The crockpot has saved my life recently. When you work all day, the last thing you want to do is come home and make dinner. I made pulled pork the previous week, and it was good, but I wanted something that would make my taste buds dance.

Months ago, maybe even a year ago at this point (or longer!), James and I made beef brisket. This was a long, arduous process, that yes resulted in the most delicious dinners ever, but I don’t always have time to slave over the stove and oven. Since whatever I’m making for dinner must also be gluten free and paleo, I went to the blogs for some inspiration. PaleOMG provided said inspiration, and I made very few tweaks to her recipe for Crockpot Ropa Veija (original recipe found here). Not to mention the woman who writes that blog is hilarious.

Here’s what you need –

•  2 lb chuck roast (I bought mine from Savenor’s, and quality makes a difference here)
• 1 onion, sliced
• 2 peppers, sliced thin (I used red and green from our farm share)
• 1-6 ounce can of tomato sauce (I used my homemade tomato sauce, recipe found here)
• 1-14 ounce can of diced tomatoes
• 3 tbsp capers, drained (I used whatever I had left, which was probably a little less but if you have the full 3 tbsp, I highly suggest it as these gave awesome flavor bursts)
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1/2 tablespoon thyme
• 1 tablespoon oregano
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed or the equivalent from already chopped garlic because your garlic has gone bad
• 2 small bay leaves
• salt and pepper to taste

Plug in your crockpot and scatter the onions and peppers on the bottom. Rinse your roast, pat it dry (with paper towels!) and then cut four slits into it. Insert garlic in those slits. Add on top of the onions and peppers. Then add your remaining ingredients. For the spices, I put in a small bowl, mixed and then sprinkled over.

Now here’s with the cooking time. I put mine on high and it was done in about 3 1/2 hours (not the suggested 5 – 6). So watch it. Low should take longer, probably more likely between 5 – 7. Once it’s cooked through, use two forks to shred it and pull apart.

I served with a side of carrot and zucchini hash cooked in bacon fat and sprinkled with crispy bacon pieces. This would also be great on top of rice or quinoa. It’s also totally palatable to eat straight from the crockpot  with a fork. Not that I did that or anything…