Chipotle-fy Your Chilly Insides

This spicy, slow-cooked beef is perfect for the dreary, cold days of January. Is everyone else cold and wet? If it rains anymore here, I may consider building an ark.

I love this beef because it makes a lot, it freezes well and you can use it for burritos, tacos or nachos. We also used it in quesadillas, more nachos (we love nachos), and breakfast burritos (also amazing). And last time I got creative and made soup with it. (also posted below) We don't usually eat a lot of red meat, but I could seriously eat this stuff daily. Especially since it gets better after a day or two.

Shredded Chipotle Beef Burritos
adapted from BHG.com

1 1/2 lb roast or steaks
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
1/3 c chopped onion
1 or 2 canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp cumin
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp salt
1/3 c chopped fresh cilantro
juice from 1 small lime
warm tortillas
fresh pico de gallo or salsa
guacamole
sour cream
shredded cheese

Trim meat of fat and strange gummy parts and cut into about 6 pieces. Place meat in a 2.5-4 qt slow cooker. Add undrained tomatoes, onion, chipotle peppers, oregano, cumin, garlic, and salt. Cover and cook on low heat for 7-8 hours. Remove meat from slow cooker, shred with a couple of forks and return to pot. Cook for an additional hour or so until heated through and flavor has incorporated into the meat. Add cilantro and lime juice. Serve on tortillas with pico, guac, sour cream and cheese. (And anything else you feel like putting on there)

Nat's Notes:
1. I decided that chipotle peppers rock. You can use them in place of diced green chilies in about anything. They add smokey, spicy flavor to stuff. Mmm. They're super hot, though, so go easy on them.
2. The leftovers we had were AMAZING on nachos. I would have made quesadillas, too, but we ate it up too fast.
3. They tend to drip quite a bit, so you might not want to make them for people who are wearing nice clothes and aren't sitting at a table. Oops.

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This soup tastes like a southwest version of beef vegetable soup, but instead of chewy beef cubes, it has shreds of melt-in-your-mouth steak. Feel free to add any vegetables you have on hand. I had potatoes and carrots, so that's what I used. I think some greens like kale or Swiss chard would also work well in this.

This soup is seriously so good. I froze some of my leftovers just so I could quickly make this soup again in a few weeks. Speaking of quick -- this one is under 30 minutes. Hooray!

Chipotle Steak and Potato Soup
an original recipe by Natalie

Olive oil
1/2 c chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 c matchstick carrots
Salt and pepper
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 - 1 tsp. minced chipotle pepper
1 14 oz can beef broth
1 14 oz can chicken broth
1 large baking potato cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 2-3 cups)
1 1/2 c leftover shredded chipotle beef (recipe here)
1/4 c chopped cilantro
Shredded pepper jack cheese and sour cream (optional)

Drizzle some olive oil in the bottom of a large sauce pan and heat to medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, and carrots; add a pinch of salt and pepper. Saute vegetables until tender and onions begin to brown a little.

Add cumin and chipotle pepper; cook and stir for about a minute. Add beef broth, chicken broth, potatoes, and beef. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until potatoes are cooked through and flavors have combined.

Garnish with cilantro, shredded cheese, and sour cream. Serves 4.

Nat's Notes:
1. I used both chicken and beef broths because I had some leftover chicken broth I needed to use up in the fridge. You could use all beef or all chicken broth if you like. I think that using some chicken broth keeps it from getting too rich, but it might also be really good that way. Let me know if you try it like that.

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