Carnitas Tacos

I think it's safe to say by now that I am a huge taco fan. I think this is my fourth taco recipe in under a year on this blog. I tend to serve tacos when we have guests over for dinner because it's easy to allow everyone to customize their ingredients and really only the meat requires cooking, which makes it an easy fix and keeps me out of the kitchen.

Normally, this recipe would be made with pork shoulder or pork butt instead of the pork loin I used here. Unfortunately, the grocery store in Gunnison didn't carry either of the preferred cuts, so at the recommendation of the butcher I used the loin cut instead. One benefit of using the loin is that it's a leaner cut which means it's lighter.

The "margarita bath" of orange and lime juices with salt that the pork is braised in really comes through the meat in the tacos. Additionally, after braising the pork was juicy and tender and extremely flavorful, even without all the marbled fat that the preferred cuts would provide. I highly recommend this recipe for your next Tex Mex or taco night.

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Carnitas Tacos


Ingredients
2 lbs boneless pork loin (or pork shoulder or butt if you prefer)
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup lime juice
4 large cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon kosher salt
tortillas, and toppings for the tacos

Instructions
Cut the pork into 2 inch cube pieces and place in a large, heavy bottomed non-stick dutch oven or pot. (I didn't have one so I used a large enameled cast iron casserole skillet and it worked fine)

 Pour in the orange juice

 and lime juice over the pork.

 Using the flat side of your knife, crush the garlic cloves

 and place them among the pork cubes.

 Add the cumin

 and salt

 and top with enough water to barely cover the top of the meat.

 Bring it to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer.

 Simmer the pork on low for two hours uncovered, not touching the meat at all. After two hours increase the heat to medium high.

 Continue to cook, turning occasionally until the liquid thickens then evaporates. Keep turning the meat to brown the edges until all the liquid is gone.

 Shred the pork in a good processor.

Serve with tortillas and all the fixins and enjoy.

 P.S. We had a lot left over and discovered that leftover carnitas are great on nachos and in breakfast tacos.

Source: Smitten Kitchen

Crispy Beef Tacos

Robert and I are now home from our trip to New Mexico, but I still have one last recipe of my grandmother's left to share, her crispy beef tacos. No doubt by now you have figured out that I love Mexican food and tacos in particular. Maybe it was the multiple recipes for tacos that gave me away. My grandmother, Mimi, is a big reason for that, I think.

Her grandmother was Spanish and spent much of her early life in Mexico before she met my great-great-grandfather, married and moved to Texas. To celebrate this family heritage, the Thrashers have these tacos for dinner every Christmas Eve. Not that we don't have them other times of the year, it's just that at Christmas that one meal is a given.

Robert put in a special request for Mimi to make her tacos on our last night in Ruidoso and she, having a soft spot for Robert, was happy to oblige. To me this was the perfect solution. Not only did I get to enjoy Mimi's tacos made by her hands, something that now happens only every other year now that I'm married, but I got to document it to share with all of you. Win, win. I hope you will enjoy this family favorite as much as we do.

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Crispy Beef Tacos


Ingredients
2 pounds ground sirloin
1/2 yellow onion, diced
2 tablespoons ground oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup salsa (Mimi uses Pace)
1/4-1/2 cup canola oil
12 small corn tortillas

Instructions
Heat a non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Add the ground sirloin and cook until mostly browned.

Add the onions and cook for an additional 3 minutes or so until the meat is fully cooked and the onions have softened.

Add the ground oregano

and salsa. You can use your favorite brand, although my family has always used Pace Picante.

 Stir to combine and set aside.

Heat a tablespoon of canola oil in an a large skillet over medium heat. We used an electric skillet, but if one isn't available a large skillet on the stove top will work. Once the oil is heated, place one corn tortilla in the oil.

 Place a spoonful of taco meat in the center of the tortilla.

After a minute, fold the tortilla over and press down with a spatula for at least 30 seconds until the taco will remain folded once removed.

Push to the far side of the skillet and add a new tortilla and repeat the process above.

After 2-3 minutes, when the bottom of the tortilla is browned and crisp, flip the taco over to cook the other side being careful not to lose the filling.

Cook the tortillas for 2-3 minutes more until that side is also crisp and remove to a paper towel lined oven-safe plate.

