Crock pot trumps baking and grilling. For a lot of reasons.
- I made dinner with the switch of a button.
- I was home for work, done with my run, showered, and eating BY 7:30 pm. This is unheard of.
- Crock pot = tender, moist, flavorful meat.
- Dishes? What dishes? Thank you, crock pot liners. 😀
Unfortunately for me and my desired culinary compliments, Mr. Prevention decided day-old Dominos trumps Pork Carnitas. *eye roll* Fortunately for me, leftovers! Lots of leftovers! 😉
[Sorry it’s another pork recipe all my non-pork eaters! I already had the menu planned for the week!]
Slow Cooked Pork Carnitas (Mexican Pulled Pork) adapted from Gina’s Weight Watcher Recipes
2.5 lb pork shoulder blade roast, lean, all fat removed
6 cloves garlic, cut into slivers
cumin
adobo
garlic powder
3/4 cup 99% fat free chicken broth
2-3 6-7 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (to taste)
2 bay leaves
16 corn tortillas
2 avocados, to garnish
cilantro, to garnish
Season pork with salt and pepper. In a medium sauté pan on medium-high heat, brown pork on all sides for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
Using a sharp knife, insert blade into pork, cutting small holes and insert garlic slivers. Season pork generously with cumin, adobo and garlic powder all over.
Pour chicken broth in the crockpot, add bay leaves and chipotle peppers. Place pork in crock pot and cover. Cook low for 8 hours (mine was in there 11 hours and it was just fine!). After cooking, shred pork using two forks and combine well with the juices that accumulated at the bottom. Remove bay leaves and adjust salt and cumin (you will probably need to add more). Let it cook another 15-30 minutes. Yield: 8 servings.
Nutrition Information (per serving – 2 pork carnitas tacos with 2.5 ounces of meat each + avocado and tortillas): 441 calories; 23.5 g. fat; 91 mg. cholesterol; 575 mg. sodium; 30 g. carbohydrate; 5.5 g. fiber; 30 g.protein
Result: If you eat meat and you love savory, moist meat and Mexican food — this is a must-make! I think I’m going to make this next week for my bi-weekly taste test at work!
And yesterday I felt like I finally had my grooooove back! Work was AWESOME! I not only filled up EVERY available slot in my cooking classes coming up Monday evening (effortlessly!), but I also had one of those “moments” with a patient who is knocking on the door of insulin therapy to treat her diabetes. She lost 10 pounds in 2 weeks and gave me a huge hug after our 90-minute session and simply said….
“I’m so glad I met you.”
It is times like those I know that what I do is so important to others and changes LIVES. And THAT means so, so much to me. 🙂
…And Miss Lily had a BUSY day at Camp with the big dogs! Mr. Prevention picked her up and when I hopped off the treadmill I found her in this position:
She did not stir once. All night. So cute
…and such a productive evening for me catching up with everyone’s blogs and watching basketball 😀 I can only get on .com blogs from work (none of the .blogspots and .wordpress) — sucks!! 🙁
Question: I learned this week that a lot of love Middle Eastern and Indian food…but if you could only eat one ethnic food variety for the rest of your life, which would you choose?
Mexican for me, please! I never, ever, ever get sick of Mexican food!
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How could anything EVER trump carnitas? Especially Domino’s (blech). And yes crockpots are awesome. I am in love with mine.
Yay for getting your groove back! You have touched so many people’s lives (including mine)…you can’t even imagine. Keep it up girl!
You had a fabulous day at work! Congrats on filling up your class. And as far as comments go, those are the ones that let us know that what we do really is affecting peoples lives.
Aw, what a sweet work story!
Gosh, just one food cuisine? I might have to go with Indian food! I love it so!
I wish my days at work were that great!! Those pork tacos look so good – pork is my favorite meat!! I’d actually probably choose Mexican food, but I haven’t tried enough others to really judge.
Awwww Lily is so cute!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Is that her little tongue sticking out while she sleeps? Adorable! I can’t wait to get a pet 🙂
I love how rewarding it is when a client is so happy 🙂
I’m loving these pork tacos!!! YUM!!
I could eat Italian food the rest of my life.
Aw, that was so nice of your client! If I had to eat one type of cuisine alone forever, I’d probably choose Italian. Maybe it’s because I’m Italian, but mmm…
I’d have to go with Indian…I love the veggie curries, rice, samosas, and mango lassis!
This recipe makes me wish I had a slow cooker SO bad! I would definitely pick Japanese, I can’t live without sushi 🙂
I’d choose Italian.
That dish looks sooo good! I have been really wanting a crock pot and, when I finally get one, this will be one of the first things I make 🙂 I don’t think I could pick one type of food for the rest of my life…everything is amazing and delicious!! The only type I really don’t like is Italian, but that’s because there is so much bread I can’t eat!
That makes two of us–I never ever get sick of Mexi food either. And pork is definitely one of my fav meats to eat besides chicken. I have a huge Mexican post coming up soon–keep an eye out!
I’m loving the pork recipes 🙂 even though I won’t be trying them any time soon. These looked great! I love Spanish/Mediterranean cuisine.
Glad you had an awesome day of work!!
My favorite thing to cook in my crock pot is pulled pork – it’s just so amazingly easy for such good results!
One type of food… if I could find it, definitely Greek. But otherwise Mexican food would be my second. I’ve been inhaling salsa recently – it’s a delicious topping on everything from standard Mexican food to non-standard salsa food such as baked potatoes. Mmm, salsa…
Lily is adorable, I love doggie day camp my kids come back exhausted!
