Instant Pot Pork Carnitas

We have Taco Tuesday every week at my house, our family is big on day specific menu's.  It's a bit of challenge to come up with a different taco filling each week so I don't feel like were having the same food every Tuesday.  I do have three children who never eat Taco's and will only eat quesadilla's made with the same orange sharp cheddar cheese and a specific flour tortilla.  Back to tacos, my Instant Pot hasn't been used to much, I did make homemade chicken noodle soup on Monday with homemade broth and noodles which was awesome since I only used the Instant Pot for the whole process.   I'm not a big fan of wet, mushy meat so Crock-Pots are my least favorite way to cook any sort of meat.  After some searching I determined a two fold approach would yield the best results int his recipe.  The pork is cooked in the Instant Pot but crisped up under the oven broiler.  

A combination of flavorful crispy edged pork and homemade guacamole and salsa are the highlights of this perfect taco.

Ingredients:

2 lbs Pork Shoulder
1 Yellow Onion
1 Lime
1 tablespoon Bacon Grease (or other oil)
2 cups Chicken Broth
1 teaspoon Chili Powder
1 teaspoon Chili Lime Seasoning
1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/2 teaspoon Whole Cumin or 1 teaspoon Cumin Powder

 Peel and cut onion into big chunks.  Cut lime in half.

Turn on Instant Pot or comparable electric pressure cooker to sauté.  Melt bacon grease in pan then add 2 inch cubed pork and onion to pan and brown.

Add all the other ingredients to the pot including squeezing the limes over the pot.  Close lid according to directions, it chimes to help you know it is closed.  Set to high pressure for 30 minutes.

After pork is finished, allow pressure to release naturally for 20 minutes.  The Instant Pot has a timer telling you how long it has rested, very nice feature.  When it reaches the the de-pressuring stage I turn my oven on to the broil setting.

Remove pork from Instant Pot and place on a cookie sheet.  Using two forks shred the pork a little.  Don't completely shred it, just a little so more surface area will be broiled.   Place in a oven under the broiler for 15 minutes. 

 Look at that close up of the nice crispy pork, and then a pan out shot.  

Leave the juices in the Instant Pot and set to sauté, reduce the juices while the pork is under the broiler.

Pour the reduced juices on the pork and serve in your favorite taco.  I put corn tortillas on a griddle and slightly toast them then add the pork, homemade salsa, guacamole, lettuce, and cheese. 

Enjoy!

Instant Pot Pork Carnitas

Ingredients:

2 lbs Pork Shoulder
1 Yellow Onion
1 Lime
1 tablespoon Bacon Grease (or other oil)
2 cups Chicken Broth
1 teaspoon Chili Powder
1 teaspoon Chili Lime Seasoning
1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/2 teaspoon Whole Cumin or 1 teaspoon Cumin Powder

Process:

Peel and cut onion into big chunks.  Cut lime in half.

Turn on Instant Pot or comparable electric pressure cooker to sauté.  Melt bacon grease in pan then add 2 inch cubed pork and onion to pan and brown.

Add all the other ingredients to the pot including squeezing the limes over the pot.  Close lid according to directions, it chimes to help you know it is closed.  Set to high pressure for 30 minutes.

After pork is finished, allow pressure to release naturally for 20 minutes.  The Instant Pot has a timer telling you how long it has rested, very nice feature.  When it reaches the the de-pressuring stage I turn oven on to the broil setting.

Remove pork from Instant Pot and place on a cookie sheet.  Using two forks shred the pork a little.  Don't completely shred it, just a little so more surface area will be broiled.   Place in a oven under the broiler for 15 minutes. 

Leave the juices in the Instant Pot and set to sauté, reduce the juices while the pork is under the broiler.

Pour the reduced juices on the pork and serve in your favorite taco. 

Enjoy!

