Empadas

This fall I visited the National Museum of the American Indian in New York City. They had a fun exhibit of American Indian musicians from 1900 to current.  It was fascinating to see how many artists are of American Indian decent.  It also encouraged me to add some music to my iPod that I normally wouldn't have on my playlist.  The BEST part of the visit was the American Indian Museum was the cookbook I found. :)  Yes, I added another cook book to my growing collection.  It is called Foods of the Americas, Native Recipes and Traditions by Fernando and Marlene Divina. I am blown away by how many of the recipes I want to make in this book!  The influences from this book are far reaching from South America to Canada.  The first recipe I tried out of this book is for Empadas.  They are best described as meat pies.  They remind me of Samosa's from Asian restaurants.  The flavor was UNIQUE!  I was half expecting a Mexican flare...which it had, but there was a major twist.  You CERTAINLY need to check this recipe out!

Empada's modified recipe:
Dough:
Pre-made Pie Filling

Filling:
1/4 cup tomato salsa
1 tablespoon corn oil
1 small white onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 lb ground beef
3/4 cup diced russet potato
1/3 teaspoon ground allspice
1 small chile, seeded and minced
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon sea or kosher salt
Pinch of freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup chicken stock

Flour for dusting
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
Pinch of sea or kosher salt

Heat a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat.  Add the oil, onion, and garlic and cook without browning for about 5 minutes.  Add the salsa, beef, potato, allspice, chile, bay leaf, salt, pepper and chicken stock.  Cook, stirring often for 15 to 20 minutes, until the meat is browned and cooked through and the liquid has nearly evaporated.  Remove from the heat and allow to cool completely.  Remove and discard the bay leaf.

Preheat the oven to 350 F.  Lightly oil and flour a baking sheet or line with parchment paper.

To assemble the empadas, lightly flour a work surface.  Cut the dough in half horizontally and cover one half with a clean kitchen towel to keep moist.  Roll the other half of the dough out to about 1/8 inch think.  Cut into 12 squares or rounds about 3 1/2 inches wide.  Place a generous tablespoon of the meat mixture in the center of each piece of dough.  Roll Out and cut the other portion of the dough in the same manner.  Whisk the egg with the water and salt to make an egg wash.  Brush the edges of the bottom dough pieces with the egg wash.  top each with another dough piece and drip the edges with the tines of a fork or your fingertips.  Place the empadas on the prepared baking sheet.  Brush the tops with the remaining egg wash.  Bake for about 30 minutes, until golden brown.  Serve warm.

"I miss my neighbor" meal...

While moving to the D.C. area has been chalked full of fun, historical visits, we have been missing our friends back in Colorado.  Tonight I decided to make a meal my neighbor, Rachael, made for us right before we moved.  This is some SERIOUS comfort food, whether it is coming from a good neighbor or because it just makes you feel homey and happy.  It is SUPER SIMPLE cooking and SUPER TASTY!!!

Comfort Food a la Rachael:
1 lb ground hamburger
1/2 a large onion, chopped
3 roma tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1 packet sazon seasoning salt
salt and pepper to taste

Cook onions in a frying pan until translucent. 

Add ground meat and cook until meat is nearly cooked through.

Drain excess fat...or you could keep it for additional flavor.  Add tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes are wilted.  Add cilantro and seasonings, cook for additional 5 -10 minutes to allow the flavors to meld together.

Serve with rice.  You could totally use this to make as the meat base for tacos, but I definitely prefer it with rice...just like Rachael served it.

Note the SWEET pan I am using to cook this meal.  I bought this pan from the same neighbor who gave me this recipe.  She sells Princess House products and they ROCK!!!  This is the BEST pan I have ever owned!  It cooked everything so evenly and it is HUGE!!!!  Want to try it out?  Check out Rachael's web site.

Thanks for sharing your AWESOME recipe with me Rachael!  Here is to you...sure wish you were here to enjoy a glass of wine with me!

Gettin' the BBQ fired up!

