Stuff It

As promised, I actually have some new recipes to share from my most recent menu. And boy is this a good one! I mean, what's not to love? Pasta, cheese, sauce, spinach... mmmmmm

Neither the hubs nor I are much for ricotta. Surprising since he is Italian and we have a very Italian last name! But there's something about the texture that we just don't care for. And growing up in the Midwest, I actually never knew that lasagna and stuffed shells were supposed to have ricotta in them - heck, I don't even think I knew what ricotta was! I always grew up with cottage cheese in it's place and the hubs was glad when I introduced him to the concept.

I was inspired to make these by Giada's Turkey and Artichoke stuffed shells and they were pretty good, but the hubs wasn't that into them. I decided to make up my own version and we both liked them a lot. Sometimes these kind of dishes get really heavy but these were nice and light. They also freeze like a dream, so I divided the recipe up into two pans - one to eat for dinner and the other to freeze for another night down the road.

This is also a great way to sneak in more veggies. I love spinach in almost everything. Last week I got a huge 14oz tub of organic baby spinach on super sale for $3.00. Let me tell you that 14oz of raw spinach is a LOT. We had quite a few spinach salads but I still had about half of it left, so chopping it up to mix in with this filling was a great way to used it up. I just gave it a rough chop, tossed it in a bowl with a little sprinkle of water and put it in the microwave for about 3 minutes. If you don't have fresh, a thawed and well squozen (I love that word) package of frozen chopped spinach would work just fine too.

Chicken and Spinach Stuffed Shells
Mollie's Collection

1 lb ground white meat chicken breast
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 Tbs olive oil
Kosher salt
Crushed red pepper
1 16oz container low fat cottage cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
10oz fresh spinach, chopped and cooked until just wilted
1 box large shell pasta, cooked just to al dente and drained
2-3 cups of your favorite tomato sauce (yes, I used jarred this time... get over it!)

In a saute pan, cook the onion and garlic in the olive oil until they begin to soften. Add the ground turkey and season with salt and crushed red pepper to taste and cook until the meat is cooked through and well broken up. When cooked through, set aside to cool.

When the meat is cool, stir in the cottage cheese, 1 cup of the shredded mozzarella and the spinach. Mix well to combine. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in well salted water until just al dente, drain and set aside to cool slightly before stuffing.

When ready, spoon a little bit of the sauce into the bottom of the pan to prevent sticking. Using a spoon, gently open up each shell and fill with about 2-3 Tbs of the filling mixture. Place into a baking pan, set close together to prevent them from moving around too much. Spoon the remaining sauce over the top of the shells and sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella cheese. Cover with foil and bake in a 350 oven for about 30 minutes, until everything is melty and bubbly. Remove the foil and bake another 10 minutes or until the cheese begins to brown slightly.

If freezing, cover tightly with plastic wrap and then foil. When ready to cook, thaw for 24 hours in the refrigerator before reheating. Remove the plastic and cover with foil, cooking for about 45 minutes or until bubbly, and then removing the foil to brown as above.

Aren't they cute?

Ok, I'm taking a diversion from the menu I just posted to share these little cuties with you.

I don't really like bananas. My husband eats one almost every day, but I find them pretty gross. However, I love a good banana bread. He, on the other hand, won't eat cooked bananas. Or, any banana that has even a hint of black on it. A few brown streaks or small spots, fine. Once they hit black they'll get passed over in the fruit bowl for days until I realized and rescue them by peeling and stashing in the freezer until I have enough to bake with. By today, I'd amassed 6 bananas and it was time to do something about it. Chocolate Chip Banana Bread it was!

One quick note on freezing bananas. When you thaw them, you may get a lot of liquid that oozes out. Don't worry, just throw it all in and mash it all up and you'll be fine. I won't bother to retype the recipe because all I did was double this one from cooking light. I love quick breads made with yogurt - I think they stay so moist and I like the flavor. I used 0% Fage Greek yogurt. I seriously love this stuff and use it in cooking all the time. It's thick and rich and creamy and so good for you. Yum!

