Beef Carnitas Tacos

Who needs a restaurant!? I make these all the time and they are easy, quick, and so good!

I like to get handmade tortillas from a little shop in Pittsburgh, Reyna Foods. However, if you can't get your hands on fresh corn tortillas, store bought will do just fine.

Ingredients:
2 pounds lean stew beef
1 14oz can beef broth
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 orange wedge

Place all of the ingredients into a large pot with tight-fitting lid. Bring to a boil and then turn heat down to a low simmer and cook until meat is tender and can be easily shredded with a fork - about 1.5 hours.

Alternate method #1 (how I do it):
Place all ingredients into a pressure cooker and allow to cook about 45 minutes. Turn off heat and let cooker sit until it has depressurized - about 15 minutes. Shred meat with fork.

Alternate method #2:
Place all ingredients into a crock pot and cook on low for 8 hours.

Serve with shredded cheese, guacamole, pico di gallo, etc.

Crockpot Chicken and Veggies

The credit for this recipe comes from a Pittsburgh Nestie - Cheri. Acutally, she's more of a Fayette County Nestie! :)

I made this last night - working 2 jobs makes crockpot meals a necessity! It was very good and I ate 2 platefulls!

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (fresh or frozen)

2 family sized cans of cream of chicken soup (I substituted with 1 can of cream of mushroom soup)

1 can of chicken gravy

3 white potatoes, cut into chunks

3 carrots, cut into pieces

1 small onion, diced

a handfull of fresh green beans

a handfull of fresh asparagus

1/2 cup water

salt/pepper

Just toss it all into a crockpot and cook on medium heat for 6 hours. Serve over warm biscuits.

BBQ "Pulled" Chicken Sandwiches

Another easy crockpot meal! If you're a fan of pulled BBQ pork sandwiches, this is even better!

Here's what you'll need:

1 bottle of Coca-Cola

3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (frozen is OK)

1/2 jar of Jalapeno Jelly

Place all of the ingredients in a crockpot and cook on high for 4 hours. Once cooked, drain all of the liquid and shred the chicken.

Place the chicken back in the crock pot. Set the crock on 'warm'.

Add:

1/2 bottle of Sweet Baby Rays BBQ Sauce

1 Tablespoon of brown mustard

Stir and allow to warm. Serve on a Kaiser roll.

Stuffed Peppers

There are so many variations on these, but this is an old family recipe.

4 green peppers, tops removed and seeded

1 pound of lean ground beef

1/2 cup of rice (I use brown)

1 tablespoon of olive oil

salt/pepper

2 quarts tomato juice

Mix the ground beef, rice, oil, and salt/pepper in a bowl. Stuff 1/4 of the meat mixture into each pepper.

Place the peppers in a crock pot and cover with the tomato juice. Season with salt/pepper. Cook on the low setting for 8 hours. Serve with mashed potatoes.

Homemade Spaghetti & Meatballs

I learned how to make spaghetti sauce from my mommy when I was very young. At the time, I was so naive that I thought the onion she put in the sauce was an egg! Like any good spaghetti sauce recipe, this one also evolved over time.

Ingredients:

1 can crushed tomatoes (I like San Marzano)
1 can diced tomatoes (San Marzano)
1 can tomato paste
1 quart of tomato juice
1 small onion (peeled but left whole)
2 bay leaves
5-6 fresh basil leaves (chopped)
oregano (fresh is good, but if you have dried that’s fine – I put it in to taste, so no measurement here)
¼ cup sugar
olive oil ( about a tablespoon or 2)
salt/pepper

Place all the ingredients into a crock pot and allow to simmer on low for 6-8 hours. I like to put mine on the lowest setting and let it cook while I’m at work. If you don’t have a crock pot, you can do this on the stovetop, but just simmer for about an hour, stirring frequently.

My meatballs are also a basic, family recipe.

Ingredients:
1 pound of lean ground beef
1 egg
1/2 cup of Italian Seasoned bread crumbs

2 tablespoons of chopped parsley

salt/pepper

Mix all ingredients by hand in a large bowl. Form into 1.5" balls. I usually just drop these in the sauce and let them cook - flavoring the sauce and being flavored by the sauce!

Crockpot Salsa Chicken

So, yes, I broke down and tried this one as well! It's such a "staple" on the What's Cooking board, plus it looked so easy and yummy that I had to try it. Josh is always after me to make chicken enchiladas and this seemed very similar but way easier. Plus at 157 calories per serving, it's perfect for a low-calorie diet but super-filling!

The original recipe is from http://www.sparkrecipes.com/ and can be found here...Crockpot Salsa Chicken. We had this on tortillas with fresh lettuce, tomatoes, and cheddar cheese.