Terre Pruitt's Blog

In the realm of health, wellness, fitness, and the like, or whatever inspires me.

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Posts Tagged ‘sandwiches’

Shredded Beef – Crockpot Cookin’

Posted by terrepruitt on May 30, 2015

We have these roast in our freezer.  HUGE chunks of meat I have no idea what to do with.  I am not a “roast” fan.  The hours of cooking so the fat can melt and seep into the meat, just does not appeal to me.  I have never liked the texture of roast and one day while flipping through channels I paused on America’s Test Kitchen (love that show, especially back in the day when it hadn’t yet been “glammed up”).  They were cooking a roast.  One reason I love that show is they explain the science behind the cooking or at least the reasons why you do what you do.  So they explained that the reason a roast is low cooked for hours is because the fat needs to melt into the meat.  It makes it tender and flavorful.  Yeah, snort!  I didn’t like it before and that REALLY made it unappealing to me.  But . . . . this beef is more lean, I believe.  I have also grown a little bit more tolerate of roast and have actually had some that were yummy.  But, cooking one?  Another story.  I can’t remember exactly how I came across a recipe for Cuban Beef.  I wasn’t looking for it, I think I might have just happened across a blog and it was on there?  I don’t remember, but I have had a recipe for Cuban Shredded Beef on my desktop for almost a month now.  So I decided to try it.  Well, not really.  I had read through the ingredients but not the instructions.  I started to read through them the night before I was going to cook the roast and I decided I didn’t want to do that.  I wanted to throw the thing into my crock pot and let it cook.  So, I started with her list of ingredients and went from there.  I bet it would help a lot if I were more familiar with the science behind cooking a roast.

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Shredded Crock Pot Beef – “Cuban Style”

3.5 pounds pounds of roast, trimmed**
salt
1 bottle lime beer
2 T sherry
1 cup orange juice
juice from 1 1/2 lime*
zest from 1/2 lime
3 teaspoon garlic
3/4 teaspoon cumin
1/2 of an onion

You will use some of these ingredients in the crock pot and some in the oven.

Coat the roast with salt and let it set while you prepare the crock pot liquid.

For the crock pot:

1 lime beer
2 T sherry
1/2 cup orange juice
juice from 1/2 lime
zest from 1/2 lime
2 teaspoon garlic
1/2 teaspoon cumin
a small portion of onions, sliced thin

(Salted 3.5 pounds pounds of roast, trimmed)

Mix the above ingredients together, pour them into the crock pot, then put the salted roast in the crock pot.  If the liquid does not cover the roast and you have a few minutes, let it sit, then flip it over.  Then put the sliced onions on top.  Let it cook on low for three hours.

Then flip it over and turn it to high for an hour.  Then turn the heat to low and let it cook for another two hours.

**this was a grass-fed roast.  Grass-fed beef tends to cook quicker so keep that in mind.

For the beef after cooking in the crock pot

1/c orange juice
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon garlic
juice from 1/2 lime
onions

Mix all the ingredients.  Shred the beef (I used my blender), spread on cookie sheet, pour the liquid over the beef, stir it so all the beef can get some of the liquid.  Then put the cookie sheet in the oven for 20 minutes on 425° F.  You might want to cook it a bit longer if you want those crispy bits of beef.  You decide.

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https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7769/18285057272_2eb5d843ac_b.jpgI served it on bread.  A sweet submarine roll for my hubby and sliced sour dough for me.  I don’t really know how you are supposed to serve Cuban Beef.  I don’t know what Cuban Beef is.  I just made a “regular” sandwich; cheese, mayo, and onions.  I put quartered limes on our plates and we both ended up squeezing it on the meat.

*I am going to use more lime in the recipe itself next time.

This was very good.  I like the lime flavor.  It is zesty and a step away from our normal flavor palate.  It was nice.  I will probably do it again with one of the other roasts we have.

So . . . what is “Cuban Beef”?  Do you have a recipe for Cuban Beef?

Posted in "Recipes", Food | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

My Version Of Sticker Shock

Posted by terrepruitt on February 27, 2014

I am aware that lunch meat is not one of the healthiest of things to be eating.  But I LOVE sandwiches.  I also love that my husband will eat a sandwich that I make and send to work with him instead of eating out every day.  He does eat lunch out on occasion.  A sandwich with lunch meat is healthier than what he eats when he eats out.  But this post is not REALLY about lunch meat.  It is about prices.  It is about paying attention.  It is about packaging.  It is about knowing what you are buying.  In my opinion, food manufacturers are tricky.  I was in the store not too long ago buying lunch meat.  I prefer the meat that my husband gets at Costco, but he has not made that trip in a bit so I am buying lunch meat from the grocery store.  It is a good idea to look at the per ounce prices on things.

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia at the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Zumba, PiYo, Gentle YogaI looked at the package of lunch meat that I normally buy and decided upon a really quick glance that there was another brand that was less expensive and to my delight tastier.  I was trying to decide which turkey to buy when I saw the roast beef.  My hubby gets turkey ALL THE TIME so I thought, “Oh, I will get the roast beef instead.  It is the same price.”  But as I picked it up I happened to look at the per ounce price on this brand.  I didn’t really expect it to be different, in fact I was confused at first because the package was the same, but there was a 12¢ difference.  That is when I look at the weight.  The WEIGHT was not the same.  The turkey was 9 oz and the roast beef was 7 oz.  So even though I would be paying the same amount I would be getting two ounces less.

I don’t know for certain, but I can imagine that I bought this roast beef before.  And I bet that I didn’t even notice the weight difference because the package is the same.  Exactly the same.  So I bet I didn’t even look at the weight because I thought I was getting the same amount of roast beef as I was turkey for the same price.

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia at the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Zumba, PiYo, Gentle YogaNow, really, if you want roast beef you are probably going to get it.  I just think this is tricky.  But — yes, it is clearly labeled as different amounts.  I just really like that little “price per unit” amount the put on shelf labels.  It really helps.  Sometimes things LOOK more expensive because the price on the package might be more, but when you really look and compare it could be that the price of what you are buying is really less.  I say “price per unit” because sometimes it is ounce and sometimes it is something else, just depends on what you are buying.  So I use this information often.  But usually between different brands.

It is so small and so many of us are in a hurry — especially at the grocery store — I thought I would share.  Actually, I thought I would share because this annoyed me.  I felt like I would have been duped if I bought the roast beef.  And that really would have just been ME . . . I mean I was the one that thought they were the same size for the same price.  I know about the “price per . . .” information, but since the packages are the same I ASSUMED (uh-oh!)  🙂  Since I was comparing lunch meat prices I happened to look at the per ounce price on this brand.  I was shocked and annoyed.

I have also been paying attention to the prices at the store near my Nia class because although it is really convenient, I think it might be more expensive than the one closer to my house.  So I have been really looking close!

Anyway . . . I guess I am just saying if you have the time and the inkling – really LOOK at what you are buying and use the “price per unit” portion of the shelf label!

Do you compare prices when you shop?  Do you stick to your particular brands?  Are you like me and you just really want to get in the store and get out?

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