Pork Carnitas

Here is the third and final part of our perfect Pork Carnitas! It is super easy, low--maintenance, and has a great smoky (not sweet!) flavor.  I found the recipe on Pioneer Woman's Tasty Kitchen and my sister and I tweaked it just a bit to enhance the flavor.  Sadly, our tweaking resulted in a bit more work and one more dish to clean, but it definitely strengthens the flavor.  But even without our little addition, this is still a great pork for tacos, burritos, taco salad, and of course, my beloved carnitas.

Recipe Source: Tasty Kitchen
Serves: 6

3.5 lbs. Pork Shoulder Roast or Pork Butt

1 quart chicken stock

3 Tbsp. tomato paste

4 cloves garlic

1 whole onion, chopped

1 bay leaf

1 1/2 Tbsp. Cumin

1 Tbsp. Oregano

1 Tbsp. Pepper

2 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. chipotle chili powder

Additional taco garnishments:
shredded lettuce
shredded Monterey Jack cheese or crumbled Queso Fresco
small corn or flour tortillas
Chipotle Ranch Dressing
Corn Salsa

1. In a small bowl, combine the stock, tomato paste, garlic, onion, bay leaf, cumin, oregano, salt, pepper, and chipotle powder.  Stir everything to combine.

2.  Place your pork in a large pot or crockpot.  Pour your seasoned mixture over the pork.  If cooking on the stovetop, bring the pork to a boil, turn down to low and simmer, covered for 3-5 hours, or until the meat easily shreds.

3.  If cooking in a crockpot, simply cook on low for 7-8 hours, or until the meat easily shreds.

4.  Once the meat is tender and shreds easily, transfer to a cutting board and trim the fat.  Then shred or pull into small pieces.  Save the liquid. from your pot for later.

5.  Preheat your oven to 450°F.  Transfer the shredded meat to a large baking dish.

6.  In a small bowl, combine 2 Tbsp. cornstarch and 2 Tbsp. slightly cooled pork liquid.  Stir well, making sure there are no lumps.  Set aside.

7.  In a small saucepan, bring about 2 cups of reserved pork liquid to a boil.  Once it's boiling, stir in the cornstarch mixture, stirring constantly to avoid lumps.  Boil for 1-2 minutes, or until thickened.

8.  Pour this slightly thickened mixture over your shredded pork and stir to combine.  Bake in oven for 25-30 minutes.  (I usually cover the pork for the first 15 minutes and then bake it uncovered for the remainder of the time to get it slightly crispy.)

As an alternative to the thickened mixture, you can just pour a couple cups of reserved pork liquid over the pork before you bake it.  I liked how the thicker mixture really coated the meat and I liked the texture and added flavor it gave the meat. However, you can save yourself some time and another dirty dish by just pouring the straight liquid over your meat.

9.  If serving in tacos, top the pork with the corn salsa, chipotle dressing, shredded Monterey Jack cheese or queso fresco, and shredded lettuce. 

These carnitas are probably in our top 3 favorite recipes of all time so we hope you enjoy these as much as we do!

Chipotle Ranch Dressing

The second part of the perfect pork carnita... the chipotle Ranch dressing!

If you thought the corn salsa was easy... wait till you see this. It doesn't get any easier than this and the resulting dressing is fantastic. I love it over my taco salads, tacos, burritos, and of course, pork carnitas. I usually have a container with this stuff sitting in the back of my fridge for last minute quesadillas and burritos.

1 envelope Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix
mayonnaise and milk as called for on the dressing packet (I definitely prefer a bit more milk to the mayonnaise when I make this... I think it gets too thick going half and half, so I usually use a little less mayo and a bit more milk to get the right texture)
1/2 t. - 1 tsp. chipotle powder
1 lime

1.  Prepare dressing according to package directions.

2.  Add chipotle powder and some fresh lime juice, according to taste.  Go easy at first, as the chipotle and lime will intensify as it sits.  I usually start with the 1/2 tsp. of chipotle powder and just a couple squeezes of fresh lime juice.  Then I taste it a little later and adjust as necessary.

Corn Salsa

So, before Cafe Rio showed up in Las Vegas, I had to get my fresh Mexican salad fix elsewhere.  (Believe me, it was painful.  I had to wait years or drive to Utah to get my fix...)  Luckily, my husband stumbled on a fresh Mexican grill, called Zaba's here in town and they were a very good substitute.  What I liked about Zaba's was that they had the same idea behind their salads and food, i.e., fresh meat, homemade tortillas, and delicious dressings, but different sauces and accompaniments, giving their food an entirely different flavor.  One of my very very favorite things to order there is their pork carnitas tacos. They are the perfect blend of smoky pork (NOT sweet!... I do NOT like sweet pork), cilantro, delicious corn salsa, and an awesome chipotle ranch dressing.  I love the tacos so much, that I could easily eat them once a week.  So, I decided I needed to re-create them at home.  I went searching for bits and pieces of the meal and ended up with an almost perfect substitute for my Zaba's tacos.

