Savory Goodness From Leftover Roast

Do you often have leftover roast? Me either. So when it's on sale I have a roast-a-thon. I make four or five roasts and freeze them. When I get in a groove I just keep going. I am the poster child for inertia. (Especially the 'object at rest' part, I have that part down pat)

Here's how I make my roasts:

Get a 3.5 - 4 lb. English Chuck Roast (Or whatever size and type you want)
Get out the crock pot
Get out a big saute pan

Turn the burner on medium-high. Get the pan nice and hot and add the roast.
Get some Kitchen Bouquet. I put it on with a brush.
Let the first side get half way seared then flip.
Brush the side which is now up with Kitchen Bouquet.
Let the bottom really sear (this is what gives it yummy color and flavor)
*If you don't know what seared means think 'tiny bit burnt'.
Flip over and let the other side fully sear.
Now do the edges. Don't be lazy. You'll thank me later.

DO NOT drain the fat - now or ever. If you do I will hunt you down and taunt you for messing up something so potentially delicious

Put it in the crock pot with nothing. No water, no anything. You will not believe the flavor this will have done just this way.

When it's done store it in a good Tupperware container with all the juices. I freeze mine.

Now... back to the leftovers. Since we don't have those I go to the freezer and take out a frozen roast I already cooked as detailed above. Pop it in the microwave to thaw it out. It can get warm or even hot, but that is not necessary.

Take the roast, which is so tender it shreds as you lift it out, and put it in a saute pan. No oil, no butter, trust me on this one. Add some of those drippings you saved. Then add twice as much as you were going to originally. If you are using the whole roast use all the drippings. Do it!

Cook this over medium heat with your choice of any/all of the following:
*Fajita seasoning
*Cumin
*Garlic
Cilantro
Tomato
Onion

*With just these three I am always very happy. Go ahead and add whatever else you think will make you happy.

While your whipping all of this up on one side of the stove, use the other side to make your tortillas. Heat about a quarter inch of oil in a small saute pan over medium-medium high heat. Lay in one corn tortilla at a time. Mine usually stay in for about 15 seconds per side. But I like mine to be pliable. You do yours to suit yourself.

You really should fry your own corn tortillas because this is going to be just messy enough to run juice down to your elbow. It's definitely a two-napkin event.

Spoon Some roast (and a little of the sauce, because that's what we are calling it now) into a tortilla. Repeat. I like to dab a little sour cream and/or guacamole on my plate for dipping, but it will be out of this world, even without them.

This is so good I usually end up eating twice as much as I should. Okay, three times as much on a good day. Save the sauce because if you are out of roast and nobody is watching you can fry some tortillas and dip them in the sauce like I did yesterday. It's good down to the last drop.

My theme is not 'healthy' or 'fancy'. It's more like "Once you have this you will both love and hate me forever."

And... you're welcome!

Crazy Fried Tacos

I'll preface this entry by saying: I know this sounds weird and unhealthy. It may be both of those things. It's also delicious.

Brown 2 pounds of ground beef (You can cook some chopped onion in here if you want, or season with cumin)
Make a big old bowl of mashed potatoes
Mix together the mashed potatoes and ground beef.

Put 2-3 Tablespoons of the mixture in a flour or corn tortilla and fry in hot oil. I prefer to deep fry it, myself. I fry it until the corn tortilla has 'cooked' and become a little crispy.

When you remove the friend taco from the oil I recommend standing it on end in a heat-resistant strainer to let the excess oil run out. I choose to sprinkle them with salt now.

My current favorite way to fry is to put the mixture in a corn tortilla and wrap a flour tortilla around the corn tortilla before frying. I'll add pictures next time I make some.

(I think these are best sprinkled with salt and dipped in sour cream.)

I know they sound odd, but I've never had anyone eat them and not crave them again later.

Easy Chicken Tacos: A Crock Pot Love Story

Want something easy to do besides salsa? Try making these easy chicken tacos:

3lbs chicken breasts (or whatever kind of chicken meat you prefer)
1 packet taco seasoning
1 large can whole or diced tomatoes (or tomato sauce in a pinch - or fresh tomatoes)
1 good sized onion

Mix the tomatoes, taco seasoning and onion in the food processor for a couple seconds.

Fill crock pot with chicken and pour the other stuff from the food processor on top.

Once the chicken is cooked, shred it and stir it back into the mixture.

I find this to be a bit salty. If you wish you can add a whole potato for 30-45 minutes to absorb a bit of the salt.

Get flour tortillas, cheese, sour cream, black olives, your homemade salsa, some onion and tomato, and whatever else you like on your chicken tacos. Enjoy!

*If you have any left over you've got a great start for tortilla soup or an easy snack. For the easy snack get the tostitos made for dip (they look like tiny taco salad shells, made for dip) fill with some chicken, top with some shredded cheese, and put in the oven a couple of minutes to melt the cheese.

Salsa Made Simple

For my first entry on this page, I'll start with something I do well. I make great salsa. It's so easy, you can do it, too! You were warned, it's addicting.

Take:

Two small or one large can of tomato sauce (or whole or diced tomatoes)
One half bunch of cilantro
One half jalapeno pepper (or more if you want it really hot!)
3-4 handfuls of onion, chopped
1 tsp - 1 TBS garlic, to your taste
A dash of salt - optional
1 TBS lemon juice -optional

Give it all a whirl in the food processor until the salsa is the consistency of your liking. Enjoy!