Gram's French Dip Sandwiches

I wasn't smart enough to take a photo of the French dip sandos last week
so instead here is a photo of Gram looking pretty in stripes.

My mom was in town last week which always makes my belly happy. She made some of my favorites - this salad and these lettuce wraps. She also made super flavorful French Dip Sandwiches, see recipe below.

We had the sandwiches one night for dinner and the next day she took the leftovers and made a mini French dip appetizer with little slices of toasted French bread. It was a big hit - smart cookie that Gram!

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 large yellow onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
4 pounds beef chuck tender roast
1 can (10 ounces) French onion soup (Gram likes Wolfgang Puck's)
1 cup beef broth
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 loaf (16 ounces) French bread, halved lengthwise and cut crosswise into 6 pieces
6 slices of Swiss cheese

Directions:
1. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, and thyme; cook, stirring frequently, for 15 minutes or until onion begins to brown. Transfer to slow cooker.
2. In the same skillet over medium-high heat, heat up olive oil and then add beef and cook 5 to 7 minutes or until browned on all sides.
3. In the slow cooker, stir in soup, beef broth, black pepper and red pepper. Add beef to slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours or until beef is tender.
4. Remove beef from slow cooker, reserving liquid (au jus!) for serving. Let stand for 10 minutes. Slice beef, and place on bottom halves of bread, top with cheese, and cover with bread tops. Serve with au jus for dipping.