Slow Cooker Barbacoa Beef

Hey ya'll!  I have totally become a Texan...I cooked me my first brisket.  Yee haw!  And boy howdy, it was delicious.  This isn't traditional Texan BBQ.  Baby steps...baby steps.  This meal feeds a ton and it's delicious.  So make it ya'll!

Makes enough meat to stuff 30 tacos

4 chipotle peppers (from a can) plus all the adobo sauce it sits in (or just the sauce :))
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 red onion, peeled and cut into large chunks
1 head garlic, peeled and cloves smashed
5 dry bay leaves
2 teaspoons ground cloves
1 tablespoon kosher salt
Juice of 4 limes
1/2 cup cider vinegar
5 to 7 pounds beef brisket
4 to 6 cups beef or chicken stock

Stir together chipotle peppers and sauce, cilantro, red onion, garlic, clove, salt, lime juice, and cider vinegar in the insert of a slow cooker (if you have a food processor, pulse till combined first before adding). Place the brisket on top of this mixture. (I like to cut my brisket in two pieces so it fits better in the slow cooker.) Add stock to cover the meat and place bay leaves on top. Use tongs to move the meat around gently to combine everything and put the lid on.

Cook on HIGH for 4 hours. Once finished, turn crock pot to WARM and let sit for 6 to 8 hours.
I like to make mine before bed and then let it sit on WARM overnight. This allows the meat to cook fully and then come to a point where it can be shredded easily and will essentially fall apart when pulled with a fork. If you don't have overnight to accomplish this, another hour of cooking on HIGH will get the job done. The meat will not be as tender, but will still be tasty.

Remove meat from slow cooker and place on rimmed baking sheet. Use two forks to pull the meat apart. Discard the fat, if desired. If you plan on frying it again before use, the small fat bits are extra tasty and should be kept! Place shredded beef in large bowl and ladle cooking liquid over the top a few scoops at a time. You want the meat to hold the liquid but not swim in it.

To keep it warm for guests you can return it to your slow cooker after you have removed the remaining liquid. That liquid is extra tasty and can be frozen into ice cube-sized portions to be used in other dishes later, if you so desire. Serve with fresh tortillas, onion, cilantro, and salsa.

Note: This recipe makes roughly 30 tacos, give or take. You can make two recipes back to back in your slow cooker for the initial 4 hour cooking time (or two slow cookers at the same time) and then add the meat to the same slow cooker to sit overnight since the meat will have reduced in size. This will allow 60 tacos of meat to be finished up at the same time.

Chicken tomatillo soup

Things have gone CRAZY here! Between basketball, baseball, piano, activity days, scouts, school projects galore, callings and etc.  I am looking for good crockpot meals.  They save my life on a busy night.  Here is a good one I got from the loosli family blog. It's healthy, tasty and easy.  That's my kind meal.

4 frozen chicken breasts
1 16 oz jar of tomatillo salsa (green salsa)
2 cans great northern beans, drained but you don't have to wash it.
4 cups chicken broth
2 tsp. cumin
garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste
1 cup of frozen corn defrosted (so it won't make the soup cold)

Combine chicken, salsa, chicken broth and spices in crockpot.  Cook on high for 5-6 hours.  Halfway through cooking add beans, this is so they don't fall apart.  When done cooking shred chicken and add corn.  We served it with sour cream and cheddar cheese.  Would also be good with pico de gallo and chips.

Slow Cooker Maple Brown Sugar Ham

This was delicious! If you like ham. I served it with good ol' Funeral potatoes. Great, easy Sunday meal.

adapted slightly from Year of Crockpotting

7-8 pound bone-in spiral-cut ham
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup all natural maple syrup (yes, please use pure maple syrup and not pancake syrup)
2 cups pineapple juice

Use a 6-7 quart slow cooker. Unwrap the ham and discard flavor packet. Place the ham into the slow cooker stoneware, flat-side down. Rub brown sugar on all sides. Pour on maple syrup and pineapple juice. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours. An hour before serving, baste ham with the collected juices from the bottom of the slow cooker. When cooking is done, remove carefully and let it rest on a cutting board for 10 minutes before carving.

Crockpot Mango Chicken

I'm eating this very thing as I post this. It is really yummy and really easy.

4 chicken breasts (I used more to feed the troops)
2 cups tomato based mango salsa (I used the Costco mango salsa)
2/3 c. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. salt

Combine ingredients and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Shred and use for tacos, burittos, enchiladas, salads...etc. Enjoy!

Sweet Pork Barbacoa and Lime Rice

This has been edited as of 5/10. I've changed the measurements to how I like to make it (the pork) -Candace

Sorry Candace I forgot to post this until now. I found this recipe on another blog and it actually tastes a lot like Cafe Rio's Pork. Also the rice is really good. I just cooked it in my rice cooker and it turned out great! Although I think I may have added more liquid or less rice so the rice didn't get dried out. Then I served the pork and rice together with homemade(Costco) tortillas. Jared loved it!

Ingredients:
4 lb. pork roast
2 (8 oz.) cans tomato sauce
4 cloves garlic, diced
1 1/4- 1 1/2 C. brown sugar, packed
1 T. cumin
2 c. Dr. Pepper
2 T. molasses
1 T. onion salt
½ t. salt
Pepper to taste

Directions

Mix all ingredients except pork, salt, and pepper until sugar is dissolved. Season the pork with salt and pepper. Place pork roast in a crock pot sprayed with Pam. Pour mixture over roast and let simmer until meat is tender and pulls away with fork. (Cook on low all day or overnight if desired.) Shred pork and return to liquid halfway through cooking time. Serve with Lime rice.


Lime Rice

Servings: 4 cups

Ingredients

2 cups Rice
2 Tbsp. Butter
2 (14 oz.) cans Chicken Broth
¾ tsp. Salt
Pepper to taste
Juice of 2 Limes
Zest of 1 lime
3 Tbsp. chopped cilantro(I used more because we LOVE cilantro)
¼ tsp. cumin

Directions

Add all ingredients in Rice cooker. Or melt butter with rice in skillet. Add rest of ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and cook for 20 minutes.

Sunday Chicken

This is just a really easy great recipe, hence the name it's great for an easy Sunday dinner.

4 - 6 Chicken Breasts, (I think that using fresh makes a huge difference on taste for this)
2 cans Cream of Chicken Soup, condensed
1 envelope Dry Onion Soup Mix
1 cup Sour Cream

Place chicken in greased slow cooker. Mix cream of chicken soup and onion mix then pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low heat for 6-8 hours. One hour before serving stir in sour cream. I also think that this would taste great with mushrooms added.

Ooey Gooey Mexican Chicken

4-5 frozen chicken breasts
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1 can of black beans drained and rinsed
1 4 oz. can of diced green chiles
1 cup of salsa (your choice)
up to 1 Tb. cumin
up to 1 Tb. chili powder
dash of cayenne pepper
1-2 cups of monterey jack cheese

Put all of the ingredients, except the cheese, into the crockpot. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Shred chicken and add grated cheese. Let the cheese melt and then serve with a dollap of daisy (hehe) and chips. Enjoy!