Crockpot Pork Carnitas

I won't lie. I googled the word "carnitas". I took French in high school and college so shoot me. I just didn't want to look like an idiot by titling this "pork carnitas" if carnitas meant pork. You feel me? Good. Now that that is out of the way, I did learn that carnitas actually means "little meats" and it's meat that's been braised in oil or lard. I did nothing of the sort here. So I guess I can't technically call these carnitas, but whatever. They are darn good. You are also welcome for the Spanish lesson. 

PS - You can see from the pic below that I used this in Pork Carnitas Bowls with Cilantro Lime Caulirice!

Crockpot Pork Carnitas

adapted from The Recipe Critic

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 8-9 hours

Servings: 10+

Ingredients

4 pound pork shoulder roast

1 TBS chili powder

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp oregano

1.5 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp black pepper

2 oranges, juiced

2 limes, juiced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, chopped

In the bottom of your crockpot, put the last 4 ingredients. Place your roast down in the crockpot. 

In a small bowl, combine your dry spices. Sprinkle these over the roast. Set the crockpot for 8 hours on low. 

Once it's done, I shred mine right in the crockpot and left it sitting in the juices for another 30-45 minutes on low. 

Now if you really want to be fancy, take the meat out of the crockpot after it's been bathing in those juices in the crockpot for the last 30 minutes and place it on a sheet pan. Put it in the oven under the broiler for about 5 minutes. This will make some of the bits a little crispier. 

Enjoy!

Cilantro Lime Caulirice

I have to say that this is such a great substitute for rice if you are Whole30, 24 Day Challenge or just trying to clean up your diet. Now I made my own cauliflower rice, but if you are short for time or don't have the right tools, I have seen "cauliflower crumbles" or "riced cauliflower" at Trader Joe's and Target. Anything you can do with rice I'm pretty sure you could do with caulirice. The only thing I will say is that it's pretty stinky while it cooks!

Cilantro Lime Caulirice

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 10-15 minutes

Servings: 4-6

Ingredients

A head of cauliflower
Bunch of cilantro, chopped
4-6 limes, juiced
Kosher salt, to taste

Directions

Remove the leaves and stem from the cauliflower. Chop the florets into uniform pieces about the size of a tangerine. Toss into the food processor and pulse until evenly chopped. It should have a "rice like" consistency to it. Put your riced cauliflower into a sauté pan over medium heat. You could drizzle a little olive oil in the pan if you aren't using a non-stick pan. Sauté for about 10-15 minutes depending on how soft you want it to be.

Dump your caulirice in a bowl. Now I like mine pretty limey so I would put the juice of all 6 limes in there. It's really to taste. Toss the cilantro in there too. Lastly, sprinkle a little kosher salt over it to help bring out the flavors. 

Enjoy!

Taco Soup

Holy cow this was delish! This is definitely a keeper. And the bonus? It's so easy! Now, personally I didn't think it was necessarily a "taco" soup - maybe more like southwest soup? Next time, we are going to try swapping out the pintos for black beans and maybe adding some cooked rice at the end. I topped mine off with Mexican cheese and a dollop of sour cream. You can also use Fritos or tortilla chips.

Taco Soup 

adapted from Food Network

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cooking Time: 1 hour

Servings: 6-8

Ingredients

1 lb ground turkey (or beef)

1/2 cup diced onions

1/2 of a 15.5 oz can pinto beans

15.5 oz can pink or light red kidney beans

1/2 of a 14.25 oz can of whole kernel corn

14.5 oz can petite diced tomatoes with jalapenos

Can of Rotel Mild

4.5 oz can of diced green chiles

1 package low-sodium taco seasoning

1 package dry ranch salad dressing mix

Directions

Cook the ground turkey and onions together until the onions are translucent. Drain off any grease or fat. Without draining any of the cans, add the remaining ingredients. Simmer on low heat for one hour.

Enjoy!

Chicken Chimichangas

The first words out of hubby's mouth was "This is the bomb!" Obviously he was a fan. I definitely thought they were good. The only change that I would make is making the filling a little saucier. I added some more sour cream, but next time I think I would add some juice from the tomatoes and maybe chicken stock. I would then let it simmer for a few minutes.

Photo Credit to Food Network

Chicken Chimichangas

adapted from Food Network

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Servings: 4

Ingredients 

2 TBS unsalted butter 

4 TBS vegetable oil 

1/2 cup shopped white onion

3 cloves garlic, chopped 

1 jalapeno pepper, diced (remove seeds for less heat) 

1 1/2 tsp chili powder 

1/2 tsp ground cumin 

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon 

Kosher salt

14 oz can of petite diced tomatoes, undrained

2 TBS chopped fresh cilantro 

2 1/2 cups shredded chicken 

1/4 cup sour cream 

15 oz can fat-free refried beans 

4 Burrito (10-inch) flour tortillas 

1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese, plus more for topping 

Shredded lettuce, for topping 

Mexi-sauce:

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, chopped

2 - 4 oz cans of chopped green chiles

1 cup chicken broth

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Pinch of chili powder, cumin, salt and sugar

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450. 

