Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas Salad

Here is a confession. I love trashy TV.

Housewives? Yep. All cities.

Bachelor/Bachelorette? Every season. Back to Season One.

Jersey Shore? Seen every episode. Teeeee Shirt Tiiiiiiiiiime!

Nip Tuck? Watched the whole season on Netflix. Oh, Sean and Christian, how I miss you.

 

This weekend, I found a new trashy TV show that I am now hooked on: Gossip Girl. I know I should be ashamed to admit it, but...I'm not. I figure that since I am reading 3 professional books about teaching right now, it cancels each other out intellectually.

I know what you're thinking. "What does TV have to do with pork carnitas?"

Well, that's one of my dirty secrets. And so is this. When I get home late after teaching a hot and sweaty Zumba class, it's really hard to spend time cooking. So sometimes I just throw a bunch of stuff on a plate and hope it works well together. Tonight, it really did.

Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas Salad

I have been thinking about making this ever since a friend shared this recipe with me. Every time I make one of Melissa Joulwan's Recipes from her website or from her cookbook Well Fed, it is always delicious! I made a couple of changed to the recipe (click to view the original).

First, I used a 2 lb pork loin because it was what I had on hand. I prepared the spice mix as written except I left out the coriander. I rubbed the spice mix into all sides of the pork and then placed it in the slow cooker. For the marinade, I used 1/2 cup of fresh squeezed lemon juice, juice from 1 lime, and 1/2 cup of Orange juice, and about 1/2 cup of water. I poured this over the pork and set the slow cooker to low for about 8 hours.

Let me tell you... When I came home, it smelled soooo good in this house. And the pork? Tender and falling apart! It was so delicious. I decided to serve it salad style on a bed of lettuce and topped with salsa, Wholly Guacamole, diced tomatoes, and crumbled plantain chips.

 

I wish you could try a bite. You'd love it.

 

Next week I plan to make this again, but as it is written in Melissa's recipe with stovetop preparation. I will let you all know how it goes!

 

Ok friends... it is growing late and I am pretty sure there is time for one episode of Gossip Girl before bedtime. So.....

 

Xoxo...

 

Confessions Girl...

 

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Confession Time: How to Eat More Veggies!

I think it's confession time. Most times, I give you recipes, or cute stories about my little girl Sadie, or stories about exercise. But this blog is called Confessions of a Former Couch Potato because I will also be honest with you. As long as you promise not to judge me. This is a safe place, right?

 

Here's a little secret about me. Whatever I wear to church on Sunday...I wear it to work on Monday. Pretty much every week. Getting dressed in the morning is such a chore. It's so easy to just throw the same outfit back on. Besides...how dirty are you going to get while sitting in church?

You want another one? Sometimes...after I teach my Tuesday night Zumba class...I just blow dry the sweat out of my hair and skip washing it. (I know, gross, right?) But seriously...it's so hard to go through the blow dry-flat iron process knowing I am just going to teach again in 2 days. (Don't misunderstand... I still shower. But the hair is dirty.) Ironically...the days my hair is the dirtiest are the days I get the most compliments. Go figure.

How about another one? I trick my kid into eating vegetables. There, I said it. And if you are a mom out there with a picky eater (or a girl out there with a picky boyfriend or husband), I am gonna encourage you to do it, too.

Today's post is:

CFCP Top Ten Tricks and Tips for Eating More Fruits and Veggies!

10. Ask the kids or significant other to help out in the kitchen. I think kids (and men and women) take more ownership when they have helped to prepare something. Give choices. But don't ask, "What do you want for dinner?" Because if you do, you are opening the door for answers like "Pizza!" Instead, ask, "Do you think we should have carrots or peas with the burgers tonight?"

9. Once you've got them in the kitchen, ask them to help taste-test. I have gotten my 4-year-old to eat more veggies and fruits this way. "Can you taste-test these cucumbers for me?" As she is taste-testing, she finds (shocker!) that some veggies aren't as bad as she thinks!

8. This tip is one I heard from a friend. It seems that kids are always looking for snacks right at dinner time. I know every night as soon as I start cooking, the little one comes wandering in asking for snacks. Often, I will cut up some veggies on the counter and leave them out. When she comes asking for a snack, I say, "Here! Have one of these!"

7. When in doubt...DIP. I know, in a perfect world, our kids would eat their veggies without needing dip. But if a little ranch helps... go for it. In the long run, I really don't think it will hurt them that much!

6. Blend. I've tried many ways to get my little one to eat spinach. She always turns up her nose. However, I threw some spinach in a blender with some ice, coconut milk, and a frozen banana. Guess what? She loved it. Here is a recipe that I love!

5. Make noodles out of them. Lately, I have been making zoodles like crazy. (Zoodles = zucchini noodles!) What kid doesn't like noodles? They come out of the womb liking them, right? Well, a simple gadget (julienne peeler) makes it possible to have noodles that are secretly a vegetable! Top them with spaghetti sauce, meatballs or make them into Paleo Shrimp Scampi (recipe coming soon)!

Here is my favorite way to make zoodles!

