Carnitas (Pork Street Tacos)

After more than two and a half years, I'm back! I know you are saying to yourself, "I didn't even notice you were gone". Two and half years seems to have flown by and as I'm sure is true with everyone, a lot of things have happened. The main reason Crockpot Daddy has been on a 32-month hiatus was that I started and finished my Master's degree. Along the way, we also had another kid, Delaney, sold our 118-year-old house, bought a 65-year-old house, and have subsequently been renovating it ever since. I also took a different job (not teaching HS math) and moved buildings. My new positions are K-12 Technology Facilitator and Middle School Athletic Director.

After some ridicule from colleagues (I'm talking to you Emily Foley), I am hopping back on the recipe creation wagon! If you like tacos, especially when they are full of fall apart tender pork, this one is for you. The best part is you customize them to your liking with your favorite taco toppers. Cheese, avocado, salsa, guacamole, lettuce, ...

I hope you enjoy these delicious chunks of pork. Crockpot Daddy is back (for now at least)!

Ingredients

1 Boneless Pork Butt (Shoulder) Roast (3-5 lbs)
1 medium Yellow Onion (diced)
4 cloves garlic (peeled and diced)
1 can diced green chiles
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Suggested Taco Fixin's
Small tortillas (Flour or Corn)
Cheese (See below)
Avocado (Turn it into Guacamole if you're inspired)
Salsa
Lettuce
Diced Onion
Radish
Cilantro
Sour Cream
Queso Fresco (A mild crumbly white cheese. You can get it in most supermarkets, including ALDI)

Alright, here we go.

Cut the pork shoulder into small chunks. You might want to trim off any excessive flaps/slabs of fat. You can see that the pork is nicely marbled (veined with fat). That is going to make the pork super moist, tender, and fall apart tender. 

I would suggest cutting the pork butt into chunks about the size of the palm of your hand. In case you were wondering, I have normal to small size hands despite my abnormally large body.

Add the diced pork chunks, diced onion, diced garlic, and green chiles to the crockpot.

Add the spices (cumin, chili powder, oregano, salt, black pepper, and cayenne) to the crockpot and stir until all of the pork and onion mixture is coated. DO NOT ADD ANY LIQUID. I repeat DO NOT ADD LIQUID. The pork has enough fat and will baste/braise itself. Plus, we don't want the pork submerged so that it will caramelize and form a semi "bark" on the outside. 

Cook on LOW for 5-6 hours. As you can see above, there will be plenty of liquid when the carnitas are done.

Ideally, the pork chunks will still be intact (just barely). 

The carnitas should fall apart with the slightest touch of a fork (or your fingers). Now it's time to assemble your taco. Get creative and do your best! As you can see below, my kids each have their own unique way of assembling and eating their tacos.

Delaney like her tacos "deconstructed". 

Harrison likes his rolled and pinned with toothpicks.

Graham likes his fully loaded.

I like mine with queso fresco, guac, salsa, and diced onion.

However you decide to top yours, I hope you enjoy it!

Creamy Tortellini Soup

After what seems like eons of sub freezing temperatures, we finally got a day of sunshine and slight warmth yesterday! For most people, this meant a chance to get outside and walk/run/play. At our house, it meant finally taking down our Christmas lights. We aren't the Griswold's (or the Wellington's if you're familiar with Clearwater), but I managed to miss the entire AFC championship game while taking down and packing up or lights. I am grateful for Sunday's brief polar reprieve and this soup serves as a nice belly filler/warmer as well.

If you've perused any type of social media (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest) in the past few months, you've probably seen a version of this come across your feed. We had a quick cook version at our friend's a couple of weeks ago and liked it so much I attempted a crock pot variation. It was a rousing success at our house and is especially satisfying when the temperature needle hasn't been above freezing in a while. 

In my last post, I mentioned that there are now "PRINTABLE VERSIONS" available. For a few days, I had some web link issues that have since been fixed. I apologize for the malfunction if you tried to use them and were unable to access the links. They are now all repaired. Below the list of ingredients on each recipe page, you will find a link that opens a window with a printer friendly version for those of you that are interested. 

Ingredients

1 bag frozen cheese tortellini (Approximately 18 oz)

1 lb sausage (I used Mild, but you could use hot, sweet, etc.)

3-4 heaping cups raw spinach leaves (Rough chopped)

1/2 onion (diced)

1 can petite diced tomatoes (You could also use Italian style)

32 oz chicken broth

32 oz vegetable broth

1 cup heavy whipping cream (8 oz)

1/2 shredded Parmesan cheese

1 TBSP garlic powder

1 TBSP Italian seasoning

1 tsp crushed red pepper

1 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp salt

Optional Garnish

Shredded Parmesan cheese

Julienned (finely chopped) spinach/basil leaves

Click here for a PRINTABLE VERSION

I bought the Kroeger (Dillons) version, but there are others available. You can usually find them in the frozen section next to the bread and rolls. Sometimes, they are near the butter and frozen cookie dough. happy hunting!

This is one of the few recipe posts where all of the ingredients aren't immediately added to the crockpot. Brown and DRAIN your sausage first before adding it to the crockpot. This will allow you to get of a ton of fat drippings from the sausage (there are still going to be some at the end). 

Add the browned sausage, petite diced tomatoes, onion, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, crushed red pepper, black pepper and salt to the crockpot. 

