Slow Cooking

I am home sick today because I let my dentist convince me to pull out one of my wisdom teeth yesterday because "the area is going to be numb anyway" due to my new crown being put in. Since I eventually had to get the wisdom tooth pulled before my Invisalign can begin, I thought, why not? So I am home with a mouth full of gauze (and vicodin!), rinsing every 2-3 hours. My diet is also limited to soft foods that can be chewed on the left side. But it is my turn this week and figured I could still cook dinner!

Week 2 (January 13, 2010)
I picked the recipe for Cuban braised beef and peppers last week, which I think I might be able to eat since it is supposed to come out tender and shredded. One hurdle though, the recipe called for use of a crock pot, which we don't have. Note: We used to have one, but it took up too much space in our little kitchen so it went to my mom's house. I decided since I was going to be home all day, I could use our Le Creuset French oven and slow cook it for a few hours in the oven.

I started by browning the flank steak

Then I chopped the veggies and sautéd them with a bit of water to pick up the browned bits (for more flavor and easier clean up!).

Then I placed the meat back in the pan.

I followed the rest of the recipe with a few exceptions, since I tend to stray from recipes. I decided to throw in a dash of cayenne pepper and 1 chopped jalapeño pepper to give the dish a kick of spicyness (btw, I like this spelling better than spiciness). I threw it in the oven at 325° for 3 hours. Et voilà!

Dinner is served!

Overall, we gave this night's dinner an average of 8.25 out of 10 (Mayra: 8; Geoffrey:8.5). It was super easy, didn't require a lot of ingredients, came out nice and tender (yes, I ate is just fine), very flavorful and would be great for entertaining! We have plenty of leftovers and we are looking forward to eating them tonight!