The carnitas look amazing, I love the slow cooker too, it really makes all the things I do in the evening easier, since walking the dogs and cooking can’t happen at the same time. So funny I had pork in the slow cooker as well but when thai not mexican 🙂
If I could only choose one ethnic food, I’d be screwed I love it all. Mexican and Indian would probably vie for the top spot.
Thanks for the link back! 🙂
And AMEN to crock pots. Seriously – it can’t get any easier than that! I want to make your CP lasagna again soon. SO good!
Hmmm…when I was in college, there was this GREAT little “hole in the wall” Tibetan restaurant. I haven’t eaten much ethnic foods, so I’m not sure if it’s similar to Thai? But it was uh-mazing. It can be spicy (you can choose on a scale of 1-5…I’m a wuss and always got one!) but very, very flavorful. I want to move back to Bloomington JUST for that restaurant!
do you have a googlereader? if you don’t you should definitely check i tout. you could go to all your blogs all at one time!!!
Congrats on work too! You are pretty amazing when it comes to nutrition.
P.S. I finally got my new blog started.
http://www.honeyandthread.blogspot.com
Yes…totally agree that the crockpot might be the best invention ever!!! 🙂
awesome about your work… it’s always rewarding to know that you have an impact in peoples’ lives
I don’t eat pork but I can’t see why this recipe can’t be made with beef 🙂 Don’t have a crackpot either… maybe it’s worth the investment…mmm trying to decide which kitchen appliances to buy, hard decision to make 🙂
I’d go with Middle Eastern and that’s because I’m from there 🙂 if you want recipes from that region, I have some on my blog…
Great dinner! Gotta love crock pot cooking!
Since I am italian and eat Italian quite often, I would have to say that would be my top choice. Next would have to be mexican food! I love it so!
Have a great Thursday (your Friday)!
oh so glad yo had a great day! i love it when it all happens perfectly-i feel whole 🙂
the pork dish sounds amazing…….
what a rewarding job you have…..i like teaching for the same reasons though sometimes the kids can make me crazy!
i am the same cannot access blogs from work that are blogger and wordpress. also some i can’t comment on for some reason-ugh!
can you see mine at work?
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No, it doesn’t come up at work 🙁 Mine doesn’t either because its still hosted by wordpress…
What an amazing response from that lady! I can’t imagine how good it made you feel.
I love pulled pork in the crockpot, and pork in general. Why don’t I eat it more often?
I’d probably go for Italian or Greek food. I can never get enough pasta!
What a wonderful work moment Nicole! You should be so proud of yourself!
Now if I could only help my sisters friend – she’s in diabetic denial – she’s had type 2 for TWO YEARS and still has yet to see a nutrionist! Her A1c is 12! It breaks my heart – I actually meal planned for her for two weeks, and the third week I asked if she needed my help and she said “nope we got it covered!”
My sister emailed me yesterday that when she walked by her desk, she was eating two glazed donuts. 🙁
Definitely putting that pork dish on my menu the next time pork shoulder goes on sale – I can get it on sale for .99 cents a pound!
I love work days like that. Our job can be so rewarding and it usually is. Even in the clinical inpatient setting can you make major breakthroughs, like get a lab value up/lytes back in balance sans banana bag or something, wean from TPN to TF and then have the person get off the vent. Oh boy, I think I miss clinicals.
I wish we had more space and I could drag out the crockpot, but alas it is buried right now. Good news is that the house is converted from220 to 110 so we can use our American things.
I would totally eat middle eastern food for the rest of my life, but Indian is just as close, but I am totally feeling the falafel right now.
aww lily is so cute!
Those carnitas look awesome!! I’m with you – definitely mexican!! 🙂 Loooooove salsa!! 🙂
Thai food! I could never give up thai food. The rest I can live without.
what you do IS important. You change lives. How many people can say that about their jobs? I think that’s awesome.
OH and thanks for the link!! I knew I had something else to say.
Wow Nicole, seeing how what you do touches and changes lives is so powerful…keep up the amazing work, girl!
I love the avocado in your pork carnitas…I bet the avocado’s buttery texture was a fantastic contrast to the tender meat! Hmmm, 1 kind of ethnic cuisine…I think I’d have to choose Indian. I could never give up my chicken makhani. 🙂
carnitas looks delicious nicole…have a great weekend
Mmm, these looks fabulous! I can’t wait to get a crock pot. I know I will use it often, and it will be very convenient, especially when we have kids!
I really love Indian food, and Greek food. Those are my two favorites (even though I am Italian). It’s funny because both Nick and I have Italian blood and neither of us really like spaghetti, and we prefer Greek or American (eggs and burgers)! Or pizza….haha, I guess that’s Italian!
MEXICAN!! hello I am so obsessed with Mexican restaurants and food… ahh I would die a happy women if my last meal had some spice in it!
(although I have always wanted to go to an Indian restaurant.. yes I have never been to an Indian restaurant.. but am in love with Amy’s brand Indian dishes)
I am so glad that I found your blog. Your story is incredible and you have so many insightful posts. Plus I have an English bulldog myself! She does the same thing as yours after playing with other dogs. Eating and sleeping is what she does best! How old is yours?
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Aww, thank you! I’m glad you found me, too 🙂 She’s 11 months old tomorrow…crazy! Time flies! Do you have pics of your bully on your blog? : )
Bella will be 11 months as well on April 15th! Yes she’s on the mexican night, and the Carrot Cake post. We plan to breed her when she is 2 and keep one of her puppies. In fact, my husband and I might possibly start up a bulldog breeding business.
Thanks for the blog love!! Gina