While you continue cooking the remainder of the tacos, place the finished tacos in the oven at 250 degrees to keep warm. This will also continue the crisping process and dry out the excess oil remaining on the tortillas.

When ready, serve with shredded lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, salsa and guacamole and enjoy.

One last picture from our vacation, taken while we took my grandparents dog Shelby for a walk. I don't know who Robert is more annoyed with, me or the dog!

Cilantro Lime Chicken Tacos

A few Christmases ago, I received the Nordstrom Flavors Cookbook as a gift. This cookbook is full of great recipes, my favorite by far is the cilantro lime chicken tacos. This was the first taco recipe I had attempted, or really seen, that did not involve taco seasoning packets or mixes. Instead, lime juice and cilantro play the starring seasoning role in both flavoring the taco meat and the vinaigrette that serves as the sauce.

Robert also loves these tacos and regularly requests it when asked what he wants to eat during a given week. Additionally, I often serve these tacos to dinner guests as it is easy to prepare and keeps me from having to spend most of the evening in the kitchen finishing up dinner. If you or any of your dinner companions have an aversion to cilantro, have no fear. You can easily omit the cilantro from the taco meat and leave the cilantro to the vinaigrette so those who do enjoy cilantro can still get a taste.

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Cilantro Lime Chicken Tacos


Vinaigrette Ingredients
1 tablespoon seasoned rice vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon honey
1 clove garlic, minced
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
pinch of Kosher salt
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon canola oil
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions
In a food processor or blender add the seasoned rice vinegar,

lime juice,

honey,

garlic, salt and chipotle pepper.

Turn on the machine. While it's running, pour the oil in a small, steady stream to make a thick sauce.

Gradually add in the cilantro until the mixture becomes dark green in color.

 Place in a serving bowl and set aside while you make the taco filling.

Taco Filling Ingredients
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 pound ground chicken (or ground turkey if chicken is unavailable)
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce

Instructions

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

Add the chicken, cilantro, garlic, salt and pepper to the oil.

Cook until chicken is cooked through.
Add the soy sauce,

 and lime juice to the chicken.

Simmer until the liquid is almost completely reduced. Place in a serving bowl.

Serve with chopped yellow bell pepper, chopped romaine lettuce, chopped cherry tomatoes, queso fresco, flour or corn tortillas and the vinaigrette.

Source: Nordstrom Flavors Cookbook

Quick Fix Meal: Tacos and Guacamole

From time to time life can seem to get in the way of cooking dinner. Whether it's working late, sports practice for the kids or just sheer exhaustion, there are days when the task of cooking dinner for you and your family seems impossible. When I have those days, one of my go to quick fix meals is tacos.

I almost hesitated to post this meal on the blog because it's so simple, but I also thought that there is value in sharing a quick meal that can be easily completed in 30 minutes or less. While my recipe calls for a homemade taco seasoning mix, you could very easily substitute the packets of seasoning sold in supermarkets and your time in the kitchen would be even less.

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Ingredients

1 lb ground meat (beef, turkey, pork, chicken)

1 package pico de gallo (sold in most grocery stores pre made)

2.5 T chili powder

1 T cumin

2 t garlic powder

1.5 t onion powder

1/4 t cayenne

1 T paprika

1/4 t crushed black pepper

1 avocado

1/2 lime

1/4 t garlic salt

Instructions

Combine the chili powder, cumin, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne and black pepper in a bowl. Stir to combine.

Place the ground meat (I used ground turkey) in a large skillet over medium high heat and begin to brown.

After the meat has begun to brown, but before it is browned completely, add 3/4 cup premade pico de gallo. 

Continue to saute until the meat is cooked through and the onions are soft.

Add 3 tablespoons of the spice mix to the meat. Store the rest in an air tight container for future use.

Add 1 cup of water and stir to combine.

Bring to a boil and cook until most of the liquid has been cooked off, about 5-10 minutes.

While the taco meat is simmering, make the guacamole. Scoop the avocado out of its skin and chop into small pieces. Place in a bowl.

Mash with a fork until smooth.

Add 1/4 cup of the remaining pico de gallo to the avocado.

Stir to combine.

Squeeze the juice of 1/2 a lime into the avocado mixture and stir.

Add about 1/4 teaspoon of garlic salt and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper and stir.

When taco meat is done place on a small flour tortilla, top with cheese and guacamole and serve.