Sweet Pork Soft Tacos

Have you had an irresistable taco filled with sweet pork lately? Well you can have one for dinner if you use this recipe.

SWEET PORK TACOS
Follow the Sweet & Spicy Pork recipe:
1 boneless pork roast
3 T white wine vinegar
2 T olive oil
2 T sea salt
2 t chili powder
2 t oregano
2 t kickin' chicken spice
1/4 C brown sugar
5 garlic cloves, peeled
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and quartered
1/4 C water

Rinse and pat the pork roast until it's dry. In a food processor or blender combine the vinegar, olive oil, salt, chili powder, oregano, kickin' chicken, brown sugar and garlic cloves. Blend until mixed and looks like a paste. Add the onions and mince. Pour the paste into your slow cooker. Put the pork roast on top of the paste. Rub the paste all over the pork roast, I used my own clean hands to do this. Don't leave any nook or cranny devoid of the paste! Pour the water into the bottom of the slow cooker. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Take a fork and seperate the pork.

Ingredients needed for tacos:
1 package of corn tortillas
shortening (optional)
tomatoes, chopped
iceberg lettuce, chopped
green onions, chopped
cheese, grated
salsa of your choice
limes, cut into quarters


You have two choices on how to prepare the tortillas. The healthy way is to just warm them up for thirty seconds in the microwave. The tastier, but fattening, way is to flash fry them. To do this you need to place a large spoonful of shortening in a warm frying pan. Let the shortening melt and get hot. Place a corn tortilla into the hot oil. Let it fry for about 30 seconds. Flip the tortilla over to fry the other side but as you fry it fold it in half so it'll form into a soft taco shell. Place the tortilla on a paper towel covered plate and sprinkle some salt on it. Repeat until the desired amount of tortillas have been prepared. Take a tortilla shell and put some pork inside it. Squeeze a lime wedge over the pork. Now put some tomatoes, lettuce, onions, cheese and salsa over the pork. Enjoy!

Sweet & Spicy Pork

I'm a person who can be weary of pork dishes. Pork is either good or really bad in my experience. This recipe is a creation of mixing other recipes and adding/subtracting ingredients. Finally my experiments paid off because this recipe gives you tender, sweet, and spicy pork. Enjoy!

SWEET and SPICY PORK
1 boneless pork roast (up to 6 pounds)
3 T white wine vinegar
2 T olive oil
2 T sea salt
2 t chili powder
2 t oregano
2 t kickin' chicken spice
1/4 C brown sugar
5 garlic cloves, peeled
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and quartered
1/4 C water

Rinse and pat the pork roast until it's dry. In a food processor or blender combine the vinegar, olive oil, salt, chili powder, oregano, kickin' chicken, brown sugar and garlic cloves. Blend until mixed and looks like a paste. Add the onions and mince. Pour the paste into your slow cooker. Put the pork roast on top of the paste. Rub the paste all over the pork roast, I used my own clean hands to do this. Don't leave any nook or cranny devoid of the paste! Pour the water into the bottom of the slow cooker. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Take a fork and seperate the pork. Serve while warm. To enhance the flavor squeeze some fresh lime wedges over the pork, you won't be sorry.

Sausage Ratatouille

My children love to watch the movie Ratatouille. Last time we watched it I thought about how I had never actually eaten ratatouille. I was intrigued, to say the least. To my utter delight the October issue of Family Fun magazine had a recipe for ratatouille. I studied the recipe, made a few minor changes, and cooked me up some yummy ratatouille. It was definitely a good experiment!

SAUSAGE RATATOUILLE
4 links of light Italian sausage
6 T olive oil
1 eggplant, peeled and diced
2 zucchini, halved and sliced
1 onion, peeled and diced
1 green bell pepper, cored and diced
1 red bell pepper, cored and diced
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 can of diced tomatoes
2 T tomato paste
2 T fresh parsley, chopped
3 T fresh basil, chopped
salt
pepper
1 bag of grated Italian cheese mix

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Puncture the sausages in many places then place in boiling water. Cook on a low boil until cooked through (around 14 minutes). Put sausage on a paper towel covered plate and let cool. Slice sausage to desired size. Over medium-high heat warm 4 T of the olive oil in a deep skillet. Add the eggplant and zucchini. Saute until lightly brown but not soft (around 7 minutes). Transfer the eggplant and zucchini to a bowl. In the same skillet over medium heat warm the remaining 2 T oil. Add the onions, half of the garlic and peppers. Saute for 3 minutes. Stir in the rest of the garlic and sausage. Saute for another 3 minutes. Add the can of diced tomatoes, then the eggplant and zucchini mix. Stir, turn the heat down to medium-low, then partially cover the skillet and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste, parsley, half for the basil, then salt and pepper to taste, stir and simmer for another 5 minutes. Place a serving of ratatouille on a dish, sprinkle with some of the cheese, then top with a dash of the remaining fresh basil. Serve and enjoy.

Cheese Enchiladas

Above is the flat, stacked enchilada.

Above is the rolled enchilada.

