Crockpot Ropa Vieja

It is finally Winter Break!!! I am ecstatic to have two weeks off. My box was hosting a competition on Saturday so Matt, Mara and I decided to take a trip down to CrossFit in the D(etroit) and test out their TrueForms and see the new place. It was awesome. The workout was pretty tough though even with a partner... Mara and I did the workout with the following weights:
15 min per Round: 
63-45-27 Burpee Box Jump Overs 20"
21-15-9 Muscle Ups
-5 min break-
21-18-15-12-9-6-3
AKBS @53#
2x Front Squat 35# 
- 5 min break-
10 min AMRAP 
Cal Row/Power Snatch 105#

 Then we ran on the TrueForms which are more exhausting than they appear! 

Just because our shoulders haven't been worn to shreds this week, Maven's workout had "wall walks" in it. Matt and I are not so awesome at them and it was more like a twerk-look than anything. Shoulders were on fire. The 100 thrusters before that were better than the 10 wall walks and I don't think I would ever say that about anything compared to thrusters. :) 

I am not abandoning my slow cooker just because it's a break from work for me! "Ropa Vieja" is basically Cuban stew- it translates to "old clothes" actually because the finished product looks like shredded fabric. Instead of using stew beef, I used flank steak, but skirt steak could easily be substituted. My last flank steak recipe in a slow cooker (See "Crockpot Shredded Steak") turned out so well I thought I would try another. :) I read a bunch of recipes, looked in my pantry, and this is what I came up with.... I ate it over rice, but it would be great by itself too. 

Crockpot Ropa Vieja

- 2-3lbs Flank Steak, trimmed (or skirt steak)
- 1 Sweet Onion, thinly sliced
- 2 Bell Peppers,  any color, thinly sliced
- 1 Jalapeno, finely chopped
- 4 Garlic Cloves, minced
- 1 tsp Salt 
- 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
- 1 tsp Ground Cumin
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 1/4 tsp Dried Oregano
- 1 Cup Beef Stock
- 1 Tbsp Lime Juice, or white wine vinegar
- 1 6-ounce Can Tomato Paste
- 1 14.5 ounce Can Crushed Tomatoes
- 1/3 Cup Raisins* optional, but add something like dried dates if you are omitting
- 1/2 Cup Pimiento Olives, halved

1. Sprinkle the steak with salt and pepper. Heat a skillet over high heat and drizzle in a tablespoon or so of olive oil. Cook the steak for 3-4 minutes on each side until it has a fantastic crust.

 Remove it from the pan, add a bitt more oil and add the peppers, garlic, and onion. Saute 3-5 minutes until soft. (I have made it without doing this and just adding everything to the slow cooker and the difference is hardly noticeable.)

Add the vegetables to the slow cooker. Whisk the spices, stock, lime, tomato products and beef stock. Add the steak to the top of the vegetables, top with the raisins. Pour the sauce over top. 

2. Cook on LOW 8 hours or HIGH 4-5 hours. Remove the steak, carefully, and shred it if it isn't already falling apart. Add it back to the crock pot and stir in the olives. Enjoy!