Slow Cooker Beef Fajitas

When the temperature outside is consistently nearing 100 on my deck in the afternoon, grilling out doesn't sound appealing.  Besides that, everything is so very dry, even though I use a propane grill on my 2nd story deck, I'm deathly afraid of fire in the midst of this drought.  So, when I saw a post on the flipflop wine Facebook page talking about slow cooker fajitas I knew I would want to try that.  I scanned the recipe and thought, "hmmm, how about adding some Pinot Noir to that?" and filed it in my mental recipe box :-)

Last night I moved a skirt steak down from the freezer into the fridge thinking it would be a good day for a slow cooker meal...we have a long list of cleaning chores to do because company is coming and this is the only week-end we have available for "deep cleaning" before they arrive.  The teen is volunteering, he has speech therapy, we have a benefit 5k to work on this week, and that just fills our calendar to overflowing.  So, good day for slow cooker meal!

I took the meat out this morning to finish the thaw but sliced it when it was slightly frozen...makes for much easier slicing when it has a bit of a freeze on it - not solid, of course, just firm enough to make the job a tad easier.

So, let's get started!

SLOW COOKER BEEF FAJITAS
Adapted from My Happily Ever After Recipe

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pound skirt steak - sliced against the grain
1 large jar of Salsa (I used Clint's Texas Salsa and Pace Thick and Chunky because I didn't have 1 whole jar)
1/2 large sweet yellow onion - sliced in half moon slices and broken apart
1 bunch green onions, cleaned and large chopped (both white and green parts)
1 large or 2 medium cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 Persian lime or 3 key limes - juiced (I needed to use up some key limes I had, so used them)
1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1/2 teaspoon Lawry's season salt
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cominos
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 cup flipflop Pinot Noir

If you compare the original recipe you will note I do not add peppers to the slow cooker.  The teen is not a pepper fan, and I'm hoping he'll like this a lot - didn't want to risk it by adding a known dislike. 

Method:

Prepare your slow cooker with a liner if desired.  I hate scrubbing a crock pot since mine is in no way "non-stick".  I like to prep all my meat and vegetables first...it makes the "putting it together" so much easier.

Put 1/3 of your salsa into the bottom of the slow cooker.
Place your sliced beef skirt steak pieces in next.

Add the 2nd 1/3 of your salsa on top of the skirt steak.
Add your sliced onions, green onions, garlic slices, and lime juice for the next layer.

Add the dry seasonings next.

Top with the final 1/3 of the salsa. (I rinsed my jar with about 1/4 cup water and half of the wine and added that too).

Pour in the red wine....it will make its way down to all the levels :-)

Put the lid on the slow cooker and cook on high for 1 hour, stir everything around, reduce to low and cook for at least 6 more hours...more is fine, it just gets more fall-apart tender.

Five hours into the cooking process - smells incredible!

Drink the rest of your Pinot Noir with your fajitas.

You'll need grated cheese, sliced avocado, cilantro, sour cream, fresh tomato, some pickled red onion...whatever toppings you enjoy...and of course some deliciously fresh warm tortillas to envelope all the tasty deliciousness.  (Also, don't forget to have some extra salsa for serving - I used all mine in the recipe!)  My family always laughs because I put so much on my fajitas I can barely get it into my mouth.  Well, why not, I say!  This time was no different.  The only thing I'd do different is turn the slow cooker off while the pieces of meat were still intact.  The teen didn't like that it was little pieces of meat (because they fell apart they were so tender).  I also would not make two tacos at a time when serving.  There is so much juice, even using a slotted spoon and allowing draining time, that the second tortilla was unpleasantly soggy half way through eating it...and I ended up using a fork to finish it off.  The flavor was delicious though!  What an easy dinner after a busy day...maybe not the traditional smoky grilled goodness of fajitas...but definitely a nice alternative for the slow cooker kind of day!

If you wanted, you could also serve any leftovers over a mound of rice the next day...or even topping some scrambled or fried eggs for a take-off on huevos rancheros if you reduced the broth a bit.  I'm going to remove the beef and any solids to a container and reduce the sauce by half...I may even put in a couple of teaspoons of masa harina to thicken it up....and then add the meat back in before storing for another day.  Yum!

BON APPETIT, Y'ALL!!!

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