hello & crockpot chili-spiced beef

to those who've been with me from the beginning and those more recent followers, hello, hello, hello.  life has been a ride the past couple of years and although no longer on the homestead i am still and always will be a country girl at heart.  lots of change since 2009 for sure. some good, in fact wonderful.  some not so much, in fact heartbreaking.  but all in all i have survived and chosen to carry on despite circumstances or influences. 

it's been my desire to start blogging again for some time.   i missed it, i missed you and i also knew that i needed to recreate some routine in my life through a form i enjoyed.  that would be writing. so, i began recently when i became inspired enough to begin writing poetry again.  as they say, one thing leads to another! so i am back and you can expect to hear from me from time to time.  now...with what kind of ramblings or information it's hard for me to predict.  :)  however, for today i wanted to share this tasty recipe that uses a simple chuck roast in (for me what was a) new and wonderful way.  if you like spicy, you will love this.  i love spicy but not take the hide off my tongue hot.  this recipe, when served over rice was very spicy (as in warms the back of your throat quickly) but not unbearably hot.  if the heat/spice factor is an issue, then you may want to cut down or eliminate the jalapeno.

i found this recipe in an issue of a womans day mag.  of course i can't seem to leave a recipe alone most times, so i made it my own by a tweak here and there.    hope ya' all enjoy it.  mark and i did and decided it was a keeper because we both love spicy. i love the fact that it's a slow cooker/crockpot recipe that you can put together and ignore for the most part and because it uses ingredients that i usually have on hand or aren't hard to come by or terribly pricey. just remember to buy your beef on sale!

enough talk, here's the recipe. enjoy!

chili-spiced beef  (with a hint of sweet)

2 lb. boneless beef chuck trimmed of fat and cut into 1 1/2" chunks.
4-6 cloves garlic minced
1-2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped (fresh or canned)
1 large onion chopped
2 Tbsp. lime or lemon juice
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1/2 t. salt
1/4 c. brown sugar
optional dried basil (1-2 Tbsp.) according to taste. increase amount if using fresh basil.

 in a 5-6 qt. crockpot/slow cooker combine beef, garlic, pepper, onion, lime or lemon juice, chili powder, salt and basil.  cover and cook until you have a broth formed.  add sugar and cook until beef is very tender, 4-5 hours on high or on low 7-8 hours.  serve over rice or noodles or couscous.  we like it best over rice, num, num.