Crunchy Beef Tacos

My family participates in Taco Tuesday.  We loved the Lego Movie, as you can tell.  Good thing is, we're eating tacos on Tuesday for dinner and not trying to Kragle each other.  Tacos are one of my favorite foods.  Since Tuesday is taco night, I try to make a different type of taco each week to spice up our menu.  On a particularly busy night, a couple weeks ago, I introduced my children to Taco Bell's family pack of tacos with both soft and crunchy.  Well needless to say, the crunchy tacos were a hit.  Last week I tried to make my own crunchy tacos, and well they weren't as big of a hit.  This week I decided to try and re-create the Taco Bell flavor, minus the weird ingredients that I knew had to be in those tacos.  While researching the ingredients in Taco Bell crunchy beef tacos, I learned the main ingredients, the normal ones and decided I could use those as a starting point.  Here before you, for your viewing and maybe your eating pleasure, is the recipe I came up with.  These tacos were indeed delicious.  I actually used fresh ingredients and no dried or powdered substitutes.

 Oh my goodness, are those some beautiful looking tacos.

Ingredients:

12 Crunchy Taco Shells
1 1/2 lbs. Ground Beef
1 1/2 cups Whole Canned Tomatoes in Sauce
1/4 cup Water
1/4 Yellow Onion
2 Dried Chili Peppers
4 Baby Bella Mushrooms (You can substitute 1/2 beef bouillon cube)
1 clove of Garlic
1 teaspoon Sea Salt
1/2 teaspoon Cocoa Powder
1 head of Romaine Lettuce
1 Tomato
1 cup shredded White Sharp Cheddar or Monterey Jack Cheese

Using a blender blend the tomatoes, cocoa powder, onion, garlic, mushrooms, chili peppers,
and water until smooth.  I used my trusty Vita-Mix and created a very smooth sauce.
A little back story to adding the mushrooms.  Mushrooms are high in the molecule
responsible for the umami flavor or beefy flavor.  I used the mushrooms as a natural way to
 boost the beefy flavor of the taco meat.  If you want to, you could use bouillon instead.
Taco Bell uses autolyzed yeast to add beefy flavor.

 Smooth sauce, see how pretty it is?

Pour sauce into small sauce pan over high heat.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
Simmer for 15-20 minutes.  

Dice the tomatoes, cut the lettuce, and shred the cheese.  These will be your taco toppings.
You may also add sour cream and salsa.  We were out of sour cream.  I know, for shame.  

Cook the beef in a large skillet over medium high heat.  If you have a wok spatula, use that, or a
flat wooden spatula.  Cook and break up the beef into small chunks just until cooked through. 

Add the sauce and stir to combine.  Simmer for another five minutes to allow
flavors to come together.

I heated up our taco shells on a small cookie sheet in our toaster oven on low heat
before serving the tacos.  

Spoon some of the beef mixture into the shell and spread some lettuce tomatoes and
cheese on the beef.  Top with Sour Cream and salsa.

Enjoy!

Crunchy Beef Tacos

Ingredients:

12 Crunchy Taco Shells
1 1/2 lbs. Ground Beef
1 1/2 cups Whole Canned Tomatoes in Sauce
1/4 cup Water
1/4 Yellow Onion
2 Dried Chili Peppers
4 Baby Bella Mushrooms ( You can substitute 1/2 beef bouillon cube)
1 clove of Garlic
1 teaspoon Sea Salt
1/2 teaspoon Cocoa Powder
1 head of Romaine Lettuce
1 Tomato
1 cup shredded White Sharp Cheddar or Monterey Jack Cheese

Process:

Using a blender blend the tomatoes, cocoa powder, onion, garlic, mushrooms, chili peppers, and water until smooth.  I used my trusty Vita-Mix and created a very smooth sauce.

Pour sauce into small sauce pan over high heat.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.  Simmer for 15-20 minutes.  

Dice the tomatoes, cut the lettuce, and shred the cheese.  These will be your taco toppings.  You may also add sour cream and salsa.  

Cook the beef in a large skillet over medium high heat.  If you have a wok spatula, use that, or a flat wooden spatula.  Cook and break up the beef into small chunks just until cooked through. 

Add the sauce and stir to combine.  Simmer for another five minutes to allow flavors to come together.

You can also heat up the taco shells on a small cookie sheet, in a toaster oven or an oven on low heat, before serving the tacos.  

Spoon some of the beef mixture into the shell and spread some lettuce tomatoes and cheese on the beef.  Top with Sour Cream and salsa.

Enjoy!

