Mexican Style Pulled Pork

February 1, 2013 by · 4 Comments

Mexican Pulled Pork

I have to be honest about one thing today. I will apologize in advance for saying this, too. Okay, here goes. I could care less about the Super Bowl this year except for the excuse to make some yummy football food. I don’t even really care that much about the commercials.

There, I said it.

I will back up a bit. I would like to see the Ravens win because I lived in Baltimore for about 4 years and Jim is somewhat of a fan.  He is actually a Redskins fan.   But the truth is, I am a Bills fan and after 4 straight super bowl losses back in the 90′s I have just lost interest in the event.

Except for the food:-).

This pulled pork would be perfect for the game, especially if you don’t want to fuss. I used a pork tenderloin and wasn’t sure if the flavor would compare to using a pork shoulder or other fattier cut, but surprisingly I thought this was amazing. To me, Mexican food is about the bright flavors and this pork has just that. I used taco seasoning, a jar of good verde salsa and the juice of a lime and it was perfect. I also added in some shredded cheese at the end and that just brought the dish together.

This cooks in the slow cooker, but you could also use your dutch oven. I also think it would be great to take the pork at the end and put it under the broiler to crisp the edges a bit. Yum!

The other thing I have to say is that although I like chicken in Mexican dishes there is something about pork that just takes things up a notch or two. Kind of like the difference between shredded chicken for barbecue and shredded pork. I guess living in North Carolina for 5+ years makes me more of a pork girl:-).

I used a packet of taco seasoning, but if you would like to make your own seasoning you can find a good homemade version here.

I also am a big fan of Trader Joe’s salsa verde. If you like the salsa that they serve in restaurants then you need to try either their red salsa or salsa verde in the chip aisle. No preservatives, no thickening agents, no artificial colors and somehow its the best store-bought jarred  salsa I have ever had.  Go figure. Gotta love TJ’s.

We put the shredded pork on top of fajita wraps and then had different toppings for everyone to pick from. I liked mine with black beans, cilantro, crumbled cojita cheese, guac, salsa and chopped green onions. We also made quesadillas the next day. Lots of options!

So, I hope you enjoy the Super Bowl this year, whether it’s the game, the commercials or the food!

Mexican Style Pulled Pork
 
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Ingredients
  • 2 pork tenderloins – they usually come 2 to a package
  • 1 packet of taco seasoning or make your own
  • 1 jar of salsa verde
  • juice from 1 lime
  • 1-2 cups of shredded Mexican cheese blend

Instructions
  1. Place pork, seasoning and salsa in slow cooker and heat on low.
  2. After 6-7 hours check pork and it should shred easily. I used two forks to shred.
  3. Add lime juice and cheese and cook for 1 additional hour.
  4. If you would like to make it crispier place pork on a sheet pan and broil for a few minutes.
  5. Enjoy!

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Slow-Cooker Thai Coconut Chicken Curry

March 26, 2012 by · 6 Comments

By now you know how much I love Thai food and this recipe is no exception. There is so much great flavor going on here I almost don’t know where to start. This made my taste buds very happy.

A while ago I was reading an article that talked about why Asian food is so yummy. Apparently this has been studied and the reason is that one dish can have so many different flavors going on at once. Take this dish for instance. There is sweet (the sweet potato and sugars.) There is salt (the fish and soy sauce). There is hot spice (from the curry and chili.) There is nuttiness (from the coconut and the brown rice.) There are herbs with their own flavors (basil and cilantro). There is tanginess (from the limes.) Plus you have the texture of the chicken, the rice and the veggies and they all have their own flavors. All of these flavors and textures come together to make this wonderful dish. And that, my friends, is why this is so good – proven fact!

I wonder what adding some different flavor dimensions would do to some of our typical American fare?

So anyways. If you haven’t gotten my point, this dish is A-Mazing. There are so many flavors and they come together to form this addicting sweet, spicy coconut curry. Seriously yum.

Plus it’s quick and easy! What’s not to love about a recipe like that?

This could easily be a vegan or vegetarian recipe if you left out the chicken (and maybe the fish sauce.) It would be a shame to leave out the fish sauce, but I could eat it without chicken and I don’t think I would miss too much.

You could also lighten this up by using light coconut milk. I didn’t just because the coconut is the only fat in this dish and I have read such great things about the fat from coconuts that I didn’t feel bad using the real deal.

