ropa vieja inspired beef stew in the slow-cooker

Michael was feeling nostalgic for his Miami roots the other day...so we made a slow-cooker beef stew with Cuban flavors inspired from "Ropa Vieja". We used stew meat instead of flank steak because 2 lbs of flank steak was something like $30 (what?!).  The recipe is based on the Cuban-Style Ropa Vieja from Saveur. We served it with brown rice and some Cuban-style black beans. Michael gave this his stamp of approval, said the flavors were right.

ingredients:
2 lb. stew beef, cubed 
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 poblano pepper, thinly sliced
6 oz. tomato paste (small can)
1 T cumin
1 T dried thyme
1 T dried oregano
5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 bay leaf
½ cup dry white wine
2 cups beef stock
1 (16-oz.) can whole peeled tomatoes, crushed
½ cup halved, pitted green olives
3 tbsp. capers, rinsed and drained
¼ cup roughly chopped cilantro

instructions: 
1. Brown the meat in two batches in a bit of oil on the stove. Add the onion and cook until starting to get soft, deglaze with the white wine. (I added everything for a second to toss it before adding to crock pot, see photo above.) Add everything to the slow-cooker except the olives, capers, and cilantro. Cook on low about 6-8 hours. Mix in olives and capers last, garnish with cilantro. (Lazy version: you don't have to brown meat first - you can just add everything to the slow cooker.)

spicy beef stew with beans and green pepper (Ada Mollenkamp's Smoky Black Bean Chili)

I made this stew twice: once on the stove, and once in the crock-pot (which I am starting to use a lot more). I have to say I liked the one I made on the stove better...must be the caramelization of the vegetables... but it's hard to argue with the ease of the crock-pot. I browned the meat while I was chopping all the other vegetables, and then in it all went. And hours later - dinner. Magic. This recipe is from Ada Mollenkamp's Keys to the Kitchen, which I have also recommended as a good graduation gift. It's a good cookbook - I've really liked everything I've made from it.

Be warned: it is a little spicy. Only add one chipotle pepper if you're worried. Or serve with a dollop of sour cream and you'll be fine.

hearty soups: shredded pork stew with chipotle tomato sauce

 When we're planning what to cook, Michael often tells me he feels like something "hearty." I'm spending a few days in Providence and my goal is to make him some hearty soups, putting all the leftovers in the freezer so he misses me lots when I'm gone. :)  The first one I came across in a book series from Food & Wine: Best of the Best Cookbook Recipes, taking recipes from what they consider the 25 best cookbooks of the year. (This was a find at the Ann Arbor Public Library, which has an amaaazing selection of cookbooks. Except also a long waiting list for new and popular items. I guess it's a community with a lot of good cooking going on!) This particular recipe is from Lourdes Castro, from the cookbook Simply Mexican. It looked so good, I just had to try it. It was a little on the spicy side, so be careful with the adobo sauce and chipotles - but don't leave them out. This gives the soup its spicy, smoky flavor.