Alex FINALLY broke down and bought a gas grill this summer.  I have been harassing him for years to get a gas grill because of the convenience of being able to light it up and start cooking.  He refused because he feels charcoal tastes better than gas.  That might be the case, but it isn't as versatile as a gas grill because you can't control the temperature of the grill.  I won and Alex is happy to have been on the losing end of this disagreement. :)

I've been on a Bobby Flay kick lately.  I think I just need to use up the spices in my cupboard.  I don't know how he figures out how to combine so many different flavors that compliment each other so well and layer the tastes.  He must waste a TON of spices!

Spice Rubbed Chicken Tacos:

Grilled Poblanos:

• 3 large poblanos
• Canola oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Coleslaw:

• 3/4 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon celery seed
• 3 tablespoons apple-cider vinegar
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 small head cabbage, cored, finely shredded
• 2 carrots, finely shredded
• 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 3 scallions, thinly sliced on the diagonal

Chicken:

• 2 tablespoons ancho chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons light brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 4 boneless, skinless Chicken Breasts (8 ounces each)
• Canola oil
• 8 flour tortillas
• 2 grilled sliced poblanos
• Barbecued onions
• Coleslaw
• Guacamole, recipe follows

For the poblanos:

Heat the grill to high.

Brush the poblanos with oil and season with salt and pepper. Place the chiles on the grill and cook until charred on all sides, about 10 minutes. Remove from the grill, place in a bowl and cover with plastic for 10 minutes. Remove the skin, seeds and stem and cut into thin slices.

For the Cole Slaw:

Whisk together the mayo, sugar, celery, celery seed, vinegar and salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add the cabbage, carrot, onion and scallion and stir to combine, season with more salt and pepper, if needed. Let slaw sit at least 15 minutes before serving.

For the Chicken:

Heat the grill to high.

Whisk together the ancho, cinnamon, cumin, brown sugar, 1 teaspoon salt and black pepper in a small bowl.

Season top side of the breasts with the rub mixture, turn over and season the back with the remaining salt. Drizzle with some of the oil and place on the grill, rub side down and grill until lightly golden brown and a crust has formed, about 3 minutes. Turn the chicken over, close the lid and continue cooking until just cooked through, about 6 minutes longer. Remove from the grill and let rest 5 minutes before slicing.

Grill the flour tortillas briefly, just to mark and heat. To build the taco, fold each tortilla around some of the chicken, poblanos, onions, coleslaw and guacamole.

These tacos were a HIT!!!  So yummy and flavorful!  Despite all the steps and ingredients involved in making these tacos, they were surprisingly easy to make!  The left over chicken made for GREAT quesadilla's the next day too!

Crunched for Time!

I hate when the 4pm hour hits at my house.  Invariably, I have put off making a decision about what to cook for dinner and my stomach is starting to grumble.  DOH!  Today was no different.  I had left overs from taco's I was considering making stuffed baked potatoes with, but I didn't want to go to the hassle of baking the potatoes.  LAZY!  A couple of months ago I purchased the Deep Dish Baker from Pampered Chef.  This INGENIOUS product allows you to cook recipes you would normally make in the oven...IN THE MICROWAVE!  It ROCKS!!!!  You can roast a whole chicken in the microwave in 25-35 minutes using this product!!!  It saved my day!  Pampered Chef also sells a recipe book specifically for recipes you can make using the Deep Dish Baker.  I scored a SWEET recipe from it that would use up my taco leftovers!

Family Burrito Bake
1 medium onion
1 lb 90% lean ground beef
2 tbsp Southwestern Seasoning Mix
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1 can Mexican-style corn
1 jar chunky salsa, divided
1 can refried beans
3 tbsp water
7 6-inch corn corn tortillas
2 cups shredded Colby & Monterey Jack cheese blend, divided

Coarsely chop onion.  In Deep Covered Baker, combine onion, beef, seasoning mix and pressed garlic; mix well.  Microwave, covered on High for 6-8 minutes or until beef is no longer pink, breaking crumbles halfway through.  Drain beef mixture.  Combine beef mixture, corn and 1 cup of the salsa, mix well.  combine refried beans and water, mix well.