One of the surprises in this dish was the sweet potato. I love them, but don’t usually add them to other dishes. Wow. I will be adding them to more dishes from now on!

So if yo are looking for a super easy, healthy and tasty dish with some exotic flavors give this curry a try. Your taste buds will be very happy you did. Enjoy!

Source:  Adapted from Stephanie O’Dea via the Rachael Ray Show

Slow-Cooker Thai Coconut Chicken Curry
 
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Recipe type: Main

Ingredients
  • 1 13.5-ounce can coconut milk
  • 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon Thai Red Curry Paste
  • 1 tablespoon Thai red or green chili paste
  • 2 teaspoons fish sauce
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 2 to 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
  • 1-inch knob ginger, peeled and grated or 2 tablespoons crushed ginger
  • 2 red bell peppers, seeded and chopped
  • 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
  • 1 cups frozen peas
  • 1½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs
  • Rice (I used brown jasmine which is my favorite)
  • 1 lime, cut into wedges, to garnish
  • 2 scallions, thinly sliced, to garnish
  • ½ cup chopped cilantro, to garnish
  • ½ cup chopped basil, to garnish

Instructions
  1. In a small bowl combine the coconut milk, sugar, soy sauce, curry paste, chili paste and fish sauce. Whisk to combine. Add mixture to the bowl of your slow-cooker.
  2. Add onion, garlic, ginger, peppers, sweet potato, peas and chicken to the slow-cooker. Cook for 4 hours on high or about 6 on low. Serve over rice. Top with lime juice, cilantro, basil, scallions.
  3. Enjoy!

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Slow-Cooker Corned Beef and Cabbage

March 12, 2012 by · 9 Comments

Happy St. Patrick’s Week!

I’m not Irish, but I went to a Catholic university which is where my love for St. Patrick’s Day started. People would head out to start celebrating bright and early in the AM (or right after their classes ended) and it was a truly fun day. Now that I’m a “few years out of school,” the holiday is more about the food and of course my kids (who do have some Irish in them.)

I’m pretty sure my mom often made corned beef and cabbage in March, but I’m not sure if I appreciated it as much as I do now (like many foods.) This is her recipe and the slow cooker is a great way to make it. The corned beef gets fall-apart tender and it makes a wonderful broth which you can make into gravy.

She also makes a horseradish sauce and I’m not completely sure how traditional it is, but I can’t have my corned beef without it. The sauce is great with roast beef, too. It’s a simple recipe, but I will post it for you all tomorrow.

Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Corned Beef and Cabbage
 
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Serves: 2

Ingredients
  • 3 carrots – 3 inch pieces
  • 3-4 lb. corned beef brisket with spice packet
  • 2-3 onions, quartered
  • 1-2 cups of water
  • 1 small head of cabbage

Instructions
  1. Place carrots and onion in the slow-cooker with the corned beef and spices on top. Pour water over corned beef and cook on high for 5-6 hours or on low 10-12 hours (I do mine on low.) After 6 hours on low or 3 on high, cut the cabbage into quarters and place in the slow cooker (you don’t need to use the entire head.) Push cabbage down into the broth a little bit.
  2. When corned beef is done remove about 1½ to 2 cups of broth. Add a chicken or beef bouillon cube and heat over medium high heat in a small saucepan. Add some cornstarch that has been diluted with a little water to the simmering broth. Turn up the eat and bring to a gentle boil whisking constantly adding more diluted cornstarch if you want to make the gravy thicker.
  3. I serve this with boiled red potatoes and pour the gravy over top. Also, I sprinkle my cabbage with malt vinegar.

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This post has been linked up to Cuisine Kathleen’s St. Patty’s Day Blog Crawl

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Three Packet Pot Roast

November 10, 2011 by · 10 Comments

This is my new favorite pot roast. It was flavorful. It was elegant. It was easy. It cooked all day while I was at work. Enough said.

I actually made this once before, but I don’t think I used a chuck roast. This time I did and I think that is what helped to make it so great. The gravy is meaty and has some zestiness to it which I love. I added some carrots and celery to the roast and they were melt in your mouth good. You could slice right through the meat with a fork. I loved it.

I was also really hungry when we ate it. Still, it’s my favorite new pot roast.

I served it with a twice baked potato very similar to this one, however I didn’t use cheese and I added more green onions. I also replaced the sour cream with low-fat yogurt and replaced the milk with fat-free buttermilk. They were delish. I used to add potatoes right in with the pot roast, but I have decided that I don’t like the taste or the texture when they cook with the roast.

