I Love My Slow Cooker

Honestly, what would I do without my slow cooker. It has saved me many a time. It's so nice to throw dinner into the pot in the morning (when my kids are less needy as opposed to after afternoon naps when they are hungry and cranky) and have such a speedy dinner preparation in the evening.

The sad thing about slow cookers though is that you have to really, really look for recipes that are different...you know, the ones that stand out from the crowd. Because a lot of slow cooker recipes can taste pretty similar to each other. You know, throw in some chicken, some kind of cream of something soup, a few other ingredients and voila, serve the finished product over rice or pasta. And don't get me wrong, those kinds of recipes are awesome! They are super tasty! But you can't have that all the time.

So, I'm glad when I can find something unique to do with my slow cooker that still gives me the ease of preparation, but offers a little something different at the end of the day.

I found this great recipe on one of my favorite sites...can you guess what it is? If you guessed the Martha Stewart website, you're right. :) I'm predictable, yes. But when you find a reliable website for recipes, you stick with it! My favorite recipe websites are: Martha Stewart, MyRecipes.com (which contains Southern Living, Cooking Light recipes, among others), Taste of Home, Allrecipes, and Betty Crocker. I get recipes from other places too, but those are my stalwart and reliable favorite sites.

This makes a very simple dinner. A Mexican pork stew served with tortillas. It's not really a stew and it's not really a taco...it's something in-between...but you can serve it either way, if you want! I personally like to spoon bits of pork onto my tortilla, eat, and repeat. :) But you can do it any way you want. I hope you like it as much as I do.

Spicy Pulled Pork

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, diced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 dried bay leaves
1 chipotle chile, in adobo sauce, minced
1 tablespoon adobo sauce
1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes
1 can (14.5 ounces) whole tomatoes in puree
2 teaspoons coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
2 3/4 pounds boneless pork shoulder, trimmed and halved crosswise
Flour tortillas, lightly toasted, for garnish (optional)
Grated cheddar cheese, for garnish (optional)
Sour cream, for garnish (optional)

Directions:

In a 5-quart slow cooker, combine onion, oregano, bay leaves, chipotle, adobo sauce, tomatoes (and puree), salt, and pepper. Add pork; toss to coat with sauce.

Cover; cook on high setting until meat is pull-apart tender, about 6 hours (do not uncover while cooking).

Transfer meat to a large bowl; shred with forks, discarding any gristle. Return meat to pot; toss with sauce.

To serve, discard bay leaves; if desired, garnish with tortillas and cheddar or sour cream.

Source: Martha Stewart website.

Notes: I love this. It's just the right amount of spicy. And as I mentioned above, if you would like to serve this as a taco filling, you could easily do so...just serve the meat and tomatoes with a slotted spoon to strain the juices before placing it in your tortilla.

I like to use uncooked tortillas (found in the grocery store in the refrigerated section by the cheese) and toast them myself. I think the sour cream and cheese on top is a must. It just tastes so good with the pork and tomatoes!