Slower Cooker Carne Asada Steak Tacos with Chipotle Aioli Sauce

Source: Six Sisters' Stuff

Maybe it's the cooler temperatures (finally!), but I have been on a serious slow cooker kick. I love being able to put a few simple ingredients in my slow cooker before I leave in the morning and have the hard part of dinner already over with when I come home. Plus, I'm a sucker for Mexican food and sometimes I can't stomach the almost $10 a pound  they're charging for carne asada at our local Mexican grocery store. 

I have to admit I was a bit skeptical going into this. I was worried that the flank steak would come out chewy or tough, but it was completely the opposite. I cooked mine on low for about 7 hours and it was tender as could be. The meat had great flavor, even without the sauce,  and I ended up using the leftovers for burritos.  I love, love, loved, the sauce, but mine  turned  out a tad spicy (a little went a long way).  If you're worried about the spice level, start out with 1 tsp. of the  chipotle peppers. 

Slow Cooker Carne Asada Steak Tacos with Chipotle Aioli Sauce

Ingredients:
Steak Tacos:
2 lbs flank steak or London Broil steak, thinly sliced
1 cup salsa
1 (10 oz) can diced tomatoes with green chilis (I used Rotel)
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
flour or corn tortillas
favorite taco toppings (tomatoes, avocados, cheese, salsa, sour cream, lettuce, etc.)

Chipotle Aioli:
6 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 teaspoons chopped chipotle chiles in adobo (found in the Mexican food aisle at the grocery store)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon cumin
4 teaspoons fresh lime juice
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
Spray slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray. Place sliced steak in the bottom. Pour salsa, diced tomatoes, cumin, and chili powder on top. Stir, until all seasonings are thoroughly mixed in. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours.
While the meat is cooking, put all ingredients for the aioli in a blender and blend until smooth.
When meat is done, scoop meat onto tortillas, top with your favorite taco toppings, and drizzle with chipotle aioli.
Makes about 6 servings (depending on the size of your tortillas and how much meat you put on each one).

Recipe Source: Six Sisters' Stuff

Posted by: Sallie

PF Chang's Lettuce Wraps

 Source: http://damndelicious.net/2014/05/30/pf-changs-chicken-lettuce-wraps/

Whenever we go to PF Changs, the lettuce wraps are a must order. Unfortunately, it isn't very often considering the nearest location is over 2 hours away and I won't even tell you how much our bill was last time we took the whole fam!  Thank goodness for copy cat recipes and friends who text  you said recipes. 

Obviously I wasn't doing a side by side comparison, but these lettuce wraps were every bit as good as the original. I easily found all of the ingredients in my local grocery store, except the ground chicken. It was late at night and I didn't want to go to another store so I settled for ground turkey. It was so good I honestly don't know if I will even try the ground chicken next time. 

I served it with some steamed edamame and fresh pineapple. I also made a big pot of jasmine rice to go with it because I can't do no carb. For a quick weeknight meal that's delicious and healthy, this meal is hard to beat. 

Cook's note:  Make sure you get butter lettuce. Sorry people, ice burg just won't cut it here. 

PF Chang's Lettuce Wraps

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tablespoon olive oil 
• 1 pound ground chicken (I used ground turkey)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced 
• 1 onion, diced 
• 1/4 cup hoisin sauce 
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce 
• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar 
• 1 tablespoons freshly grated ginger 
• 1 teaspoon Sriracha, or more, to taste 
• 1 (8-ounce) can whole water chestnuts, drained and diced 
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced 
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste 
• 1 head butter lettuce

 

INSTRUCTIONS

• Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium high heat. Add ground chicken and cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the chicken as it cooks; drain excess fat. 
• Stir in garlic, onion, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ginger and Sriracha until onions have become translucent, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in chestnuts and green onions until tender, about 1-2 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste. 
• To serve, spoon several tablespoons of the chicken mixture into the center of a lettuce leaf, taco-style

Original recipe found here: http://damndelicious.net/2014/05/30/pf-changs-chicken-lettuce-wraps/

Posted by: Sallie