 

4. Get a head of cauliflower and make rice or mashed cauliflower. I have completely fooled my child more than once with the "riced" cauliflower and the mashed cauliflower. It really works. Try it.

Riced Cauliflower (I like this method)

 

Mashed Cauliflower

 

3. When I make chili, if I have carrots on hand, I always grate one or two and sauté them with my onions. With the orange color, they blend right into chili and no one knows they are even there!

(There are carrots in there!)

2. Make them into "fries." I hate to say it, but a packet of French fries is always gonna be more exciting than an apple. However, Sadie loves for me to make her "apple fries." I usually give her a little ramekin with organic peanut butter or almond butter to dip them in and she is happy as can be!

1. Make your own salsa! The jarred varieties at the grocery store are often full of preservatives, but when you make your own, you know it is fresh and free of chemicals! I like to put out celery or cucumbers for dipping (hello, double dose of veggies!) and let her go to town!

Click here for my salsa recipe!

 

If you have a picky child (or significant other!) I hope that one or more of these little strategies works for you! Have tips or tricks of your own? Please share by leaving a comment at the bottom of this post!

 

 

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Salsa, Two Ways

You know one thing I love about summer?  Fresh salsa.  For years, I bought the jarred stuff from the aisle in the grocery store that has the International foods.  You know, the kind that doesn’t need to be refrigerated until you open it?  What was I thinking?  How fresh can tomatoes be if they can sit indefinitely on a shelf?! 

Then one day I found that there is a separate salsa section in the grocery store.  Go to the produce section and you will find some fresher salsas.  One I like is Jack’s Special Salsa.  I also like this one kind that is just called “Fresh Salsa.”  I promise, that’s all it says on the jar.  The difference in the fresh salsa vs. the other stuff is unbelieveable. 

Then a few years ago, my mom started making her own salsa, and it is amazing.  This summer, being the new owner of my very own food processor, I decided to give it a whirl.

This recipe is adapted from the way I have seen my mom make it.  Now, if you don’t have a food processor, you could finely dice each ingredient with a knife, or you could use a chopper to dice each ingredient, and then mix it all together at the end.  personally, I throw all the ingredients in the food processor and process them all at once.  That’s just because I am lazy.  But it comes out delicious!

Fresh Summer Salsa

Ingredients:

• 4-5 vine-ripened tomatoes, rough chopped
• 1 bell pepper, rough chopped
• 1-2 Jalapeno Peppers or other “hot” peppers, rough chopped*
• 1 small-medium onion, rough chopped
• handful of cilantro
• 2 garlic cloves (I just throw them in whole)
• 2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
• sea salt and Freshly ground black pepper to taste

* For a milder salsa, you can omit the “hot” peppers.  You can also control the heat by including (or not including) seeds from the peppers.  The seeds add lots of heat!

Preparation:

Throw everything in the processor.  Process until the salsa is the desired consistency.  Pulse to be sure it is mixed well and scrape down sides once during processing.  Store in the fridge for about a week.  If it lasts that long.  ;)

Use this fresh salsa for:

tacos

taco salads

on fish

as a dip for celery

as a salad dressing

on burgers

on chicken or chicken sandwiches

Are you wondering about the two ways thing?  Well, I do love salsa 2 ways.  Obviously I love to eat it.  But you all know I am a Zumba instructor.  So I also love salsa dancing!  It is one of my favorite Latin rhythms and I always include a salsa song in every one of my playlists for Zumba classes I teach. 

(Here are a couple of photos from a few classes I have taught or helped with lately.)

So… here’s to Salsa!  Go enjoy either type this week!

Mexican Chicken Stew and Spiritual Gifts

Happy Sunday to everyone!  I hope you all had a fabulous weekend.  We had another weekend of amazing weather here in South Carolina.  Today, it was about 80 degrees here!  Can you believe it?  In February???  The weather in the south is so unpredictable in the spring and fall.  It could be 80 one week and then 40 the next!  I actually would like it to be just a little bit cooler.  When we start running the air conditioner, our power bill skyrockets!  I was hoping for a few more weeks or months of little-to-no air conditioning. 

This morning, I slept in a little (until 8:00)!  Woo hoo!  Amazing.  I used to think sleeping in meant sleeping until noon.  Now if I sleep until 8, it’s a small miracle!

I have a new breakfast favorite. 

Toasted whole wheat flat bread, topped with ham slices and a fried egg.  LOVE runny eggs!  This breakfast will really stick with you for a while, too.

While I ate, I was busy taking a “Spiritual Gifts” quiz.  Stay tuned for more information on that.

I quickly ate lunch and then threw ingredients in the crock pot for dinner tonight before heading out the door to Zumba!

A few weeks ago, I mentioned that we had a “Souper Bowl Party” at work. 

Everyone brought in soups and stews, and we voted on our favorites.  I have been wanting to make the winning stew for a couple of weeks, so today I finally did! 

This PRIZE-WINNING recipe is courtesy of my coworker, Jennifer. 

