Pineapple and Green Chile Pork Tacos

I love throwing things into the crock pot, walking away for 8 hours and coming home to a hot meal. I threw this dish in my crock pot on Sunday morning and went about my day, when I got home at 6, it was ready to go. I was starving, so I quickly, heated up some corn tortillas to make taco shells, then piled on the meat, shredded cabbage and some cheese. I took a bite, and my first reaction was, "Hmmm....interesting." When used in this context, the word interesting, is not always a good thing. While this didn't taste bad, it just wasn't quite what I was expecting. As a Mexican food lover, I like some heat to my food, and this was just too sweet for me. I guess that it shouldn't have been too much of a surprise, considering the pineapple and brown sugar, but I thought that those would just temper the heat, not take over. I did eat my tacos, but I sadly decided that if I transferred it into my fridge, it would just sit there, so I sadly put the leftovers down the drain. This recipe got many good reviews, but they must have come from tamer eaters, so if you don't like it hot...give this a try!

Pineapple and Green Chile Pork Tacos

adapted from Real Mom Kitchen

3 lb. boneless pork roast

1 (20 oz.) can crushed pineapple with juices
1 (16 oz.) jar salsa verde

2 (4 oz.) cans green chiles, undrained
2/3 c. brown sugar

Serving Ideas:

Warm flour tortillas, corn tortillas or taco shells

Cheese; cheddar, queso fresco, etc.

chopped cilantro

lime wedges

shredded lettuce or cabbage

Combine all ingredients in the crock pot and cook on high for four hours or on low for six to eight hours. Shred pork, season to taste with salt and pepper. In a colander, drain juices from crock pot. Mix shredded pork with pineapple/salsa mixture that remains in colander and serve in tortillas with desired accompaniments.

Thai-Style Pork

This past weekend, I was really lazy. I had great aspirations to try out some new recipes, but instead just ended up watching movies, running errands and eating out of my freezer! Nothing says a wild Saturday night like a Tostinos frozen pizza! Although, I have to admit, I really enjoyed just dithering around and getting stuff done around the house and finally getting around to watching Slumdog Millionaire (it was sooo good)! Since I didn't try anything new, I felt the need to dig up something that I made a few months back and never got around to posting.

During the early weeks of Idol, my sister and our friend Whitney were getting together fairly regularly to watch the episodes. It was still somewhat cool here (well as cool as late February in Phoenix can be) so I wanted to try another crock pot recipe. I have a major crock pot addiction! I love them; the convenience and ease and the way they make the house smell after a long day of cooking, it is all just perfect! I had been on a Thai food kick and when I came across this recipe I knew that I wanted to try it. I served it with brown rice and sunshine carrots in an orange sauce. The overall flavor was very good, but the recipe did not make enough sauce to coat all of the meat properly, it was a bit on the dry side. I would make this again, but I would definitely double the sauce ingredients to make it nice and saucy! Also, compared to most Thai dishes, this would be on the very mild side, so if you like more heat, I would bump up the amount of red pepper flakes.

We all really liked this and cleaned our plates, but that didn't stop us from making a run to Ice Tango for some frozen yogurt before we started watching Idol!

Thai-Style Pork
from Taste of Home Casseroles, Slow Cookers & Soups
(I would recommend doubling everything except the pork)

2 lbs. boneless pork loin chops
1/4 c. teriyaki sauce
2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/4 c. cold water
1/4 c. creamy peanut butter

Garnish:
Chopped green onions
Dry roasted peanuts

Place pork chops in a 3-qt. slow cooker (I always use the Reynolds Slow Cooker liners for easier clean up!). Combine the teriyaki sauce, vinegar, pepper flakes and garlic, pour over the meat. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or until meat is tender.

Remove pork and cut into bite-size pieces (mine just shredded); keep warm. Strain cooking juices into a large saucepan. Combine cornstarch and water until smooth; stir into juices. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir peanut butter; add meat.

Serve over rice. Sprinkle with green onions and peanuts.

Green Chile Beef and Homemade Refried Beans

As you may know from my previous post, I was successful at completing my Mexican Food Challenge! In honor of yesterday being the last day, rather than go out for dinner, I thought I would try out a new recipe for green chile beef and take another stab at getting the beans to my liking. It worked out really well because both of these recipes were made in the crockpot, so they were simple to throw together. I think the best part was when my friends Karen & Kyle called to see if they could come cool off in my pool after a long day of moving, I was also able to offer them a nice home-cooked meal!

This was my third attempt at making homemade beans....and I think I finally got it right!! The first two batches just had something missing....and that something was bacon grease! Now I know I am sounding a bit like Paula Deen here, but it really just does add a layer of flavor that you can't achieve any other way. Saturday morning I decided to cook up some bacon for breakfast so that I would have the grease available to make beans the next day. Well, I usually cook it in the microwave, but this time I needed the grease saved, so I cooked it on the stove top. Let's just say it got a little bit out of hand and ended up setting of my smoke detector!! I couldn't figure out how to turn the damn thing off, I called my dad who told me to go flip the breakers and turn the power off to the whole house....that didn't work....thanks a lot dad! Eventually, I figured out that it was connected to my alarm system and I just had to "unset" my alarm. With that crisis averted, I was able to cook the rest of the bacon, but this time I turned on the vent! The beans were so creamy and delicious that I didn't end up with any leftovers, but I guess it just means that I need to cook up some more bacon!

I was really excited to try out this recipe for Green Chile Beef that I found on the Internet, especially since it is one of my favorite things to get at Mexican restaurants. Last week I had been craving the Boracho Burrito from Someburros, but since I don't really have one in the area I never made it there, so I was on a mission to recreate it at home. The preparation was simple, and the house smelled delicious when I came home from running some errands. But ultimately, it just fell a bit short of my expectations....there just wasn't enough heat! I am going to tinker with this recipe a bit more and try to had some more heat, but if you are not into fiery food, you might just like this version. If I come up with a spicier version I will update you all!

Green Chile Beef

1 (3 lb.) boneless top sirloin

4 (4 oz. each) cans diced green chilies

1 medium onion, chopped

3 jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced

3 garlic cloves, sliced

3 tsp. chili powder

1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. seasoned salt

1 c. beef broth

Cut beef into large chunks and place in crockpot. Top with chilies, onion, jalapenos, garlic and spices. Pour the beef broth on top. Cover and cook on low for 7 - 8 hours or until meat is tender. Serve with tortillas and toppings of choice.

Homemade Refried Beans
adapted from The Sister's Dish

1 (1 lb.) bag dried pinto beans
3 Tbsp. bacon grease

Water

5 - 10 pickled jalapeno rings (depending on your heat preference)

1/2 Tbsp. seasoned salt

1 Tbsp. garlic salt

1 tsp. chili powder

Rinse beans, picking through and discarding any black or broken beans. Cover with water and soak for at least 1 hour. After the 1 hour, rinse again and place in the crockpot. Add the bacon grease; then cover the beans with water so that it reaches about 3 inches above the beans.

Cover and cook on high for 5 - 6 hours, or until beans are able to mash easily. With about 1/2 hour left in cooking time, add remaining ingredients.

Remove beans with a slotted spoon and add to food processor, add as much bean liquid to get desired consistency. (I also added in some Monterrey Jack cheese at this point for even more creaminess!)

Now go and have yourself a Fiesta!