The only other changes I made besides doubling the recipe was to cook it in 4 mini loaves - one of them plain and the others with chocolate chips stirred in. I LOVE banana with chocolate. But then I discovered that 4 mini loaves do NOT equal 2 big loaves. I had a lot of batter left and no more mini loaf pans. Just that morning tho, I had reorganized my pan cupboard (I know, I have an exciting life) and had rediscovered my mini muffin pan. Perfection! I got exactly 24 our of the remaining batter. They are so cute, and also fun to eat! Cooking time for the mini loaves was about an hour, 18 minutes for the mini muffins.

I still suck...

Not only has it been a month, but I actually drafted most of this post over the long weekend last week and still couldn't get my act together to post it. So the menu below was from LAST week, but there will be another one to come! So I offer this picture of the pup as a peace offering.


While I am at work, this is what he gets to do with his day. I know where the phrase lucky dog comes from.

So, right after my last post I was besieged by the flu - big time. I was out of work for almost a full week and didn't feel quite right for nearly two. And it morphed into a bronchial infection which was more fun for all around! All I can say is, because of the cooking I did that weekend when I posted, we were able to eat fantastically well all week with no effort on my part. So my strategy worked! Even tho it was lack of the ability to stand up on my own preventing me from cooking, not my crazy busy work schedule. But it was nice, considering that throughout my ordeal I was hungrier than I ever remember being. People told me that I was hungry because my body needed energy to fight my illness. I think they were being nice because the size of my ass tells a different story...

I am however back in action, and spent a good portion of last holiday weekend cooking up a storm for this coming week and the freezer. I don't have all the recipes ready for the new items on the menu (yes! There were actually some new items never before blogged!), but I figured I'd post the menu and we'll get to the recipes this week.


Sunday - Corn Chowder and Brethren Cheese Bread (with the Asiago substitution)
and for dessert - our FAVORITE blondies (thanks Jen!)
Monday - Chicken Tortilla Soup
Tuesday - Chicken Stir Fry
Wednesday - Meatloaf and mashed potatoes (meatloaf recipe to come!)
Thursday - Chicken and Spinach Stuffed Shells (recipe to come!)
Friday - Shepherds Pie (recipe to come - I SWEAR!)

I prepped and cooked everything on Sunday, with the exception of the stir fry - that is so fast that I can do it even on a weeknight. I did however cut up the chicken and prep my veggies! One thing I'm trying to get better at is looking over all my recipes to find common ingredients or cooking times. I needed an ass ton of chopped onions so I threw about 6 or 7 that were on the smaller side into the food pro and gave it a few pulses. It was SOOOO nice to just scoop out what I needed instead of chopping them all by hand! I did that with some garlic in my mini chop too. And I was able to make one massive batch of mashed potatoes for meatloaf night and shepherds pie too. Those meals are kind of similar so I may wind up swapping out the Friday dinner - but that's ok because I prepped it to be freezer ready so if we don't eat it it can be stored for another night. The stuffed shells and meatloaf also make 2 meals worth so I'm set for future weeks with those as well - and I'm pretty sure I'll wind up freezing some shepherds pie leftovers too.

As for order of cooking, I got the bread in the oven, then mixed up the blondies and got them in there with it, since they bake a the same temp (saves energy too!). Then, once I had my garlic and onions ready to go, I got my potatoes boiling. While they were going I cooked up the ground beef for my shepherds pie and the ground chicken for my shells in two separate saute pans. I set those aside and wilted my spinach in my chicken pan and cooked my veggie filling for the shepherds pie in the ground beef pan. Then set everything aside for assembly and mashed my potatoes. Some got put right in a container for later in the week, the others were used to top my shepherds pie after assembly. Then I cooked my shells and while they were boiling I got the tortilla soup into the crock pot. Stuffed my shells and that one was done. Then I mixed up the meatloaf and formed it into two free form loafs. One was frozen before wrapping (I freeze it raw and cook when ready - the hubs says it's less like "leftovers" this way!) and the other one is ready to cook on Wed.

