Slow Cooker Beef Tacos with Queso Fresco

Has there ever been an ingredient that eludes you, no matter where you search? For me, for a long time, that ingredient was queso fresco - a Latin American cheese that's reminiscent of cottage cheese. I first had it on a trip to Mexico with my mom, where it was sprinkled liberally on, well, lots of things, from huevos rancheros to tacos. That was over four years ago, and after searching supermarkets, Latino food stores and cheese shops from Toronto to Leamington to Florida, I had never been able to find any - until last month, when I discovered a Latino food shop in my own city with a ton of different cheeses for sale, including queso fresco.

When life hands you queso fresco, make tacos. That's not how that saying goes, of course, but maybe it should. Because queso fresco and tacos make one great pairing.

This recipe for slow cooker beef tacos, modified from a Rick Bayless recipe, reminds me of every authentic taco I've ever had at Mexican restaurants - tender, saucy beef sprinkled with mild, fresh cheese. If you can't find queso fresco, you can try other cheeses - feta, goat cheese, even cheddar or mozzarella. It won't have the same flavour or texture, but it will add the cheesiness that, to me anyway, is crucial to any good taco.


Slow Cooker Beef Tacos with Queso Fresco
Serves 8

2 pounds stewing beef, cut into 1 inch pieces
28 oz. can diced tomatoes in juice
4 canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, seeded and sliced
1 tbsp. adobo sauce from can of chipotles
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. dried oregano
3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1.5 tsp salt
24 warm corn tortillas, store-bought or homemade
1 cup crumbled Mexican queso fresco or other cheese (feta, goat cheese, mozzarella, cheddar, etc.)
Fresh tomatoes, diced (optional)
Iceberg lettuce, shredded or thinly sliced (optional)
Sour cream (optional)

Add the beef to the bowl of a slow cooker. In a large bowl, mix the tomatoes (with their juices) with the chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, Worcestershire, oregano, garlic, onion and salt. Pour the tomato mixture evenly over the beef. Cover and slow-cook on high for 6 hours. It can rest on your slow cooker's warm setting for up to 4 more hours.

When it's time to eat, spoon off the fat that has accumulated on top of the beef mixture - or don't, if you're feeling lazy. Shred the beef using two regular forks - this should be easy. Taste the meat and season with salt and pepper if necessary. Serve with the warm tortillas, crumbled cheese and optional garnishes (tomatoes, lettuce, sour cream). Depending on who you ask, these garnishes aren't authentic - but a lot of the authentic Mexican restaurants I've been to serve them, and the fresh, bright flavour they add is a great contrast to the slow-cooked beef.

Tuesdays With Dorie: Chockablock Cookies

There are moments in our lives that present an opportunity for growth; a chance to stretch beyond the boundaries of our comfort zone, if only we would take the risk. The making of this week's Tuesdays With Dorie recipe (Chockablock Cookies, chosen by Mary of Popsicles and Sandy Feet), despite my intentions, was not one of those moments.

You see, I know that I don't like dried fruit in cookies. I never have. Oatmeal raisin cookies? No, thanks - those stayed in the cookie jar when I was a kid. Fig newtons? Nope, not my style. But I occasionally dip my toes into the dried-fruit-in-cookies pond, just to see if my opinion has changed.


Unfortunately, it hasn't. Which is a shame, because this cookie was so promising. Coconut, chocolate chips, molasses - what's not to love about that? But then, that dastardly dried fruit - in my case, dried cranberries.

If anyone could convert me, it's Dorie. So I think it's time to put the nail in this particular coffin - dried fruit in baked goods is just not for me. Sigh.

Thank you, Mary, for choosing a recipe that convinced me to give dried fruit another chance! If you are a dried fruit fan, visit her blog for the recipe, which I'm sure you'll love.

