Ropa Vieja

I hope you had a wonderful Halloween.  I didn't really dress up this year.  

I bought a headband with dog ears at the dollar store.  I wore it at a Halloween party.  I didn't put on a tail or paint my nose brown.  I put forth as little effort as possible.

For Halloween, I put the headband in my purse, but I didn't end up wearing it.  How lame!

I have mentioned this before, but a few weeks ago I went to Miami.  A friend had mentioned ropa vieja in passing, and so when I had the chance, I ordered it at a Cuban restaurant.  

It was delicious.  I also ordered a Guava and cream pie, which was also incredible.

Ropa vieja means old clothes.  I guess the creator thought the dish look like old clothes.  It is delicious, fragrant, and savory despite the unappetizing name.

This recipe came from Allrecipes.  They recommend cooking the meat in a slow cooker, but I baked it at a low temperature in the oven.

The ingredients are 3 pounds beef stew meat, 1 1/2 cups beef broth, 1 15-ounce can tomato sauce, 1 small onion, 1 green bell pepper, 2 minced garlic cloves, 1 6-ounce can tomato paste, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, salt, and 1 tablespoon vinegar.  I used apple vinegar.

I placed the beef and tomato sauce into a roasting pan.

I added the tomato paste, garlic, vinegar, salt, and cumin.

I added the beef broth, onion, and green pepper.  The green pepper and onion had been chopped.

I stirred all the ingredients together and covered the pan with foil.  I baked it for four hours at 250 degrees.

It doesn't look like much, but it smelled amazing.

I served the ropa vieja with rice.  I was supposed to shred the meat.  I didn't because I was lazy.  

The meat was tender and moist.  It broke apart easily.

The dish was flavorful and hearty.

It is a great recipe to make cheaper cuts of beef taste phenomenal.  

It had a wonderful aroma and an even more amazing taste.

 This is a great recipe for Fall and Winter because it's heavy and warm.  This is one of the best recipes I have posted in a while.  If you're looking for something to make for dinner, I would give this a try!