The next three posts will have all you need to make your very own Zaba's inspired Pork Carnitas.
And here's part 1 of our perfect pork carnitas meal... the corn salsa.

So, in my quest to recreate my beloved Zaba's carnitas, I had to find a corn salsa. They use this delightful medium corn salsa, that had something weird in that I couldn't quite label.  Obviously, I don't eat a lot of jicama because that's what it is... and I didn't recognize it.  I loved it, though.  It tastes sort of like a cross between an apple and snap pea.  I looked high and low for a corn salsa recipe that was similar to the Zaba's variation and I couldn't really find one, so Dacia and I created one ourselves.  Granted, there isn't much to it... just throw some veggies together and call it done.  But, as simple as it is, it's mighty tasty.  It was spectacular with tortilla chips and of course delicious over the carnitas tacos.  It's super simple to whip up and a nice change from your typical tomato salsa.  I highly recommend this stuff.

2 Cups frozen corn, defrosted, and drained of excess liquid
1 cup diced red onion
1 cup diced jicama
juice from 1 lime
1/2 -1 cup cilantro (you can probably bet which way I lean...)
salt, pepper, cumin, and chili powder to taste

1.  Throw your corn, onion, and jicama all together in a bowl.

2.  Add lime juice and seasonings to taste.  And that's it.

Cajun Shrimp

We love shrimp in our house.  Really LOVE it and I'm always looking for yummy variations.  I found this on Tasty Kitchen and we loved it so much, I made it twice in one week!  And then I made it again for my birthday.  Even the kids loved it, despite a slight kick from the Cajun seasoning.  This is seriously delicious and super fast and easy to whip up.  We paired it with a loaf of Frech bread and used our bread to sop up all the delicious buttery liquid that was in the bottom of the pan.  It may not be pretty on my thighs (nothing really is), but it was SO worth it.  A perfectly quick, easy, and delicious weeknight meal, made even better in that you can use the shrimp either defrosted or still frozen.  Just adjust your baking time accordingly.

Recipe Source: Tasty Kitchen

Serves: 4

1/2 cup butter

2 tsp. garlic, minced

1 Tbsp. Cajun seasoning

1 tsp. coarse salt (I used Kosher)

1 tsp. black pepper

2 lb. bag of shrimp (the original recipe only calls for 1 1/2 lbs., but I thought that made the dish too salty)

1. Preheat oven to 450°F.

2. Melt butter in a small saucepan and saute the garlic.  Add Cajun spices and salt and pepper and stir well.

3.  Place shrimp in a baking dish and cover with Cajun butter mixture.  Toss to combine and evenly distribute the butter mixture.

4.  Bake uncovered for at least 10 minutes, or until shrimp is pink.  (Mine typically takes about 15 minutes or even longer if I put my shrimp in frozen--then it takes 20-25 minutes.)

5.  Serve with French bread to soak up all the remaining buttery goodness at the bottom of your pan.  Yum!

Slider Cupcakes

I made these for my brother's birthday party this year. He is a big fan of hamburgers and I am a big fan up cupcakes...so we combined the two to make Cupcake Hamburgers!! These were so much fun to put together, I can't even tell you. My mom and I had a blast making these and coming up with ideas for each part. I got ideas off of various different sites and this is what we came up with!

What you'll need:
24 yellow cupcakes
9x13 pan of brownies
bag of shredded coconut
small amount of fondant
red fruit chews (we used laffy taffy, but starbursts would work too)
small amount of frosting
sesame seeds
food coloring
Tooth picks
orange juice

How to put it all together:
Bake your cupcakes accroding to the package directions. Same with the brownies. Cut the cupcakes into thirds- large top, thin middle and then small bottom. You won't need the middle part, which is why to keep it rather thin. We just found that by cutting it into thirds and not using the middile, our cupcakes didn't get too tall and un-eatable. Once they are cut, brush the top with a small amount of orange juice and then sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Mix a tiny bit of water with about a cup of shredded coconut and enough green food coloring to get a decent shade for your shredded lettuce.

We then used a cup with a decent sized opening to cut out round brownie pieces for the hamburger patties out of the 9x13 pan

Add a small amount of orange food coloring to your fondant and mix until you get a good cheese color. Roll it out thin and cut into squares for the cheese slices.

