Happy Sunday, kids!
Today is probably my second-favorite day of the week. For me, it usually starts out pretty slow and progresses in a blur of coffee, then mimosas, then snacks, then dinner. When I am super busy during the week, I often try to cook multiple things (many of which I have already test-driven once) over the weekend to ensure:

• A- They're actually good (blog-worthy, if you will)
• B- I know WTF I am talking about (I have finally started keeping a dedicated recipe notebook so I  know exactly what I did when it comes time to share with you guys. Only took, like, two years. Better late than never?)
• C- I can get some quality photos and am no longer trying to snap pics of my dinner at 10PM in a dirty kitchen 

These precautions have helped me tremendously with content, and I assure you some of the best food-related posts here are yet to come.

But all of this doesn't change the fact that during the week, all too often, it is late, I am hungry, and I am tired. And lately? I am hot. So, so hot. Which makes cooking positively miserable, if I do say so myself.

So, I thought my options were limited to grilling or going on a hunger strike in the kiddie pool--but then I remembered the slow cooker. There is positively no need to relegate this appliance to colder-weather months. While I love slow-cooked stew and other fall fare-- in the summer it's that much more pleasant to have a delicious meal with limited effort and time in the kitchen.

And the best thing to do with slow-cooked meat is tacos. Fact.
Throw the beef in the slow cooker in the morning, fire up the grill for a few (literally) hot minutes in the evening, and set up a quick taco bar with accompaniments like crisp arugula and cool greek yogurt, and you have a Taco Tuesday that's guaranteed to impress.




Slow-Cooked Mexican Beef Tacos
Serves 4-6
~10 mins hands on, slow cook 8 hrs

For the Beef
What it's Made of:

• 2-3 lbs beef chuck roast or rump roast
• 1 (16oz) can petite diced tomatoes
• 2 limes, sliced in half
• 3 garlic cloves, smashed
• 2 whole jalapeños, sliced in half lengthwise (seeds and ribs removed if you are concerned about heat)
• One white onion, diced
• Smoked paprika, ground cayenne pepper, cumin, coriander
• Beef broth (or water)

How it's Made:

• If time permits, brown the beef first; heat a large cast iron skillet over high and wait until it's pretty screaming hot. Brown the meat on all sides, 3-5 mins each (If you don't have time for this, I'm sure the meat will still be just as delicious after several hours in the slow cooker)
• Place beef in the slow cooker and add tomatoes, juice of both limes (then toss them in, too), garlic cloves, jalapeños and onion. 
• Add a palmful or so each of the seasonings, as well as salt and coarsely ground black pepper
• Add a splash (no more than 4oz) of beef broth 
• Cover and cook on low for at least 8 hours