Al Pastor Enchiladas with Pineapple Avocado Salsa

I went for a long walk this morning, longer than usual. Maybe it was the fact that is was finally cool with the promise of coming rain that kept me walking. It's Thanksgiving break so my kids were sleeping in and with them now in Middle school and high school, they are pretty self-sufficient now. At least for those 2 hours this morning, time was my own to do what I wanted without any other responsibility tugging at my minutes. As I crunched through fallen leaves, I thought about being thankful. Somewhat fitting with the Thanksgiving holiday where we all take stock in all our blessings. For me it was just happenstance of the timing, but today was the day I really felt thankful for being able to stay at home to raise my kids. Because they are now well on their way to being self sufficient, I've felt a bit lost and I've been feeling the pressure to get back to work. But today, I realized that my work, my job of being a stay-at-home mom was important and is still important. I gave up a career to be home with them. I gave up adult interaction and personal achievement to help guide my kids through, infancy, elementary school, now puberty with the promise into adulthood. I like to think that this time was not wasted. I like to think that my value as a woman, as a mother, and as a human being means something to my kids and to the world at large. Today, I felt proud of all that I gave up to be a good mom to my kids. As I look forward to going back to work and finding my own path outside of motherhood again, I'm excited for what lies ahead but I also feel sad that this time spent with my kids is coming to an end. 

Al Pastor Enchiladas

Makes 12

Main Ingredients
Ground Pork Filling (recipe below)
Al Pastor Enchilada Sauce(recipe below)
Pineapple Avocado Salsa (recipe below)
12 corn tortillas
Oaxaca cheese, grated

Cotija cheese, crumbled

Al Pastor Enchilada Sauce

Makes 3 cups

1 T canola oil

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 T Mexican oregano

2 t  cumin

1/2 t black pepper

1/4 t ground cloves

4-6 dried Guajillo chiles, stems and seeds removed

2 cups water or chicken broth

1- 15oz. can of pineapple chunks with juice (reserve 1/2 of the pineapple for the salsa)

2 T achiote paste

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

salt and cayenne pepper (to taste)

Heat oil over medium heat, then add garlic, oregano, cumin, pepper and ground cloves to a medium saucepan and heat until fragrant ~ 1 minute. Add water or chicken broth, dried chiles, pineapple, achoite paste, cider vinegar and boil 30 minutes. Cool and blend well. Salt and pepper to taste. Set aside or it can be made ahead, just refrigerate in an air tight container. 

Pineapple Avocado Salsa
Makes ~ 1 cup

1 jalapeno, seeded and finely minced
1/2 reserved pineapple, cubed 
1/2 red onion, diced
1/2 cup cilantro, finely minced
Juice of 2 limes
Salt and pepper
1 avocado, small dice

Mix all ingredients together and refrigerate until ready to serve. 

Pork Filling
1 T canola oil

1/2 red onion, diced
1 yellow onion, diced
1 lb ground pork

1 cup Al pastor Enchilada sauce

salt and pepper (to taste)

Add oil and onions to a large skillet and saute until translucent ~5 minutes. Add ground pork and 1 cup Al Pastor Enchilada Sauce and cook until liquid is reduced. Salt and pepper to taste. Set aside. 
Heat tortillas in an oiled skillet and then keep warm in a tortilla warmer until ready to roll.

Pour half of the reserved enchilada sauce into the bottom of a 10 x 14 casserole dish. Spoon about 1/3 cup of meat mixture into tortilla, add a sprinkle of cotija cheese and roll up with seam side down. Repeat. 

Top with Oaxaca cheese and bake in a 350 degrees oven for about 20-25 minutes or until cheese is melted.   

Top with Pineapple, avocado salsa, additional cotija cheese or sour cream or all the above. Enjoy! 

