Mexican Style Meat – A Base for a TON of Meals!

October 10, 2012 · by

This Mexican Style Meat is a favorite recipe of mine, not only for it’s incredible flavor – but because of the multitude of meals that I can build from this one simple crockpot dish.

As a busy mom, I value recipes that save me time in the kitchen and this recipe saves an incredible amount of it. You can cook up a batch in the crockpot & divvy it out for a few meals throughout the week. It also freezes beautifully, so you can have one meal with it this week – and freeze the rest in portions for future meals.

You can do this with any kind of meat – beef, pork, or chicken.  In the picture I used a beef chuck roast, and I always decide which kind of meat to use for the meals based on which type is on sale at the time.

And when I say a multitude of meals, that’s really no exaggeration.  Here’s what I use it for.  (several of these ‘recipes’ are coming this week)

And, I’m sure you could think of several other things than what I use it for.  It’s so versatile.

Really, really simple.  Seriously.  Follow along with me.

Season your meat liberally & sear it well on all sides.  You don’t have to use a roast – just equal poundage of the meat you’re using, about 4 pounds worth.

 

Place the meat in your crockpot.

 

Add a large onion chopped…

 

Then add in your 3 (7oz) cans of chopped green chiles, undrained

 

Now, pour in all your spices, the hot sauce, & a small amount of water.  Don’t worry, the hot sauce doesn’t make it overly hot at all.  My 2 year old eats this with no problem.  It’s all flavor!

 

Cover, and cook on low for 8 hours, or until meat is tender & falls apart easily. Transfer to a bowl to shred.  You can strain some of the juice from of it if you don’t like your meat very ‘wet’.  If you’re planning to freeze it for later, don’t strain any juice until you’ve thawed it.  The juice maintains the flavor while being frozen. Personally, I never strain my meat – I like it just the way that it is.

 

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Mexican Style Meat – A Base for a TON of Meals!

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 8 hours

Total Time: 8 hours, 30 minutes

Serving Size: About 12

Mexican Style Meat – A Base for a TON of Meals!

Ingredients

  • 4 pounds of beef, pork, or chicken (cheap cuts of meat work well for this)
  • good amount of salt & pepper to season meat with
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 3 (7oz) diced green chile peppers, undrained
  • 2 tablespoons chili powder
  • 2 tablespoons ground cumin
  • 2 tablespoons garlic powder
  • 1 (5 ounce) bottle hot pepper sauce (I like Frank's hot sauce or Cholula)
  • 1/4 cup of water

Instructions

Trim the meat of any excess fat, and season well with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Place the meat in the hot skillet, and sear it quickly on all sides.

Transfer the meat to a slow cooker and top it with the chopped onion. Season with chopped green chiles, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, & hot pepper sauce.

Cover, and cook on low for 8 hours or until meat is tender & falling apart, checking to make sure there is always at least a small amount of liquid in the bottom of the cooker (add more liquid if need be).

Transfer the meat to a bowl and shred it using two forks.

Notes

If the meat comes out 'wetter' than your tastes, feel free to strain any extra juice. While I love mine with the extra juice, I know not everyone likes it that way. However; if you're going to freeze any of the meat - add the strained juice back to the portion you're going to freeze for best results.

 

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Filed Under: Beef, Chicken, Cooking, Crockpot, Freezer Meals, Leftover Ideas, Main Dish, Mexican ·