Friday, February 22, 2013

Mexican Style Meat

I found this recipe online, revised it for my own preferences, and was very pleased with the results! The flavorful meat can be used for tacos, enchiladas, or whatever you can imagine. I like having quart ziplock bags of the leftover meat in the freezer - ready for a quick meal for the two of us!
 

Ingredients:

4 pounds of beef, pork, or chicken (cheap cuts of meat work well for this)  
good amount of salt & pepper to season meat 
1 large onion, chopped 
3 (7 oz) diced green chile peppers, undrained 
2 tablespoons chili powder  
2 tablespoons ground cumin 
2 tablespoons garlic powder 
Chipotle Flavored Tabasco (to taste) 
1/4 cup of water 

Instructions:

Trim the meat of any excess fat, and season well with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Place the meat in the hot skillet, and sear it quickly on all sides. Transfer the meat to a slow cooker and top it with the chopped onion. Season with chopped green chiles, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, & hot pepper sauce. Cover, and cook on low for 8 hours or until meat is tender & falling apart, checking to make sure there is always at least a small amount of liquid in the bottom of the cooker (add more liquid if need be). 
 
Transfer the meat to a bowl and shred it using two forks. 
Note:  There will be some juice along with the meat.  If you don't like it, you could thicken it up, or drain the meat.  For freezing purposes, freeze the meat with the juice.
 
 

Mashed Cauliflower

I'm a type 2 Diabetic.  This was a recipe I just wanted to try, even though it sounded a little strange to me.  I love cauliflower, and most vegetables, but mashed?  I like to say I'll try anything once.  I'm so glad I tried this one, as both my husband (who didn't really love cauliflower) and I really enjoy it.  It's surprisingly filling, and the leftovers reheat nicely! 


Mashed Cauliflower

Serves 8

1 large head of cauliflower, broken into florets
1-2 cups of water
salt/pepper
1-2 Tablespoons butter, or lite butter
1-2 Tablespoons sour cream, or lite sour cream

Put water in the bottom of a large saucepan and add all of the cauliflower florets.  Cover and bring water to boil over high, then reduce heat to medium and cook until cauliflower is very tender.

Drain off water, and let the cauliflower sit in the uncovered pot to let as much water be released through the steam as possible.

Mash cauliflower with a hand potato masher (a power tool will puree it too much!).  Add 1-2T butter and 1-2 T of sour cream.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Stir well with a fork and enjoy!

**Note:  I find that having this on my plate creates the same kind of happiness as seeing mashed potatoes on my plate, though it really doesn't taste like potatoes.  I've also read of some people combining mashed potatoes and cauliflower together to lower the carbohydrate count in a serving of potatoes.  I might just try in one day.  For now, I'm enjoying my mashed cauliflower too much!