To assemble, place two tortillas over bottom of baker.  Cut one tortilla to fill any gaps as layers are assembled.  Spread one-third of the beans evenly over tortillas.  Top with one-third of the beef mixture and one-third of the cheese.  Repeat layers one time.  Arrange remaining two tortillas over cheese.  Top with remaining beans and beef mixture.

Microwave, covered, on High for 12-15 minutes or until center is hot.  Carefully remove baker from microwave using oven mitts.  Top evenly with remaining salsa and cheese.  Let stand, covered for 10 minutes before serving.

HOLY MOLY!!!!  This recipes was AWESOME!!!!  It was CRAZY fast and pretty healthy at 340 calories per serving (assuming 8 servings).  If you don't have a Pampered Chef Deep Dish Baker...get yourself one!!!  I can't believe how fast and easy it was to use the Deep Dish Baker.  Because it is stoneware and has a lid, it quickly cooks meals evenly in the microwave.  I'm looking forward to making more meals with this dish!!!

Cafe Rio.....WHERE ARE YOU?!

I remember the first Cafe Rio they opened in Salt Lake City.  It is on Fort Union right by Target.  That place was where the 'Cool' people ate.  I used to ALWAYS order their chile con queso and their PORK SALAD.  Oh....that pork salad.  I DREAM about that pork salad.  Their 'Salad' is comprised of a a torilla at the bottom of a bowl with a little melted cheese on top, your choice of black or pinto beans, rice, lettuce and the most heavenly pork!  But let's not forget the tomatillo dressing.  My mouth is watering just thinking about it. 

I am broken there are no Cafe Rio's in the Colorado Springs area.  What do I do in a pinch?  I find a knock off recipe online and compare.

Cafe Rio Knock Off Pork Salad Recipe:

LIME-CILANTRO RICE
2 Tbsp. oil
4 c. long grain rice (6 c. water)
1 bunch cilantro, finely chopped
juice of 2 limes
2 tsp. crushed garlic

Heat oil in a large skillet. Add rice, cilantro, and garlic. Saute 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add water and lime juice and bring to boil. Then reduce heat and simmer until all the liquid is absorbed by the rice (about 20 minutes). You can also use a rice cooker if you have one.

This rice is hideous! DON'T MAKE IT!  UG!  There is nothing more to say...JUST DON'T make it!

CAFE RIO PORK
pork roast
1 (16 oz.) bottle of salsa
1 can coke
2 c. brown sugar

Place pork in crock-pot and fill it half way up with water. Cook roast on high for 5 hours. Drain off water. Cut pork in thirds. Mix together ingredients (salsa, coke, brown sugar) and put on top of pork. Cook an additional 3 hours on high. Shred pork with forks. Leave it on low until ready to serve.

I have to admit, the pork was pretty impressive. The meat was falling to pieces! However, next time I make this, I will not use the salsa. It gave the pork a pot roast sort of taste that it just didn't need. It took away from the sweetness of the meat. I also don't recall there being salsa in the Cafe Rio version.

CREAMY TOMATILLA SALAD DRESSING
1 packet hidden valley ranch buttermilk dressing
1 c. buttermilk
1 c. mayo or sour cream
2-3 tomatillas (peel off outer leaf/shell)
1 tsp. crushed garlic
¾ bunch fresh cilantro
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
juice from 1 lime (about 2 tsp.)
salt & pepper

Blend all ingredients in the blender. Refrigerate.

I wasn't sure anyone would be able to duplicate the Cafe Rio dressing, but this came REALLY close.  It was altogether WAY too runny.  You could half the buttermilk and I think it would resolve the runny issue.  Otherwise, the taste on this dressing is RIGHT ON!!!!  I used this dressing for a lot of things besides this pork.  I dipped quesadilla's in it, put in on other salads...HEAVEN!!!!

Alex and I opted not to make salads out of this recipe and unded up just making tacos and using the dressing to 'dress the tacos'.  YUM!!!  I got my Cafe Rio fix long distance. :)

TINGA!