THEN I finally got around to making the corn chowder, after which I fell over dead only to be revived by the offer of a glass of wine from the hubs. I like not cooking all week, but boy is cooking day busy!

Is this thing on?

Boy do I suck. I know. And I'm sorry. So if anyone is still out there, I'm going to try and stage a comeback! No excuses - yes, I've been busy. Yes, I'm not cooking as much or as creatively lately, but really, I just hadn't made time for the blog. So, I'm back. Pictures may be a little more scarce - I leave for work at 6am and get home at about 7pm and in New England, that means not much daylight! And me and flashes and light boxes... not so much just yet. However, despite my lack of experimentation lately, I have been very diligent about my meal planning, so in the hopes that this might help others, I'm going to try and post my weekly menus and weekend prep.

I've also been trying to work the sales and save a bit of dough along the way. I'm proud to say that for the month of January, I have fed the hubs the pup and myself for just under $400! I know, it's not the end of the month, but I've already shopped this week and won't go again until after the 31st. And I know it's not exactly pennies, but for where I live and the fact that we eat mostly fresh food and organic meats, and drink our fair share of wine, I feel pretty good about it. And it does include 40 lbs of dog food. And it's breakfast, lunch and dinner because the hubs and I have also been pretty good about taking our breakfast and lunch to work too. And we've eaten well! A little planning and reading the circulars really pays off. And the freezer is a huge help. I've started keeping an inventory of stuff on the door of my fridge, and getting better at dividing up recipes so we have one for a meal now and one for the freezer.

In any event, here's this week's menu:

Saturday - Chicken Broccoli Pasta
Sunday - Going over to a friend's for dinner - yay
Monday - Shredded Beef Tacos
Tuesday - Chicken Pot Pie
Wednesday - Burgers and sweet potato fries
Thursday and Friday I'm on my own so I'll be eating leftovers.

Nothing earth shattering, all things I've done before. And it's no surprise that we have a dinner from the fabulous Jen in there. Last week I made her spinach stuffed chicken breasts and they were outstanding!

As for prep... today after shopping I started marinating the beef for the tacos, and tomorrow morning after breakfast I'll put it in to braise. Then it will go in an oven safe dish in the fridge for reheating Monday night. All I'll have to do while it heats up is mix up some guac and warm up the tortillas. Score.

I also made burgers and stuck the patties, individually wrapped in plastic, in the freezer to be pulled out the night before we eat them. I also cut up the sweet potatoes so they're ready to go in the oven - same recipe as the grill, just in a 425 oven.

The chicken pot pie and crust were made a few weeks ago so they just have to thaw, roll out the dough, and bake when we're ready. Freaking love my freezer.

Hopefully some pictures to come. In the mean time, enjoy this one of the pup. :)

Easy Like Sunday Morning

I seem to be really into song lyrics as blog post titles these days. But this one was a natural. There's a long-running radio show here in Boston on Sunday morning called "Sunday Morning Over Easy" that I've always loved. There's nothing better than a Sunday morning with the paper and a pot of coffee and a really yummy Sunday morning breakfast.

We all know my love of the 'tater, and I've shared my no-fat hashbrowns before. And they're good - honest, they really are amazing! This recipe however, is at a whole other level. Because the only way to improve a potato even more is to add some fat and sausage. These are so easy to do, particularly if you have the shredding attachment for your food processor. All you have to do is shred your taters, toss them in the pan with your meat and then comes the most important part - DON'T TOUCH IT! This is the secret to hashbrowns. You have to let them sit to get that great crust. Then you can use a plate to help you turn them over, but if you're way cool like me, you can flip them one handed in your skillet. Yes, I swear to god, that's how I did these, and if I can perfect the pan toss, so can you. It's all in the wrist baby!

These crispy savory bits of heaven will turn any lazy Sunday morning into a something special. And if you get some perfect velvety poached egg yolk on the 'browns, life is even better. Try them this Sunday!

