Mexican Beef, Oh My!
Now, I don’t want to freak anyone out, but I’m about to post a recipe.
Crazy, I know.
I am not what one might call gifted in the culinary arts. I can grill a mean chicken breast. I can steam the heck out of a broccoli floret. And I can make mashed potatoes that make you wanna smack your Grandma. But other than that one meal, it’s really hit and miss. I think it’s cause I’m not a detail-oriented person. I like the idea of cooking, but when I start actually doing it, I get side tracked and forget basic concepts. Such as cooking times. And stirring. The result of which is often gunk burnt to the bottom of a pot.
When I was pregnant, Chris started cooking our meals so that I could come home after work and take a much needed nap. And he just never stopped. I guess he was tired of burnt lima beans and soggy rice. But now that he is working full-time and I am home all day, it just seems wrong to make him come home and cook for us. So, I’ve been making more of an effort to cook our dinners and I have had pretty good luck because I found the key to my foodie success.
I am a Crock Pot Queen.
I haven’t messed anything up in a crock pot yet, and so now I am cooking almost all of our meals in them. During Bean’s morning nap, I just throw whatever we’re having for dinner in a crock pot, cover it with something saucy and then let it go. I haven’t been let down yet.
Yesterday I made my Dad’s shredded Mexican beef. It is delicious and one of my favorites that he makes. He doesn’t do his in a crock pot, but it’s the same principle for making the dish and it works whether you cook it low and slow in your oven, high and fast in your pressure cooker, or all day long in your crock pot.
First, you start with a big ol’ hunk a meat. (Vegetarians, look away…). Use a bottom or top round if you want to have shredded beef. I didn’t have this cut. I had a pretty tough piece of meat and it never got tender enough to shred (I think it must have been a pot roast). But this worked just as well, too. Only I didn’t shred it, I just cut it up into slices like a pot roast. But we’ll get to that later…
Season the meat with salt and pepper. I use Lawry’s for everything.
(Don’t I look just like my BFF, The Pioneer Woman?!?!?)
Then throw the meat into the crock pot.
Cover the meat with two cans of Rotel tomatoes, two cups of water, and a fajita seasoning packet from the store.
Now, turn your trusty, dusty crock pot on the desired cook time (I prefer six hours for this one).
Now, as I mentioned before, what happens next will be determined by what cut of beef you have. If you have something really fatty that becomes soft enough to shred with forks, then you take the meat out of it’s bath and shred the beef at this point. When you’ve shredded until you can shred no more, I put the meat back into the crock pot so that it stays moist with all those juices.
If you have a tougher cut of beef, like I did, then you take the meat out after it has cooked and you can slice it into long slices. I cut mine into slices and then put it into a Corningware dish and covered it with juices and tomatoes from the crock pot. This way, clean up was easy because I could store left overs in the dish and could go ahead and wash my crock pot (…and get it ready for tomorrow’s dinner!).
I bet you could also do this exact same recipe with chicken breasts, too, by the way…
I served this dinner with PW’s spinach and garlic chips (only instead of garlic chips, I sauteed the spinach in olive oil and minced garlic…). Super easy to make and delicious! I don’t even like spinach and I ate all of mine. Bean liked it, too.
And they had fresh corn at my grocery store yesterday, so we had corn on the cob, too. I shucked it myself, ya’ll!
(Imagine that last part in the most Southern-ist voice possible)
If you end up shredding the beef, my Dad serves it over rice. It’s delicious. Perfect. Do it. In fact, if I had my choice, I’d do the shredded beef over rice with spinach and skip the corn. Now, THAT’S a good meal…
Although, mine wasn’t so bad either!
The nice thing about this recipe is that it isn’t too spicy. I think the water dilutes the spice a little. Now, with Bean Man eating along with us, that’s a good thing. But if you like a little extra kick, you might want to use less water so that the spices are a bit more potent. But with 2 cups of water, it is just mild enough that Bean ate it with us and thought it was delicious!
Bon appetit, ya’ll!
37 Comments
Alaina
That looks delicious! I am so going to try that soon!
Alaina
Holy crap – I was the first person to comment! That never happens 🙂
Jessica @ How Sweet
That looks like a meal my husband would drool over.