When ones moves away from their home, they realize they miss the three F's...family...friends...food.  There is a great restaurant in downtown Salt Lake called the Red Iguana.  They have a dish there calleld Tinga Poblana that is made with shredded pork and is in a spicy red sauce.  I LOVE this dish.  I order it every time I go to the Red Iguana.  I have yet to find a killer mexican restaurant here in Colorado...but I haven't been out looking.  If you have any suggestions, definitely let me know!

I went off in search of a recipe for Tinga Poblana online and I found a pretty decent recipe online from the Homesick Texan.  I frequent this blog often and cook up a lot of the recipes our Homesick friend posts.  I have yet to be disappointed.  You should definitely check this blog out.

Tinga:
1 pound of pork shoulder or tenderloin, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 pound of Mexican chorizo (do not use Spanish chorizo. It’s a completely different meat. )
1 bay leaf
1 large onion
5 cloves of garlic
3 chipotle peppers in adobo
1 cup of peeled ripe Roma tomatoes (about 4). You can use canned ones if tomatoes aren’t in season
1/2 teaspoon of Mexican oregano
1/2 teaspoon of thyme
1/2 cup of cilantro
3 tablespoons of either sugar, brown sugar or maple syrup
Black pepper
Salt
1 avocado thinly sliced
Cortija cheese
1 lime cut into wedges

First you want to brine your pork for at least four hours.

Put the pork in a bowl and cover with six cups of water. Add six tablespoons of salt, three tablespoons of sugar and two tablespoons of black pepper and a clove of garlic, minced. Cover with a plate to keep the meat underwater, and refrigerate for four hours, brining it up to eight hours. (Do not over-brine!). After you’re done brining the meat, rinse the meat. pat it dry and throw out the brine water.

Place brined pork in a large pot with half the onion (uncut), the bay leaf, a clove of garlic and enough water to cover. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 45 minutes until tender.

Take out cooked pork (save the cooking water) and when cool shred it. Set it aside.

Dice the other half of the onion and mince the three remaining garlic cloves.

Cook the chorizo out of its casing in a dry skillet until brown, about eight minutes. Carefully tilting the skillet, drain the oil to one side and then remove the chorizo.

Puree the tomatoes in a blender with the three minced garlic cloves and chipotle peppers with adobo.

Transfer the chorizo oil to a pot, and then cook the onions in the oil on medium for about five minutes or until soft and then add the tomato-chipotle puree, Mexican oregano and thyme.

Cook for five minutes on medium, and then add the shredded pork, chorizo, 1/4 cup of cilantro and one cup of the pork cooking water (you should freeze the leftover pork cooking water because it will make a good stock for cooking beans).

Bring to a boil and then cover and simmer for 15 minutes. It should be thick. If it’s too liquidy, just cook uncovered for a few minutes. Add salt to taste.

Serve on fresh tostadas, either store bought or made from corn tortillas. To make tostadas, heat an inch of oil in a skillet and fry whole tortillas on each side a couple of minutes until crisp. Place a hearty spoonful of tinga on the crisp tostada and then sprinkle on top cotija cheese (if not available, you can substitute Monterrey jack or sour cream) and the remaining cilantro. Serve with sliced avocado and lime wedges. This recipe will yield about 10 to 12 tostadas.
 
 
While I was cooking this recipe up I started to think the ingredients sounds a LOT like a salsa I make from the Herdez Salsa Casera.  The Salsa Casera has all the tomatoes, onions, garlic and cilantro this recipe calls for and I throw it in a blender and add a chipotle pepper in adobo sauce for added heat and flavor.  When I had my first taste of this meal...it tasted like I had put my salsa on top of nicely cooked pork and chorizo.  It was good! 
 
Even though the Tinga Poblana at the Red Iguana doesn't have chorizo in it  and isn't served on a tostada or tortilla chips...I'll take this recipe as a substitute in the mean time. 
 

ENJOY!

Empanaditas

I love to collect cook books. Every time I travel I like to pick up a new cook book that will remind me of the area. Six ago I visited San Francisco with some friends and spent a day in Sonoma wine tasting, of course. At one of the winery's I found by dream cook book. 'Potatoes, from mash to fries.' I LOVE potatoes! The funny thing is I have only ever made this recipe from the book.

