Chipotle Shredded Beef

I made this recipe up to put in tamales and it was surprisingly delicious. It would work well for tacos or tostadas too!

Ingredients:

4 lb. beef (like a roast... I don't remember what exact cut I used, but it was cheap)

3 c. chopped onion

13 cloves garlic, minced or crushed

1.5 T oregano

1 can chipotle adobo sauce with 2 whole chipotle peppers (I ended up just getting as much sauce out as possible and then spooning in two of the peppers as well, and it was spicy enough for me, but not too spicy for my husband or kids)

1 1/4 t. salt

1 c. chicken or vegetable stock

Directions:

Throw everything into the crock pot and cook on low heat for 8-12 hours. Shred and enjoy!

** Makes enough to make about 95 tamales... could easily be halved (or quartered), and I would even wager that any excess could probably be frozen.

Fiesta Taco Pie

This came from a recipe card my mom got in the mail.  It is really easy, and really good.

4 cups white corn tortilla chips

1 egg white, beaten

1 pound lean ground beef

3/4 cup chopped onion

1 clove garlic, minced

1 can (15 oz) red kidney beans, drained

1/2 cup tomato salsa

1-2 tsp chili powder

3/4 tsp salt

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 medium tomato, diced

sour cream (optional)

guacamole (optional)

Preheat oven to 400.  Coat a 10-inch glass pie plate with cooking spray.  Crush tortilla chips into small pieces.

Mix tortilla chips with egg white and press evenly into pie plate to form a crust.  Bake until crisp, about 15 min.

Brown the beef, onion and garlic in a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Mix in the kidney beans, salsa, chili powder and salt.  Simmer 10 minutes.

Stir 1/2 cup shredded cheese into the beef mixture; pour the mixture into the baked crust.  Top with the remaining cheese, lettuce and tomato.  Serve with sour cream and guacamole, if desired.

Pulled Roast with Cilantro Sauce

My first recipe!!

For the crock pot roast: I pick up a huge pork butt (ha ha) or rump roast. Both are awesome - the beef tends to be much cheaper. Put in the crock pot. Pour over it a mixture of 1 1/2 c. salsa and 1/3 c. brown sugar. Cook all day on low (turn it on high for the last hour or so, I think it makes the meat easier to shred)

For the Cilantro Sauce (see how I'm capitalizing it because it's so tasty??)

in blender blend up until very smooth:
3 tomatillos, husked, washed and quartered
1 pkg buttermilk ranch salad dressing packet (the powdery stuff)
1/3 c. - 1/2 c. buttermilk (always just do the vinegar and milk trick and that works great)
1 c. FRESH cilantro
1 c. mayonnaise
1 clove garlic

When I eat this, I put a bunch of the Cilantro Sauce on a tortilla, then put on the meat, then put on cheese, black beans, rice etc. I usually use half the sauce to start with and freeze the second half to use later (it makes a bunch). The leftovers are FABULOUS!!

Fast Food Nation

Liz changed her password on her regular blog, so I'm stuck making posts here. I guess it kind of relates anyway.

So, we watched Fast Food Nation. It was labeled as a comedy. False advertising. Admittedly, there were a couple of mildly funny parts, but I don't think that qualifies as comedy. It felt much more like a documentary on how screwed up the meat packing industry is.

On a related note, since when is Avril Lavigne an actress? To be fair, her performance can only loosely be described as acting, but still.

My recommendation: if you're looking for a movie to convince you to not eat fast food watch Super Size Me.

Mock Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients

1. 4-6 servings instant rice or already cooked rice
2. 2 lbs. ground turkey or beef
3. 1 medium onion, chopped
4. 1 can tomato soup
5. 3-5 green bell peppers, chopped into small strips
6. cumin or steak seasoning
7. worchestershire sauce
8. 1 cup mozzerella cheese

Preparation

1. Make 4-6 servings of rice. (both white and brown are good in this recipe)
2. Brown 2 lbs. ground beef (or turkey) with chopped onion in a large skillet.
3. Add cooked rice
4. Add 1 can tomato soup and half can of water
5. Add a dash or two of worchestershire sauce
6. Add a little cumin or steak seasoning
7. Add a dash of salt and pepper
8. Add chopped bell peppers
9. Cook until bell peppers begin to soften, but are still firm
10. Remove from heat and sprinkle with cheese

Another great one to freeze