Ropa Vieja

As I've mentioned before, my sister will at times be adding her own Pinterest recipe attempts. The last one she sent me I had to harass her into adding a bit of fluff. Personal stories and said fluff typically do not make it into her writing. At times I feel that I need someone who specializes in cryptography just to read her texts they are so brief. But, personal views and the occasional ramble make things a bit more fun, don't you think? I think she hit the nail on the head with this one.

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I was talking to a friend this evening while our kids played. She runs a fitness/lifestyle business where she provides workouts, meal plans and individual attention to help people achieve their goals.  She is very much a meal planner, where she plans for the week what they are having for each day and what she needs at the store. We were contrasting that to how I cook. I buy the major proteins every week, meat, poultry, etc and fresh vegetables along with whatever pantry items I have used up. The key for me though is pantry, I always have certain ingredients on hand and hardly ever know what I am going to cook on any given evening.

Today we had several inches of snow and everyone was home because of it. There was lots of shoveling and sledding going on and I thought we could all use a hearty dinner. I had a flank steak in the freezer and decided to crock pot that up. We have visited Puerto Rico a couple times and love it there, especially the food, so I looked up a recipe on Pinterest for Ropa Vieja. Here is the one I based our dinner off of:

Ropa Vieja

Original recipe:

2 1/2 pounds beef flank steak

6 Tbsp ground cumin

4 Tbsp EVOO

2 cups beef broth

(2) 8-ounce can's tomato sauce

(2) 6-ounce can's tomato paste

2 Tbsp distilled vinegar

8 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 large yellow or white onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded & sliced into 1/2 inch strips

1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded & sliced into 1/2 inch strips

1 bunch cilantro, leaves chopped

To make:

Rub the steak with 3 Tbsp cumin on both sides. In a large skillet, heat 2 Tbsp EVOO over med-high heat. Add steak & cook until browned on both sides, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer to Crock Pot.

In large mixing bowl, mix together the broth, tomato sauce, paste, vinegar, garlic, salt, & remaining 3 Tbsp cumin. Then add the remaining 2 Tbsp EVOO. Stir well. Then add onion, bell peppers, & cilantro. Stir again & pour mixture over steak in crock pot.

Cook on high 4 hours or low up to 10 hours. The meat is ready when it falls apart when pierced with a fork. Use 2 forks to shred the meat. Let it sit for 15 minutes. Then serve inside flour tortillas, use some white rice to soak up the yummy juices, serve with a side or refried or black beans!

The blogger gives credit to Eva Longoria’s cookbook which is found here:

Eva's Kitchen .

Now for my edits, which take into account what I had on hand along with personal preferences:

1.5 pounds of Flank Steak

3 TBSP of Cumin

1 TBSP of Olive Oil

1 “serving” of chicken bouillon (I use packets from Trader Joe’s)

1 can (regular size) of diced tomatoes

1 TBSP Apple Cider Vinegar

4 garlic cloves, smushed

1 palm full of salt (maybe 1.5 tsps)

½ a Vidalia onion, chopped

1 red bell pepper sliced

1 tsp of coriander

2 TBSP of dried onion

1 tsp Oregano

Also, I am lazy, so all those lovely browning directions, bleh. I tossed all of the above in the crock pot (the meat was frozen) and cooked it on high for 5 hours and on low for about 40 minutes, I shredded it about 15 minutes before serving. 

All of the ingredients are those that I had on hand and threw together on a whim.  My friend wishes she could do a little more of that, whereas I sometimes wish I could plan ahead and not have so much stress about dinner.

The ropa vieja turned out wonderfully, by the way. You are getting this blog post because my husband wanted me to actually write this one down so I can try to replicate it someday. The meat shredded easily and we served it with rice and beans for everyone but me (I made a burrito, because). The 4 year old cleaned the plate. The 1 year old got seconds. The husband, well, here is your blog post. And I ended up with two burritos (oops).  This reminder of a great vacation was perfect today.

I now need to replenish my cumin, canned tomatoes, red pepper, and frozen beef.

(Recipe and photo taken from Cooking with Crystal)