Recipes

I am a sucker for a good food story. Stone soup gets me pretty much every time. So when I began researching where the name Ropa Vieja came from, which literally means “old clothes” in Spanish, my heart melted when I read this story. According to folklore…there was once a very poor man who wanted to plan a special meal for his family who was coming home from a long journey. With no food to be found in his home and no money to purchase food, he went to his closet and gathered some old clothes. He then begin to cook these old clothes in a stew, pouring his love into the stew as he stirred and prepared for his family to return. When his family finally arrived, the old clothes had magically transformed into a wonderful beef stew. I mean c’mon. So sweet. So today I am happy to share my love with all of you with this simple, homey recipe for Ropa Vieja.

Crockpot Ropa Vieja
Servings: 6 servings
Serving Size: about 1/2 cup
Nutritional Info: 190.8 calories, 6.1g of fat, 5.2g of carbohydrates, 1.6g of fiber, 24.1g of protein * 4 P+

Ingredients

• 1.5 lbs. flank steak, trimmed of fat
• 1 green pepper
• 1 yellow pepper
• 1 onion, sliced thinly
• 3-4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 bay leaves
• 3/4 tsp. cumin
• 3/4 tsp. oregano
• 3/4 cup beef or chicken broth
• 3 tbsp. tomato paste
• 1/3 tsp. salt
• Optional: 3 tbsp. sliced green olives or 1 tbsp. capers

Instructions

1. Spray your crockpot with cooking spray or use a crockpot liner.
2. Add everything to the crockpot and stir together.
3. Cook on low for around 6 hours. Cooking times may vary slightly depending on your crockpot.