Pork Carnitas

The longer this cooks the more tender the meat gets. It is delicious! We love eating street taco pork carnitas.


2 1/2 lbs pork shoulder (or pork butt)
1 Tbs lime juice
2 tsp coarse sea salt
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
garlic salt

Cut the pork into smaller chunks and remove any excess fat. Place pork in the crock pot. Add the rest of the ingredients minus garlic salt together in a bowl then coat the meat with the spices. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours. When tender, shred the meat. Salt the pork with garlic salt as desired. Serve pork carnitas on corn tortillas with any toppings. We eat it with onions, cilantro, lime juice, and guacamole.

Tomato, Cucumber, Avocado Salad

Such a good, refreshing, fresh salad.

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 C chopped tomatoes
1 Cucumber
2 Avocados
4 oz feta cheese - cubed
2 Tbs minced red onion
1 handful parsley or cilantro depending on preference - minced about 2 Tbsp
2 Tbsp olive oil (I only had avocado oil and it worked great)
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar and it was delicious)
8 twists of black pepper
a dash of lemon juice

INSTRUCTIONS

Chop tomatoes into medium dice. Peel and dice cucumbers. Scoop out avocado and dice. Add tomato, avocado, onion, cucumber and minced parsley or cilantro to a bowl. Whisk together oil, vinegar, black pepper and dash of lemon juice. Pour over salad and gently toss.

Original recipe HERE.

King Cake

King Cake

(as given to Kathleen Stancliffe from Althea Marino)

3 packs yeast                                                                                                 350° - 20 minutes

2 cups very warm water

1 cup butter (2 sticks) – I use real butter – almost melted

½ cup sugar

1 ½ teaspoons salt

4 eggs

7 – 8 cups flour (divided)

Combine 2 cups of the flour, sugar and salt in LARGE mixing bowl.  Soften butter in microwave to ALMOST melted stage and add VERY warm water and butter to the flour/sugar/salt mixture.  Stir with wire whisk.  Add 3 packs yeast (add it dry) and stir until dissolved.  Add 1 egg at a time, mixing well after each one.  Add 2 more cups of flour.  Exchange wire whisk for spoon here (and rinse off whisk immediately to avoid hard, dried-on flour junk!).  Add enough more flour to make dough easy to handle (I usually add about 2 ½ more cups), and then dump out onto floured counter and knead until flexible, but not hard.  Rinse out bowl, dry, and then oil it lightly with vegetable oil.  Put dough in bowl, cover with towel and let rise until it reaches the top of the bowl (sometimes this takes an hour; sometimes it takes 2 or 3 depending on how warm your house is!).  Punch down dough (kids love to help with this part!), and let rest for about 10 minutes. 

Brown sugar/cinnamon filling:

Mix brown sugar and cinnamon to your taste (should taste more like cinnamon than brown sugar).  Store in zip lock bag to keep from getting hard. 

Cherry/Apple/Strawberry/Blueberry/Raspberry/Blackberry filling

1 can cherry pie filling (blended for 2 seconds in food processor) – not too long because you still want pieces of the fruit – my daughter tried blackberry and said it was delicious, but didn’t enjoy the seeds!  I have recently (08) tried freezer jam (needs to be frozen when used) instead of canned pie filling, and have enjoyed the fresher taste that brings (especially the strawberry).  I have a friend who uses lemon pie filling and it’s their favorite.  I’ve not tried it yet. 

Continuing . . . . .

Melt another stick of butter completely and stir well.  Divide dough into 2 equal amounts.  Roll out dough (this is tricky – use your sixth sense!  - if it’s too thin it will tear; if it’s too thick, it won’t cook thoroughly).  Using a knife or pizza cutter, cut the rolled out dough into 3 pieces lengthwise.  Using a pastry brush, “paint” melted butter on the 3 cut pieces. 

For the brown sugar-cinnamon variety, generously sprinkle the brown-sugar mixture down the middle of each cut piece and spread just a little, then pat down and sprinkle a little bit of flour over the top.  For the cherry or other fruit variety, spoon the briefly blended pie filling down the middle of each of the 3 cut strips.  Spread slightly, but not too close to the edge.  Be careful not to overfill because it tends to leak out when rising/baking.  With the cherry and apple filling, I sprinkle some of the brown sugar-cinnamon mixture on top of the filling and then sprinkle a little flour on the top of that as well.  Fold the short ends over just slightly and then fold the long ends in a tri-fold (like folding a letter) from the top down to the middle and then the bottom up and over the top.  Bring the 3 pieces close together (don’t be afraid of the dough!).  Pick it up and gently swing it back down to the counter, giving it a little bit of a stretching as you do.  Begin braiding in the middle; work to one end then go back to the middle and braid to the other end.  Carefully place on huge cookie sheet, shape into oval or circle and pinch the ends together where they meet.  Cover and let rise again.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes (I always set the timer for 12 minutes and monitor until it’s done).  When cool, tuck small plastic baby wherever you want!  Cool completely before frosting.  I frost a small section at a time so the frosting won’t dry out before sprinkling the sugar on top.  Alternate the colored sugar (purple, green, yellow).  I usually get each color on twice per cake.  Enjoy! 

