Summer is here. I can tell because I have 2 metric tons of dust in my lungs from mowing the other day. My electric meter is spinning like a skydiver’s altimeter when the parachute doesn’t open. And yellowjackets are buzzing around all angry…wait…they are never not angry. No matter, I know summer when I see it.
It makes me mad when commercials show me what signs of summer should be, and it’s not miserable dust covered guys on riding mowers swatting yellow jackets while getting an ulcer about the a/c unit glowing like Reactor 4 at Chernobyl . No, on the TV, it’s always these fit beautiful people going to the lake, and they are always happy and carefree. They don’t seem to be antiqued from yard dirt or covered in yellow jacket welps.
Who are these people? Where do they find the time to go to the lake 24/7? Who’s mowing their yard, or staring at their meter in a full flop sweat? More importantly, who is cooking all their food? They seem to have magical ice chests that constantly refill themselves.
I guess the burgers, chips, and beer they are consuming non stop also magically have no calories, because they are all shredded with about 5 percent body fat. I’ve seen real people gassing up boats and RV’s on the way to the lake around here, and they definitely are not getting the calorie free versions.
One thing I can help with to get you somewhere other than your horrible yard this summer is to reduce cooking time, or more accurately, reduce your actual kitchen time while the cooking is ongoing.
Last week, I showed you that bbq chicken can be done with the slow cooker. That is a tool I like to use as much as I can in the summer months. It doesn’t heat up the house, it requires no supervision, and it doesn’t spin the electric meter like a crazed contestant on The Price Is Right hopped up on Red Bull and powdered doughnuts.
My wife bought us paddle boards a few months ago, and the only way I can carve out time from my food prep weekends to actually have them paddle and not just be boards is to break out that bad boy again.
BBQ is a great summertime food. So are tacos. Slow cooking tacos, you ask. Yep, that’s what I said. It actually makes the best kind of tacos…simmered pulled beef round. Get your mitts on a grass fed beef round rump, sprinkle a little sea salt on it and sear each side with a rocket hot cast iron skillet, then dunk it in the slow cooker with a can of rotel and some spices.
Come back after a day at the lake, and you have the best tasting taco filling you have ever had. If you are like me and always keep home made fresh pico at the ready, so much the better. You can use egg white tortillas for soft tacos, or do like I did and make some spicy cauliflower rice for taco bowls. Either way the cooking is done while you are out hopefully doing something other than mowing or fighting yellowjackets.
Garnish it with fresh made guacamole, grass fed plain greek yogurt, and some black bean chips for crunch. It’s delicious, full of fiber, protein, and healthy fats. Replacing traditional beef tacos from fast food places with this version might actually help you get to that body fat percentage the people in the commercials are rocking.
Give this a try and even if you don’t have any fun summer plans. You will have delicious and healthy food that didn’t heat your kitchen to a hellscape that you stood in all day, all the while getting angrier than a yellowjacket on Red Bull.
Pulled Beef taco bowls:
Ingredients:
1 grass fed beef round rump
1 can rotel
1 tbsp chili powder, cumin
1 tsp onion powder, garlic powder
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1/4 to 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
Spicy Cauliflower rice
1 package frozen cauliflower rice
1 tbsp turmeric
1/2 tsp sea salt and pepper
1 cup grass fed plain greek yogurt
4 ounces grass fed pepper jack cheese
Instructions:
Early in the morning, take out the beef round. Rub all sides with a light coating of avocado oil and sprinkle heavily with sea salt. Heat a cast iron skillet to 500 degrees over high heat and sear each side of the round 1 minute without moving. Pour the can of rotel in the slow cooker and mix with the spices. Place the beef round in and set for 8 to 10 hours, and forget about it.
After cooking time is over, shred with forks:
Heat a tbsp of avocado oil in a large pan and cook the entire package of cauliflower rice until all the moisture is gone and it just starts to brown. Add the spices, greek yogurt, and cheese and stir through until melted:
Garish with pico, guacamole, black bean chips, and plain greek yogurt:
See the list of all the Shirtless Chef recipes at www.mysaline.com/shirtless.