Easy Slow Cooker Beef Tacos

Have you ever felt like your grocery bill is going NUTS? I had a couple weeks last month where I felt like I was bombing at life in the grocery department. I was spending way too much, and I couldn't figure out why my bill was creeping higher and higher past our allotted budget amount. 

Well, if you took a look at how messy and unorganized my pantry and fridge were getting, it would have explained everything. It was such a mess, I didn't know what food I had, and what food I needed, so I was just buying everything for brand new recipes without even checking what I already had in the pantry/fridge. 

I committed myself to an entire week of using up almost every. single. thing. I already had in the pantry. I cleaned it all out, super-cleaned out my fridge, and then made my grocery list from what I already had. It definitely forced me to be more creative in the recipe-creating department. And I'll tell you what... 

It was pretty dang fun. 

This was one of those use-what-you-already-have recipes, and it turned out to be even better than the pre-designed ones I've had in my head for some time! The ingredients were so simple, and were all things I already had in the pantry/fridge/freezer. We had a leftover roast in the freezer that I hadn't used up, and a few cans of things leftover from a few recipes that didn't work out last month. So a recipe was born. 

I LOVE making things in the slow cooker. It's a no-brainer, and takes one thing off my list of things to do for the day. Dinner is already ready by the time 6pm rolls around, and I don't have to do any prep at all to get it on the table. Plus, it makes the house smell really, really good. These beef tacos were a cinch to make. I dry rubbed the meat with seasonings I already had, seared the heck out of the thing in a pan, then tossed it in the slow cooker with a couple cans of things I already had in the pantry. Green peppers for heat, tomato sauce to marry everything together in the slow cooker. It was amazing. I wasn't expecting them to be nearly as good, but it pretty much exploded our minds when we took our first bite of these heavenly tacos. Easy dinner, no money spent that week on the new recipe, pantry/fridge cleaned out in the process - dinner accomplished, man. 

Easy Slow Cooker Beef Tacos 

makes 6 servings

1 lb beef rump roast, thawed

1 T olive oil

salt and pepper

1 T cumin

1/2 t cayenne

1/2 t paprika 

1/2 t onion powder

1/2 t garlic powder

1 t steak seasoning (such as McCormick, etc)

1 5oz can green chiles

1 10oz can tomato sauce 

fried corn tortillas, lettuce, avocados, and queso blanco for serving

method:

1. In a large saucepan over medium heat, heat oil. In the meantime, combine all the dry-rub ingredients in a small bowl (cumin, salt, pepper, cayenne, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, steak seasoning). With your hands, massage/rub the dry seasonings over the entire surface of the meat until all the seasonings have been used and rubbed into the meat. 

2. With large sturdy tongs, place the rubbed meat into the warmed oil and hold there until browned. Turn the meat to the other side, and brown that side as well, making sure to get that crusted dark brown sear on all the sides of the meat. When all the sides have been browned. Place the meat into your slow cooker. 

3. Pour over the cans of tomato sauce and then the green chiles. Cover tightly with the lid, and let cook for 8 hours on low, or 5 hours on high. Shred with forks, and serve over the fried corn tortillas, topped with lettuce, avocado, and queso blanco. 

Recipe source: Baking with Blondie