Tuesday, February 15, 2011

PORK CARNITAS AND A LIL' SUMPIN' SUMPIN'!!!



Okay, I think I had the best Valentine's Day, EVER, this year! I made a wonderful pot of Wild Rice and Kielbasa soup for dinner, a fantastic and from scratch Lemon Cake with Glaze for dessert, and sent Big Daddy a pretty plant for his office, where all living things go to die.  In turn, Big Daddy came home from his day bearing gifts, and since there's nobody else living in this house except me and the dog and cats and the spiders, I suspected they were all for ME ME ME, and boy was I right! Big Daddy did a little shopping, it seems, while he was away on business last weekend--he gave me a bottle of my favorite perfume (Donna Karan's "Delicious"--the bottle is shaped like a darling little apple!), and the biggest surprise of my life. A camera. A "real" camera--a Nikon L110:



I'm over the moon, because he knows how much this little blog means to me, and how frustrated I was with my piece of #*@T digital camera. So now, after I've kissed his face about a gazillion times,  I really have my work cut out for me--hopefully by next week I'll be up and running with more professional looking photos. It's gonna take me that long, because the user's manual is about 45,823 pages long, and kinda technical looking. But I"m a smart girl, and a motivated girl, so you should be expecting something great!

SPEAKING of something great--I made one of my favorite and easy crock pot recipes last week, my Pork Carnitas Tacos. You simply cannot find an easier recipe, and all you have to do before you eat them is shred the meat with a fork, and maybe throw together a side dish (I served mine with refried beans) and some "fixins". Big Daddy LOVES this recipe, Card-Carrying-Mexican-Food-Loving-California-Boy that he is:




See that--he's shoving his face full, then licking his fingers! If you want to lick your fingers, too, then make these Carnitas for supper. Here are the ingredients you'll need:




Just throw all the ingredients in your crock pot (well, gently place them in, actually, and NOT the tortillas!), first thing in the morning--it'll look something like this, before cooking:


Cook on "low" for 10 hours, then shred the pork with two forks:



The flavor of this pork is INSANE, and so very tender! I serve mine with shredded lettuce, sour cream, guacamole, tomatoes and cheese, and let everyone put their own tacos together at the table:





Like I mentioned, I served mine that night with refried beans, but some Spanish rice would be good, too. And before I forget, this recipe makes a lot of cooked pork, so I usually freeze what we don't use and use it later in Tortilla Soup. I'll be sure to share that recipe with you, soon. Here's the Pork Carnitas Taco recipe:

PORK CARNITAS TACOS
Serves 6-8

2 lb. pork tenderloin (or, you can use a less expensive 2 lb. boneless pork roast)
1 10oz. can Rotel tomatoes, drained
1 4.5 oz. can chopped green chilis
1 16oz. jar green salsa
1/2 tsp. cumin
1 tblsp. chili powder
flour tortillas
Serve with: shredded cheese, cilantro, avocado or guacamole, tomatoes, shredded lettuce and sour cream, if desired

Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker. Cook on "low" for 10 hours, or until pork shreds easily with two forks. Serve using a slotted spoon in flour tortillas. Serve with desired "fixins".


TOP 3 THINGS I'M GRATEFUL FOR TODAY:

1. I'm grateful that my wonderful husband of 23 years encourages my creativity.
2. I'm grateful that our daughter received her Valentine's Day care package ON Valentine's Day (instead of after!), and that NONE of the delicate cookies broke.
3. I'm grateful that our "handyman" Marc, who will be spending the next week or so in our house for some necessary construction, is so easy to be around, and so neat! He even asks to mop up his snowy footprints!


9 comments:

  1. I don't know wh;at I was doing wrong previously on the comment section, but now it's back to normal! The carnitas recipe sounds sooooo good, I will make it next week! Because I've already done my shopping for this week and didn't buy pork! Thanks Leslie, for writing such a nice blog and everyone I know who reads it always tells me how much they love it too! Love you, M.O.M.

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  2. Okay girlie, I am pretty sure I can make that!! Trying that recipe next!! YUMMY!! Your husband is such a good sport! Love you guys!!

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  3. I've tried that recipe and LOVE it! Can't wait to see your new camera in action. Your hubby sure knows how to pick awesome gifts! Hey, is that "blue" business on Main St. going to decorate for St. Pat's day so I can take a picture of every holiday? LOL

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  4. Hey Debbie, I don"t know if they"ll decorate or not, but they should!

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  5. Can't wait to try this one, Leslie! The Valentine's Day soup sounds pretty good, too! Will we see that recipe soon?

    You were one lucky Valentine this year! But I think Big Daddy is pretty lucky, too!
    Love You!
    Mona

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  6. you know what, Monda Kay? That recipe is in my column, from the week of Feb 15th. The only difference is that I used kielbasa in this one, instead of ham. I think the kielbasa (low fat turkey) is MUCH better--more flavorful. Anyways, you can find my column at the link on the right hand side of my blog--just click on columns, then keep scrolling down. Or, if you have trouble, I'll send you the link! Love you too, girl!

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  7. These look awesome...messy as in Messican, the way we like it here the best. We call that kind of food "napkin-worthy" and it always requires 3 or 4!

    Since my oven is on the fritz until they fix it on Monday, I think I will have to break out my crockpot for this one. Thanks!

    ~~Debra G.

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  8. REALLY glad you got that camera, I know you've been wanting it!

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