Crock Pot Beef Carnitas Tacos

I have made this recipe twice now, and will be making it again soon.  I LOVE good crock pot meals and really love it when they make enough to have a second night!  I'm so glad I found this on Eat, Live, Run.  If you want an easy, yummy meal, make this soon!

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Crock Pot Beef Carnitas Tacos

2 pounds flank steak

1 yellow onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped  (I accidentally picked up a yellow pepper)

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped

For spice rub:

2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

For serving:

corn tortillas 

avocado

cilantro

salsa

limes

sour cream

Mix together all of the spice rub ingredients in a small bowl.

 Rub the spices over the flank steak and place in the bottom of the crock pot.

 Cover the steak with the jalapeno pepper, bell peppers, and onion.  Turn the crock pot on low and cook for 8 hours.

 After 8 hours, shred the meat with a fork.  It will literally fall apart.  You can continue to cook it for another hour, or go ahead and serve it.  Heat the tortillas in a skillet over the stove and serve with the toppings of your choice.

These are SO good!! Enjoy.  :)

Slow Cooker Chocolate Chip Brownie-Cake

Delicious and crazy easy...that is how I will describe this recipe.  My mom's birthday was a few weeks ago and we were having her over for dinner.  I was more focused on the main course, so I knew I needed something without a lot of prep work for dessert.  My mom loves anything chocolate, so I looked through my Pinterest recipe board and found this buried VERY far down.  I am so glad I didn't keep scrolling because this will be made OFTEN!!  The best part was that you make it in the crock-pot.  I haven't ever made a dessert in the crock-pot before, but I am officially sold on it.  Thanks My Favorite Things for this fantastic recipe...it will be made again!  :)

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Slow Cooker Chocolate Chip Brownie-Cake

1 box fudge brownie mix

1 pouch chocolate chip cookie mix

1/2 cup butter, melted

4 eggs

Vanilla ice cream, as desired (You know you desire it!)

Spray your slow cooker with baking spray with flour.  In a large bowl, mix brownie mix with 1/4 cup butter and 2 eggs.  In another large bowl, mix cookie mix with 1/4 cup butter and 2 eggs.

 Drop alternate spoonfuls of each mixture into your slow cooker.

 Cover, and cook on high 2-3 hours until cake is set in center.  It took mine 2 hours exactly to be done.  I strongly recommend checking it at 2 hours if not a little before.  I tested the center with a toothpick, and this is what it looked like when it was done:

SO, SO GOOD!!!!  You could even serve it with some hot fudge if you wanted to just go crazy. Enjoy!  :)

Grilled Veggies

I have a new best kitchen friend for the summer!  Yes, I know that sounds strange, but I am in love with my new grill basket.  If you don't have one, run to the store and get one today.  I picked mine up at Bed Bath & Beyond.  It has a removable handle, so you can close the lid to the grill...genius!  I used it for the first time Friday night and will now be using it multiple times each week!  This is what I made on Friday and it was amazing!

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Grilled Veggies

1 zucchini

1 yellow bell pepper

1/2 red onion

1/2 bunch of asparagus

1 portabello mushroom

Zesty Italian Dressing to taste

Cut all of the vegetables up and place in a medium bowl.  Stir in the dressing until the vegetables are coated.

 Put the veggies in your grill basket and stir every few minutes until they are crisp tender.

That is it!  So delicious and easy and it made the perfect side dish.  Enjoy!  :)

Grilled Steaks with Cilantro Sauce

Normally my husband is in charge of steaks around our house.  But, when I saw this recipe in my most recent Taste of Home, I decided to give it a try.  WOW...it is GOOD!!!  Needless to say, we devoured this meal!!  Trust me, if you make it, your family will devour it too!

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Grilled Steaks with Cilantro Sauce

2 cups fresh parsley leaves

2 cups fresh cilantro leaves

1 cup fresh mint leaves

8 garlic cloves, chopped

1 3/4 tsp kosher salt, divided

1/2 tsp plus 3/4 tsp fresh ground pepper, divided

2 cups olive oil

2/3 cup red wine vinegar

2 tbsp lemon juice

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

4 lbs. beef flat iron steaks or top sirloin steaks (1 in. thick)  ***I didn't see flat iron steaks, so I asked at the counter (at Sprouts) and they cut them for me.  