Hashbrowns & Sausage

Mollie's Collection

2 medium Yukon gold potatoes

1/2 a small onion

1 Tbs butter

1 link of your favorite sausage (I had a chicken apple sausage today that comes pre cooked - if you're using a fattier sausage that starts raw, you can reduce the butter), cut into small pieces

Salt & Pepper to taste

Using the shredding blade of your food processor, shred the 1/2 onion. Remove it from the food processor and set aside. Using the same blade, shred your potatoes. Place the shredded potato in a clean dish towel and squeeze as much liquid out of them as possible.

In a large skillet, melt the butter and saute the shredded onion until translucent. Add in the sausage pieces and cook through (or brown them up if they are pre-cooked). Add in your potato. Season with salt & pepper. You can stir it a bit to get things combined and get the potato coated with the fats in the pan. Then, WALK AWAY. Let it sit for a good 10-15 minutes or until you start to get a firm, browned crust on the bottom. Using a wooden spoon or spatula, loosen the browns from the bottom of the pan by pushing against the edges - don't break it up, but make sure it's loose from the bottom.

To turn, you can slide it out of the pan onto a plate and then flip it back over into the pan. OR, using a scooping motion, as if you're digging out a big scoop of grain from a bin (because I'm SURE you do that all the time...) flip the whole thing over and catch it in the pan. Cook another 10 minutes or so until the other side is crisp. Serve immediately and enjoy.

I Found My Thrill...

I've been trying to find the best blueberry muffin recipe for a while now. As I've noted before, the hubs is really into blueberries. And every once in a while when I ask him what he wants he'll say "a-big-huge-blueberry-muffin-like-the-ones-at-the-bakery-with-a-poofy-crunchy-top" all in one breath. Phew! I've never been able to deliver on that request before, but now I think I may have it.

These muffins were really good, even to someone who isn't a huge blueberry fan. I also think they'd be great as just a sour cream coffee cake muffin if you made extra streusel and swirled it through the batter. I'll have to experiment on that one tho and get back to you - because that's my standard order when we do break down and go to the bakery for big beautiful crusty topped muffins.
I modified this a bit since I only had a half pint of blueberries and only wanted to make a dozen muffins. I got 12 that were just slightly domed, but I think in future I'd go for 10, filled right to the top, for an even better muffin top experience. Because this type of muffin top is the good kind!

Blueberry Muffins with Streusel Topping
Adapted from Sunday Nite Dinner

Streusel Topping Ingredients
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, slightly softened and cut into 1/2-inch pieces

Muffin Ingredients
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
4 ounces sour cream
3 Tbs milk
1 cup (1/2 pint) fresh blueberries, stems removed

For the topping, in a small bowl, stir together the flour, cinnamon, and brown sugar. Add the butter pieces and combine the mixture with a fork until the topping resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Place paper liners in muffin pans. In a separate medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

With an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. At low speed, beat in the egg, then add vanilla, sour cream, and milk until combined. Add 1/3 of dry ingredients at a time and beat until just combined. With a spatula, evenly fold blueberries into batter - toss the berries in flour before adding to help keep them from sinking in the muffins.

Scoop batter into muffin pans and fill each cup to the top. Sprinkle topping evenly over batter. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until a cake tester or wooden skewer comes out clean.

Yields 12 flatter or 10 fuller muffins.

Roasty Toasty

In case you hadn't noticed on all the other food blogs, Thanksgiving is coming! So I thought tonight might be a good time to share my recipe (well, more method than recipe really) for roasted garlic mashed potatoes.

Clearly I love all things potato, given how many times they make an appearance on this blog - and I have another one coming up too! But mashed potatoes have got to top the list. Adding the sweetness and just, really, scrumptious flavor of roasted garlic to them takes it to a whole other level. I served these the other night for Sunday dinner with a whole roasted chicken and some roasted asparagus. Roasty Toasty indeed!

I don't know that this is really a recipe - mashed potatoes are one of those things I kind of do by feel and taste. But I can give you my method and feel free to tweak it as you see fit.

