The most delightful way to beat the self-quarantine blues! These Saucy Spicy Slow Cooker Beef Steak Tacos will have your entire house smelling mouthwateringly delicious! Tender chunks of beef steak swimming in a rich and decadent, spicy gravy with just enough heat in the back to wake up your tastebuds! Some of the best taco (or burrito!) meat I’ve ever tasted! 

 

Who has had the horrific COVID-19 for almost 4 weeks now? THIS GIRL. Yep. Lucky me. And believe me when I say that, it is truly every bit as bad as what you could possibly imagine. 

I think I’ve had every single possible symptom one can get from this, and I still feel like crud. I’m starting to worry that I’m never going to be the same again. I still have a fever, (although not scary-high anymore thank goodness!), a bad cough, fatigue, and shortness of breath from the smallest of tasks that I’ve never had before. 

And if that wasn’t bad enough, my husband has it, too. He didn’t get it as bad, but bad enough to really knock his socks off. This virus is truly evil. 

So, please, listen to the experts and doctors, and do what they tell you. And above all, STAY. INSIDE. Please!! You could die or kill someone else. It truly is that bad. I’m actually thanking my lucky stars that I didn’t end up in the hospital like so many others, or even worse. 

Stay safe everyone!!!

 

 

Okay, so now that I’m getting back to the living, we were STARVING. Hungry for some homemade food!! But, still being in not very good shape, I decided to take it easy and let my crock pot lend me a helping hand.

We had some funky steaks in the freezer, that frankly, weren’t very tender at all. They were called “partial ribeyes”. I don’t even know what that means. Part ribeye and part…what? Huh??? 

So, I knew that they were going to have to be slow-cooked until tender this time, after the first package was a near disaster trying to grill them like a regular steak.

And the results were some of the BEST tacos I’ve ever tasted!!

 

 

 

 

I made my own taco seasoning mix that came out better than ever! There’s a lot of ingredients in this, but please do make it. It literally only takes MINUTES to throw together. 

 

 

 

 

And here’s the infamous “mystery steaks”. They were gorgeous, but just too tough to be grilled. Even rare. 

 

 

 

 

So, I cut them up into cubes, trimming away a lot of the fat as I went along, and tossed it all into the crock of my trusted old friend, my 30+ year old crock pot that still works like new! 

 

 

 

 

I sprinkled all of the seasoning across the top and stirred it all in until all of the sides of the cubes were well-coated. 

 

 

 

 

I then added a couple more ingredients, including salsa and beef consommé, dotted the top with butter….

 

 

 

 

…and cooked the meat until melt-in-your-mouth tender! 

 

 

 

 

Then, I simply thickened the saucy “gravy” at the end with a little cornstarch and cold water slurry.

 

 

 

 

While the meat was resting, I warmed the tortillas….

 

 

 

 

…and gathered up some toppings for our tacos.

 

 

 

 

We kept it super simple so as not to cover up that wonderfully tasty meat!

 

 

 

 

We only topped ours with shredded lettuce, grated sharp cheddar, and a spoonful or two of sour cream.

But you could certainly go all out and deck yours with chopped onion, sliced olives and jalapeños, avocado or guacamole, tomatoes or pico de gallo, and hit it with some of your favorite hot sauce for an extra blast of heat if you’d like!

 

 

 

So, if you, too, are under the weather, or just craving something HEAVENLY for dinner that’s easy to make, be sure to give these a try TODAY. Yep. Don’t wait. Just make these Saucy Spicy Slow Cooker Beef Steak Tacos today! 

Because we never know what tomorrow can bring. 

Stay safe everybody!! Virtual hugs to all!! 

 

 

 

Saucy Spicy Slow Cooker Beef Steak Tacos

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Ingredients

Seasoning Mix:

• 2 Tbl. cornstarch
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. regular pepper
• 2 tsp. chili powder
• 2 tsp. cumin
• 2 tsp. paprika
• 2 tsp. garlic powder
• 2 tsp. onion powder
• 1/2 tsp. chipotle powder, can sub cayenne
• 1/8 tsp. sugar

Rest of Ingredients for Beef:

• 2 - 2 1/2 lbs. beef or steak such as ribeye, sirloin, or even chuck roast, cut into 1 inch cubes and trimmed of excess fat
• 1 cup chunky-style salsa, (mild, medium or hot)
• 1 cup canned beef consommé (Campbell's soup makes it)
• 2 Tbl. real butter such as Minerva Dairy butter

Thickener for the End:

• 2 Tbl. cornstarch
• 2 Tbl. *cold* water

Taco Completion Stuff and Toppings:

• flour tortillas or crispy taco shells, warmed
• grated mexican blend, cheddar, pepper jack or co-jack cheese
• sour cream
• guacamole or fresh avocado slices or cubes
• shredded lettuce
• chopped tomato or pico de gallo (*see my recipe for pico de gallo!)
• hot sauce

Instructions

In a small bowl, mix together extremely well the Seasoning Mix ingredients. Cut up whatever beef you have on hand into 1 inch cubes, trimming away any excess fat as you go along. Add beef cubes to a slow cooker/crock pot, sprinkle seasoning mix over the top, and stir until all of the mix coates the cubes of beef evenly. (Okay if there is a little bit left in the bottom.) Pour over the top the salsa and beef consommé. Stir gently. Dot with butter, place on lid, and cook on HIGH for 4 - 5 hours until beef is extremely tender. (*Stirring once an hour.)

When beef is tender, in small glass, stir together the cornstarch and COLD water until completely mixed, scraping bottom of glass to make sure it all mixes together to form a slurry. Remove lid of crock pot, and stream in cornstarch slurry while stirring. Let cook another 5 minutes with lid off, stirring now and then. This will thicken immediately. Then turn off heat.

Warm tortillas or taco shells, fill with meat, and top with whatever taco toppings you desire.