This recipe is AWESOME! It reminds me of living on my own because it was cheap to make and really yummy. I used to make this with nutritional yeast when I was vegan. :) This recipe has a lot of memories for me and I hope it it creates memories for you too.

Empanaditas:

1 medium potatoes, cut in 1/4 inch dice

3 scallions

3/4 cups canned corn kernels, drained

1 or 2 green chilies, seeded and finely chopped

3 oz. queso fresco

2 teaspoons dried marjoram

1/2 teaspoon paprika

Cuban Chorizo diced - this isn't a part of the original recipe, but you can add anything you want!

Pastry:

See recipe

I don't like the recipe the book has for pastry dough because if you have been reading my blog you know I sucked at making pastry dough until I scored a sweet recipe from my friend Jen.

Parboil the potatoes in a saucepan of lightly salted boiling water for 2-3 minutes. Drain well, and let cool. Combine the remaining filling ingredients in a bowl, stir in the potatoes, season with salt and pepper, and set aside.

Follow instructions for the pastry.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to 1/8-inch think, the cut out 16 rounds, 5 inches in diameter, using a small saucer as a guide. Knead and re-roll any trimmings. Place 1 tablespoon filling on each round a little off center. I made mine a little bigger and use more filling.

Dampen the edges of the pastry with a little water and fold in half over the filling. Using the tines of a fork, press the edges together to seal them.

The recipe calls to fry these babies in a deep pan filled 1/2 way up with oil at 375 for about 3-5 minutes until brown. That is too much oil for me so I bake these at 375 for about 20-25 minutes until lightly browned.

These make great snacks or a yummy meal.

I never used up all the filling so I used the leftovers to make a breakfast burrito with them. YUM!!!!!!

GREAT SALSA!

I have apologies to make...it has been nearly 2 whole months since my last post. That kind of sounds like I am confessing sins to a priest. I have been feeling under the weather as a result of a parasite...a self inflicted parasite. I am pregnant!!!! I have not felt like cooking for months. It has been kind of heart breaking. I think I am on the rebound, so you should be seeing more posts in the coming weeks...but be patient...this little parasite of mine is sucking the life out of me.

Alex and I went to San Antonio to celebrate the holiday with his sister. We a GREAT city! We encountered the BEST STORE in the world! City Market is a high end grocery store similar to Wild Oats, but not so vegan. The deli serves gourmet dishes worthy of a fancy-schmancy dinner party, a cheese section so freaking fabulous I thought I had died and gone to heaven, and a wine selection better than the wine stores I am used to...not that it matter much on this trip since I can't drink.

While in Texas I scored two SWEET salsa cook books. Both books have a lot of recipes for fruit salsas. I dig mango salsa, but there is a recipe for strawberry salsa that is to DIE for. We made it in San Antonio with Alex's sister...sorry, no pics, but I have included the recipe if you'd like to try it out.

Corn and Black Bean Salsa:

1 cup drained canned corn

1 cup canned black beans, rinsed

1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced - I used red and it was fantastic!

2 tomatoes, seeded and diced

1 avocado, seeded, peeled and diced

2 Jalapeno chiles, seeded and finely diced

2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro

1/4 cup diced red onion

1 tablespoon lime juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

Combine all ingredients. Cover and chill.

This salsa is so easy and PURE yummy! We cooked up some salmon with yam potato pancakes and topped it with the salsa and a dollop of chipotle sour cream. This salsa is awesome with chips too. You should make this for your New Years football parties...you'll be the ROCKSTAR of the party.

Summer Salsa:

2 cups diced strawberries

1/2 cup chopped red onion

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 jalapeno chile, finely chopped

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh mint

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

salt and white pepper

Combine all ingredients. Cover and chill.

Cooking with my Sis!

Last weekend I went up to Portland to see my sister and her family. What a great weekend trick-or-treating with my nieces and hanging out with my sister and her fam! The best part of the weekend was cooking with her, of course. :) She is so cute. When I arrived she told me we needed to cook something so we could put it on my blog.

