Recent Eats

Things are finally starting to get back to normal around here. I've just felt....jumbled....for the past month or so since we found out about my dad's cancer. Jumbled and distracted.

Luckily now I'm starting to get back into my normal routine: working out vs. being lazy, eating healthily vs. not caring what I eat, being productive vs. distracted, etc. One of the major aids in helping me get back on track has been Google Calendar. It helps me soooooo much to have things written out and have a "plan" for each day.

Anyway, onto the food!

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First up: Chicken & Black Bean Tacos

The chicken filling was made in the slow cooker, which I hadn't used in a looooong time.

In the morning I tossed 3 chicken breasts (frozen), about 1/2 cup of green salsa, 1/4 cup of chicken broth, 1/2 teaspoon chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon of smoked paprika, 1/2 teaspoon of cumin, juice from half a lime, and a can of black beans in the slow cooker and cooked on low for 8-9 hours. When I got home I took out the chicken and shredded it and then put it back in and mixed it up.

At that point it looked like this:

Then we filled our taco shells & tortillas (I couldn't decide between soft or crispy tacos so I had one of each) with the chicken/black bean mixture, shredded cheese, plain greek yogurt (in place of sour cream which had molded), avocado, salsa and another squeeze of lime juice.

I just heated up a bag of frozen veggie mix for the side dish.

This dinner was a HUGE hit and completely satisfying. I love love love adding the black beans to the chicken filling because it makes the meat stretch further AND it adds more protein and other great nutrients.

The chicken & black bean filling would be a great topping for taco salads too!

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Then there was this Orange Pork Teriyaki Stir Fry that I threw together, taking inspiration from the Mongolian grills that are popping up all over the place these days.

The meat was thinly sliced pork chops, cut into chunks. Here's how I did it:

First I cooked the pork pieces in a teaspoon of sesame oil until mostly done. Then I added chopped baby bok choy to the pan and continued to stir fry until it got tender.

Then I added half a bag of these to the pan:

Frozen Stir Fry Veggies

Plus about 1/4 cup of this:

Orange Teriyaki Marinade

(I know, I know. Technically it's a marinade, but I didn't think ahead on this so I used it as a sauce. )

I also added a teaspoon of chopped fresh ginger and a bit of salt & pepper. Then I just let it all cook together until the frozen veggies were heated through.

For the final step, and as a last minute idea, I added half a can of mandarin oranges to the dish. I served it over brown rice.

It turned out to be quite tasty and it really did remind me of the food you would get at a Mongolian grill.

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This last one is an oldie but a goodie: Alex's Turkey Meatballs with Whole Wheat Spaghetti

Click here for Alex's Turkey Meatball Recipe!

Yum Yum!! Hope you're all doing well!

Tell me what's new in your lives....I'm feeling out of touch with the blog world! I'm slowly catching up on Google Reader but it's still a beast!

Carnitas Deliciosas {What's for Dinner? 3/18/2010}

I looooooooove carnitas! It's usually my meat filling of choice when I go to Chipotle. Juicy, flavorful, delicious! Carnitas are also a perfect thing to make in the crockpot. The low and slow cooking method makes for perfectly juicy, fall-apart meat.


Slow Cooker Carnitas

Source: allrecipes.com

Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Cook Time: 10 Hours

Ready In: 10 Hours 10 Minutes
Servings: 5

"Carnitas means 'little meats' and is traditionally fried then braised. This recipe is made much easier using the slow cooker but the results are just as tasty. This makes a great filling for tamales, enchiladas, tacos and burritos. This filling is also great combined with your favorite barbecue sauce and served on buns."

Ingredients:
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon crumbled dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon {next time we'll leave the cinnamon out...it was just kind of weird}
1 2-pound boneless pork shoulder
roast
1 bay leaf
1 cup chicken broth {I have a hugggeee crockpot so we added about another cup of broth}

Directions:

1. Mix together salt, garlic powder, cumin, oregano, coriander, and cinnamon in a bowl. Coat pork with the spice mixture. Place the bay leaves in the bottom of a slow cooker and place the pork on top. Pour the chicken broth around the sides of the pork, being careful not to rinse off the spice mixture.
2. Cover and cook on Low until the pork shreds easily with a fork, about 10 hours. Turn the meat after it has cooked for 5 hours. When the pork is tender, remove from slow cooker, and shred with two forks. Add cooking liquid as needed to moisten the meat.


My recommendation is to serve the carnitas in corn tortillas with avocado, red onion, salsa, cilantro & a squeeze of lime juice. YUM!

What's for Dinner? 2/25/2010

Oh man I am SO GLAD this work week is over. I had one major event on Thursday and then another event on Friday night so it's just been non-stop for me all week. I've basically only come home to sleep at night and then get up in the morning and do it all again.

So Thursday night we had this Slow Cooker Pot Roast recipe on the menu. Unfortunately because of the crazy pace of my morning I forgot to put it in before I left for work at the crack of dawn. Alex was able to put it in the slow cooker at about 2pm when he got home but then we had to kind of rush it along and put it on high for 2.5 hours and low for 2.5 hours. We later realized that maybe the high setting at the beginning of the cooking process was a bad idea because the roast got cooked but it just wasn't falling apart like a pot roast should. It was sadly very tough. :(


Alex ate it anyway and said it would have been good except for the tough meat texture, but I just wasn't feeling it. Instead I made myself a salad:


It consisted of baby spinach, fat free cheddar cheese, light ranch dressing and a Morningstar Grillers Prime Veggie Burger with a side of bread & buttah. It was quite delicioso!

And pretty much directly after I ate this I passed out on the couch at about 8:00pm. Sweet.