Swiss Steak With Root Vegetables

The Swiss Steak recipe I shared with Julia and the NY Daily News I shared earlier was my second incarnation of Swiss Steak.  This recipe is similar to my mom's version of Swiss Steak and it is very good as well.  Do you like an all in the pot recipe?  You might like this incarnation of Swiss Steak.  

This mess of meat and vegetables reminds me of my mom more than my own reincarnation.

Ingredients

2 lbs Chuck Roast
1 Yellow Onion
4 cloves Garlic
4 large Carrots
2 lbs Potatoes
2 pints Brown Mushrooms
3 cups Stewed Tomatoes (San Martzano if you can find them)
1 1/2 cups Heavy Whipping Cream
1 cup Flour
Olive Oil

 Cut chuck into large chunks, dredge in the flour.

Pour oil into a preheated 12 inch skillet, enough to just cover the bottom.  Cook chuck over medium heat until browned on both sides.

 Peel carrots, potatoes, and garlic. Rinse mushrooms.  Cut potatoes and carrots into large chunks.

Place carrots, potatoes, garlic, and mushrooms in a pressure cooker pot or slow cooker.  Place chuck on the vegetables. Pour tomatoes and cream on met and vegetables. 

Cook everything in a pressure cooker on high for 55 minutes or low for 6 hours in a slow cooker.

Enjoy!

Swiss Steak With Root Vegetables

Ingredients

2 lbs Chuck Roast
1 Yellow Onion
4 cloves Garlic
4 large Carrots
2 lbs Potatoes
2 pints Brown Mushrooms
3 cups Stewed Tomatoes (San Martzano if you can find them)
1 1/2 cups Heavy Whipping Cream
1 cup Flour
Olive Oil

Process

Cut chuck into large chunks, dredge in the flour.

Pour oil into a preheated 12 inch skillet, enough to just cover the bottom.  Cook chuck over medium heat until browned on both sides.

Peel carrots, potatoes, and garlic. Rinse mushrooms.  Cut potatoes and carrots into large chunks.

Place carrots, potatoes, garlic, and mushrooms in a pressure cooker pot or slow cooker.  Place chuck on the vegetables. Pour tomatoes and cream on met and vegetables. 

Cook everything in a pressure cooker on high for 55 minutes or low for 6 hours in a slow cooker.

Enjoy!

Frikadellers

Two days after my last post, I went into labor and baby Gwendolyn was born on December 8.  She has been taking all of my time.  Maybe an apology is in order for not posting sooner, but she is so cute, and I'm kind of tired.  My mom made frikadellers when I was a kid, little meatballs in a sweet sauce. Traditional frikadellers are a Danish pork/veal meatball in brown gravy.  Now my mom's version is different.  I asked about the history and she said my grandmother made them with a sweet sauce and found the recipe and used it because it was Danish. My mom is the youngest of three daughters, so I decided to ask her older sisters about the recipe. The middle daughter, Julene, responded to my request and told me the history of the recipe.  My Aunt Julene's husband worked for Hunt-Wesson, and the company had a campaign promoting Hunt's Ketchup and a frikedeller recipe was created and shared.  My uncle Val changed the recipe to include apple sauce, which is the sweet element in the sauce.  This recipe is a family favorite thanks to my Uncle Val.  My fikedellers are a little different from frikedellers that my family grew up eating.

 Tender meatballs with a sweet tangy sauce, reminds me of my mom and childhood.

Ingredients:

1/3 lb. ground Veal
1/3 lb. ground Pork
1/3 lb. ground Beef
3 large Honeycrisp Apples
1 Yellow Onion
1 Egg
3 Slices of Bread
1/2 cup Ketchup
1/4 teaspoon Nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt
1/2 teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
Olive Oil

Wash, core and cut apples into big chunks.  Place in pressure cooker with 1/4 cup
ketchup and brown sugar.

Cook on high for 8 minutes.

Puree apple mixture with an immersion blender.

Chop onion in blender.  Remove from blender and put in a mixing bowl.  Chop bread
in blender.  Remove crumbs to bowl with the onions. 

Mix onion, bread crumbs, meat, salt, pepper, egg, and nutmeg together.

Heat 1/4 inch of Olive Oil in 12 inch skillet over medium heat.

Form meat into 1 inch balls and cook in skillet until browned on all sides.

Pour apple tomato sauce on frikadellers.  Cover pan with lid and cook for 8 minutes.