Mexican Chicken Chili:

• 1 package of boneless chicken breast
• 1 can of corn, drained
• 1 can of black beans, washed and drained
• 1 package of taco seasoning
• 1 can of Rotel tomatoes and chilis
• 1 large jar of salsa

Dump everything in the crockpot and cook until the chicken shreds when stirring.  Great on rice, baked potatoes, chips, and as burritos. Top with sour cream, shredded cheese, and jalapenos.  EASY!

Well, you know me… I never stick to a recipe completely.  The only changes I made were due to available ingredients in my pantry.  I started with 3 frozen chicken breasts.  I added in a cup of frozen corn kernels, 2 cans of light red kidney beans (I didn’t have black), and 2 cans of Ro-Tel.  I omitted the salsa and the taco seasoning.  I added some cumin, diced onion, and cayenne pepper.  I cooked on high for 2-3 hours, then turned it down to low for an hour.  I took out the chicken, shredded it, put it back in, and stirred.  Then it was ready to go.  I ate it like a chili, with tortilla chips on the side and cheddar sprinkled over the top. 

It was delish!  If I’d had sour cream on hand, I would have used that as a topping, too. 

Thanks, Jennifer for the recipe!

So… about that quiz from this morning… I wasn’t sure whether I was going to write about this today or not… because I normally don’t get too spiritual on my blog.  But I decided I am just gonna “put it out there” anyway.

Our Sunday School class is reading a book called Equipped for Every Good Work.  It’s all about finding out what your spiritual gifts are, so that you can find places and ways to be involved in the church.  I was really interested in taking this quiz to see what my gifts might be.  Ryan and I both took it.  This quiz was no joke!  200 questions!!!  It took me 2 cups of coffee to get through it.  It turned out that my spiritual gifts were Faith and Healing!  When I saw that, I was like, “Wait!  What?”  But then I started thinking about it.

I think that if I had taken this quiz 2 or 3 years ago, I probably would have gotten completely different results.  But several things over the past couple of years have really taught me about letting go and keeping the faith.  When Ryan lost his job and ended up with a job with much lower pay, I wondered how we would make it through.  And I was pretty angry at what was happening to our family.  But he’s had an amazing year, and even though money is tight sometimes… we’ve learned that sometimes there is a plan that we can’t always see.  Sometimes you have to have faith that everything is going to work out the way it is supposed to… even when it happens in a way other than what we would expect. 

A good friend of mine said to me a few months back,

“If you’re going to worry, why pray? 

If you’re going to pray, why worry?” 

That quote has really stuck with me, and I am really trying to live by that now.  You know what?  It’s making like a lot less stressful and a lot more enjoyable. 

So… I’ll leave you on that note… Have a great week!

Liz

A Fun Trip to Carowinds, some Food Finds, and Roasted Zucchini!

This morning, someone climbed into our bed at 6:45 a.m.  Any guesses who that might have been???  Yes, it seems that on the weekdays when we HAVE to get up at an insane hour, she doesn't want to get out of bed.  But come Saturday, our little Sadie is quite the early bird!  A little coffee helped me to wake up!  I made some quickie muffins-- don't be impressed-- they were from a Betty Crocker pouch!  But they were actually pretty good!

We hit Carowinds as soon as they opened.  We took Sadie and her cousin, Jerry, who is the same age.  They were so excited! 

Sadie could not wait to show him all her favorite rides!  The two of them had a blast riding the Character Carousel, the choo choo train, the Sky Tower, Woodstock's Whirlybirds, Joe Cool's Driving School, and more. 

Check out the half-empty parking lot!

We rode every ride twice!  The parking lot was so empty!  We didn't have much line-waiting at all!  In fact, Ryan and I were able to run and hop on a couple of rides, ourselves.  Ryan and I both rode Afterburn (aka Top Gun) and I had to get on the Intimidator.  I am telling you... that ride is INSANE.  But so fun.  I REALLY wanted to go on Nighthawk-- still haven't gotten to do that one!  The line is always so long!  Maybe next time.

We had such a great time that Sadie passed out in the wagon before we could even make it back to the car.  She was in the middle of eating a cracker and just passed out.  Then on the ride home, Jerry passed out, too. 

I think Ryan may have wanted to go to sleep, too!

Don't freak out... he was just posing for the camera!

Ryan and I had a little lunch and then I had to run some errands to ULTA (aka Mecca) and to the Farmer's Market.  Look what I found... Salsa! 

Salsa is one of my favorite things.  It doesn't last long in this house, either.  I couldn't wait to try this salsa.  It was delicious!  So fresh tasting.  Check out that ingredient list!  You can pronounce every item!  I also grabbed a pomegranite. 

That's the first time I have had one since I was around the age of 5!  I also got a mango, but it needs to ripen before we can enjoy that. 

I also grabbed some zucchini today.  I intended on steaming it, but then I decided maybe I would try roasting it. 

Everything always tastes better roasted.  And I have to say... YUM.  I will do this again.  Click here for the recipe for this zucchini.  It's a great side dish.  We had it with some grilled salmon and potatoes. 

After all the fun today, I am not sure how we can top that tomorrow.  Is it weird that I want to go back and ride more rides???