Other recipes to try:

Michelada Pops

Albondigas with Chimichurri Pesto

Chilaquiles Corn Bread Stuffing

Corned Beef Tacos with Cilantro Lime Crema

Cassoulet

Time. There just isn't enough of it in each day. Days are jam packed with errands to run, calls to make, chores to complete, kids to shuttle around, meals to cook, homework to do; It's the busy work that fills my every waking moment and leaves little time to nurture my soul. Every evening, exhaustion drags me down along with the realization that the things I wanted to do, was filled with things I had to do. I've always had trouble balancing my need to be productive with the things I really want to do. Now that the holidays are upon us, I'm going to hunker down, get back into the kitchen and feed my soul.     
This recipe reminds me that sometimes I have to clear my to do list, slow down, and make time to savor things that are just for me and take time to complete. Who cares if the laundry's not folded...like I do that anyway. 😉 This Cassoulet recipe is so wonderfully comforting with it's complex flavors of savory sausage and pork, creamy beans with a crunchy buttery breadcrumb topping. Clear your schedule and spend a day at home making this work of art!

Cassoulet

Serves 8-10
Slightly adapted recipe by Teri Appleton-Villanueva

Prep Beans
1 lb cannellini beans, rinse and clean
1 T salt

Soak beans overnight and then cook as directed with added salt.  Drain beans, reserving liquid.

Prep Sausages
2 cups water
12 ounces garlic chicken sausage
2 ounces salt pork
2 T vegetable oil
1 med celery rib
1 bay leaf
6 sprigs of thyme

Place water, sausage, salt pork and oil in a dutch oven. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to a quick simmer; cook until water evaporates.Transfer salt pork to cutting board and cool slightly. Meanwhile continue to brown sausages. With kitchen twine, tie together celery, bay leaf, thyme and salt pork together and set aside. When sausages have browned, transfer to cutting board and slice 1 inch thick. Set aside. Do NOT wash dutch oven.

Cook Aromatics
Vegetable oil as needed
12 oz pork shoulder, cut into 1" chunks
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 med carrot, peeled, 1/4 inch dice
2 med cloves garlic, minced
1 T tomato paste

Add oil, if necessary, and pork to the now empty dutch oven and brown pork on all sides. Add onion and carrots, cook, stirring until onion is translucent. Add garlic and tomato paste and cook stirring, 30 seconds. 

Deglaze
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 diced Roma tomatoes
2 to 4 cups chicken stock
fine sea salt and black pepper
Immediately deglaze with wine. Bring to a boil, stir in tomatoes, celery/salt pork bundle, sausages, stock and drained beans. Add some reserved bean liquid enough to cover beans. Simmer soup for about an hour. Skim fat. Remove celery/salt pork bundle and discard. Season with salt and pepper. 

Variation: I like this soup to be thick, so blending about half of the soup makes it thick and chunky. Let the soup cool a bit before blending. Working in batches, pulse the soup in a blender to break up the ingredients into small pieces. Return it to the dutch oven. 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and make the breadcrumb topping below.

Gratinee (Brown Top)
1/4 cup packed parsley leaves
3 T unsalted butter, melted
3 large slices high quality white bread
fine sea salt and pepper

Pulse parsley in food processor until minced Transfer to a bowl, wipe out processor. Pulse bread into crumbs. transfer to parsley bowl and drizzle with butter and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper.  Top soup with Gratinee and then bake until topping is golden brown about 30 minutes. Let rest 15 minutes before serving.

Other recipes to try:

Tortilla Dressing

Parmesan Creamed Onions

Creamed Corn Casserole

Spicy Pork Wonton Tacos with Cucumber Relish

WARNING: You will eat every last one of these tacos and you will not want to share! You will have to unbutton your pants and it's not going to be pretty. You have been warned.

The day I made these and shot these photos, I literally made a meal and a half out of this plate of seven wonton tacos. I didn't share them. I ate them all. They were so damn good! 

But it's an appetizer for crying out loud, not a main dish! I should've stopped after 3 and definitely after 4. I was full. But noooo...there were 3 left getting soggy in their deliciously sweet and spicy BBQ sauce, sitting all alone on the platter without their friends. What's this very full, taco-loving girl to do?

No, I didn't eat them right away. I resisted. I did.

I resisted the temptation and walked into the other room to fold laundry or do some other never ending household chore, when I heard the faint cries from the appetizer plate. "Please eat me!"

No, I can't eat another bite! I argued. 

"Please eat me!" 

Really. I can't. I mustn't.

My resolve began to weaken as I imagined drippy BBQ tears puddling around their crispy wonton shells...
  
No, I really can't eat another...

