Super Bowl Carnita Sliders

A few years ago, I never knew what Pork Carnitas were.  But… one day, I decided to order them at my favorite Mexican Food restaurant, and my taste buds were delighted.  Now, I still order carnitas any time I have opportunity, not just because they taste so good, but because they are a good Keto diet choice, and the basic meat can be used for a variety of meals and menus.  

  

What are carnitas?  They are braised or roasted pork seasoned with really great spices and when served it is crispened either under the broiler or fry pan.

For Super Bowl, I wanted to make Carnitas without really knowing a specific recipe that would be knock down, drag out, phenomenal, so that all ages of eaters would enjoy them.  I searched and searched recipes and came up with one that has what I feel are the best combination of herbs, spices, and more, to make my own Carnitas really yummy!

Most of the ingredients can be bought at Costco, including the meat, however the specific cut I use, cant be bought at Costco.  Substitutions of Pork roasts can work just as well, however I chose to use pork shoulder or Boston Butt Boneless roasts.  A good Costco Substitution would be Pork Tenderloin, Pork sirloin roasts.  I chose the shoulder or butt, because I think more fat tends to season and add flavor to the meat.  After it is cooked, it can be trimmed and discarded, but especially cooking in a crock pot, I wanted the extra flavor.

Without further ado,  Here is the recipe that I came up with and I was cooking for a crowd, so used two 4 lb. roasts.

Katies Crock Pot  Carnitas

INGREDIENTS:

·         2 Boston Butt or Shoulder Roast (Boneless)

·         2 Tablespoon Olive Oil

·         1 large onion (sliced)

·         2 Oranges (juiced)

·         2 Limes (juiced)

·         1 1/3 Cup Water

·         4 Tablespoons Knorr brand Caldo Con Sabor DePollo or Chicken flavor Bullion

·         4 Teaspoons chopped garlic

·         2 (4 oz) mild diced green chilis

·         8 bay leaves

RUB INGREDIENTS:

·         2 Tablespoon Chili powder

·         2 Tablespoon Ancho Chile Pepper

·         2 Tablespoon kosher salt

·         2 teaspoon Lawry’s Seasoning Salt

·         2 teaspoons Course ground pepper

·         3 teaspoons cumin

·         2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves

DIRECRIONS:

1.      Pan prep: In a large cast ironskillet, drizzle Olive oil, then rub inside of pan with the oil.

2.       Mix all Rub spices in a small bowl and blend.  Rub spices evenly over all sides of the roasts.  I cut up my roasts into 4 pieces, and it made it easier to cover with spices.

3.      Heat oil prepped skillet, and add one of the roasts, or 4 pieces.  Brown on all sides of the seasoned roast, then place browned roast chunks into the mixture in the crock pot. 

4.      Set timer for 8 hours and cook on low.  I usually do this in the evening, so by morning I awake to the most glorious aroma, and my roasts are ready to shred. 

5.      Remove roast pieces from the crock pot, and set on a plate or cutting board, ready to shred.  Be sure to keep the juice or liquid!!!

6.      Now you can shred the pork, and put it on a baking sheet.  Broil for about 5 minutes or until it gets crispy.  Now take out of the oven and pour about a quarter cup of the liquid over the Pork, and put back in the oven again.  It is now ready to serve.

7.      The rest of the juice can be served on the side of the Carnitas, if people want to use it to dip.

How do you serve your Carnitas?

•        Carnitas Nachos w/ Cheese, Pico de guillo or Salsa
• ·         FrenchsDip Carnita Sandwiches
• ·         Carnitas with Rice, Beans & Cheese
• ·         Carnitas Tacos
• ·         Carnitas Salad w/ sr. cream, Avocados
• ·         Carnitas Sliders on mini Rolls, slice of cheese and a side of Home made Ranch dip. 

