You can probably tell by how much of it I post on this blog, but I absolutely love Mexican food.  I am starting to think I should rename the blog Pink Burrito.  Yes, I said burrito and not taco .  Jav loves Mexican food too, which make it easy to please him with my cooking.  I don’t think he ever met a taco that he didn’t like.

It is also fairly easy to prepare and simple to make healthy and low-calorie with a few substitutions.  The key to this recipe is making your own salsa.  I personally am not a big fan of any jarred salsa since it is so easy to make.  But, if you really feel like you want a shortcut, then go ahead and purchase a salsa verde to substitute for the green chile tomatillo salsa in the recipe. However, please don’t tell me about it.  It will make me sad.

The sweetness of the pork contrasts well with the sharpness of the cheese and salsa in this recipe.  To make it healthier than your average enchi,  I used low-fat cheese and purchased a package of low-fat pork sirloins from Costco.  It is a very lean cut of meat with only about 100 calories per 4oz serving.  Plus it is yummers when cooked in the slow cooker!  I would recommend putting the pork in the slow cooker in the morning and letting it cook for 6 hours or up to 10 on low if you need to leave the house.  It will do its magic while you are away!

Sweet Pork Enchiladas with Roasted Green Chile Tomatillo Salsa

Pork

2lb Pork Sirloin Roast

1 Cup Roasted Green Chile and Tomatillo Salsa (Recipe below)

2 Cups Orange Juice

½ Cup Brown Sugar

1 Tablespoon Cumin

1 Tablespoon Chipotle Chile Powder or regular Chile Powder

Put all ingredients in the slow cooker and cook on low for 6-10 hours.  Once cooked, remove from cooker.  It will just fall apart like this if cooked enough.

Shred with two forks.

For extra sweetness and flavor, add the shredded pork back in the slow cooker and cook in the juices for about 20 more minutes on low.  Drain juices and set aside.

Enchiladas

12 Corn Tortillas

1 Can Fat Free Vegetarian Refried Beans

1 Cup 2% Shredded Mexican Cheese (I used Kraft)

Shredded Pork (Recipe above)

Roasted Green Chile and Tomatillo Salsa

Preheat oven to 400.

Cover bottom of casserole dish with a thin layer of green chile salsa. 

Place one tortilla in dish and rub bottom in the salsa. 

 Spoon 1-2 Tablespoons of the refried beans onto the tortilla.  Place 1 oz of shredded pork on top of beans.

  Roll up.  Repeat process until all tortillas are used. 

Cover all of the enchiladas with remaining salsa (or less) depending on preference.  Sprinkle with cheese. 

 Bake for 20 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Roasted Green Chile and Tomatillo Salsa

2 Pasillo Peppers (These are mild)

10-12 Medium Tomatillos peeled

1 Jalapeno seeded and deveined

½ White Onion cut into chunks

1 Clove Garlic

Couple of Handfuls of Cilantro

Juice of ½ Lime

1 Teaspoon Salt

Roast peppers and tomatillos on the BBQ over medium heat.

 I only roast the tomatillos for about 5 minutes turning halfway through.  They should look like this when done.

I roast the peppers for 8-10 minutes until the skin turns completely black. 

 Remove from heat and let cool.  Rub and Peel off the charred skin.  It should come off fairly easily. 

 Cut off stems and remove seeds.

Add peppers, tomatillos, onion, garlic, cilantro, lime and salt to the blender. 

Blend until smooth. 

If you want it more chunky then do this in a food processor and pulse into rough chunks.  I like mine smooth.  Keep tortilla chips nearby for tasting. 

 It might need more salt…add more if necessary after tasting.   Chill in fridge to let flavors marry.

Enjoy!

Love,

Lindzee

My dad is in the hospital, so I came home to help out my mom etc. He hasn’t had much of an appetite and I can’t really blame him considering how gross the hospital food is. How do they expect people to get well eating that crap? Since coming home on Saturday I have been making him most of his meals. Yesterday, he thought barbequed pulled pork sounded great and since it slow cooks for hours it would definitely be soft enough for him to eat. Poor guy has a sore mouth.

My friend Crissie makes a delicious root beer slow cooked tenderloin, so I thought I would take the same idea and make a pork shoulder.

I woke up early this morning to make sure the pork had enough time to fully cook in the slow cooker. While I prepared the pork, my niece and nephew wanted to finish decorating the tree. They each showed me their favorite ornament

Finished tree.

I love the holidays! This recipe turned out great and is super easy! The root beer flavor is not overpowering, but you can still catch a hint of it. Everyone who tried it seemed to love it – Even Maverick who is now very sick with a tummy ache or maybe it is from wearing that Santa costume?

 Homemade BBQ sauce is my absolute favorite and incredible easy to make. I am going to bring my dad the dinner tonight with extra sauce – He has been known to eat sauce alone with just a spoon. I will let you know how it goes!

Root Beer Slow Cooker Pulled Pork with Root Beer BBQ Sauce

 Serves roughly 10 hungry peeps

Pulled Pork

What you’ll need:
(Seems like a strange combo but I promise it will come out spectacularly moist with excellent flavor)
1 4-5 lb. Pork Shoulder – Bone-In
5 Cloves Garlic Chopped
¼ Cup Dijon Mustard
¼ Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
2 Cups Root Beer
1 Tablespoon Salt Pepper
10 hamburger buns
3-4 Tablespoons butter

Directions:
Put pork shoulder in slow cooker on low heat.

 Mix rest of ingredients in a small bowl. Pour over pork shoulder into slow cooker.

Cook on low for 8 hours until tender and falling off the bone. Mine practically shredded in the slow cooker.

 Shred pork with two forks removing fatty pieces and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Add back to slow cooker with ¾ of the Root Beer sauce from below. Cook on low for 1 more hour.

Heat butter on medium in a griddle pan. Lightly toasted buns and top with finished pork and as much sauce as you like. Some top theirs with coleslaw. Do as you wish.

Root Beer BBQ sauce

You might want to double the recipe if you like a lot of sauce!

What you’ll need:
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
½ Onion Minced
1 Clove Garlic Minced
1 Cup Root Beer
1 Cup Ketchup
¼ Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
2 Tablespoons Mustard
¼ Cup Fresh Lemon Juice
¼ Cup Maple Syrup (Substitute brown sugar if you don’t have any)
2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
½ Tablespoon Chili Powder
Dash of Tabasco (optional) S
alt and Pepper to taste

Directions: Heat oil over medium heat in medium saucepan. Add onion and garlic and sauté until translucent.

Add remaining ingredients and simmer 20 minutes until thick enough for your liking.

Enjoy!

Love, Lindzee