Old Clothes Never Tasted So Good

My friend Kate sent me a great Cuban recipe she found on Realsimple.com, and I dug it up this weekend when Cuba popped up on my list. "Ropa vieja", which literally means "old clothes", originated in the Canary Islands. However, it has gained popularity in other Spanish-speaking nations, especially in Cuba. Real Simple's take on ropa vieja is a keeper. It was perfect for a Sunday meal because it required me to dust off my greatly under-utilized crock pot!

Sunday morning I placed slices of red bell pepper, onions, a can of diced tomatoes, oregano and cumin in the bottom of my slow cooker. I cut a one and a half pound piece of flank steak into thirds and buried the chunks of meat in the vegetables. I set the slow cooker to the "low" setting, and we left the house.

We spent the afternoon in the suburbs going to open houses and scoping out new towns. We actually stumbled upon a house that we really liked, and just put an offer in - maybe the second time is a charm?! We're keeping our fingers crossed.

That night we sat at the table and dined on tender and flavorful steak, garnished with cilantro and avocado. We discussed all the homes we'd seen that day and talked about how crazy it is that we have a new baby joining us in just over three weeks...

We gave Cuba a 3.0. Try the recipe on the weekend when you are short on prep time, but looking for a big taste. Make sure to add more oregano and cumin than the recipe calls for!