Cuban Ropa Vieja

Tony and I recently returned from a 2-month visit to my parents' house in Wisconsin. We had a wonderful time, which naturally included eating at all of my favorite Milwaukee restaurants. Unfortunately, by the time we came back to Boston, my bad summer eating habits caught up with me. Once again I'm back to cooking almost every night (not that I'm complaining about that), buying tons of fresh veggies and lean meats from the grocery store, and searching the web every night for healthy recipes. I came across this one on All Recipes, and I instantly knew it would be a winner. It was incredibly easy to make, and the meat was SO tender and flavorful. Have I mentioned before that I'm in love with my slow cooker?
Source: All Recipes

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 pounds beef flank steak
• 1 cup beef broth
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 small onion, sliced
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and sliced into strips
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar

Directions:

1. Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the flank steak on each side, about 4 minutes per side.

2. Transfer beef to a slow cooker. Pour in the beef broth.

3. Add the tomato sauce, then add the onion, bell pepper, garlic, tomato paste, cumin, cilantro, olive oil and vinegar.

4. Stir until well blended. Cover, and cook on High for 4 hours, or on Low for up to 10 hours. When ready to serve, shred meat and serve with tortillas or rice.