Gramma MAS grew up as a rancher's daughter in south-eastern Arizona. One of the many things she grew up with was great Mexican food. This recipe is modeled after the one Gramma MAS grew up eating, just a bit easier than the real thing!

CHEESE ENCHILADAS
1 large can of Rosarita red enchilada sauce
1 can of Ro-tel diced tomatoes and chiles
12 corn tortillas
shortening
salt
grated cheddar or Mexican style cheese
lettuce, shredded
tomatoes, diced
green onions, diced
olives
sour cream

Pour the enchilada sauce and diced tomatoes with chiles in a pot. Stir and let simmer on medium-low heat. Meanwhile, in a large frying pan, on high heat, melt a spoonful of shortening. When it's hot add a corn tortilla. Fry it, turning it over after about 30 seconds, to get each side of the tortilla. The tortilla should still be somewhat pliable, not too crisped. Remove the tortilla from the pan and place on paper towels to cool. Sprinkle lightly with salt. Repeat until the tortillas are all fried.
For a flat, stacked style enchilada: Place a tortilla on a plate. Cover with cheese. Spoon sauce over the cheese. Repeat until you have 3 layers. On the very top add more cheese. Place in microwave for a minute to melt the cheese, if desired. Top with lettuce, tomatoes, green onions, sour cream, and an olive. Serve.
For the rolled style enchilada: Place a tortilla on a plate. In the center of the tortilla sprinkle a row of cheese. Roll the tortilla around the cheese. Repeat to form a second roll. Smother the rolls with sauce and cheese. Place in microwave to melt cheese, if desired. Top with lettuce, tomatoes, green onions, sour cream, and an olive. Serve.

Thai Inspired Stir Fry

We love stir fry around my house. My children affectionately call it "chickie rice". They request it for dinner at least once a week. This past week I decided to add some flair to our stir fry. I used Jasmine rice and coconut milk to give our dish a Thai flair. It was so fun to taste the sweet and spicy in one simple dish. Give it a try!

THAI INSPIRED STIR FRY
Rice:
Jasmine rice
1 can of coconut milk
water

Stir-fry:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, chopped
1 zucchini, diced
2 red bell peppers, cored & chopped
2 broccoli crowns, chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
3 green onions, diced
4 garlic cloves, peeled and diced
Any other veggies you'd like to add for flavor.
1/2 C Yoshida's sauce
1/4 C light soy sauce
2 t red pepper
1/4 t garlic salt

First, prepare the Jasmine rice according to package or rice cooker instructions. Substitute half of the water required with coconut milk. If you like the rice even sweeter only use the coconut milk, no water. While rice is cooking, warm a large, deep skillet. Pour soy sauce in skillet and warm. Add chicken chunks to medium-high heat. Stir. Add half of Yoshida's sauce, fresh garlic and garlic salt. Saute chicken until cooked through. Stir in all other ingredients. Saute, on medium heat, until the vegetables are cooked but still a tad bitey. Do not overcook the vegetables, they'll turn to mush! When the rice is done place a scoop of it into a bowl. Top with the stir-fry mix. Serve.

Chicken Enchiladas

My cousin's wife ,Jennifer, gave us a chicken enchilada recipe years ago. After a bit of tweaking, Mom has perfected this rich and festive dish.

CHICKEN ENCHILADAS
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 large can of green enchilada sauce
1 small can of diced green chiles (optional)
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1 small container of sour cream
corn tortillas
cheese, grated

Boil the chicken in a large stock pot until cooked. Let chicken cool, then shred. In a large bowl mix the sauce, soup, chiles and sour cream until blended. Spray a casserole dish with non-stick spray. Line the bottom of the dish with the corn tortillas. (I cut mine the tortillas in half so they'll fit better). Place shredded chicken atop the tortillas, then put a layer of cheese and cover with the sauce mix. Cover that layer with a layer of tortillas and repeat until the dish is full. On the top of the casserole place a layer of tortillas and a lot of cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes, until warmed through. The cheese will look melted and the sauce should be bubbling.

*Hint: To make this dish healthier substitute fat free sour cream, whole wheat tortillas, low sodium soup and low fat cheese.

Chicken a la Creme

When my mom was a hair dresser she coaxed many of her clients into revealing their top secret recipes. This is Evangeline Russell's most prized dinner recipe... the dinner she fed all the General Authorities when they dined in her home. It is a rich yet rustic recipe that will leave you feeling very satisfied in a good way.

CHICKEN A LA CREME

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cans of cream of mushroom soup
2 pints of sour cream
2 jars of chipped beef
1 pound of bacon

Slightly brown the bacon in a skillet. Place bacon strips on a dish lined with paper towels and let sit. In a large bowl mix the soup and sour cream together. Spray a 13" x 9" casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray. Line the bottom of the dish with the chipped beef. Take each chicken breast and wrap a slice or two of bacon around it. Place the chicken in the dish atop the beef. Pour the wet mixture over the chicken, completely covering it. Bake at 350 degrees for 3 hours. The top of the chicken will look golden brown and the sauce will be bubbling. Make sure the chicken is cooked all the way through then remove from the oven and serve.