Sweet Melissa Sundays: Strawberry-Cranberry Cobbler

This week's Sweet Melissa Sundays recipe was an exercise in flexibility. It was supposed to be Strawberry-Rhubarb Cobbler Pie, as chosen by Tracey of Tracey's Culinary Adventures.I was so excited to make the recipe, as strawberry-rhubarb is one of my favourite fruit combinations. The problem? I have yet to find rhubarb at any grocery stores or farmers' markets. Boo.

I was also out of lemons, the zest of which was supposed to add flavour to the cobbler topping. I used freshly ground cardamom instead, which worked well.

I thought I'd try an equally tart fruit, so I substituted cranberries, which ended up being an incredible pairing. I've never had the two berries together, but they complemented each other perfectly. I'm thinking about making strawberry-cranberry jam this summer.

The other key ingredient I was missing? Energy. I just ran out of the time and motivation to make a pie crust, and so I didn't, making this cobbler pie just a plain old cobbler.

But it really was a fantastic dessert, with a double dose of bright berry flavour and sweet flaky biscuits on top. The filling was sweeter than it needed to be and never really set up properly, but a bit less sugar and a bit more corn starch ought to fix that. The flavour of this one makes it worth trying again.

Thanks for the great choice, Tracey! Visit her blog for the recipe.

I'm back with a...whimper (Tuesdays With Dorie: Sweet Cream Biscuits)

Hello? Is anyone still out there? It's me, Kait, sheepishly returning to my blog after a much-needed but much-guilt-inducing month off. And what a month it's been. A new apartment, the end of school (well, in two days, anyway), job application after job application. I love our apartment, although there are still many boxes to unpack. I can't wait for school to be done (hopefully forever). And the job situation? Well, it's a work in progress.

I was hoping to come back with a bang, but my attempt at today's Tuesdays With Dorie recipe, Sweet Cream Biscuits chosen by Melissa of Love At First Bite, was decidedly lackluster.


I'm positive it wasn't the recipe itself (flour, cream, baking powder, salt - no butter!), as I snuck a few bites of the raw dough scraps and they were heavenly - creamy, slightly salty.


I know for a fact that I handled the dough too much, a big no-no when it comes to biscuit making. I got a bit too overzealous when I rolled out the dough, despite Dorie's express warning against this very mistake. The dough ended up about 1/4 of an inch thick, half of the thickness I was aiming for. So I decided to fold the dough upon itself and roll it together. That didn't work (the two halves separated). So I smushed the whole thing back into a ball and started from scratch.

I knew I was doomed when the dough kept springing back after being rolled. It was way too elastic. The result: biscuit hockey pucks. Such a shame.

Still, I'm intrigued by the concept of this recipe, and think it would be a great recipe to try again the next time I need to use up a ton of heavy cream quickly. But next time, I'll use a lighter hand. For the recipe, visit Melissa's blog.

Sweet Melissa Sundays: Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing

This post will be short and sweet because, well, life is crazy these days.

There are three weeks left in my semester before exams. Which means there are three weeks left in my university career, period. I've got a seemingly endless list of assignments and essays to complete in that time frame, and a mean case of senioritis that's severely limiting how quickly I can get it all done.

And, pending some unforeseen decision from our potential new landlord, we will be moving to a new apartment on April 1. I am so, so excited about that - it feels like my fiance and I are finally starting our grown-up lives together - but before the excitement comes the packing. Oh, the packing. And our 4th anniversary this week means we're taking a short vacation to Toronto. Are we crazy? Yes, it's very likely.

So, alas, a post short on (food) details.

A Sweet Melissa Sundays pick, chosen by Julie of A Little Bit of Everything: Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing. I halved the recipe because we've only got three days to eat this, and a double layer cake just should not be eaten by two people in three days. I haven't made the icing yet due to, you guessed it, a lack of time. I can say, though, that the cake itself is a reliable recipe, but a bit run-of-the-mill. Now, perhaps my taste buds have been tainted because I had the most delicious carrot cake of my life at a friend's house recently, but nonetheless: this one is just a bit bland, as far as carrot cakes go. I'm hoping the icing will elevate it, but still, it's not the dark, moist carrot cake I'm used to.

For the recipe, please visit Julie's blog.