Mexican Pork Carnitas (Slow Cooker Meal)

I love tacos. And I love experimenting with different kinds of tacos. So, when I came across the Mexican Pork Carnitas in my "Everything Slow Cooker Cookbook" (Margaret Kaeter, 2002), I really wanted to try them. One little problem:  B is not a fan of pork or non-basic tacos. But, I showed him the recipe and asked what he thought. I equated it to something you might get at Chipotle. He took the bait and, as luck would have it, Pork Butt Roast was on sale at a local store, so were in business.

This was a perfect meal to throw in the slow cooker on a Sunday for Sunday night dinner and there were PLENTY of leftovers for later meals. As a matter of fact, we've already had two dinners out of it and still enough for one more. What I do NOT have, however, are pictures. Two meals and I didn't manage to grab the camera either time!

Mexican Pork Carnitas

• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 to 4-pound pork butt roast
• 1 bunch fresh cilantro
• 1 fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 (12-oz.) can or bottle of lager beer

1. Peel and slice the garlic cloves about 1/8-in. thick. Using a sharp paring knife, cut slices into the butt roast and insert the garlic cloves, one slice in each opening. Place the butt roast in the slow cooker.
2. Chop  the cilantro into 1/4-in. lengths. Place the cilantro and jalapeno pepper on top of the butt roast. Pour the beer over the top and cook on high setting for 4 to 6 hours. Remove the meat and shred it. Discard the jalapeno pepper and cilantro.

Serving suggestion: Steam corn tortillas by placing them in the microwave with a cup of water and cooking on high for 20 seconds. Ladle meat into the tortillas and top with chopped tomatoes and onions.

Sissy's Variation:
So, remember how I said the pork butt roast was on sale? Yeah, such a good sale that they were sold out by the time I got there. Because I needed to hurry and get the meat in the slow cooker in order to actually eat it that night, I could not go to another store. So, I bought another type of pork roast (sorry, I originally cooked this nearly two weeks ago and B went into the hospital three days later for a week, so I've completley forgotten what kind). I knew when I bought it that this roast would turn out a bit different, and it did. It was more dry than it was supposed to be, but still really good. I cut the roast in half because it was pretty big. I also used two jalapenos and a bunch and a half of cilantro because the called for amount seemed too little to me for the amount of meat. I think it worked out for the best--good flavor.

Also, I did serve it as tacos, but not just with tomatoes and onions. I added a small amout of salsa verde (not homemade this time), sour cream, and Monterrey Jack cheese. For the second dinner, I had avocado instead of sour cream. I think I liked the avocado better!

Weekly Meal Plan 3/21 thru 3/27

Some of these meals will seem like a repeat from two weeks ago. If you don't follow my other blog or know me in real life or on Facebook, the reason for that is most of the meals are "repeats" is that they did not get cooked last time around. The hubby was in the hospital for a week, so cooking at home just didn't happen. So, I have all this food in the house to cook now!

• Sunday:  ribs (slow cooker), roasted red potatoes
• Monday:  pork carnitas tacos, rice, black beans (frozen leftovers from two weeks ago)
• Tuesday:  leftover three bean chili and/or chicken chili (I have both in the feezer from a few weeks ago)
• Wednesday:  Lemony Chicken (slow cooker), rice, veggie, Out
• Thursday:  tilapia, navy beans, salad/veggie, Lemony Chicken and roasted red potatoes
• Friday:  Open
• Saturday:  chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes

Recipes to follow throughout the week.

Have a great one!

Meal Plan 3/7 thru 3/13

Trying a little something new to get the blog back up and running. It's a new goal for me. I've meal planned in the past, but never very strictly. That is something I'm trying to get better at for so many reasons:  structure, money saving, healthy diet.

The plan is to have this post up on Sundays as that is when my meal week starts. I go Sunday through Saturday since I do my grocery shopping on Sundays. As should be obvious, I'm a bit behind this week. So, I'll save some of my long-winded explaination for next week. Simply, this post will contain my meals for the week and posts during the week will give recipes when I think the recipes warrant posting. I will continue my baking posts too.

Meals for 3/7 thru 3/13

• Sunday--Pork Carnitas Tacos, rice, black beans
• Monday--Turkey burgers, mac 'n cheese
• Tuesday--Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad
• Wednesday--Grilled tilapia, navy beans, salad
• Thursday--Lemony Chicken, brown rice, veggie
• Friday--Open/leftovers
• Saturday--Ribs, oven-roasted potatoes, veggie/salad

See you tomorrow night for some recipes!

More Lightened Up Desserts

In honor of my friends Darren and Stacy, I thought I'd post a couple more desserts from my Lighten Up! 5-Ingredients Less Fat Recipes cookbook. After I posted the Mexican Chocolate Cake recipe, Darren decided to go home and bake it for Stacy. She was impressed. So, here are a couple more recipes that are equally as tasty. I haven't made them recently, but they are tried and true!

3 Ingredient Chocolate Cake
Ingredients:
1 (16 oz.) can dark sweet cherries, drained, syrup reserved
5 egg whites
1 reduced fat chocolate cake mix

1. Puree cherries in food processor.
2. Mix pureed cherries and egg whites in a large bowl with electric mixer.
3. Add dry cake mix and 1/4c. reserved cherry juice.
4. Mix well, and pour into a sprayed 9" x 13" pan. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
12 servings; per serving: 225 calories, less than 4g of fat

Sissy's Variations: I like to make this cake in a bundt. I don't know what made me do that, but I really like that you get way more than the 12 servings and it's easy to transport.