The weary sobs of 'please eat me' finally drew me back to the kitchen where I half expected to see a soggy hot mess and that's when I realized these little wonton tacos weren't fooling around.  
The lonely trio were perfectly lit with afternoon light coming through the kitchen window...all poised in beautiful deliciousness with that cool and  crunchy cucumber relish...


"Resistance is futile." They whispered. 

Damn it! I topped them with more relish and more BBQ sauce and I ate every last bite. :) 

The End

Spicy Pork Wonton Tacos with Cucumber Relish

Makes 24
(I used pork for this recipe but you can substitute with beef or chicken.) 


Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

1 lb. sirloin pork roast
1/2 cup soy sauce, low sodium
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup brown sugar or honey
2 T toasted sesame oil
3 T fresh ginger, grated
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 T Sriracha sauce (optional)

Place all ingredients in a slow cooker and heat on high for 6 hours or until meat can be shredded. Remove from slow cooker and shred with two forks. Set aside.

 
Spicy BBQ Sauce
1/3 cup Heinz Jalapeno Ketchup (or regular ketchup)
1-2 T Garlic Chili Sauce (to taste)
2 T brown sugar
2 T low-sodium soy sauce
1 T toasted sesame oil 

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.
Heinz makes spicy ketchup varieties and I used their Jalapeno Ketchup for this spicy BBQ sauce but if you don't have it, substitute with regular ketchup.

Cucumber Relish
1 Persian cucumber, thinly sliced
2 T red bell pepper, finely minced
3 T cilantro leaves
2 T rice wine vinegar
1/2 t sugar
1/2 t salt
red chili flakes (to taste)

Mix vinegar, sugar, and salt in small bowl and add cucumbers, red pepper and cilantro and let sit for at least 30 minutes or overnight in the refrigerator. 

Wonton Taco Shells
24 round wonton wrappers
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Assemble cookie sheet with wire baking racks. (see photo) I got these racks at the Dollar Tree for $1.

Line your counter top with a large piece of parchment paper and spray the parchment paper generously with cooking spray. Place 9 wonton wrappers on sprayed parchment paper and then spray the tops of wrappers with cooking spray. Then, center each wrapper over the wire rack like shown. 
You will need to work in batches until you have 24 wonton taco shells. 

Bake for 8-9 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove from oven and let cool.

Stuff each wonton shell with shredded pork and top generously with spicy BBQ sauce and the tangy cucumber relish. Devour! :)

Aren't these gorgeous? They taste as amazing as they look!

Other recipes to try:
Crab and Mango Wonton Cups         Roasted Spicy Cauliflower        Shrimp w/Chili Garlic Cream Sauce

Spicy Pork, Red Pepper and Lentil Soup

I woke up yesterday, the day after Thanksgiving, to the quiet, rhythmic tapping of rain on the roof and windows. I could hear the drips on the backdoor threshold and I stayed in bed, listening and enjoying the sounds. I love rain. Unfortunately, it doesn't rain much in California and when it does, two things are certain. One, no one knows how to drive in the rain here; two, the local news stations will over-report a light drizzle as Storm Watch 2013. It's a breaking news story when we have actual weather in Southern California. Anyway, confronted with the reality of rain and not wanting to drive with all those crazies, we changed our plans to visit my husband's family and stayed home instead. 
I was happy because there's something about a rainy day that makes me want to stay home and make a big pot of soup and luckily that's exactly what I did. I enlisted my two boys to help with preparation. Gotta keep the kiddos busy when they are "rained in". They were a great help. I let them peel garlic and cut up red bell peppers and carrots. They had a lot of fun too. My oldest, who has stated on many occasions that he wants to be a Marine Biologist, has now changed his future profession to chef. :) 
Like most of the soups I make, they're a little bit of this and that. Basically, I use whatever I have on hand at the time and this one is no different. I had some leftovers of my Crockpot Pork Verde in the freezer and decided to put it to good use. I also like to use spaghetti sauce in my soups, it makes for a great base that you can doctor up. For this soup, I used a jar of Classico Spicy Red Pepper Sauce. It's the main soup flavor and the spicy ingredient in this soup. Add some chicken stock, vegetables, lentils and Pork Verde and you get this delicious Spicy Pork, Red Pepper and Lentil Soup. Enjoy!