Start by roasting your garlic. I like to split the bulb apart into cloves before roasting. This cuts the roasting time way down and makes it easier to retrieve all of the roasted garlic when you're done. For about 2 1/2 pounds of potatoes, I used 2 heads of garlic. YES - I said TWO whole HEADS of garlic. Don't be afraid. Roasting really mellows the garlic taste and transforms it - you won't be complaining about garlic breath, I promise.

Separate the bulbs from the head and place on a rimmed baking sheet. Toss with a bit of olive oil and roast at 350 for about 20 minutes, or until the husks start to split open and the garlic has softened. When done, set them aside to cool before peeling. Once they are cool enough to handle, peel off the husks by hand and set the roasted cloves aside.

Clean and cut up about 2 - 2 1/2 pounds of potatoes. I really think Yukon golds are perfect for mashed potatoes. They are creamy and delicious, and they have a very thin skin which I like because I have no patience for peeling potatoes. I always leave the skins on and they really almost disappear into the dish. Plus, you keep all the vitamins and fiber that reside in the skins. Put the potato chunks in a pot and just cover them with cold water. Bring to a boil and simmer rapidly for about 15-20 minutes, until fork tender. The cooking time will vary depending on how big your chunks are.


When the potatoes are done, drain them and put them directly back into the hot pan. Put the pan back on a low burner for just a minute or two. This heat will help steam off any excess water that may impact the texture of your mashed potatoes. Once the excess water seems to be gone, add in butter, cream cheese and/or laughing cow cheese to taste and the roasted garlic. This is where the recipe kind of falls apart for me - people have pretty passionate and personal feelings about what should and should not go into mashed potatoes. Some make them with fat free broth to keep the fat down. Some pile on the butter and sour cream. I like just a bit of unsalted butter and some low fat cream cheese or laughing cow cheese. I like the little tang from the cheese a lot, particularly with the garlic. For this volume of potatoes I used about 2 Tbs of butter, 3 oz of cream cheese and 2 wedges of laughing cow.

At this point, start to mash by hand. Again, some will swear by their kitchen aid mixer for mashing. I don't like this for four reasons. 1 - I think it's too easy to over mix with an electric mixer of any type and they get gluey. 2 - I think the potatoes have too much time to get cold transferring into a new, cool, metal bowl and then back into another cool serving dish. 3 - I've already dirtied a pot, a colander and a baking sheet for this dish. I'm not cleaning my mixer and paddle on top of it! 4 - I like lumps. Mash in the butter and/or cheese until it's melted, and get the garlic all mixed in. At this point, season with salt and pepper to taste. If your consistency is still to thick (and it likely will be) add some milk, just a little at a time, until you get to desired consistency.

Roasted garlic really elevates the humble mashed potato to a whole other level - even if my after dark pictures of the final product don't quite look it. If you've never tried it, I highly recommend it to accompany your turkey on Thursday!

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Mollie's Collection

2 heads of garlic

2 - 2 1/2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes

salt, pepper, butter, milk, cream cheese and laughing cow cheese to taste

Break apart the cloves in each head of garlic and place on a rimmed baking sheet. Toss with a bit of olive oil and roast at 350 for about 20 minutes or until softened. Cut the potatoes into chunks and boil until fork tender. Mash together the potatoes, garlic and seasonings to taste.

Yankee Thrift

It seems like everybody is looking to save a buck these days, and beans are one of the best ways in the world to do that. And not only are beans thrifty, they are SOOOOOO good for you! High in protein and fiber, low in fat, and can be used in infinite ways. They are a great base around which to build a meatless meal and they make a wonderful addition to lots of meat dishes as well.

I've just recently become a convert to making my own beans. I always used canned before, and still have no objection to canned. But when you make them yourself you not only save money, but you have control over the amount of sodium as well. Based on some unscientific observation, for most of the beans I use most often, a 1lb bag of dried beans is about 20 to 50 cents less expensive then a can of the same type. But a 1lb bag yields the same amount as 3 cans! So you're paying at least 1/3 as much. Score!