Heat up your fruit chews for about 15 seconds in the microwave (all of them at the same time or they will turn to jelly). Mix about 1 1/2 fruit chews together into rounded patties for your tomato slices.

Get two bowls of frosting, one red and one yellow for your mustard and ketchup. Put into zip lock baggies and cut the corners spread on top of the tomato to hold the bun down.

Lastly, insert your toothpick for the finishing touch.

The best part about these was that I actually fooled my dad. He was all excited for sliders, and took a bite only to realize this was not a hamburger! He's pretty gullible, but that's pretty impressive!

Oven Ham Sammies

Dang.  These were soooo good.  Totally simple, quick and absolutely delicious.  There probably aren't any redeeming qualities hidden in all the calories, but being fast and easy is redeeming, right?  These make a great family friendly dinner, lend themselves well to doubling, and would also work as a yummy appetizer.

Recipe Source: Slightly adapted from Tasty Kitchen
Feeds: 6

Mayonnaise/Miracle Whip
16 oz. sliced deli ham
12 slices Swiss cheese
1 package (12 count) Dinner Rolls (like King Hawaiian Rolls)
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 Tbsp. Onion flakes or minced onion
1/2 Tbsp. poppy seeds
1 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce
3/4 Tbsp. ground mustard

1. Slice rolls in half and spread each side with mayo.

2. Sandwich sliced ham and cheese in each roll. Place close together in a baking dish.

3. Whisk butter, onion, poppy seeds, Worcestershire sauce, and mustard until well combined. Pour dressing over sandwiches. Sandwiches can be baked immediately, or allow them to sit for several hours or even overnight.

4. Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes.  Enjoy the ooey, gooey goodness.

Fresh Berry Crumb Pie

So I am at my Mum's house for the weekend. My sibling's and I know that usually being at my Mum's house means we get great food. Unless of course her husband has a say, and then its something out of a can and quite boring. However, if we plan out our meals when he's not around, we usually come up with a pretty fabulous menu. As the dessert portion of our menu, my mum decided that she really wanted to use some of her huge amounts of raspberries from her yard. This was the recipe she immediately knew we had to use. She told me about how my Aunt Sheila actually made this years ago, and it has since been one of her favorites.

I don't know if I liked it as much as her or not...I mean, I only had three helpings. All with a heaping scoop of ice cream. ;)

Yeah...you may want to get a tissue now. Wipe that drool off. This cobbler is delicious. So we decided we had to share the recipe!

Here's what you'll need:

Crumb Crust/Topping

1 c. hazelnuts or almonds

2 c. flour

1/2 c. sugar

3/4 c. chilled butter, cut into small pieces

Filling

1/2 c. sugar

1 1/2 tbsp. cornstarch

2 pints (about 4-5 cups) fresh berries, (for this one we used raspberries, but blueberries, strawberries or blackberries all work really well too...also Mum says she has used peaches)

Now, the recipe we have says to roast the nuts...but really, who wants to take the time to do that when it tastes great WITHOUT roasting your nuts? :) So, if you happen to have extra time on your hands, and would like to try out the roasting procedure...i'll include the directions to roast the nuts. Just know that it isn't necessary in order to produce a great cobbler.

To Roast Nuts:

Preheat oven to 350. Spread nuts in a medium baking pan, roast. Stir occasionally until toasted, about 10 minutes.

Remove nuts from the oven and turn out onto a cloth towel. Rub off and discard the papery skins.

Be sure to up your temperature to 450 F now for the cobbler!!

In a food processor fitted with the metal blade, process the nuts until finely ground, about 10 seconds or so. We just used a blender and that worked great, but take note that if you process/grind the nuts too long...you'll start to make nut butter.

To prepare the Crust/Topping:

In a large bowl, mix together the nuts, flour, and sugar. Then, using a pastry cutter or two knives, cut the butter into the flour mixture until coarse crumbs form.

Using your hands, evenly press half of the crumb crust/topping into the bottom of an 8 or 9 inch tart pan, or just into a 9x13 pan.

To prepare the filling:

In a medium bowl, mix together the sugar and the cornstarch. Gently mix in the berries. Spoon the berry mixture into the crust, spreading it out evenly.

Sprinkle the berry mixture evenly with the remaining crumb crust/topping.

Bake until topping is golden and filling is bubbly, about 30 minutes.

Let it cool for about 10 minutes.

And definitely serve this baby with vanilla ice cream. We happened to have Marionberry Pie icecream and that was pretty delicious with it. :)