Crockpot Red Chili con Carne

I absolutely love Mexican food! I literally could eat it for every single meal. I always have the other person pick the restaurant we are going to eat at because I am always going to select a Mexican restaurant. Not only do I love chips and salsa, I love refried beans, rice, tacos, tostadas, enchiladas, and of course burritos.

The problem with making Mexican food at home is that it doesn’t quite taste as good as at the restaurants. One thing that always seems to taste so much better in a restaurant is carne asada or red chili beef. The meat is always so moist, tender, and rich with deep and spicy flavor. Then it is paired with homemade tortillas, beans, and salsa. Super yum!

I think I have stumbled across the most amazing red chili con carne recipe that you can make at home. It has all the rich and deep flavors of a restaurant beef and it is super easy. Plus, it uses minimal ingredients and makes a lot of food. You can even set it all up before you leave for work and come home to a glorious meal for your family. It would also feed a large crowd for a party or family gathering. You may have to double the recipe so test it out first. :)

First you will want to buy a 1.5-2 pound roast or other inexpensive cut of beef. I believe that I usually use London Broil. You could buy the already cubed stew meat but I did not think it tasted as good or as tender so I prefer to cut it into bite sized chunks myself. It takes a little bit of time but it is worth it plus you will save a couple of bucks doing it yourself.

Toss the beef into your crock-pot and add half of a large can of red enchilada sauce. It doesn’t matter what brand you use. I generally get whatever happens to be on sale. Then all you need to add is one beef bouillon cube. Between the cube and the juices that cook out of the meat, this is what truly makes it develop such a deep flavor.

After everything is in the crockpot, you can cook it at high for about 3 hours or on low for about 8 hours. I work from home so I start the crockpot at about noon or 1pm and set on high. Around three or four I turn it down to low until we are ready to eat dinner. You will want to check on it and stir it every hour or so if you are home. It not, that is okay. You can just set it and leave it alone until you are ready to eat.

Simply serve with tortillas, sour cream, beans, and chips. Since tortillas purchased from the store do not do this recipe justice, I order tortillas and refried beans from my local take-out spot for this dish. It really does make a difference. They are a little more expensive than at the store but not much and they taste soooooo much better. I get mine at a local little take-out place called Someburros. I simply call in my order and pick it up at the drive thru window. Easy peasy and so much better than store bought.

1.5-2 pounds of lean beef cubed into bite size pieces.

Red enchilada sauce (half of a large can, about 2 cups)

1 beef bouillon cube

Serve with tortillas, sour cream, and refried beans

Place beef into crockpot. Pour enchilada sauce over meat. Toss in beef bouillon cube. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 7-8 hours or until tender. Serve with tortillas and any other condiment you prefer.

***adapted recipe Chile Colorado Burritos from The Food Pusher

#easy #recipe #dinner #mexican #entertaining