Beans are easy, they just take a little time and forethought. I've become a fan of doing up several batches on the weekend and then throwing them in the fridge and freezer. Then they are ready to go whenever you are, just as easy as canned. And to make it even easier, below is the quick soak method I used on today's black beans.

1 - Rinse off your beans and pick them over, discarding any that look shriveled or in any other way "funky".
2 - Put 1lb of beans in a large pot with 6-8 cups of water. Bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes. Cover and remove from heat. Let stand for 1 hour. Pour off the soak water and rinse well. At this point they beans are rehydrated but they aren't yet cooked!
3 - To cook, put them back in the pot and add 4-6 cups of water. I also add a pinch of salt at this stage. Bring to a low simmer and simmer 1-2 hours. They are done when they are tender to the bite. At this stage they are ready to go in any recipe that calls for canned beans. I like to divide in thirds and store in plastic baggies.

If you're looking for something to do with your fabulous beans, I suggest this dish. It's one of my husbands favorites and it so tasty and really good for you too. mmmmmmm

The Things we Hold Dear

The amazing Todd, of the amazing Diane and Todd, over at White on Rice Couple wrote a post that really got me thinking the other day. Thinking about how we remember. And thinking about how the tools we use reflect who we are.

I love tools. Not so much gadgets, tho some of those are pretty cool. But the good, sturdy, solid, beautiful tools we use every day. I love tools that have been passed down in particular. I'm not sure if I'm lucky or unlucky in that I have lots of tools in my kitchen that have been passed along to me from family members who are gone. Unlucky for sure that they are gone, but so thankful for the lessons they left me with and the tools to remind me of them.

Their pictures are better, but WoRC's post made me think of these bowls. They belonged to my paternal grandmother. We've met her before. I wound up with these bowls sort of by accident, but they are my favorite bowls to use. They are always the perfect size, and their festive colors make them a joy to use to mix or even serve. That little bowl is perfect for whisking up sauces and marinades. The medium one is perfect for scrambling eggs or mixing pancake batter. The large one is low and wide which makes it a shoo-in as my go-to bowl for cutting in butter for pie crust.

My grandmother managed to keep this set of bowls intact for 50 some odd years, and I've broken the second largest since they were in my care. I curse myself over it all the time because it would be JUST the right size for so many things, but I've also learned you can't waste too much time wishing for what was. You have to stay in the moment of now and cherish the good memories. And I have memories of my grandmother making her meatballs (more German/Swedish, not Italian - they had whole mustard seed in them and if anyone has a recipe I'd be forever grateful!) in this big yellow bowl. I remember her making her mountains of pfeffernusse cookies in them. I also particularly remember her making Grumpen Suppe in that bowl.


Grumpen Suppe is, well, god knows where it came from. I think it came from the logging camps in northern Michigan that my great-grandfather was a part of. Or maybe it was a holdover from my great-grandmother's German roots. Wherever it came from, it is peasant food at its best. Simple enough to make... you take a loaf of stale bread, preferably pumpernickel or dark rye. Break it up and put it in the bottom of your big yellow bowl. Meanwhile, boil up some potatoes until tender - but when you drain them, don't dare toss that starch water out! You pour enough of it onto the stale bread to make it soggy - think of a slightly wet stuffing consistency. Then you make mashed potatoes and spread those in a layer on top of the bread. Then you fry up a mess of bacon, cut into small bits. When it's ready, pour it all, bacon bits, grease and everything, on top. This meal will stick to your ribs through hours of logging for sure! And a dish that reminds you to make full use of and appreciate whatever you have.

My mom, her mom, and my dad's mom at my mom's wedding shower. And I promise, she never ever again in her life looked that happy to see an ironing board!

I've had a pretty amazing and wild and crazy week, but it has made me think a lot about everything I have to be thankful for. I know, I'm a little early for Thanksgiving, but true gratitude knows no season. So I am very thankful to Todd for inspiring me to think about remembrance in this way. And I am full of gratitude to the many women in my family and my life who have given me strength and wisdom and helped sustain me through all the events that have led up to my amazing and wild and crazy week this week. You know who you are.