***I halved this recipe.  Even halved, it made a ton of cilantro sauce.  I think I will 1/4 it next time.

Place herbs, garlic, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper in a food processor;  pulse until herbs are chopped.  Gradually add oil, vinegar, lemon juice and pepper flakes, processing just until blended.  Sprinkle steaks with remaining salt and pepper.  Grill, covered, over medium heat for 6-8 minutes on each side or until meat reaches desired doneness.  Cut steaks into 1/4 in slices and serve with sauce.

Seriously easy and seriously delicious!!!  We decided these would be great in tortillas or in a salad too.  Enjoy!  :)

Andes Sugar Cookies!

I don't remember where I heard about this recipe (if you can even call it that!)...but I know it was YEARS ago!  I had a tube of sugar dough in my refrigerator and remembered these fun, CRAZY EASY cookies and thought I would make them for my son.  OK, and me too!  There are two ingredients and a few minutes until a yummy treat is served!!

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Andes Sugar Cookies

1 tube of sugar cookie dough

1 package of Andes Mint Candy

Cut your dough into circles and lay on cookie sheet.  Place one Andes Candy on each circle and top with another circle.  Press the edges to seal.  Bake according to sugar cookie dough instructions.  (Pull them out a minute or so early if you like soft cookies...that is my favorite way to eat these!)

These are so good!!  Enjoy!  :)

Crunchy Black Bean Tacos

We recently had some friends over for dinner and I wanted to make something that would be easy to prepare while talking.  :)  You know how that goes, right??  Something where you don't have to concentrate too hard or look at the recipe over and over again?  I found this recipe from Endless Simmer and it was so good!!  I mixed everything up before friends arrived and just made them while they were here.  So easy, so good!

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Crunchy Black Bean Tacos

2 cups black beans, cooked (I just used canned and heated them up in the microwave)

1/2 cup red onion,minced

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp paprika

2 Tbsp cilantro, chopped

4-6 ounces pepper jack cheese, grated

2 Tbsp. olive oil

Pinch of salt and pepper

8 corn tortillas (I was able to make more than 8)

condiments of your choice...salsa, sour cream, guacamole...

In a medium bowl, add beans along with red onion, cilantro, and spices.  Add a pinch of salt and lightly mash all of the ingredients together.  

In a large non-stick skillet, add a few Tbsp of olive oil and heat over medium-high heat.  Add one corn tortilla at a time and let each get hot int he oil for a few seconds.  Then add about 1/4 cup of the bean filling to one half of the tortilla.  Top with a sprinkle (or more!) of grated cheese.  Using a spatula, carefully fold the tortilla over so it forms a shell.  Press down lightly on the tortilla so it holds its shape.  As the first tortilla cooks, move it to the side and do a second one.  Depending on the size of your pan, you should be able to get 2 or 3 tacos at once.  Cook each taco for about 3 minutes per side until they are nicely browned and crispy.  When flipping the taco to cook on the other side, use a spatula and flip the taco toward the fold so the filling doesn't fall out.

Yum...SO good!!!  They are so crispy and so filling!  Enjoy!  :)

Honey-Lime Chicken Skewers

I pinned these from Kitchen Meets Girl recently and knew I had to try them immediately.  They did not disappoint!  They were crazy easy and tasted fantastic.  I see these on the menu a lot this summer!!

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Honey-Lime Chicken Skewers

3 Tbsp soy sauce

2 Tbsp honey

1 Tbsp vegetable oil

juice of one lime

2 garlic cloves, minced

1-2 tsp Sriracha (I had a hard time finding this...it was with the Asian food and the kind I bought was made by Kikkoman)

red pepper flakes, to taste

2 Tbsp cilantro

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients except the chicken and mix thoroughly.  Pour marinade over chicken breasts and turn to coat.  Cover and allow to marinate for at least one hour.

 Put chicken on skewers and grill on medium high heat for 6-8 minutes per side, until juices run clear.

Seriously delicious stuff here!  They do have a bit of a kick to them, so have some water ready!  Enjoy!  :)