Shredded Beef Tacos

Shredded Beef Tacos

I am busy, busy this weekend.  Because I am a procrastinator I have about 1 million, papers to grade.  But we still need to eat.  The slow cooker to the rescue.  I just add a few ingredients, dropped in the roast and waited.  6 hours later, we had yummy tacos.

The sauce is very spicy. Very. However, when you shred the beef and add the other toppings, the tacos are perfectly piquant.  If you really don’t like any heat, replace the chili peppers with green pepper and the chipotle peppers and adobe with tomato paste.

Servings:  8-12 tacos

Time:  Prep: 15 minutes Slow Cook:  5-7 hours,

Hardware: knives & cutting board or a food processor, measuring cups & spoons, a can opener, 4 quart slow cooker, a spatula, un-powdered latex gloves, and a large bowl

Ingredients:

• 2 ½ -3 pound top blade beef roast
• 1 large onion (8 ounces or 1 ½ cups)
• 2 jalapeño peppers
• 2 serrano peppers
• 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1-7 ounce jar of chipotle peppers in adobe sauce
• 1 cup low sodium beef stock
• ⅓ cup brown sugar
• Juice from one lime
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin

Corn tortillas, shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, chopped Spanish onions, guacamole, sour cream, chunky salsa, Salsa Verde, shredded cheese and fresh cilantro

1. Roughly chop the onions. Wearing the gloves, seed and chop the peppers.  Crush the garlic.  Chop the cilantro.  Remove the chipotles, reserving the liquid and chop them. The smaller you chop everything, the better.
2. OR add the onion, seeded peppers, garlic, cilantro, and chipotle peppers-sauce and all- to the food processor and pulse until almost liquid.
3. Add all of this, including the adobe sauce to the crock.  Stir in the remaining ingredients.
4. Add the roast fat side up to the crock, cover, and cook on low for 5 to 7 hours. I had a 2 ½ pound roast and it was ready in 5 ½ hours.
5. When the meat is fork tender remove it from the liquid.  Wearing the gloves, shred the beef.  Discard any fat or gristle. 
6. Place the shredded beef into the large bowl and spoon on two tablespoons of the liquid from the crock.  Stir (or toss) to make sure the meat is covered.
7. Build the tacos by placing the meat into warmed tortillas and then allow your guests to top them as they please.

Shrimp in Vodka Sauce

Vodka Sauce is so simple to make. Even though the sauce requires few ingredients, the flavors are complex-sweet, tangy, slightly spicy and with a creamy mouth feel. The vodka brings out flavor in the tomatoes and helps keep the cream from separating without adding any flavor of its own, the way wine would.

Vodka Sauce is a good winter food, thick and creamy and aromatic. I tossed in shrimp and served it over angel hair. However, it is heavier sauce and will hold up well to a tube pasta like penne. 

 

Servings: 4-6

Time:   Prep: 5 minutes; Cook: 40 minutes

Hardware:  measuring spoons and cups, a cutting board and knives, a skillet, a wooden spoon, an immersion blender, a can opener                 

Shrimp in Vodka Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 lb 21/25 count shrimp-cleaned with tails removed
• Olive oil for the bottom of the skillet
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 medium onion (1 cup)
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1-1 ½ teaspoons red pepper flakes (depends on your taste)
• 1-28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
• ½ cup vodka
• ¾ cup cream
• Salt
• Parsley for garnish

1.  Generously salt the shrimp. Dice the onion and garlic.
2. Cover the bottom of the pan in oil and turn up to medium high. Sauté the shrimp for 2 minutes or until just pink.  Then flip and cook through. Set the shrimp aside and clean the skillet.
3. Melt the butter in the skillet on medium.  Add the onions and garlic and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes.
4. Add the crushed tomatoes, vodka and red pepper flakes. Simmer for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally. Use the immersion blender to smooth the sauce. (If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can use a regular blender, but make sure that you tilt the lid and hold it down while blending.  The heat can cause the top to blow off and create a terrible mess.)
5. Stir in the cream and simmer for 5 minutes. Return the shrimp to the sauce and allow them to warm. Remove from the heat. Adjust the salt.
6. Serve over your favorite pasta and top with shredded Parmesan and chopped parsley.