Beef Smileys

I was looking a cookbooks for kids a few years ago as a gift for a friend. It was one of those books aimed at people who've never really cooked, but whom upon giving birth discover that not only will the little one require food, they will require all kinds of silly names and games to get them to eat it. Or so the theory goes when marketing a book I suppose. In any event, there was a recipe called "ground beef smileys" that was, well, tacos. Because, you know, I guess a taco shell looks like an upside-down smile. I'm not sure why a child would be drawn to eat a "ground beef smiley" (and an upside-down one to boot) instead of a taco, but that's why I'm not in marketing. What I do know is that THESE beef tacos made me smile for sure.

My friend, the lovely and talented and snarky and fabulous Lady Death Strike (aka Jen) shared these a while back and I was in love from the first glimpse. I've blogged some of her recipes before and they've never steered me wrong. I love her recipes so much that I tend to ignore most of the directions and do whatever I want to anyway - such is the joy of friendship and food blogging. :)

So, I adapted these a bit - I couldn't find the eye of chuck that was recommended so I went with a regular old chuck pot roast. I've never actually cooked a pot roast or any beef besides steak tips or tenderloin or new york strip, but my butcherman assured me this cut would be fine with a long slow cook. And it was on insane sale this week too - score. I also increased the amounts to accommodate my super-duper on sale pot roast which I was very glad of because this stuff is even better the longer it sits. Case in point, when I styled the taco for my photos this morning, I then ate it for breakfast and it was truly one of the best breakfasts I've had in a while! And, I used beer for my braising liquid. I sent Jen a "help I need your advice now" email about the broth issue and she recommended Better Than Bullion which I normally have on hand for the Kale Soup (recipe to come soon!) my hubby loves, but I was out. So I went with beer and a bullion cube. See, that's what friends are for - bother them for advice you must have this minute and then ignore them.

This was AWESOME. So tender. So moist. So flavorful. Topped with fresh homemade guac with lots of lime (that's all I put in mine - avocado, lime and salt, mooshed with fork - perfect) and I could eat a bowl of just that. I also loved the feta tip from Jen (handy to know since I had it on hand and was too cheap to buy queso fresco). I'd never thought to grate my feta before but it worked out perfectly because it allowed you to get just enough of the smooth, salty cheesiness on the taco without overwhelming it.

You've got to make this. It's really easy, would be perfect for a crowd, and will make your mouth smile at the beefy goodness for sure.

Shredded Beef Tacos
Adapted from Use Real Butter (who adapted it from The Boarder Cookbook)

Approx. 2.5 lb Chuck Pot Roast, cut into 3-4 big hunks
1/3 cup vegetable oil (I had a cilantro citrus oil I've used before that worked well)
3 Tbs vinegar (I used apple cider)
Juice of 2 limes
1 Tbs ground cumin
1 Tbs chili powder
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup good beer (I had an Oktoberfest that worked nicely)
1 cube beef bouillon
Corn tortillas, guacamole, salsa, lettuce, cheese, etc. as desired (or just shovel it in to your mouth straight from the dish - works either way). I will say tho, some finely grated feta or queso fresco and the guac are kind of essential for me.

In a large zip top bag, mix the oil, vinegar, lime, cumin, chili powder and garlic. Add in the hunks of beef and let marinate at least 4 hours or over night. When ready to cook, place in baking dish that has a tight fitting cover and add the cup of beer and the bouillon cube. Cover and cook at 350 for about 2 1/2 to 3 hours, or until it falls apart when you stick a fork in it.

When the meat is done, use two forks to shred it and season with salt as desired. To serve, lightly fry corn tortillas in oil. I used a rack on a paper towel lined baking sheet to help me shape mine as they came out of the oil. When the tortillas are cooled, fill as desired with beef and toppings. Dance with joy and give a groan of satisfaction as they hit all the right spots of a Tex Mex craving.