Anne @ The doctor takes a wife
Good for you! I can bake anything but I’m still slowly learning how to cook. I have actually messed things up in the crock pot…
Mel
One tragic day in February I dropped the crockpot lid, shattering it into a million pieces on my own foot. (Then the cat dragged two dead chameleons into the house and left them on the floor, I ruined dinner, I went to work and had nine customers in a row bite my head off, I fell down and sprained my foot, and then I quit my job. It was a bad day.) Needless to say I haven’t even looked at the crockpot since then. However, I think you’ve inspired me to finally find a replacement lid! Thanks for the recipe and the reminder about the wonders of the crockpot! I’ll have to share my super easy chicken recipe with you sometime.
Shannon
Great post! I can cook some things and then anything with meat or rice I typically ruin… So, I’m gonna give this a try with chicken I think…
Jen at Cabin Fever
OMG. Crock pot = Awesomeness. It makes me feel like I am actually a good cook! I got three, yes THREE, as wedding gifts. The weird thing is that I have used them all at the same time.
Did you know you can make awesome soups in crock pots? You can. The wonder never ends.
Cabin Fever in Vermont
Miss M!
Funny, you didn’t mention how Mr. Confessions liked his spinach! (I saw his tweet ˜º )
Toni S.
Wow, that looks good! It is kinda similar to a Mexican Beef dish I make. Ya throw a hunk of meat in a pot, cover it with water, add 2 tablesppons of chili powder. Cook till tender. Shread it, put it back in the pot (with about 2 cups of the broth) with minced garlic, sliced olives, and raisens. Cook for 30 minutes, thicken with 2 tablesppons of cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons of cold water. Serve over rice and top with slivered almonds. My kids LOVE this, even the picky, picky 5 year old!
Tabitha (From Single to Married)
I don’t even eat beef and that looks good! I’m a big fan of the crock pot although I haven’t used it in a while. This is a good reminder to break it out and try a new recipe!
Mallory
My mom swears up and down that the crock pot invention is the solution to all of the world’s problems. …and she does make some mean BBQ in it!
Ann G-B
That looks yummy and even low carb friendly.
My husband is the cook in our house too. I will pass it along!
Jen @ Life with Jen and Ronnie
That looks delicious. When I saw your picture with the ingredients I thought “am I on The Pioneer Woman’s blg”. 🙂 I love the crockpot! I think if you would have cooked your meat longer on low, it would have gotten to a shreddable state. At least that’s what I heard PW say on one of the morning shows I saw her on! Thanks for sharing!
Katie
I think you’re right – it was ALMOST shreddable.
Jon
What size crock pot do you have?
We’re also a family of three with a 13 month old, and have also turned to the crock-pot as our savior. My wife and I both work, so we don’t actually cook at all during the week. Instead, on Sunday, I cook a meal in the crock pot and a meal to eat that night with enough leftovers for another night. So Monday is crock pot leftovers, Tuesday is Sunday meal leftovers, Wednesday is crock pot leftovers part deux, Thursday is eat out night.
Friday is calzone night when my wife makes me a different calzone each week. Calzone night is sacred.
Anyway, we have a 3 quart crock pot but it’s just not doing it. I don’t know how big to upgrade to, since I know if it’s too big it’s not going to cook as well.
Katie
Hi Jon – I think I have a 5 quart crock pot. It holds a big roast (like this one) and up to 4 or 5 chicken breasts.
Jon
Cool that’s the same size I was looking at, thanks!
Maggie
Dude. That’s brilliant. Calzone night?! Double cookin on a Sunday?! I might have try this method at our house. Except I don’t know how to make a calzone…
Jon
Yeah, the double cooking on Sunday has really changed our life! Weeknight cooking just became too stressful – arriving home at 5:45 or 6:00 meant one very grumpy baby, eating at 7:00. Now it’s just 5 minutes to reheat the leftovers.
Calzone Friday is the BEST! So many combinations, from greek (olives, feta, chicken) to BBQ to buffalo chicken …
If you know how to make pizza, you know how to make a calzone!
Maggie
Crockpot meals are wonderful, but the yummy smells that emanate from the kitchen all day are TORTURE! This is why I only use my crockpot when I know I’ll be out of the house for 6-10 hours. 🙂
If you’re interested in learning more about the basics of cooking and trying some foolproof recipes, I recommend checking out Cook’s Illustrated magazine, which is done by the same people that produce the America’s Test Kitchen show on PBS. The America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook is the single best cookbook I’ve EVER used!