Costco Product Highlight - Sweet Peppers

Windset Farms Sweet Mini Peppers

Folios Cheese Wraps from Costco

 I have been slowly getting back to my blogging, and thought I would catch up with my morning post about breakfast.  Yes all this food came from Costco, my favorite $200 store.  I have really enjoyed preparing meals with the Folios Cheese Wraps.  Only 2 grams Carbohydrates, and yummy, these cheese tortiallas add so much flavor to every meal I use them with.  Today, for breakfast, I made my version of Breakfast tacos.  Here is the Recipe:

Breakfast Tacos for 2

1 Red Bell pepper (sliced and cubed)
3 Eggs
2 Sausage Pattys (Browned and cubed)
2 Tablespoons Whipping Cream
1/2 Cup Cheddar Cheese
2 Folios Cheese Wraps

Optional:  Sauted onions, green onions, tomatoes, spinach or anything else you can think of or that you have in your refrigerator.

DIRECTIONS:

1. Brown Sausage and set aside.  Drain oil from pan and remove crusties but reserve oil.
2. Pour oil back into pan and add cubed red bell peppers.  Cook until they are still crisp but getting tender, or about 3 minutes.  Remove from pan and let drain on a paper towel.
3. Prepare eggs by drizzling a small amount of Olive Oil in a pan and adding your 3 eggs. Add the Whipping cream.   Break yolks and scramble with cream.  While still cooking, add Cheddar cheese if desired.  The Folio wraps are really cheesy anyway, but if you want to add softness, color and more flavor to eggs, add the cheddar cheese.
4. Salt and pepper.
5. Prepare Folios cheese wraps by putting one tortilla with the parchment paper on a microwavable safe plate, into the microwave and bake for 1 minute.  Mine comes out gently brown and sort of crispy around the edges.  Drain on paper towel on both sides. 
6. Prepare breakfast tacos, by laywering the Cooked Eggs, and Sausage and Peppers on top of your wrap.  
7. If you want more veggies or a more filling taco, add any of the optional items or any you may enjoy.  My husband loves salsa and Hot sauce on everything, but I like to enjoy the flavor blend without spicing it up.  Enjoy!

(One more note I must add... My husband and I are on a Keto or Low Carb diet, but eating this meal the way it is prepared will make anyone happy, and not even know it is Keto friendly.  Very low carbs, in fact without checking there are only about 3 or 4g carbs per serving in this meal. )

 

One more thing I must add.  I have gotten a bit lazy or maybe I should say, I love things to be easy and convenient, so I use paper plates with many of my meals.  You have probably figured that out by looking at my photo images of my food creations.  I use to use stoneware with each meal, and still do when I have company, but I have tried to ease up on my workload and spend less time doing dishes, thus the paper plates.  Costco has great paper plates, and several different kinds and sizes to choose from.  They always have some cute Holiday sets for Thanksgiving, 4th of July, Christmas and sometimes other occasions, but I can always count on them being in bulk when I need them.  I love to use them when the Grand kids are visiting, and I can spend more time with my fun grandkids, than spending time doing dishes!  YES! Some may say I'm being lazy, and I'm too informal, but honey, lighten up and live a little easier!  Paper products are the way to go when cooking for two or more than two, and nobody has complained at my house.

Just a little note about Costco.  My husband and I are at the age where we are empty nesters, and do not have children living at home anymore, so when we shop Costco, we usually end up with more food than what we can use.  I am pretty sure that others have had this same dilema.  We love Costco, so we have found several solutions to using up all we buy.

1. Dividing the contents and Freezing the rest for later.
2. Sharing our produce and large quantities with our children.
3. Donating the extra to someone we think could use it.
4. Making up recipes that use it up and freezing them for heating up for dinner on a later date.

Costco is such a blast to shop at.  They have anything and everything that you could ever have or want.  They make it fun, adding new products all the time, and then during the holidays, and season change, more new and fun things, that help you to spend your money.  I have found that the quality of the products they sale are top notch, and they also provide a lower and competitive price for them.  I look at Costco before I ever go anywhere else, just to see if they have what I am looking for in stock and I will always purchase it there.  It is a one stop shopping center.  Yes, the little things that are extra you will need to prepare meals, you will need to make a trip to another grocery store, or for that matter shop online and have it delivered to your house, but for the most part, they have most of what I am looking for and needing.