Shredded Beef Tacos

Today wasn't the best day. Someone cut me off on my drive home from work and nearly hit my car. There was a ton of traffic just minutes from my house. I had to drop off my car at the mechanic with no sign of when I'll get it back. I hit myself in the head with a door. Yup, a door.

But you know what could improve a day like today? Walking in the door to smell this simmering in the crock pot.

Dinner on the table in 10 minutes? I think so. Comfort food? Yes, please.

Taco night? Spicy.

Shredded Beef Tacos
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 lb boneless chuck roast (3 lbs if bone-in)
1-2 Tbsp vegetable oil 
1 1/2 cups beef broth or stock
4 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, diced
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1 Bay leaf
1/2 large yellow onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
Flour tortillas
Taco garnishes (avocado, cheese, lettuce, tomato, etc.)

Directions:
1. In a small bowl, combine all spices (except bay leaf). Rub spice mixture evenly over beef, coating all sides as much as possible.
2. Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add vegetable oil. Heat to almost smoking. Lay the meat into the skillet, allowing the first side to sear until it is well browned, 3-4 minutes. Flip the meat over, searing the other side as well. Lay the meat into the bowl of a slow cooker.
3. Pour the beef broth into the hot pan, scraping any browned bits off the bottom with a wooden spoon. Add the peppers and tomato paste and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until reduced and slightly thick, 2-3 minutes.
4. Add the bay leaf, onion, and garlic to the slow cooker, over the meat. Pour in the cooking liquid. Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for at least 6 hours, and up to 8.
5. Remove the meat from the slow cooker to a large bowl. Shred with two forks. Add some cooking liquid and onions if desired. Serve warm in flour tortillas. Garnish with your favorite taco toppings.

Recipe Notes:

• This recipe does require some prep work, so I find it easiest to make on a day when I don't actually have to work or need to be somewhere early in the morning. But if you want to do some prep the night before, you can season the steak, chop the onion and garlic, and measure and mix together the beef stock, peppers, and tomato paste. Reserve all in the fridge overnight.
• The heat in this recipe comes from the chipotle peppers, so add more if you like it spicy or less if you like it on the mild side.

Adapted from My Kitchen Addiction

Pretzel Chocolate Chip Marshmallow Cookies

I think I may have created the most epic cookie of all time. 

Ok, so that might be a slight exaggeration. I mean, there's no bacon in it.

But I imagine these taste like what a s'more would taste like if you replaced the graham crackers with chocolate chip cookies and sandwiched them with a chocolate covered pretzel inside instead of a boring piece of plain chocolate. 

What, too far? 

I used my favorite chocolate chip cookie as a base for these and then basically put them on steroids. Even though we learned last time that the 24 hour rest period is helpful, I went ahead and baked a test cookie the day I made the dough. You know, for more research. And also because I really wanted a cookie. And when you have cookie dough in your fridge that looks like this...

I mean, come on. I challenge you to resist the temptation.

Frankly, I think the cookies I baked the same day I made the dough tasted just as good as the ones I baked the next day. That is, sinfully delicious.

I tried to get a picture of the strings of melted, gooey marshmallow that stretch across your fingers as you break one of these in half, but I mostly ended up with lots of pictures that look like this:

Self timer fail. But cute apron win!

And lots of broken cookies. Oh well, guess you'll just have to bake some and see for yourself. 

Pretzel Chocolate Chip Marshmallow Cookies
Yield: 15 cookies

Ingredients:
4.25 oz (1 cup minus 1 Tbsp) cake flour
4.25 oz (3/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp) bread flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp kosher salt
10 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
5 oz (1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp) light brown sugar
4 oz (1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp) granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup mini marshmallows
3/4 cup mini pretzels, left whole