Banana Pudding
When I first started using this cookbook, I made my husband (then my boyfriend) highlight all the recipes in it that he thought he would like. This one got highlighted and marked with "oh yes!" It did not disappoint. It's so good, that you don't even miss what's missing.
Ingredients:
1 large (6 servings) pkg. sugar free vanilla instant pudding
2 1/2 c. skim milk
1 (8 oz.) tub frozen light whipped topping, thawed
3/4 c. POST GRAPE-NUTS Brand Natural Wheat and Barley Cereal
4 bananas, sliced

1. Mix pudding mix and mild in a large bowl with a whisk.
2. Add thawed whipped topping.
3. Layer in a serving dish: half the cereal, half the banana slices, half the pudding.
4. Repeat layers.
5. This must be refrigerated 6 hours or up to overnight for the cereal to become soft.
8 servings; per serving: 200 calories, 4g fat

Sissy's Variations: I can't think of any variations that I've ever done myself except adding a few banana slices decoratively on top of the cereal. I've been meaning to try this with the lower calorie/lower fat/light 'Nilla Wafers used in classic Banana Pudding.

Mexican Chocolate Cake

Finally updating with a new recipe. Not really a new recipe to me, though. This Mexican Chocolate Cake is an old, easy standby that's not only super yummy, but also lower in calories and fat than most cakes (most desserts, in general). This makes it vastly different from the other recipes in my blog!

I made the cake for a Cinco de Mayo potluck lunch at the office and had one request for the recipe and multiple compliments on the cake, so what better way to start back on the blog?

The recipe is from my Lighten Up! 5-Ingredient Less Fat Recipes cookbook.

Ingredients (cake):

• 5 egg whites
• 2 1/2 c. unsweetened cinnamon applesauce
• 1 reduced fat chocolate cake mix
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
  

1. Beat egg whites with electric mixer until foamy.
2. Mix in applesauce.
3. Add dry cake mix, vanilla, and cinnamon.
4. Mix at medium speed for 1 minute.
5. Spread in sprayed and floured 9" x 13" pan.

Ingredients (topping:)

• 2 tbsp. sugar
• 3/4 tsp. cinnamon

1. Mix topping ingredients and sprinkle on top.
2. Bake at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes.
12 servings; per serving: 220 calories, 3g fat

Sissy's Variations: I can never seem to find unsweetened cinnamon applesauce, so I just use plain unsweetened and add cinnamon until I think it looks right. Sorry, measurement! I also just spray the pan with cooking spray, but don't flour and have never had an issue with sticking.

BBQ Chicken Pizza

I've seen BBQ pizza recipes before and for some reason, it just really sounded good on this night and I had everything on hand to make it except the dough. I do like to make my own pizza dough and make it frequently, but it can be a little time consuming on a weeknight, so I keep the refrigerated kind on hand for when the pizza craving attacks. I was very pleased with the outcome and Bill really liked, which was a huge plus.

BBQ Chicken Pizza
Ingredients:
pizza dough (homemade or store bought)
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast
BBQ sauce
mozzarella cheese
sharp cheddar cheese
red onion, chopped

1. Spray grill with cooking spray and preheat grill. Season chicken with salt (or salt substitute), pepper, and garlic powder. Grill chicken until cooked through, turning as needed.

2. When chicken is almost done, coat lightly with BBQ sauce. Remove from grill to cool. While chicken cools, place pizza dough on pizza or cookie sheet.

3. Spread BBQ sauce on pizza dough almost to the edge, leaving a small crust. Sprinkle with a little bit of mozzarella and a large amount of cheddar cheese, enough to cover the BBQ sauce.

4. Cut chicken into small chunks and sprinkle over cheese. Sprinkle with a little more cheddar cheese and chopped onion. Drizzle with BBQ sauce.

5. Bake according to pizza dough directions, usually around 15 minutes.

Sissy's Variations:
For the BBQ sauce, I had both regular and hot and spicy on hand. I figured the hot and spicy would be too hot for spreading, so I used it on the chicken and the regular as the "pizza sauce." It was a perfect combo. I also used cheeses that were either low fat and/or made with 2% milk to cut back on calories. No problems with melting. And, of course, only half the pizza had onion, since I don't like uncooked onion.

Black Bean and Cheese Enchiladas

We're meat eaters around here. I've only successfully made one other meatless meal that we both really loved, kept us satisfied, and that I would certainly make again. But, I was really looking to keep costs down this week and went to the pantry and fridge for things I already had on hand. It's certainly nothing original and nothing terribly spectacular, but they turned out really good.

Black Bean and Cheese Enchiladas

Ingredients:
(All ingredients can be adjusted based on how many enchiladas you are making; I made seven.)
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
enchilada sauce (I used leftovers of the sauce I used for the Avocado Enchiladas), about 2 c.
1/2 block 2% sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
onions, chopped
shredded colby jack cheese
corn tortillas

1. Heat black beans on stovetop or  in microwave until warm, but not mushy. I added some garlic powder for flavor. Re-heat enchilada sauce.

 

 

2. Quick "fry" tortillas in oven (spray tortillas with cooking spray and cook on baking sheet in oven set to 350 until they are just pliable).

3. Fill tortillas with beans, cheddar cheese, and onions (I don't eat onions like that, so only Bill got onions). Roll and place seam side down in baking dish.

4. Pour enchilada sauce evenly over enchiladas. Top with colby jack cheese.

5. Bake in 350 degree oven until cheese melts, about 5-10 minutes.

Sissy's Variations:
As I mentioned, I didn't use onions since I don't like them. Bill also had his topped with extra chopped onions. I'd like to try these with different beans just to experiment, but these were great as is!