Carnitas

It’s no secret that we love tacos in our house. Honestly, they are a perfect family meal. My kids love them and I love feeding them to the kids. The combination of protein, carb, a little veg….its healthy and yummy. They can assemble them on their own and everyone gets to customize them their own way. For a little variety and an attempt to make life easier this week I decided to make a huge pork shoulder that could be shredded for carnitas tacos and then the next day I could use the leftovers for some variety of pork green chili that we all love. I used my Instant Pot for this recipe to keep the cook time to one hour, it could be adjusted easily for a slow cooker. Let’s start with the tacos.

What you need:

4 lb pork shoulder or pork butt

1 lime

1 orange

4 clove garlic

1 sweet or yellow onion

1 jalapeño, seeds optional if you like heat. I removed them for the kids.

2 tsp dried oregano

1 tbsp chili powder

1 tbsp cumin

3/4 tsp smoked paprika

salt and pepper

This is SO easy. I used my Instant Pot because I wasn’t organized early enough in the day. You could very easily do this in the slow cooker, but for this size pork shoulder I would allow 8-9 hours on low.

First squeeze the juice of one orange and one lime into the pressure cooker or slow cooker. Now add one whole jalapeño that you have sliced in half and removed the seeds if desired. Add one onion that has been halved or quartered. Add 4 cloves of garlic. Rub the pork all over with the spices. Sprinkle salt and pepper all over. I used a shoulder that had been tied by the butcher, makes it easily transferable to and from the Instant Pot. It’s fine if you don’t have it tied but it will be trickier to remove. Add to the pressure cooker. With the Instant Pot I selected the meat/stew meat option and cooked for 60 minutes and then allowed it to slow release for about 5 minutes before just switching it off on my own. If you are using your slow cooker adjust depending on your personal slow cooker but most of them will probably take 8-9 hours. The pork is finished when it shreds easily with a fork.

Remove the pork and shred the meat with a fork. Discard the soggy pepper and onions but reserve a bit of the juices. Return the pork to a dish with the drippings, so much flavor in that sauce. We like to place it on a baking tray and broil it for 3 minutes to get some of the edges extra crispy, this is optional. Serve with all of your favorite taco toppings. We used Cotija cheese, fresh cilantro, lettuce, and hot sauce.

Korean BBQ-ish meatballs

My number one favorite takeout restaurant in Charlottesville is Doma which serves delicious Korean bbq short ribs and fried chicken wings. I can’t get enough of the sauces and pickles that they serve with everything and I couldn’t even begin to reproduce their recipes. That being said, I had a jar of Gochujang sitting in the pantry and I thought I would do my best to use that in a healthy family meal that everyone would enjoy. The girls loved these meatballs, they aren’t too spicy but they are just a little pungent, sweet, and savory. Sneaking in a little grated zucchini is a good way to add moisture to the meatballs and get extra veggies into the kids. They had no idea!

What you need:

For the Meatballs:

1 1/2 lbs of ground beef, turkey, or chicken

1/2 a cup of shredded zucchini (use the cheese grater to shred and save the rest for something else)

1/2 a small yellow onion grated with the cheese grater (my kids don’t like to see the chunks of onions, it makes for a smoother meatball and helps them from drying out)

2 garlic cloves minced

1 tbsp minced fresh ginger

2 tbsp gochujang (Korean chili paste)

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground white pepper

1 tbsp soy sauce

3/4 cup crushed cracker crumbs or bread crumbs

1 egg, lightly beaten

For the glaze:

1/3 cup apricot preserves

2 tbsp gochujang

1 1/2 tbsp rice vinegar

1-2 tbsp soy sauce

Mix everything together and simmer in sauce pan until thickened (about 5 minutes).

*** This glaze is borrowed from https://www.culinaryhill.com/korean-barbecue-meatballs/

Serve with chopped scallions, toasted sesame seeds, kimchi, rice, and veggies

Mix everything together in a bowl, I usually use my hands but you can use a fork…just make sure it’s all very well blended. Form into roughly 1 1/2 inch rounds (slightly smaller than a golf ball) Bake at 350° for about 25-30 minutes. I usually flip the balls halfway through. You can use a meat thermometer to check the temperature or just do what I do and cut one in half to check the inside and then eat it : )

I typically will throw some broccoli into the oven to roast alongside the meatballs. You can dunk the meatballs into the sauce pan with the glaze to coat them with it or just drizzle it over top of each serving. Precooked frozen rice is a weeknight savior. The toasted sesame seeds on top are clutch. Enjoy!

End of Summer Risotto

I’m calling this End of Summer Risotto because it contains the remnants of our garden produce which will sadly not be here much longer. I love risotto and make it a lot even though it requires constant stirring and watching, its easy enough to make while helping P with her homework and its a gluten free starch which means everyone in the family can enjoy it. Also, its delicious! I love the texture and risotto absorbs so much flavor.

You can adapt this recipe easily depending on what veggies you have on hand. I used 2 slices of previously cooked bacon in this recipe, I had it for making sandwiches for the girls’ lunch. You could use pancetta as well. If you don’t have any already cooked, fry it up for a few minutes in the saute pan and then set aside to cool. Wipe the grease from the pan or just use it to flavor the rest of the dish : )

What you need:

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp olive oil

2 small zuchhini or one large zucchini chopped into bite sized pieces

1 large shallot, diced finely

2 ears of fresh corn, removed from cob (substituting frozen and thawed kernels will work)

2 slices of previously cooked bacon

1 tsp dried parsley

1/2 tsp dried basil

1-2 cloves of garlic

1 cup of Arborio rice

1 quart of low sodium chicken broth

1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

salt and pepper

Begin by melting 1 tbsp butter and 2 tbsp olive oil over medium heat in a large saute pan and add the zucchini, shallots, and corn. Add a healthy pinch of salt and pepper. Soften the vegetables and scrape up brown bits while stirring occasionally. After about 5-7 minutes the veggies should have a bit of color but not be burned. Add the garlic and bacon and stir slowly for 1-2 minutes. Now move all the veggies to the outer circle of the pan and add the rice to the center. Let it toast for a minute undisturbed. Stir and let sit for another minute.

Now the rice is gently toasted mix everything together with a spoon and add about 1 cup of broth. Most risotto recipes call for warming the broth before adding. I have found its not really necessary when using a box of room temperature broth. If you were to pull broth from the fridge, I would definitely warm it up before adding to the pan so that the rice and veggies maintain a consisten simmer. Allow the broth to come to a simmer and stir so that everything is evenly distributed in the pan. As the liquid evaporates add about 1/2 cup more every few minutes so that it never dries out. The zucchini and corn will continue to release moisture into the dish so you may not need to use the entire quart of chicken broth. After adding about 3 -3.5 cups and roughly 20 minutes the rice should appear fluffy and most of the liquid should be absorbed. Take a spoonful out and let it cool for a moment before tasting to see if the rice is done. You want it to be toothsome but not crunchy. I think everyone has a personal preference about how al dente they like the rice. If its not soft enough add more broth and allow to cook for a few more minutes. When its finished stir in the Parmesan cheese and a little more salt and pepper if necessary. Enjoy!