Now pour in the vegetable and chicken broths. Stir and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours. 

About 30-45 minutes before serving, turn your crockpot to HIGH. Add the frozen tortellini, heavy cream, spinach leaves and shredded Parmesan. Stir and cook for an additional 30 to 45 minutes.

This is my version of a "heaping cup". Depending on your fondness for spinach, you can add more or less than the prescribed amount (3ish cups). Don't worry if it seems like a lot when you first put it in. The spinach with wilt/cook down quickly. I would at least cut the leaves in half before you add them (I didn't in the picture above).

Cook the soup until the spinach is wilted and the tortellini is done to your liking. In general, I'd say 30-45 minutes.

Voila! A hearty and creamy soup to fill you up on a cold winter's night. Top with shredded Parmesan and spinach/basil and serve with a crusty bread. Enjoy!

Chili

It's December 27th and winter has finally decided to make an appearance. In Clearwater, we are on the eve of 8-12" of snow and ice. I thought I'd officially celebrate the arrival of freeze your face off cold with and all time favorite, Chili. This recipe is extremely quick and easy to put together and can be spiced up as much as you'd like. Enjoy!

On a side note, each recipe now has a "PRINTABLE VERSION" available. Below the list of ingredients on each recipe page, you will find a link that opens a window with a printer friendly version for those of you that are interested.

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef (I'd suggest 97/3 or 95/5 to avoid too much fat)

1 14 oz can tomato sauce

1 14 oz can diced tomatoes

1 14 oz can kidney beans (or black beans if you'd like)

1 14 oz can chili beans
1 cup water

1 small onion diced (roughly 1 cup)

1 celery stalk (diced)

4 oz can diced green chiles

1.5 TBSP chili powder

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp garlic powder 

Spicy Option

1/2 to 1 tsp ground cayenne pepper

Smoky Heat Option

1 tsp chipotle chili powder

Click here for a PRINTABLE VERSION

As indicated above, I would buy ground beef with very low fat content (i.e. 97/3 = 97% lean & 3% fat). The higher the fat ratio, the more liquid you are going to have in your cooked taco mixture. You could also use ground turkey or chicken if you prefer.

Add all ingredients to the crockpot. I would use your hands to break-up the meat into small pieces. If you don't, you will get large chunks of cooked meat rather than the smaller preferred chili style.

Mix all of the ingredients until combined and the seasoning is well incorporated. Cook on LOW for 4 to 6 hours.

Serve with your favorite garnishes. Some prefer oyster crackers or shredded cheese. As you can see, my "garnish" of choice is a toasted and melty grilled cheese. Stay warm!

Taco Salad

Christmas is just around the corner and next week at the high school the countdown to the end of finals and Friday will be on. We have made a major transition in our house in the last few weeks. Basketball season has started. That means that Erin takes over the cooking duties for the next few months. In the spirit of the upcoming Star Wars movie (of which she has seen none, I repeat, NONE OF THEM), I am attempting to be Yoda to her Luke in the way of the Crock pot. This Taco Salad was one of the last meals I put together before practice started. We use the taco mixture on lettuce and Fritos as taco salad, but it would be great in hard or soft taco shells, nachos or authentic taco salad shells if you are able. Hope you enjoy it. Feliz Navidad!

Ingredients

1 bag of Fritos (You can see we like the knock-off Kroger brand)

1 head of lettuce (We used romaine)

1 lb ground beef (I'd suggest 97/3 or 95/5 to avoid too much fat)

1 packet Taco seasoning (Roughly 3 Tbsp if you have the big tub like me)
1 diced onion

1 diced red bell pepper
1 14 oz can black beans (rinsed & drained)

1 14 oz can corn (rinsed & drained)
1 14 oz can Rotel (diced tomatoes with green chiles - drained)

8 oz block of colby jack cheese (shredded)

Optional Garnishes

Sour Cream

Salsa

Click here for a PRINTABLE RECIPE.

As indicated above, I would buy ground beef with very low fat content (i.e. 97/3 = 97% lean & 3% fat). The higher the fat ratio, the more liquid you are going to have in your cooked taco mixture. You could also use ground turkey which is very lean and my wife "claims" is better for you than red meat. Bah Humbug!

Also, I highly recommend buying your cheese in blocks and shredding it yourself. When cheese is produced, it gets sprayed with a thin film of wax as a preservative. Store bought shredded cheese doesn't melt nearly as easily or smoothly because each shred is covered in wax. A full block however, only has a coating on the outside. If you shred it yourself, it will melt much more evenly and results in that stringy, stretchy cheesy goodness we all love. Trust me. A little more work will go a long way.

If you would like to make your own Taco seasoning because you are concerned about MSG or too much sodium, check out this recipe for Homemade Taco Seasoning. 

Add the diced onion and bell pepper, black beans (rinsed and drained), corn, (drained) and Rotel to the crockpot. 

Add the ground beef to the mixture. I would use your hands to breakup the meat into small pieces. If you don't, you will get large chunks of cooked meat rather than the smaller more taco style mixture. Add the taco seasoning to the top of the ground beef.

Mix all of the ingredients until combined and the seasoning is well incorporated. Cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours.

Depending on the type of ground beef you use, you may need to drain or siphon off some of the excess liquid. You are now ready to serve in the taco application of your choice!

Serve on a bed of lettuce and top with cheese, Fritos and your favorite Mexican garnishes.