My sister has a ton of cook books that are completely different than the ones that I have. She had a recipe for Mole that she had been wanting to try for awhile and she used this opportunity to make it. She and I always thought that Mole was a day long process, but this recipe was so simple and TASTY!!!!! It rivaled some of the authentic Mole I have had in restaurants and at the homes of Hispanic friends. Did I mention EASY?

Mole:

1 can chicken broth

3 T sesame seeds

2T oil

1 med onion, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

1 square semisweet chocolate

1/3 C golden raisins - I know...this sounds barf, but it isn't!

1/4 C slivered blanched almonds - what is blanching? Can any one tell me?

1 10 oz can mild red enchilada sauce

2 ready-to-eat taco shells, crumbled - we used tortilla chips

1 slice white bread, crumbled - my sister is healthy and only had wheat bread

1 t salt

1/4 t ground cinnamon

1/4 t ground coriander

1/4 t anise seed, crushed - we couldn't find anise seed so we used anise extract

1/8 t ground cloves

1/8 t pepper

Cooked turkey - We used 5-6 poached chicken breasts

In 12 inch skillet over med high heat, cook sesame seed until lightly browned; remove to paper towel. In same skillet, in hot oil cook onion and garlic until tender; stir in chocolate. Heat until chocolate melts.In covered blender container, blend 1 T toasted sesame seed, chocolate mixture and remaining ingredients until smooth. Return mixture to skillet and stir in chicken broth. Over medium heat, heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Spoon some sauce on chicken; sprinkle with remaining sesame seed.

We served this up in flour tortillas with a little cilantro over the top. YUM!

The only draw back to this meal was the spicy factor. I grabbed the bottle of red pepper flakes when I sat down at the table. But since we were serving up little kids, it was probably a good idea to keep the heat down. The kids LOVED it! All of them except my niece, Meagan. She thinks she is a vegetarian...she is just a picky eater. She eats hot dogs, hamburgers and almost anything with cheese on it. She sure is lucky we love her! :)

All made up!

I was reading For the Love of Cooking and got a hankering for some of Pam's yummy chili. Unfortunately, I didn't have any of the fixin's for red bean, red meat chili. I did however have white beans and chicken so I decided to make something up. I know...you're thinking...uh oh...we all know what happens when Sarah makes things up. But I pulled this one off FAMOUSLY!

White Bean Chicken Chili:

1 breast of chicken

1 serrano, chopped
1/2 white onion, chopped

1/2 red pepper, chopped

1 can crushed tomatoes

1 cup chicken stock

1 garlic clove crushed

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon sage

1 can great northern beans
1 can navy beans

Heat up a frying pan on medium high with a little olive oil in it and brown on both sides until the juices run clear and the chicken is cooked through.If you are thinking when you start cooking, you could cook the chicken up in the heavy bottomed stock pot instead of dirtying another pan. I, however, was not thinking when I started cooking and used a separate pan. Let the chicken sit for a second or two and then chop up into bite sized pieces and set aside.

In your heavy bottomed stock pot with a little olive oil cook up the onions, red onion and serrano until soft.Add the chicken, tomatoes, chicken stock and seasonings, bring to a simmer. Strain and rinse both cans of white beans and add to stock pot. Stir carefully so as not to break up the white beans. They are much softer beans than red beans and break easily. Simmer for 15 minutes until the beans are warmed through.

This was a pretty great creation. Even Alex was impressed. He has had to eat enough of my silly concoctions that he worries a little when I tell him I am winging it. :) We sure are lucky this one was yummy!

Did you guess CARNITAS?

I have been wanting to make Carnitas for a long time...we are talking YEARS...but I have been too afraid to make them...until NOW!

I searched high and low for an easy recipe for carnitas because that was part of what dissuaded me all these years. All the recipes I had seen called for cooking all freaking day long and I am not that patient...even if it means pure melt in your mouth taste. While searching, I found a recipe that caught my eye from the Homesick Texan, but it required minimum cooking for 4-5 hours. The next recipe I found had a footnote saying to use a pressure cooker to reduce cook time to 35 minutes! I HAVE A PRESSURE COOKER! And from my pulled pork sandwiches and red beans and rice, you know I'm not afraid to use it.