Spicy Pork, Red Pepper and Lentil Soup 
Serves 8


1 small onion, diced (~1/2 cup)
1 cup carrots, chopped
1/2 cup red bell peppers,chopped
2 T olive oil
1 cup white wine 
3/4 cup green lentils
1 can diced tomatoes with juice
1 jar Classico Spicy Red Pepper Sauce
4 cups chicken broth
1 t cumin
1 t coriander
1/2 t smoked paprika
salt and pepper (to taste)
1-2 cups leftover Pork Verde, chopped
1 cup frozen peas
cilantro, garnish

In a dutch oven, add olive oil, onions, carrots and red bell peppers and saute until onions are translucent, about 5-8 minutes. Add white wine, tomatoes, spaghetti sauce, chicken broth, spices and lentils, cover and simmer on medium heat for 30 minutes to cook lentils. Add chopped pork and heat for additional 10-15 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Stir in frozen peas and serve. Garnish with chopped cilantro.

I also made some Cheese Pita Bread to have along side this soup. Lightly brush pita bread with olive oil and sprinkle with Queso Fresco, heat in 350 degree oven for 12-15 minutes. Cut into wedges.

For another recipe using leftover Pork Verde, try Pork Verde and Hominy Stew.

Pork Verde and Hominy Stew

A few months ago I blogged my recipe for Crockpot Pork Verde. This is one of the easiest Crockpot meals to prepare and it's super delicious. Aside from it's ease and good taste, it makes a lot of leftovers since shoulder, picnic, butt and sirloin pork roasts are all large cuts of meat. Yesterday, summer finally made it's arrival with its suffocating heat. It had been surprisingly mild weather-wise up until now. Anyway, I was in a fall food mood, despite the heat, and I'd planned on baking. (Yes, I was going to turn on the oven and experiment with a dessert idea that had been bouncing in my head since June.) Anyhow, because of the heat, I decided instead to play around with some Pork Verde leftovers and made this incredible Pork Verde and Hominy Stew. 

Hominy is corn that has been soaked and cooked in a dilute alkaline solution of lime (calcium hydroxide). Soaking the kernels in lime, in essence, softens the kernels and loosens the hulls. The calcium from the lime, breaks up the cellulose and cross-links some of the proteins present in the corn which makes it elastic and enables the corn to be made into dough or Masa. Most recognizably, Masa is used to make tortillas. (Paraphrased from Wikipedia) 
In cooked, whole form, Hominy is soft and chewy and has a mild corn flavor which adds texture and a heartiness to the stew. I love Hominy, but if you don't like hominy, you can substitute this recipe with regular corn and additional beans, but I strongly suggest trying it with hominy. 

This is perfect for those long cold nights of fall and winter. But, even in summer, you can make it, freeze it and save it for when the weather cools down. Enjoy!
  

Pork Verde and Hominy Stew
Serves 8-10

1 small yellow onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 yellow wax peppers, diced
1 T olive oil
3 cups leftover shredded Pork Verde*
1 1/2 cups Salsa Verde (12oz Jar)
1 29 oz. can hominy, drained and rinsed
1 15 oz. can of white beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 t. cumin
1 t. chili powder
1/2 t. Ancho chili powder (optional)
1 bay leaf
4 cups chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 cup green onions, chopped
lime wedges (optional)

Prepare Crockpot Pork Verde as directed in above link, *However, set aside half the shredded pork prior to adding the sour cream. (I used the shredded pork without the added sour cream for this recipe.)

Place onions, peppers and garlic in oil in a large dutch oven and saute until the onions are translucent, ~5 minutes. Add shredded pork, salsa verde, hominy, white beans, cumin, chili powders, bay leaf and chicken broth. Cover and heat on medium heat for 30 minutes. Turn off heat, add cilantro and green onions and stir. Ladle into bowls, top with squeeze of lime. 

Pork Tenderloin with Mustard-Caper Sauce

This is one of those dishes that's so easy to prepare and tastes like it required some culinary training to get it to taste so good.  The simplicity of this recipe makes it great; no fussy, hard to find ingredients and simple preparation.