Enjoy!

Frikadellers

Ingredients:

1/3 lb. ground Veal
1/3 lb. ground Pork
1/3 lb. ground Beef
3 large Honeycrisp Apples
1 Yellow Onion
1 Egg
3 Slices of Bread
1/2 cup Ketchup
1/4 teaspoon Nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt
1/2 teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
Olive Oil

Process:

Wash, core and cut apples into big chunks.  Place in pressure cooker with 1/4 cup ketchup and brown sugar.

Cook on high for 8 minutes.

Chop onion in blender, remove from blender and put in a mixing bowl.  Chop bread in blender, remove crumbs to bowl with the onions. 

Mix onion, bread crumbs, meat, salt, pepper, egg, and nutmeg together.

Heat 1/4 inch of Olive Oil in 12 inch skillet over medium heat.

Form meat into 1 inch balls and cook in skillet until browned on all sides.

Pour apple tomato sauce on frikadellers.  Cover pan with lid and cook for 8 minutes.

Enjoy!

Ham & Bean Soup

Maybe it's the nesting instinct, or maybe pregnancy cravings.  Either way I wanted to make this recipe. Most of us grew up with a certain red label soup brand made famous by a certain artist.  One of the soups I enjoyed from those red label cans was Ham and Bean soup.  I don't buy canned soup anymore, so that left me with my all time favorite cooking.  Taking recipes that are traditionally pre-packaged and canned that I grew up with, and making them the old fashioned way. This way is so thrilling for me.  You don't have to agree with me, it's okay.  This is a simple recipe, truthfully, so why wouldn't you try it at least once.

All that ham and beans, oh my goodness yes!

Warning, IGNORE the potatoes they were photo bombing.

Ingredients:

1 lb. soaked/brined Navy Beans

1 large Yellow Onion

1 large Carrot

4 cloves Garlic

2 lbs. Smoked Sliced Ham

Water

Peel and dice onion and carrot.

Cut ham into one inch pieces.

Place all ingredients in pressure cooker pan, add enough water to have 13 cups.

Set pressure cooker on high for 30 minutes.   Allow pressure to naturally release.

Enjoy!

Ham & Bean Soup

Printable Recipe Found Here

Ingredients:

1 lb. soaked/brined Navy Beans
1 large Yellow Onion
1 large Carrot
4 cloves Garlic
2 lbs. Smoked Sliced Ham
Water

Process:

Peel and dice onion and carrot.

Cut ham into one inch pieces.

Place all ingredients in pressure cooker pan, add enough water to have 13 cups.

Set pressure cooker on high for 30 minutes, allow pressure to naturally release.

Enjoy!

Avocado Salsa

As many of you already know, I am originally from California.  I was born and raised in California. Two years ago, on October 20, we moved to Queens New York.  One of my favorite restaurant condiments from my California days comes from the restaurant El Pollo Loco.  Sadly they don't have a location here.  The condiment in question is their Avocado Salsa.  I wanted that avocado salsa to go with my pork and potato flautas.  This recipe is my take on the salsa, since I did not have the ingredients for the copycat recipe I found online.  This avocado salsa is better than the restaurant sauce, at least I think it is.  

Silky, creamy, lime flavored, avocado goodness waiting to be paired with your favorite
 Mexican food.

Ingredients:

1 ripe Hass Avocado
2 Limes
1/4 of Yellow Onion
1/4 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt
1 Cup Water
1/2 Avocado Oil( can be substituted with Canola or Vegetable Oil)

Remove avocado from skin and place in blender along with rough chopped onion and the
other ingredients.

Blend until smooth.

 That's it, you now have avocado salsa.

Pour salsa into lidded container to store in the refrigerator, if you have any left after the meal.

Enjoy!

Avocado Salsa

Printable recipe Found Here

Ingredients:

1 ripe Hass Avocado
2 Limes
1/4 of Yellow Onion
1/4 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt
1 Cup Water
1/2 Avocado Oil( can be substituted with Canola or Vegetable Oil)

Process:

Remove avocado from skin and place in blender along with rough chopped onion and the other ingredients.

Blend until smooth.

Pour salsa into lidded container.  Serve right away or refrigerate.

Enjoy!