Mexican Beef Stew - "Cook With Me"

This is one of my most favorite things to do, finding out other people's Healthy Family Favo
rites!!! This one comes from Monica Valadez and man can she cook!!! This Stew has unbelievable flavor and the combination of all the ingredients along with the toppings are outstanding!! After having a blast cooking together, we all sat down (including 4 kids) and enjoyed this AMAZING stew... it was a HOME-RUN and my daughter absolutely loved it!! So thank you Monica for sharing one of your Healthy Family Favorites with us... I will be back for more!! :)


 I WOULD LOVE TO KNOW YOUR HEALTHY FAMILY FAVORITE... so to all my friends and family, if you would like to share your favorite healthy recipe, I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to cook with you and feature YOUR fabulous recipe on The Girl Cooks Clean!!! I will be starting a new section on my blog called "Cook With Me" where I will feature YOU and your Healthy Family Favorites!! Please email "Cook With Me" to thegirlcooksclean@gmail.com along with your info and the name of your recipe!

Ingredients:

2 cups white kidney beans (uncooked or canned)

12 oz bacon, 1/2 inch pieces

2-1/2 lbs flat steak, quarter inch cubes

1 onion
4 tomatoes

1 batch of cilantro

2 cloves of garlic

2 cups beef stock

salt

pepper

Toppings:

onion, diced

avocado, diced

cilantro

lime

**Using uncooked beans - cook beans in 6 cups of water and throw in 1 clove of garlic. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 2 hours.

~ In large soup pot, cook bacon on medium-low until crisp. then remove and set aside for later. (keep bacon grease in pot)

~ In same pot, brown steak in bacon grease. Add 1/2 TBS salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. 

~ Slice tomatoes in half along with half an onion and place in pot with meat for 3 or 4 minutes (want them to soak up some meat juices and soften a little). 

~ In a blender add 2 cloves garlic, 1/2 batch of cilantro, 1 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, and the tomatoes/onion from pot. Blend until completely liquefied. 

~ Add blended sauce to pot along with beef stock and the crisp bacon. Let simmer for 10 minutes.

~ Serving: In serving bowls place a scoop of beans on bottom (with a little bean juice), add stew, and then top with avocado, onion, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime!!!

Healthy Crepes

 Seriously, who doesn't love crepes!! Crepes for breakfast is a huge tradition on my husbands side of the family... Birthday's = crepes, Christmas = crepes, Special Occasion = crepes. My Mother-in-law makes them and these suckers are AMAZING.... The only problem is that an hour after I consume that little piece of heaven, I feel like CRAP (due to the sugar and flour)!! Sooooo, I thought i'd try to come up with a recipe that still tasted great and didn't leave me with a sugar crash, stomach ache, bloated, and the extra LB's!!! Hope you enjoy this low carb and gluten free treat... I know I do!!

Ingredients:
5 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup blanched almond flour
1/2 lemon, juice
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 or 2 TBS Just Like Sugar (OR your choice sweetener)- optional
Topping's of your choice


*If you don't want a sweet crepe, discard the sweetener.



Makes 6 crepes
~ Mix all ingredients together
~ Heat skillet over medium heat. spray with non-stick
~Pour just a little batter onto skillet and tilt skillet around so that it covers the whole bottom (should be a very very very thin layer)
~ Cook about 1-2 minutes or until you see top starting to dry out. Then carefully flip and cook for about 30 seconds.
~ Stuff, roll, and top with your choice of goodness!!