Taco Miracle

If you've known me for more than ten minutes, you know that I'm obsessed with tacos. They are my favorite food, by far. I could eat tacos morning, noon, and night everyday. This is not an exaggeration. I haven't met many tacos I didn't like, but I recently found a good one that is so unique! These carne guisada tacos taste like brisket tacos from a legit taqueria. You will swear they came from a taco truck. But no - they came from a crock pot.

It's a taco miracle.

This Carne Guisada recipe came from Everyday Food Magazine. The carne guisada is a stew of beef, onions, and peppers in a rich gravy. You can serve it on top of rice, but I prefer it in a taco! I've served these tacos for multiple people who have come over for dinner, and they always get rave reviews.

This recipe is a new Norwood family favorite and Brent has given it 4.5 stars I believe (out of 5). Curiously, nothing has ever gotten a 5, so 4.5 is pretty much the best you can get. I'll take it.

Carne Guisada Tacos
Adapted from Everyday Food

2 1/2 lbs. chuck roast, cut into bite sized pieces
coarse salt & ground pepper
2 T. vegetable oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced medium
2 green bell peppers, seeded and diced medium
2 large jalapenos, seeded and diced medium
5 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
palmful each of ground cumin, chili powder, and oregano
6 T. flour
1 3/4 cup chicken broth
1 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes
2 bay leaves
flour tortillas, salsa, cheddar cheese, cilantro, and/or guacamole for serving

Heat the oil over high heat in a skillet. Season meat with salt and pepper and brown meat in batches - about 3 minutes each batch.

Remove meat from pan and reserve on a plate. Add chopped onion, bell pepper, jalapeno, and garlic to skillet and saute 5 minutes or until tender.

Add all spices and flour to sauteed veggies. Stir to cook for one minute just to cook out the raw flour. Add chicken broth and stir to incorporate and make sauce smooth, scraping up all browned bits. Bring to a simmer and cook 2 minutes.

Add meat and veggie mixture to slow cooker along with canned tomatoes and bay leaves. Cook on HIGH for 5-6 hours. At the end of the cooking time, your house will smell amazing, and you will see this:
Most important step: Buy fresh tortillas from your grocery store (Kroger or HEB have them). Then, CRISP them on a griddle. This is key and makes it taste so much better you will not even believe it. You may not skip this step. Don't be lazy.
Spoon carne guisada mixture out of crock pot with a slotted spoon and arrange on your crisped tortillas and top with your choice of toppings. I prefer salsa, shredded cheddar, and cilantro. You can serve the leftovers with the sauce on top of Mexican rice... yum!