Dawndra
I just wanted to share something with you that would make clean-up even easier…they have crock-pot/slow cooker bags (clear) to go down inside of the crock-pot so that your food does not stick to the sides. Also, you cooked your meal in a plastic bag that comes right out with the food, and there is NOTHING actually in your crock-pot. We use these and LOVE these!!! They do not affect the taste, outcome, or cooking time at all. I just thought you might like to give them a try!! GREAT JOB WITH THE CROCK-POT COOKING!!! 🙂
S
We use those too! And we may or may not call them crock pot condoms.
Maggie
My crock pot is probably my most prized possession. I got a great crock pot cook book for Christmas – Pillsbury Fast Slow Cooker – I highly recommend it!! Also this recipe for Chicken Taco Soup will change your crock pot life:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Slow-Cooker-Chicken-Taco-Soup/Detail.aspx
Tracy
Yes, you can do this with chicken too! Although, I have used the Taco Seasoning mix with mine. It’s very good. We usually shred the chicken right in the crockpot and dip it out into flour tortillas. Then put whatever else you want in the tortilla (I love a little sour cream, cheese, and black beans), roll ‘er up and eat! Very good and very easy!
Emily
Well now, aren’t you getting industrious?
I once called my dad to make sure all you needed to boil water was water. Well, and a stove of course.
Katie
I once called my dad to ask where to buy stamps. 🙂
Laura
I love my crockpot too. Have you heard of this website? It’s a person who was making all her meals, everyday in a crockpot. I think the experiment ended but she put lots of recipes on her blog.
crockpot365.blogspot.com
Meghan
A very easy “recipe” I love for my crockpot is to take chicken breasts, pour in some italian or asian dressing (anything that works as a marinade), and cook for 6-8 hours. Then shred the chicken in the marinade and serve it all over rice or pasta. It’s so easy…..serve with a steamed veggie and you have a meal that takes less than 10 minutes to prepare!
Maybelline
The Crock pot is my BFF!! I like cooking but I usually forget the pot and everything burns, soooooo that’s why I love TCP so much, by the way, did you know that there’s a blog name a year of slow cooking, the lady loved it so much that uses hers to make 365 recipe, one each day!!! you should check it out:
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/
Kat
The recipe looks delish!
And it doesn’t hurt to ask Chris to see if he wants to cook when he gets home. 🙂
My SO lost his job last month, since he’s home he’s taken over all the cleaning and cooking. While I don’t miss the cleaning at all, I do get the cooking itch. 🙂 Maybe I’ll have to take over the weekend meals.
Heather M
I LOVE to cook and I admit – I only just bought a crock pot. I mean JUST – as in I haven’t cooked in it yet but it has been sat on my counter all week 🙂
Admittedly this is a new kitchen device for me – so I may christen my crock-pot with your recipe 🙂 Thank you
Lindsey
That looks awesome! I’m going to try that for sure. Just a tip, and something I learned from your BFF when she was on Good Morning America – if the meat is tough, it hasn’t been cooked long enough. Sure, it’s cooked – and looks done – but if you let it stay a few more hours in the crock pot, it’s guaranteed to fall apart! I didn’t believe her at first, but I’ve come to learn that P-Dub is always right.
Katie
YUM! This sounds great… I like anything to do with mexican/spicy/etc and garlic so this is on the top of my list to make! Thanks!
Megan
Your brave!! Oh so brave!!
I almost messed up a batch of homemade ice cream last night. I tell you…I can’t hardly touch anything in the kitchen without messing it up somehow! The last time I attempted to do a roast I forgot to add seasoning. RIDICULOUS!!
Megan
http://reddirtandcrazy.blogspot.com/
Angela
You’re like the pionner woman now 🙂
Mmmm, Mexican Beef.
Katie
Oh, how I love mexican beef! Oh, how I must make this ASAP! =)
J Layne
Let me just say that I, as one of Ginny’s sorority sisters, am about to share a recipe from another one of Ginny’s sorority sister’s, and since somehow that makes us kinda linked, let me just say… Sista! You gotta try this in your crock pot! It is DIVINE!
Beef & Mushroom Gravy – http://ourlifebeyondthegame.blogspot.com/2009/07/beef-mushroom-gravy.html