and chopped onions or snipped scallions! The sky is the limit!

Be sure to pop back by my blog to see what other fun and frugal sandwiches can be created from one simple batch of inexpensive beef cooked until melt-in-your-mouth tender in a crock pot! I have more fun sandwiches coming! 😀

*I’ll update this post, and the following posts, with links to the rest of the recipe ideas as they are created! And I won’t make you keep double-clicking to come back to this one for the beef part. (I hate it when websites do that!) I’ll post how to make the beef on each one so that you don’t have to keep clicking all over the place. 😉

So I hope this lends a helping hand on what to make with a basic starter, and helps to keep everyone at the table happy! Stay tuned for the next one! I have at least three more coming for you! 😀

Links to the rest of this series! (*All will be added as I post them.)

Versatile Crock Pot Chuck Roast Part 2 / Mediterranean-Style Pulled Beef Pitas!
Versatile Crock Pot Chuck Roast Part 3 / American-Style Pulled Beef Pitas!
Versatile Crock Pot Chuck Roast Part 4 / Asian-Style Pulled Beef Pitas!
Versatile Crock Pot Chuck Roast Part 5 / Italian-Style Pulled Beef Pita Pizzas!

Versatile Crock Pot Chuck Roast Part 1 / Mexican-Style Pulled Beef Pitas!

Ingredients

For the Beef:

2 1/2 - 3 lbs. chuck roast, (mine weighed 2.71 lbs.)
2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. coarse ground black pepper
2 tsp. onion powder
2 tsp. garlic powder
4 tsp. dried oregano
1 (10 1/2 oz.) can beef consommé
4 large garlic cloves, grated

For 1 Mexican-Style Pita Sandwich:

1 - 6" pita bread round
3 Tbl. spicy refried beans
1/2 - 1 cup pulled beef, as desired
3 Tbl. taco sauce, or to taste (hot, medium or mild)
1/2 cup shredded lettuce
1/4 of a plum tomato, chopped
1/3 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese
1 Tbl. sour cream
1 Tbl. guacamole
hot sauce to taste, optional

Instructions

Pat one side with half of the seasonings.

In crock pot, add beef consommé and grate in garlic. Stir.

Place roast in seasoned side-down.

Season other side with rest of seasonings.

Place on lid and turn crock pot on to High for 15 minutes.

Reduce heat to Low, and continue cooking until fall-apart tender, about 6 hours.

Remove meat to a baking sheet, pour juices from crock into a large glass measuring cup, and refrigerate juices.

Shred meat with 2 forks, or leave in bite-sized chunks if preferred. Cover to keep moist.

When fat has solidified on top of juices, remove, then pour most of the juice over the meat to keep it from drying out.

Use what you need, and freeze the rest for later uses.

For Mexican-Style Pita Sandwich:

Warm pita bread in microwave wrapped in a damp paper towel to soften until pliable. Spread with refried beans. Top with desired amount of warm pulled beef, taco sauce, lettuce, tomato, cheese, sour cream and guacamole. Fold up like a taco and enjoy!