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. 2. In a medium bowl, whisk together both flours, the baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter with both sugars on medium speed until very light and fluffy, 4-5 minutes.
4. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the egg and vanilla and return the mixer to medium speed. Mix until the egg is completely incorporated.
5. Add the dry ingredients and mix on low until not quite incorporated. Add the chocolate chips, marshmallows, and pretzels. Mix until just incorporated; you don't want to break the pretzels up too much (bravo if you can even keep a few whole!).
6. Portion the dough into 2 oz balls, about the size of a golf ball and space them evenly on your prepared baking sheet. Bake 15-18 minutes, of until the edges of the cookies just begin to turn golden brown. Remove baking sheets to a wire rack but leave the cookies on the sheet to cool. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature. These cookies are best the day they're made, but will keep stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Recipe Notes:

• Unlike the original cookies this recipe is based on, I do not think these need to be rested for 24 hours for them to be at their peak of deliciousness, but the dough will absolutely keep well wrapped, in the fridge for up to 72 hours, or the freezer for about a month.  
• Your cookies may still look underdone at the 15-18 minute mark but don't overbake them! They are going to look a little gooey thanks to the melted marshmallow, but the dough itself will be cooked through. 

Spanikopita

In order to understand this conversation, you have to know what Sfinge is. Sfinge (pronounced SFEENJ. It rhymes with...nothing) is something Dan's Italian family has been making for decades. It's a dense, savory bread filled with meat, usually ground beef, and provolone cheese, and topped with lots of Oregano. Don't try to google it; you'll just come up with cream puffs. No really, you will. 

Me, on the phone with Dan: How long do we have to keep the sfinge around?
Dan: Oh, yeah. It's probably not that great anymore.
Me: Question- Considering that sfinge is chocked full of meat and cheese, why doesn't it have to be refrigerated?
Dan: Well, you see, sfinge is a unique combination of special ingredients that have evolved to a point that they don't need to be refrigerated.
Me: ...OK. (Cutting myself a piece and starting to eat it)
Dan: On second thought, maybe you can throw it away.
Me: (Silent chewing.)
Dan: Or maybe you should feed it to the dogs first and see how they do.
Me: (Feeds piece to Dexter who gobbles it up and sprints away.) He seems fine. (Cuts self bigger piece.)

After a few minutes I decided week-old sfinge isn't that bad, and that my stomach felt fine, and proceeded to eat two of these.

So now if I die of food poisoning we'll never know the real cause. Just kidding. These are totally safe to eat and delicious. It would definitely be the sfinge.

Spanikopita
Yield: 2 servings (but this recipe is easily doubled)

Ingredients:
1-2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 small onion (about 1/3 cup), small diced 
1 clove garlic, minced
9 oz box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 Tbsp fresh dill, chopped
1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
salt and pepper
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed overnight in the fridge
Egg wash (1 egg beaten with a little milk or water, plus a pinch of salt)

Directions:
1. Place a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add the oil, enough to mostly coat the bottom of the pan.
2. Add the onions and cook until translucent, 4-5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook another minute, or until fragrant. Add the spinach and dill, mixing just to combine.
3. Transfer the filling to a bowl and add feta cheese. Taste and add salt and pepper to your liking. Add the egg and mix to combine. Allow the filling to cool at least to room temperature.
4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. On a lightly floured board, roll out the puff pastry into a larger rectangle, until it is about 1/4'' thick. Cut the dough in half lengthwise. Cut each long piece into 3 equally-sized squares.
5. Place about 2 heaping tablespoons of filling into the center of each square. Brush the edges of each square lightly with egg wash. Fold the dough over, corner to corner, creating a triangle. Press down firmly to seal the edges with your fingers or a fork.
6. Place all the squares on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Brush with egg wash. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown. Allow to cool slightly, and serve warm.

Recipe Notes:

• Spanikopita is traditionally made using phyllo dough instead of puff pastry, but puff is what I had in my freezer and can be a little easier to work with.
• I like to taste the filling before adding any salt because feta can be very salty and usually I find I don't need to add any. Just remember to taste it before adding the raw egg!
• You can make these squares as large or as small as you want. Serve smaller ones as an appetizer or larger ones for lunch or a vegetarian dinner.
• I had a little filling leftover so I added the extra egg wash to it and baked it in greased mini muffin cups for about 10 minutes. 

 

Ta-da! Mini crust-less quiches!