100 Days of Pinterest: Day 76 - Ropa Vieja Recipe

Twenty-four days until my Pinterest challenge is over. I've learned a lot about food in these past seventy-six days. It's been a real eye-opener. I went from buying boxed everything, to making most of what we consume. I know where things come from and I like that. It's a good change.

In the past week I've been working on perfecting my homemade dog bones. My dogs don't mind a bit. They sit there and watch me, waiting for their chance to 'test' their new treats. I think they are really enjoying my Pinterest challenge too. Enough about them though. Let's get on to the good stuff.

My favorite recipe from the past week has got to be the Ropa Vieja.  It's an amazing Cuban inspired dish. I originally saw it prepared on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives and couldn't wait to find the recipe on Pinterest. I had a difficult time finding one that seemed worthy of my kitchen time. I did find one though. I tweaked it a bit to resemble the way I saw it prepared on TV. I added Creole Jambalaya Sauce...by the way if you haven't tried Dee Felice Foods Creole Jambalaya Sauce, you don't know what you're missing. Good stuff! I was able to find it at my local grocery store. If you can't find it, you can purchase it on the Dee Felice website.


The original recipe from Pinterest wanted me to make my own sauce, but why waste time when you can get some Dee Felice sauce (no preservatives either - bonus!)?!  The way it was prepared on TV was with creole sauce. I think I found a winner with the creole jambalaya sauce. I did add a pinch of chiptole powder to add a touch of heat. It was amazing. By the way, I'm not being compensated by Dee Felice . . . I just really love this sauce.

I started off getting a pot of water to a boil and then I cut the flank steak into large chunks. I put them into the water and lowered the heat to a simmer. I let it simmer with some bay leaves, cumin, and salt for an hour and a half. When the flank steak was done simmering I pulled it all apart by hand. I cut some peppers and onions up, put them in the pan I had the flank steak simmering in previously (of course I drained it first - don't leave the water in it) with some olive oil and then put the shredded flank steak on top of the pile of onions and peppers. After a few minutes, I then poured the Dee Felice sauce, a pinch or two of cumin, a clove of minced garlic, and a bit of salt on top of that and mixed it all up. I let this simmer for about forty minutes, long enough so the peppers and onions were soft.

Then I served it with some black beans and rice. After I placed it on top of the rice and beans I squeezed some lime on top of the dish. Freakin' awesome!! I think this is going to be a recipe that we'll add to our family cookbook. I mean look at the pic of this stuff! You know you're going to be trying this one. It was amazing. You really can't go wrong with this. It's all about what sort of taste you are trying to achieve. You can make it spicy, sweet, or a combination of both.  I know I didn't make it authentic Ropa Vieja, but I think I did a pretty good job at my version.

As always, thanks for reading and check back for more of my Pinterest challenge. Also, don't forget to find me on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest.

Take care,
NB