Carnitas

This was the star of Taco Night!  I love slow-cooked pork and this slow-cooker carnitas recipe is top notch.  We love how juicy the meat is and the seasoning is perfect.  I'm pretty sure I've cooked more pork shoulder than most people do but I don't care.  It's that good.  We didn't even bother frying it because we wanted to eat it right away.

Thanks, Melissa d'Arabian from Food Network!

Pork Carnitas

Ingredients
2 pounds boneless pork shoulder (or 2 1/2 pounds bone-in)Salt and freshly ground black pepper2 teaspoons dried oregano1 teaspoon ground cumin1 tablespoon olive oil1 onion, coarsely chopped4 cloves garlic, minced1 jalapeno, seeded and ribs removed, chopped1 orange, cut in half3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions
Rinse and dry the pork shoulder. Salt and pepper liberally. Mix the oregano and the cumin with olive oil and rub all over pork. Place the pork in a slow cooker and top with the onion, garlic, and jalapeno. Squeeze over the juice of the orange and add the two halves. Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours or on high 4 hours.
Once the meat is tender, remove from slow cooker and let cool slightly before pulling apart with a fork. In a large saute pan, heat the vegetable oil over high heat. Press the carnitas into the oil and fry until crusty on one side. Serve.

Breakfast Enchiladas

I'm a little competitive when it comes to, oh, I don't know, EVERYTHING, so when I heard a friend was bringing potato pancakes to a brunch  I decided to up my game and bring something more interesting than the quiche I was planning.  (Don't get me wrong-quiche is delicious!)  This plus a surplus of tortillas inspired me to see if breakfast enchiladas existed.  Lo and behold- they do!  And they're delicious and relatively easy.  I think I put this together in 30 minutes, including bake time.

Thank you to ValSoCal and Ashley Covelli of "Big Flavors from a Tiny Kitchen"!  I also made the homemade taco seasoning that Ashley found on Allrecipes.  The taco seasoning recipe is easy to put together and much cheaper than buying pre-made seasoning.  Thanks, Bill Echols!

Taco Seasoning

Original recipe yield: 1 ounce

1 tablespoon chili powder
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
¼ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon paprika
1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

1. In a small bowl, mix together chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes, oregano, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper. Store in an airtight container.

Breakfast Enchiladas

7 flour tortillas
9 large eggs
2 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons of taco seasoning
2 teaspoons canned green chiles
3 green onions, sliced
salt and pepper ( to taste )
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 cup of monterey cheese
1 can enchilada sauce
1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1 avocado, diced

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Meanwhile in a skillet heat 2 tablespoons of butter.

2) In a large bowl whisk eggs, milk, taco seasoning, green chilies, onions, pepper and salt.

3) Place egg mixture in the skillet with melted butter. When eggs are almost – cooked through add half a cup of cheese.

4) When eggs are cooked through place eggs into the tortillas and roll them and place in a baking dish. Pour sauce over the rolled tortillas, add cheese and bake for about 10 to 12 minutes. Place tomatoes and avocados on top.

*Note – you can add sour cream and cilantro as toppings.