Spanish Lesson

Among my many New Years Resolutions this year was to become more proficient in Spanish. After 7 years of Spanish lessons through high school and college, the extent of my Spanish knowledge consists of saying hello, asking what time it is, asking where the library is and ordering a beer and a taco. Now, I know what you're thinking, why would I need to know any more than this? What can I say, I'm overly ambitious.

In order to help me in this quest I have started to listen to the podcast, "Coffee Break Spanish" during my walk home from work. Each podcast is a 15 - 30 minute lesson on conversational Spanish taught by two Scottish people. This is like a double workout for my brain. First I have to decipher their Scottish accents and then translate the phrases into Spanish. I love it. I optimize my commute time by learning another language and no one approaches me because I look like a crazy person talking to myself while I walk down the sidewalk. It's a win-win situation.

To complement my new pursuit, I made fajitas this week. This is a recipe MUY FANTASTICA for 3 reasons: it tastes great, it is incredibly simple and it works with beef, chicken or pork. I chose beef because it was on sale on Sunday and it was pre-cut into cubes. You simply combine all the ingredients in the slow cooker and cook on low for 8-10 hours. When it's dinner time, assemble the beef, shredded cheese, avocado slices and fresh cilantro on whole wheat tortillas and enjoy. Fresh cilantro makes all the difference. If every time you buy cilantro it spoils before you get a chance to use it, purchase this herb keeper. It's the best purchase I've made recently. My cilantro lasts twice as long as it did before, at least.

Fajita Beef
Combine the following ingredients in the slow cooker:
1/5-2 pounds cubed beef (or chicken or pork)
4 cloves garlic minced
1 jar prepared salsa ( I used a smoky habanero salsa)
1/2 cup beef broth
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder

Cook on low for 8-10 hours. During the last 30 minutes of cooking add one 16-ounce bag of frozen corn.

Serve on tortillas with shredded cheese, avocado slices and fresh cilantro.

Next time I might add chipotle peppers in adobo sauce and a bag of frozen pearl onions.