To illustrate how easy and fool-proof this recipe is to prepare, I'll tell you about the very first time I made it. I made this dish for the first time many years ago for an old boyfriend (pre-husband). Anxious to cook and ready to impress my new boyfriend, I broke the golden rule of entertaining...which is, 'Never make a new dish for the first time for company'. Experimenting with a new recipe is never a good idea when entertaining others, especially a new boyfriend you're trying to impress by cooking for him. With that being said, I broke this rule because it was one of my Mom's recipes. She'd recommended I try it and as a general rule, my Mom's recipes are always good even if you've never made it before.(Provided you don't burn it or use the wrong ingredients.) Anyhow, I plowed forward and made the dish. I was nervous about how it would taste, since I myself had never tasted it before. We sat down and we took our first bites...and oh my....it was so incredible! The boyfriend sighed and mmm'ed in agreement that it was, in fact, delicious! Big relief! He went on and on about how good it was and finished the whole pan with seconds and thirds.
Anyway...the point of this walk down memory lane is that although I served a dish I'd never prepared before, the dish was utterly delicious. Not because I had intense hope that the dish would be awesome or even because of my cooking ability. Pork Tenderloin with Mustard-Caper Sauce was incredible because this recipe uses great ingredients and has easy, simple preparation which makes it fool-proof and delicious the first time and every time. This is one of my favorite dishes and I've made it many many times over the last 10 years since my maiden voyage and it's always delicious. Hope you give it a try.

   
Just a note about this picture above. I love the rustic feel and look of the rough chopped shallots and the graininess of the whole-grain mustard, it makes me feel comforted just looking at it and imagining the taste of it. The best of both worlds is a dish that can be elegant and light but also rustic and satisfying. I made this dish last week and served it with some roasted asparagus with garlic. Something light for Spring but still satisfying and delicious. Imagine this dish on a cold Winter night served with garlic mashed potatoes, roasted carrots, a bottle of wine and big loaf of crusty bread to soak up the delicious pan sauce. Can you imagine it? Give it a whirl and wait for the compliments to rain down on you. :)

Pork Tenderloin with Mustard-Caper Sauce (recipe from my Mom's book)
Serves 4

1 lb. pork tenderloin, silver skin removed and cut into 1" thick rounds
2 T butter
1/3 cup shallots, chopped
1 can chicken broth
4 T whipping cream
2 T rinsed and drained capers
2 T course-grained Dijon Mustard
salt and pepper (to taste)

Place pork rounds on a layer of plastic wrap and cover with another layer of plastic wrap and lightly pound pork rounds to approximately 1/2" thickness. Lightly salt and pepper and set aside.

Melt butter in skillet over medium high heat. Add pork to skillet and saute until brown and almost cooked through about two minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and set aside. Add shallots to skillet and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add chicken broth and cream and heat scraping up bits. Continue to reduce until sauce thickens to coat spoon. (~5-8 minutes)
Note: This sauce will not be a thick sauce as there is no thickening agent added. Heating and reducing the liquid concentrates the flavors and thickens the sauce.
Add mustard and capers. Return pork to sauce. Simmer for about 2 minutes more until pork is heated through. Salt and pepper to taste and serve. 

Crockpot Pork Verde

Here is one of my all-time favorite crockpot recipes. It's super easy with only 3 ingredients and it's super delicious. I make this at least once a month, no matter what the season because it's so versatile. I usually serve it over rice but I've made Pork Verde Enchiladas, Tostadas, and Chili with it too. (I'll post these recipes in future blogs) The recipe calls for salsa but the finished dish is not spicy and very kid-friendly. My picky kids love this dish. They say, "This is good chicken Mama." To my kids all meat is chicken, even when we have steak my kids will say, "I like the chicken." I don't correct them, it's not worth the risk of them not eating it because it's called something unfamilar. :)
The sour cream added at the end really mellows any heat from the added salsa and makes the yummy sour cream sauce. I like it best with rice because you can put extra sour cream sauce over the rice and just eat that. Hope you enjoy it! 
 
Crockpot Pork Verde
Serves 6

• 2-3 lbs pork roast (I use any type of pork roast except tenderloin)
• 16 oz. bottle of salsa verde (mild or medium) 
• 1/2 cup sour cream

Place pork roast in Crockpot. (You can put it in frozen right from the freezer, but add a little extra cooking time if frozen), pour bottle of salsa verde over roast. Cook on High for 4-6 hrs or Low for 6-8 hrs. Shred pork with forks in crockpot. Turn off crockpot and add sour cream and mix together. Serve over rice.

 Super simple and delicious.