Frosting:

Soften 1 stick of butter.  Add powdered sugar and milk alternately. Add about a teaspoon or two of vanilla (to taste) and a pinch of salt. It usually takes ½ - ¾ of a 2-lb bag of powdered sugar.  Stir to desired consistency.

Variation:

I use a cream cheese frosting for the cherry-filled and blueberry-filled (or any kind you choose) king cake.  Blend a package of room-temperature cream cheese with a half stick of butter, softened.  Add powdered sugar a little bit at a time until the right consistency.  I do not use vanilla or milk for this frosting unless it becomes a little too thick.

Colored Sugars:

Pour 1 cup of granulated sugar each into 3 ziplock bags. Add several drops of food coloring to get the desired color of sugar (the traditional Mardi Gras colors are purple/yellow/green); squeeze out air, zip bag and squish sugar until drops are mixed in with the sugar. Add more as needed.

Chicken Noodle Soup

INGREDIENTS

1 Tbsp butter

1/2 C Chopped onion

1/2/ C chopped celery
1 C sliced carrots

4 (14.5 oz) cans chicken broth

1 (14.5 oz) can veggie broth (I did without this and added this much more chicken broth)

1/2 lb chopped cooked chicken breast (I doubled this once and added a whole rotisserie chicken, so I think half of one would suffice)

1 1/2 C egg noodles (I added about 2 C, I like more noodles in mine)

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp dried thyme

1/4 tsp Montreal chicken

2 bay leafs

salt and pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

At the bottom of a large pot, melt butter. Cook onion, celery, and carrots in butter until just tender, about 5 minutes. Pour in broths, chicken, noodles, basil, oregano, thyme, Montreal chicken, bay leafs, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes before serving. 

I tweaked this a bit, but all the changes are listed above. For the original recipe, go HERE.

Country Style Pork Ribs

4 pounds boneless country-style pork ribs
1 Tbs Steak Seasoning
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp Seasoned salt
1/2 tsp Chili powder
1 1/2 C BBQ Sauce
1/4 C Water

Combine the steak seasoning, garlic salt,  and chili powder together. Spray the bottom of the crock pot and put half of the ribs in. Rub the ribs with half of the seasoning mixture. Then lay the rest of the ribs on top of the other ribs. Rub the top layer with seasoning mixture. Pour the water into the side of the crock pot so you do not wash off any of the seasoning. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8 hours.
When the ribs are done, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet and put the ribs on the sheet. Drizzle the BBQ sauce over the ribs. Put pan into oven for 10 minutes or until the sauce is hot and sticky. 

Quinoa Enchilada Bake

This recipe is so versatile. You can add things or take things out. Originally it does not call for meat, so you can make this a meatless dish, just take out the meat and taco seasoning.
**The enchilada sauce you can add as much or as little as you want. My friend adds 20 oz of enchilada sauce where I accidentally made it once without any and it still tasted good.**


1 C Quinoa
2 C water
1 lb ground beef or ground turkey
taco seasoning
1 can mild enchilada sauce**
1 4.5 oz chopped green chiles, drained
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can corn
2 Tbs. chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
salt and pepper to taste
3/4 C shredded cheddar cheese, divided
3/4 C shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 avocado diced
1 tomato diced

Add quinoa in a pot with the 2 C of water. Cook Quinoa according to package.
Meanwhile cook ground meat in a pan and add taco seasoning.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a large bowl, combine cooked quinoa, meat, enchilada sauce, green chiles, corn, black beans, cilantro, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper. Stir in 1/2 C of cheddar and mozzarella cheese.
Spread mixture into a baking/casserole dish. Top with the remaining cheese. Put in oven and bake for 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
Serve with fresh avocado and tomato on top.

Copycat Chili's Fajitas

This is mom's recipe and I don't know how it hasn't made it to the blog yet, because I always go looking for it here.

Marinade
1/4 C lime juice
2 Tbs olive oil
4 garlic cloves, crushed or minced
2 tsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. liquid hickory smoke
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. black pepper

Ingredients
1 lb. Chicken breast, or skirt steak
1 Tbs. Oil
1 tsp. soy sauce
2 Tbs. water
1/2 tsp. lime juice
dash of salt & pepper
1 large Spanish onion
1/2 green bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
1/2 red pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
1/2 yellow pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
Tortillas

Toppings (Optional)
Pico de gallo
Sour Cream
Cheese
Guacamole

Combine the ingredients for the marinade in a large zip lock bag add chicken or steak. (I usually cut my meat into strips before marinading.) Marinade for at least 2 hours or overnight (preferred).

Combine water, soy sauce, lime juice, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
Grill meat over medium-high heat for 4-5 minutes per side, or until cooked through. Pour our marinade.
Cut meat into thin strips (if not already done) set aside and keep warm.
In a large skillet over medium-high heat cook onion and peppers in the remaining oil until browned. Remove from heat; pour reserved liquid mixture(What you combined at the beginning) over onions and pepper. Toss meat, onions, and peppers together.

Serve with warm tortillas, pico de gallo, cheese, sour cream, and guacamole.