Melt the butter with 2 TBS vegetable oil in a small bowl in the microwave. Heat the remaining 2 TBS oil in the skillet. Add the onion and jalapeno and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic, chili powder, cumin, cinnamon and 1 teaspoon salt; cook about 30 seconds. Add 1/2 of the can of tomatoes and cilantro and cook until slightly dry, about 2 minutes. Stir in the chicken and sour cream and warm through. Remove from the heat.

Spray a rimmed baking sheet (jelly pan) with cooking spray. Spread 2 TBS of refried beans on each tortilla. Top with 1 cup of chicken and 1/4 cup cheese. Fold in the ends and roll up.

Place the chimichanga seam side down on the baking sheet. Brush with butter-oil mixture. Bake for 8-10 minutes on each side, brushing after you flip. Top with sauce, cheese, lettuce and tomato.

To make the sauce, saute onion and garlic in 1 TBS vegetable oil. Add the spices and cook 30 seconds. Drain and rinse green chiles. Stir in and cook 2 minutes. Add chicken broth and simmer until thickened. Puree and then add cilantro. 

Enjoy!

Taco Casserole

This is slightly reminiscent of Mexican Lasagna, but with a twist. For more of a taco taste and less Mexican, try cutting back (or out) the cumin. We both really enjoyed this and I will be making it again! Very easy to put together at the end of a long day.

Taco Casserole

Ingredients

1 lb ground turkey

1 package of taco seasoning

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

8 oz can tomato sauce

10 oz can mild Rotel

10 oz can mild enchiladas sauce

Package of par-boiled rice (like Uncle Ben's) or 2 cups cooked rice

6-8 small corn tortillas

Mexican cheese blend

Directions

Preheat oven to 375.

In a small skillet, heat the enchiladas sauce over medium-low heat.

Cook turkey until no longer pink. Add taco seasoning, cumin, garlic and onion powders. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Add tomato sauce, Rotel and rice. Cook for about 5 minutes.

Spray an 8x8 casserole dish. Dip 3 tortillas, one by one, in the enchiladas sauce and place in the bottom of the casserole dish. I actually like to cut mine in half so that they don't overlap. Put about 1 1/2 cups of the meat mixture on the tortillas and top with 1/2 a cup of cheese. Repeat these steps again ending with the meat mixture and cheese. 

Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for about 5-10 minutes.

Enjoy!

Mexican Rice

This is a great side for enchiladas or tacos. It's so yummy and easy!

Mexican Rice

adapted from multiple recipes

Ingredients

2 TBS Canola oil

1 cup uncooked rice

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cumin

1 1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 cup salsa

1/2 cup tomato sauce

2 cups chicken stock (I love Kitchen Basics!)

Directions

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and add rice. Cook, stirring constantly, until golden. Once rice is golden, stir in garlic powder, salt, cumin and onion powder. Continue cooking 1-2 minutes or until fragrant.

Add in salsa, tomato sauce and chicken broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. Fluff with a fork. 

Enjoy!

White Bean Enchiladas

This is a great meat-free recipe! You hardly notice that the meat is missing, even my meat-and-three husband thinks these are great.

Photo credit to MyRecipes.com

White Bean Enchiladas

adapted from MyRecipes.com

Ingredients

2  TBS reduced fat sour cream

16 oz can cannellini beans or other white beans, rinsed and drained

1/2  cup Mexican cheese blend

2 TBS canned chopped green chiles

1 TBS chopped fresh cilantro

1 tsp ground cumin

10 oz can enchilada sauce

1/4  cup  water

6  - 6-inch corn tortillas

Cooking spray

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine the sour cream and beans in a food processor; process until almost smooth. Stir in 1/4 cup cheese, chiles, chopped cilantro, and cumin.

Combine 1/3 cup enchilada sauce and 1/4 cup water in a small nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Dip one tortilla in the sauce mixture to soften; transfer to a plate. Spread 1/4 cup bean mixture down center of tortilla; roll up. Place roll, seam side down, in an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Repeat procedure with remaining tortillas and bean mixture. Add remaining sauce to pan; cook 1 minute. Spoon over enchiladas; sprinkle with 1/4 cup cheese.

Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Enjoy!

Printable Recipe