Baked Flautas de Carnitas

Who doesn't love fried flautas smothered with salsa, guacamole and sour cream?? I sure do, even though I've never made them myself. These are just as good, in my humble opinion and much better for you. You can surely use chicken to save even more calories.

Flautas are a nice alternative to enchiladas and are a snap to assemble after you've let the pork cook in the crockpot all day. It took me all of 5 minutes to get the meat going. I definitely prefer the "butt" roast (no snickering, kids). For some reason, the last few times I tried using a pork shoulder, it came out kind of gamey.

FOR CARNITAS:
Put into crockpot:
1/2 cup water
3-4 lb. pork butt roast with dry rub*
sprinkle 3 sliced jalepenos on top of meat

Cook on high for 5-6 hours. Remove from crock and shred meat, picking out obvious fatty spots.

* My favorite dry rub seasoning is something called "Santa Maria Style Seasoning" which is salt, garlic, black pepper and parsley. I used about 2 tablespoons of this along with 1 tsp. of cumin.



FOR FLAUTAS:
10-12 flour tortillas
shredded carnitas (above)
2 cups shredded cheese
1 can black beans
1 cup salsa
1/2 onion, minced
Olive oil for brushing over tops

Preheat oven to 375. Warm tortillas in foil for 10 minutes in oven. Spread a little of each ingredient in a line down the middle of the tortilla and roll up as tight as possible. Place on greased cookie sheet, seam side down. Once, you've made them all, brush with olive oil and bake for 30 minutes, or until golden brown.

Serve with salsa and guacamole.

Grilled Pork Chops with Spiced Peach Sauce

I have determined that white meat and fruit are kindred spirits. Some may not agree with me and that's okay. It just seems to me that it's a recurring impulse to pair these two.

This sassy sauce was made with fresh peaches and nectarines that we picked yesterday. I made a base sauce without the spice which was wonderful over ice cream (see below). Chicken or turkey would also work well if you are one of those rare people allergic to pork

Base Peach Sauce

4 cups peeled and chopped fresh peaches

1 T. cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar

1/8 tsp. cinnamon

1 T. lemon juice

Spiced Peach Sauce for Meat

2 cups Base Peach Sauce

1/4 tsp. curry powder

1/4 tsp. ginger powder

1/8 tsp. cayenne
1/8 tsp. white pepper

2 tsp. white vinegar

Season and grill the meat to desired doneness. I've heard that its okay to cook pork chops medium well instead of burnt to a dry crispy rock these days. The salmonella scare that shook our nation is not as prominent now due to better meat standards and packaging. By all means, if you are more comfortable with dry pork, go for it!

The sweet-spicy factor gives this dish a WOW effect for the standard blah pork chop and rice was the perfect back drop to absorb the extra goodness.

And for dessert we have:

Crockpot Korean Ribs

Crockpot Korean Ribs

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 T. sesame oil

2 T. rice vinegar

1 tsp dried ginger or 1 T fresh

4 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

1 package short ribs (3-5 lbs)

Put ribs in crock. Mix all other ingredients together and pour on top. Cook on high for 5 hours or low for 8. If you are home, go ahead and baste them every hour or two. If you want sauce to go over the ribs and some rice, then pull ribs out, skim the fat off of the sauce, add a little cornstarch/water mixture and boil for 2 minutes until thickened.

I loved this.....it was tangy, sweet and a little spicy.

BBQ Pork Sandwich

This was so easy that it's almost ridiculous to even post. However, I am delighted to be using my new crockpot and you are getting this recipe whether you like it or not.

I used a frozen pork loin that I salvaged from the depths of my freezer and cooked it overnight. In the morning, I shredded the meat, added the sauce and popped it in the fridge (pic below), so I could assemble the sandwiches that evening. I'm sure you could just do it in the morning and shred it when you get home from your long hard day at work.

BBQ Pork Sandwiches

For the meat:
2-3 lb. pork roast or loin
1 chopped onion
3 cloves garlic
1/2 cup water
salt/pepper to taste

1 bottle BBQ sauce (I like Sweet Baby Rays)

For the sandwiches:
lettuce
onion slices
squishy buns

Directions: Put onion, garlic and water in the crock and plop the meat on top. Season with salt and pepper. Cook on low for 8 hours. Shred meat and add the BBQ sauce. Assemble the sandwiches to your liking.

Guy Fieri's Chile Verde Pork

I was watching the Food Network last weekend, actually right before going grocery shopping. I don't suggest that. Ever tried shopping with several different recipes floating in your head and end up coming home lacking a key ingredient for all of them? I'm a pro at that. Anyways, I wanted to try his Chile Verde Pork because it looked yummy and low fat (besides the pork). Well, I fogot to get the pork butt...so I'm using chicken today, about 4 boneless skinless breasts. I ended up just throwing the peppers and tomatillos under the broiler, while I sauteed the onions. Once you get everything chopped up and in the pot, you can attend to other things while it simmers. My kind of meal. I only used 2 onions and more chiles. I only used 1 tsp. of salt and really, it didn't need any! This is much too spicy for my kids, but I'm tempted to pick out some of the chicken and give it a rinse to see if it can be tamed that way. Here is the original recipe as written:

Guy Fieri's Chile Verde Pork

4 pounds pork butt, cut into 1-inch cubes, trimmed of fat

4 yellow onions, chopped

4 Anaheim chiles

2 jalapeno, minced

4 tablespoons garlic, chopped

1 pound tomatillos, husk removed

1/2 cup white wine

1/4 cup white vinegar

1 cup chicken stock

2 tablespoons ground oregano

2 tablespoons ground cumin

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon ground black pepper

In a medium Dutch oven, heat the oil, add the onion, peppers and garlic. Saute until translucent, do not brown. Remove and set mixture aside.
Lightly grill the tomatillos on open flame until lightly charred. Remove from heat, place in bowl and cover with plastic wrap to keep warm for 20 minutes.
Add pork butt to Dutch oven and cook over high heat until browned on all sides
Add the onion-pepper mixture and tomatillos to the pork. Mix thoroughly and then deglaze with white wine and vinegar. Let reduce for 5 minutes, then add chicken stock, oregano, cumin, salt and pepper.
Let simmer for 1 hour.