Four pounds of beef pot roast is a lot of food for two people to eat, and even the most inventive pot roast sandwiches can get pretty boring after a few days. I was hoping to break up the monotony of leftovers by going out for dinner, but when I suggested Mexican food to Matt he came back with the idea of making tacos with the leftover pot roast. I was less than enthusiastic at first, mostly because I didn’t feel like eating a derivative of pot roast for the fourth day in a row and I wanted to get out of my apartment, but I didn’t have any better ideas or places to go in mind, so pot roast tacos it was. Using ingredients in my kitchen plus a few fresh things that Matt picked up (cilantro, avocado, limes) we turned the leftovers into a completely new dish that showed no signs of its prior identity and tasted great.
I somehow went from not wanting to make a mess in the kitchen to making a batch of fresh flour tortillas. I guess it helps that the process is super easy, and this being only my second time making them I am still blown away by the fact that I can make them myself. If you’ve never made your own tortillas, try it! Few things are more exciting than making the homemade version of something you’d never considered that you’d be able to make, and, for me at least, that includes tortillas, good pizza dough, and bread.
The only photos I took were a few that I snapped from my phone, and I realize that they’re pretty terrible. Sorry about that. Unlike the photos, the tacos turned out really well. Here’s what went into the filling (the amounts are rough estimates):
- 2-3 cups of leftover pot roast meat, torn into small pieces
- 1-12oz. can of tomatillos, drained (fresh would work, too)
- 1/2 of a yellow onion, roughly chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- Handful of cilantro
- Cayenne
- Cumin
- Salt
Add all of the ingredients except the meat to a food processor, and process until everything is thoroughly chopped and combined. Transfer the tomatillo mixture to a saucepan with the meat. Cook over medium heat until warmed, adjusting the seasonings as necessary.
Served with diced onion, avocado, sour cream, cheese, tomatillo salsa, lime wedges, and pinto beans.
I’ve never tried making tortillas before–do you use lard to make them?
I just use shortening, although I’m sure lard would make them even more delicious. You’d think that lard would be easy to come by for someone living in the midwest, but sadly that’s not the case, so shortening it is.
I always make pot roast tacos that is what were having tomarrow actually this is a good to leftover meal for us I useally try to get 2-3 meals out of each item like crockpot chicken leftovers are made into chicken enchiladas or chicken tacos or chicken pot pie…. tomarrow pot roast tacos with some fresh homemade salsa yummm…. cant wait