slow cooker tex-mex steak and rice

this recipe is PERFECT for chilly autumn or winter nights. and it's another one of those recipes that you really should put it in the slow cooker when you are out of the house. because if not, the following conversation may well take place (as it did between my husband and me).

hubs: "baby... is what's cooking in the crock pot for lunch or for dinner?"
me: "it's for dinner."
hubs: "ugh! it smells so good! i want it now!"



and at the first bite:

hubs: "OH MY GOSH! THIS IS SO GOOD!"


and he was right. it was delicious. the steak in this LITERALLY fell apart. i couldn't even get it with my fork. i nearly traded in my fork for a spoon just to scoop it up. it was that tender.


enough about that. here's what you need and how to do it:


ingredients:

• 1 1/4 pounds beef boneless round, tip, or chuck steak, about 3/4 inch thick (actually, you could use stew meat - it's cheaper, and the way the steak cooks, you won't be able to tell the difference)
• 1 can of beef broth (10 and some odd ounces)
• 1 can (14.5 ounces) Southwestern salsa-style diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained (i couldn't find a can that size, so i got two cans of the walmart brand of mild diced tomatoes with green chilies and used 1 1/2. you can use the other half to mix in with corn for a great side dish)
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 cups frozen stir-fry bell peppers and onions (from 1 pound bag), thawed and drained (i found a bag at walmart by pictsweet of a three-pepper and onion blend and it worked out great)
• 1 cup uncooked instant rice

directions:
cut beef into 4 serving pieces. (the steak i bought was already sectioned into serving pieces, but in the end, this step wouldn't have mattered anyway, because the steak fell apart into bite size pieces...)

place beef in 3-4 quart slow cooker.

mix broth, tomatoes, cumin, salt, and garlic in medium bowl.

pour mixture over beef.

cover and cook on LOW setting 7 to 8 hours. (mine cooked for about 6.5 hours but i was using a bigger slow cooker with the same amount of ingredients in this recipe, so it cooked a bit faster.)

stir bell pepper mixture and uncooked rice in slow cooker.

increase heat setting to HIGH. cover and cook 20-30 minutes or until rice is tender.

scoop and serve!

as i said before, this was DELISH! we ate this with some tostito scoops, and they went pretty well together. i love this recipe, because it was easy, delicious, and helped with my sinuses too! maybe that's TMI, but i have no brain to mouth/typing hands filter.


try it, and let me know what you think!!


fin.