Amanda Long: Shredded beef recipe is a slow-cooked, tasty treat

Finally, I found it! My favorite shredded beef recipe. There is something about shredded beef in restaurants that is so good — possibly all the lard used to cook it.

Well, I have finally found a good shredded beef recipe and it is not packed with fat. In wintertime my slow cooker is my favorite tool, and it makes this recipe that much better. Fast and easy and ready when I get home.

I got this recipe off the Real Simple website. I have added my own twists over time, and it is such a versatile recipe and you can easily change out your favorite ingredients. Any cut of beef could be used; I use flank steak but cook it a bit longer than I would other, more tender cuts. The meat can be used for tacos, nachos, burritos, chili and baked potato topping, and you can probably think of many more. I serve it over rice.

I add more flavor and heat with jalapeños, chopped cilantro, avocado and my favorite Mexican cheese — cotija. Cotija is a very salty, crumbly cheese. You have probably eaten it many times if you eat at Mexican restaurants; it’s the white cheese crumbled on top of your beans and entrees. I put it on salads, too.

SHREDDED BEEF

1- to 1½-pound flank steak, cut crosswise into thirds

14 ounces of diced tomatoes

3 diced roma tomatoes

2 red bell peppers, half-inch-thick slices

1 onion (cut into eighths)

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

2 teaspoons oregano

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon cayenne

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 jalapeño (or 1/4 of a small can of jalapeño)

1 avocado

Cilantro (for garnish)

Cotija (for garnish)

Tortillas or rice

Combine tomatoes, oregano, cumin, cayenne, garlic, jalapeño, cilantro, salt and pepper in the slow cooker. Add onions and peppers and stir. Push flank steaks into the vegetables so the mixture is under and on top of the steak. Cook on low for eight hours.

Shred the beef and serve on rice, in tortillas or in any Mexican dish that calls for shredded beef. We serve it on top of rice with cilantro, avocado slices and cotija cheese.

This recipe can be made in the oven as well. Follow the same preparation directions, place it in a big oven-safe pot and cook on 350 degrees for two to three hours, until the beef shreds nicely.

Amanda Long is passionate about cooking and posts her favorite recipes at www.stuffurface.wordpress.com.