The weather, The church and Cranberry Beef tacos.

I have written nearly five different blog posts over the last week. Long ones. But I'm really disliking all of them so they will stay tucked away in my Drafts folder for now. You know how sometimes you want to eat something but nothing sounds good? It's like that. But with words.

I also took some pictures. I have two cameras (well, three if you count my iphone). One fancy Nikon that makes me feel like a photography poseur every time I take it out (photography remains a puzzlement to me no matter how many books and tutorials I read.) I also have a trusty little Fuji that I still like a lot even though it's four years old which is like four decades old in the point-and-shoot world. Most of my pictures were on that camera. And it has a dumb little connector that I must have to download pictures onto my computer. Guess where it is? Wrong! It has actually vanished into thin air. So no pictures.

Here's what I will tell you: it has dropped 11 degrees in the last hour. I don't like that sort of thing. It makes me edgy. Like a big storm is a-brewin'. Which it probably is.

I'm Mormon. I may mention that a lot but Mormonism is kind of different than many religions because it is NOT a Sunday-only kind of church. It takes a big time commitment. Also, we don't have a paid clergy which means that your average Joe-blow is in charge of everything. Including the sermons on Sunday. Everybody gets a turn standing up in front of the congregation and talking about an assigned topic. Usually a husband and wife will split the duty. Also, a teenager or two will have a little mini-sermon at the beginning. One guess as to who will be speaking this Sunday. Me! And my assigned topic is fasting. Fasting! Which is not exactly my favorite thing to do. (Surprise, surprise.) My husband gives lessons every morning to the teenagers of our congregation (yes, the teenagers go to church every morning before school. See the above mention about Mormonism being a big time commitment.) He's really good at throwing together something really thoughtful and interesting. Not me. I'm just hoping most people will zone out during my talk, which is usually what I do.

I made flour tortillas for the first time on Tuesday and not only are they really easy, but they are frighteningly good. Like, so good my kids were just eating the pile of them after we were done with our tacos. Speaking of tacos, this is one of my most favorite recipes. It requires zero cooking skill but is outstanding. People always ask for this recipe. Honestly, these are more like wraps than tacos, so call them whatever you want. They are good enough to serve to company, but easy enough to make them for your family dinner. One warning: this meat needs to spend all day in a slow cooker (aka a Crock-Pot), so plan accordingly. These feed about 4-6 people.

If I were a super blogger I would post pictures, but Pioneer Woman I am not. So you'll just have to use your imagination.

Cranberry Beef Tacos

1 1/2 lb. beef chuck steaks (not a chuck roast. Totally different.)

1/4 cup lime juice (bottled is fine)

1/4 cup chili sauce (I had no idea what this was the first time I made these. Turns out chili sauce is a condiment near the ketchup.)

1 packet of Taco seasoning (or 2 Tbs if you use the big Costco canister)

Can of whole cranberry sauce

fresh green onions

fresh cilantr0 (must be fresh!)

tortillas (I like flour but corn is fine too)

2 cups shredded cheese (cheddar is good, but mozzarella would work in a pinch.)

Put the steak in the crockpot. Let it warm up while your making the sauce. Combine lime juice, chili sauce and taco seasoning and pour over the steak. Flip it a couple of times so the steak is slathered with sauce. Then put the lid on and turn the heat to low for 7-8 hours. If you forget to start it early in the day (which I do about half of the time), you can cook it on high for 4-5 hours. It will be fine.

When it gets closer to dinnertime, you'll make the sauce to be served on the tacos. Many kids balk at the idea of putting sauce on things. I totally understand being a sauce-hater most of my life. But this sauce is different. It's sweet and yummy. It makes me so mad that a couple of my kids won't eat it that sometimes I will mix a bunch of it in with the meat just so the taste is there.

Sauce

In your blender put:

Cranberry sauce

3 green onions (cut off the roots first)

4-6 stalks of cilantro (it's one of the rare herbs where more of the taste is in the stem than in the leaves. So just throw the whole thing in.)

Puree until smooth. (This makes A TON of sauce. You can use it as a marinade for something else later on.)

After your meat has finished cooking it will just fall apart. Use a couple of forks to shred it. (I do it while it's still in the crockpot. Mix it up with the juices in your slow cooker and transfer it to a bowl. (If you have sauce-a-phobes, stir in about 1/4 cup of sauce at this point). Otherwise you will:

Spread a spoonful of cranberry sauce on a tortilla, top with shredded beef and some grated cheese. Roll up and swoon.