Smoky Beef Tacos

Once again, here is a recipe from Everyday Food. I seriously love this little magazine. It is very worth the $10 a year I pay for it.
I made this in a slow cooker (different that the original recipe). It was super easy, and turned out perfectly. Plus it made the house smell fantastic all day long.
Just another note: I was kind of leary of the chipotle chilies. I have never cooked with them before. Do not skip this step. They looked kind of scary coming out of the can but was so flavorful and delicious! I found them in the Hispanic section of my grocery store.

Ingredients

Serves 8

• 2 to 3 tablespoons chopped canned chipotle chiles in adobo
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 8 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 boneless beef chuck roast (about 3 pounds), excess fat trimmed
• 16 corn tortillas (6-inch), lightly toasted
• Roma tomato- diced
• Cheddar cheese- shredded
  
• Avocado-red onion relish-recipe follows
  
• cilantro-lime crema-recipe follows
  

Directions

1. Stir together chiles, ketchup, 1 cup water, garlic, oregano, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
2. Cut beef into 4 equal pieces. Coat with chili mixture and place in a slow cooker
3. Slow cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6-8 hours.
   
4. Transfer beef to a bowl. With a large spoon, skim off and discard fat from cooking liquid. Shred beef with two forks; moisten with cooking liquid as needed. Season with salt and pepper. Serve beef with tortillas and desired toppings.
5. To toast corn tortillas: warm a frying pan over medium heat. Spray with pan spray. One at a time slightly toast tortillas, flipping over for even toasting.
   

Avocado-Red Onion Relish

Makes 3 cups

• 2 diced avocados
• 1 finely chopped medium red onion
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• Salt and pepper

Directions

1. Combine avocados, red onion, and lime juice. Season with salt and pepper.

Cilantro-Line Crema

• 8 ounces reduced-fat sour cream
• 1/8 cup fresh lime juice
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• Salt and pepper

Directions

1. Stir together sour cream, lime juice, and cilantro. Season with salt and pepper.

Barbecue Rub

So this isn't a full dish per se, but I think this rub is very versatile. Credit for this recipe goes to my brother, Mike. He may be my brother. . . but the guy can do meat! He is great a grilling, barbecuing, etc.
This rub really packs some punch (POW!) so consider yourself warned. That being said I love to use a lot of this rub when I grill chicken for fajitas, tacos, and BBQ pizza. I will thin slice (fajitas, tacos) or cube (pizza) the chicken, then really coat the chicken in this stuff. I'm talking like 1/4-1/2 a cup depending on how much meat I have.
You can also use it for blackened chicken. Take a whole breast of chicken and rub this spice all over it. Then grill or pan-brown your chicken over medium heat until done, and the rub is black. About 8-10 minutes per side.


Barbecue Rub

1/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. sweet paprika
3 Tbs. black pepper
3 Tbs. coarse salt- if using table salt, cut in half
1 Tbs. Hickory salt or more salt
2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. onion powder
2 tsp. celery seed
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 Tbs. mustard seed

Combine all ingredients well. Store in an air-tight container as you would other spices. This makes quite a bit so you could easily half this recipe.


This is not a great picture but it gives you an idea of what the meat looks like after it's cooked. We ate this meat like tacos: lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, lime juice (yum), cilantro, salsa, wrapped in flour tortillas. We ate it all up and I didn't get pictures. Sometimes I am just to hungry!

Cayenne-Rubbed Chicken with Avocado Salsa

Since some of you think I should get off the treats *cough* Becca *cough*, here a a great recipe that is super easy, healthy, and very yummy. I got this recipe from my Everyday Food magazine. It is my happy mail for the day.
We love avocados at our house. Even Syd and Brynn have acquired a taste for them. It really kind of disappoints me because that means that I have to share with them now. They thought this chicken was "kinda spicy, mom" but still ate it up with lots of water. They loved the avocado salsa. I didn't tell them about the onions. So tricky.
By the way, I love you Bec, and I was seriously going to post this today anyway. :)


Cayenne-Rubbed Chicken with Avocado Salsa

Coarse salt and ground pepper
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (6-8 oz. each)
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 medium red onion, finely chopped
2 Tbs. fresh lime juice
1 Hass avocado, pitted and cut into chunks

1- In a small bowl, combine 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and cayenne; rub all over chicken.
2- In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add chicken, and cook until browned on the outside and opaque throughout, 8-10 minutes per side.
3- Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine onion and lime juice; set aside. Just before serving, fold avocado chunks into onion mixture; season with salt and pepper. Serve chicken topped with salsa.

If anyone can tell me how the picture has been photo-shopped, you will get bonus points that are good for. . . a surprise!