Alex and I bought a 5 pound pork shoulder...well, pork butt...but it really is a shoulder. I learned from Mike Rowe on Dirty Jobs that a pork shoulder is referred to as the butt, and the actual butt of a pig is a ham. Butt, back to the pork shoulder. :) Because it was just the two of us, I cut the shoulder in half and froze the left over meat. This cut of meat has a lot of fat on it. You should try to trim back as much as you can...but not all of it. There is a LOT of flavor in that fat!

Carnitas (adapted from Diana Kennedy) - from the Homesick Texan blog.

3 pounds of pork butt

1 cup of orange juice

3 cups of water

2 teaspoons of salt

Like I said...pretty simple. The only part of the recipe I followed after the ingredients was to cut the pork into strips, well 3 inches chunks and salted and peppered the crap out of it. I then seared the cubed pork until each side was nicely browned in the pressure cooker. I emptied the pork into a separate dish so I could put the metal part into the bottom of the pressure cooker. The metal piece has holes in it to keep the meat (or whatever you are cooking in it) from touching the bottom of the pan. I suspect because you keep the heat on close to high or medium high the whole time it is cooking. I put the pork back in with the orange juice and water...I also added two chicken bullion cubes for my entertainment. :) I sealed the pressure cooker and cooked it for 35 minutes at the first line. My pressure cooker has two lines to indicate how much pressure there is in the pan. I had to release a little bit of pressure a couple of times while it was cooking so it maintained the pressure at the first line.

You can't tell very well from this picture, but the pork was shredding just by touching it with the tongs.Homesick Texans Directions:

1. Cut pork into strips (three inches by one inch), bring to a boil and then simmer uncovered on low for 2 hours. Do not touch the meat.2. After two hours, turn heat up to medium high, and continue to cook until all the liquid has evaporated and the pork fat has rendered (about 45 minutes). Stir a few times, to keep pork from sticking to bottom of pan.3. When pork has browned on both sides, it’s ready (there will be liquid fat in the pan). Serve either cubed or shredded (pork will be tender enough that just touching it will cause it to fall apart).Goes very well with a green salsas such as Ninfa's green sauce or this tomatillo salsa or this salsa verde with avocados and tomatillos.Serves 4-6

I dig the fact that the Homesick Texan included the suggestion for salsa verde, but again, I am not patient enough to make salsa when I am making a meal like carnitas...even if it is in the pressure cooker. I bought a bottle of Herdez salsa verde and kicked it up a bit.

Sarah's FREAKING AWESOME Salsa Verde:

1 - 16 oz. bottle of Herdez salsa verde

1 medium white onion, chopped

1 splash of lime juice

1/2 a serrano pepper with or without seeds

2 handfuls of cilantro, chopped

Mix all together and savor. You can really add any combination of the ingredients listed above. Warning...this salsa is FABULOUS!!!!

I warmed up some corn tortillas and served the pork with the salsa. You're going to love me for this one!!! The fact that I don't have a picture of the final product goes to show how amazing these babies turned out.

Fajita's!

When Alex and I went to the grocery store yesterday we were on a Mexican food kick...you'll see why later in the week. :) Alex scored a pretty sweet flank steak this week and decided to make fajitas with it tonight! Fajitas are so simple and pure yum!

Alex put the flank steak in the oven for 15 minutes at 350 F to 'tenderize it'. Does that work or is he talking silliness? You tell me. Afterwards he grilled it for a couple of minutes on the stove top until there were grill marks. In the mean time he cut up and cooked a white onion, half a red pepper, half an orange pepper, a couple of jalapenos in olive oil along with a lot of love. <--- Alex's words :) He seasoned the peppers with cayenne and cummin...just a pinch or two of each. He cooked them perfectly. They were a little crunchy and a little soft. I hate soft and squishy peppers on fajitas.

Combine the meat and peppers in a tortilla and eat!

I made some yummy guacamole to go with the fajitas! PERFECT!!!