I definitely suggest using a chuck roast because it has a bit more fat in it than say a top round roast and therefore you get that “fall apart meat”, which to me is what a pot roast is all about.  Apparently, the longer and thinner the bone in the chuck steak the better. If you use a chuck but you want to lighten this dish up a bit you can always make it a day ahead, put it in the fridge and then scrape the solid fat that forms at the top. Then, just put the dish on the stove or in the oven to warm it back up and honestly it’s just as good as the day before.

This is a recipe I have had for a while and you will see variations of it out there.  I believe I originally got it from Allrecipes.com.  I adapted the original recipe a bit.

So, the next time you see some chuck roast on sale at your local store grab some and pull out your slow cooker. You will be VERY happy you did. Enjoy!

This post is linked to….
Cooking At Café D

Three Packet Pot Roast
 
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Recipe type: Main

Ingredients
  • 1 – .7 ounce packet of dry Italian Dressing mix
  • 1 – 1 ounce packet of dry ranch dressing mix
  • 1 – .75 ounce packet og brown gravy mix (I used a larger packet and it worked out fine)
  • 1 cup of water
  • 3 lb chuck steak – with or without the bone
  • 3-4 carrots sliced in 1-2 inch pieces (I didn’t even peel mine)
  • 3-4 stalks of celery with leaves sliced in 1-2 inch pieces

Instructions
  1. Place carrots and celery in the slow cooker
  2. Season meat with salt and pepper and sear on both sides in a skillet with a bit of olive oil. When you have some nice browning on both sides of the meat, put it in the slow cooker on top of your veggies.
  3. Mix first four ingredients in a bowl and pour over the meat and veggies. Cook on low for 8-9 hours or until meat falls apart easily.

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Beef & Tortellini Marinara with Green Beans

October 4, 2011 by · 5 Comments


This. Is a keeper.

This was a huge hit with everyone involved. Everyone involved being my family…and that says a lot. My family isn’t picky really, but not all dishes are a hit with everyone at the same time. This dish was. For me it was a huge hit because it was simple to make and pretty healthy. The flavor was deep and rich – which doesn’t always happen with slow cooked meals.

I used frozen green beans (the haricot vert if you are fancy) from Trader Joe’s and they worked wonderfully. I love their frozen veggies and I very often use frozen instead of fresh veggies when it is more convenient. I don’t know what it is, but TJ’s has the best frozen veggies.

****Can I give you my tip on frozen vegetables? Don’t microwave them. Maybe there is a good way to nuke frozen veggies, but I haven’t found it yet. I will sometimes sauté them in a little olive oil right from frozen and sometimes I will boil them in some water with a little bouillon. I have even roasted veggies in the oven right from frozen and it works great. Another thing I will do is put them in some foil with a little seasoning salt and some olive oil and throw it on the grill. It steams in the foil and cooks up really nice. I do this with frozen asparagus quite a bit.

Thank you for that brief interruption, now back to our regularly scheduled program:-)

Seriously – try this dish today. This is some absolutely delicious Italian food. Another great recipe from Taste of Home.

Enjoy!

Beef Tortellini Marinara with Green Beans
 
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This is a great slow cooker recipe with some amazing Italian flavor!
Recipe type: Main

Ingredients
  • 1 lb beef stew meat
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 jar (26 0z) marinara or spaghetti sauce
  • 2 cups dry red wine or beef broth
  • 1 lb fresh green beans, trimmed – (I might do 1.5 lbs next time)
  • 1 can (14½ oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
  • lb small fresh mushrooms
  • 2 envelopes thick and zesty spaghetti sauce mix
  • 2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley
  • 1 Tbsp minced onion
  • 2 tsp minced fresh rosemary
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • tsp salt
  • 1 pkg (9 oz) refrigerated cheese tortellini

Instructions
  1. In a large skillet, brown beef in oil until no longer pink. Add garlic, cook 1 minute longer. Transfer to a 5 or 6 qt slow cooker.
  2. Stir in the marinara sauce, wine, green beans, mushrooms, sauce mix, parsley, onion, rosemary, pepper and salt. Cover and cook on low for 6 – 8 hrs or until meat is tender.
  3. Stir in tortellini. Cover and cook on high 30 minutes longer or until tortellini are heated through.

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