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!

Fruit Salsa

As you all know I absolutely enjoy cooking, baking, preparing food of all sorts.  My pantry is full of a variety of ingredients and after hosting a party for my sister in law Shawn who sells Tupperware I slowly opened up to the possibilities of an organized kitchen and pantry with Tupperware.   Back In February I became a Tupperware consultant myself because I believe the products are great and worth sharing.  Last night my friend Rhonda let me host a Taco's & Tupperware Party at her house.  I made a lot of food including a traditional tomato salsa and a fruit salsa.   The fruit salsa was the big hit of the night and several ladies asked for the recipe so here it is for your enjoyment and pleasure.  Should you be interested in buying Tupperware or hosting a Facebook Tupperware or traditional in home Tupperware Party my website is here.

Aldi's has a great snack, cinnamon and sugar churros and they are the perfect food to eat with this fruit salsa.  They are the same as the churro's Taco Bell sells I think.  You could dip cinnamon and sugar tortilla chips in it too I suppose.

Ingredients:

1 lb Strawberries

1 pint Raspberries

3 Kiwis

2 Mangos

Juice from 1/2 Lime

 Rinse all the fruit.  Cut green stems off strawberries.  Peel mangoes

This is my Tupperware chop prep bowl, it hooks onto the drawer and allows me to peel over it. Its like Rachel Ray's garbage bowl but not on my counter so its out of the way.  

Cut the mango around the seed.  The seed is in the middle, if you cut a small portion of the mango on the bottom you can have it stand up and you cut from the top and along the edge of the seed.  Cut into  chunks.

 Peel the kiwi and cut into chunks.

Place the fruit in a Tupperware Power Chef if you have one or a food processor and chop the fruit.  You could also chop the fruit in a blender.  Otherwise chop the fruit into small pieces with a knife.  The Tupperware Power Chef is a great tool for the kitchen since it doesn't require electricity, it has a a pull cord.  It would be a great kitchen gadget for the kitchen and for camping.  My daughter Haley is modeling how to use the Power Chef, the amount of fruit in this salsa necessitated filling the container one and a half times to get all the fruit chopped but it would all fit in a standard food processor.

After all the fruit is chopped, pour into a bowl and squeeze the lime juice on the fruit and stir.  Its ready to dip into.  Remember this is highly perishable so eat it the same day, although it is so delicious you aren't likely to have left-overs. 

Enjoy!

Fruit Salsa

Ingredients:

1 lb Strawberries

1 pint Raspberries

3 Kiwis

2 Mangos

Juice from 1/2 Lime

Process:

Rinse all the fruit.  Cut green stems off strawberries.  Peel the mangoes.

Cut the mango around the seed.  The seed is in the middle, if you cut a small portion of the mango on the bottom you can have it stand up and you cut from the top and along the edge of the seed.  Cut into  chunks.

Place the fruit in a Tupperware Power Chef, food processor, or blender and chop the fruit.    Otherwise chop the fruit into small pieces with a knife. 

After all the fruit is chopped, pour into a bowl and squeeze the lime juice on the fruit and stir.  Its ready to dip into.  Remember this is highly perishable so eat it the same day, although it is so delicious you aren't likely to have left-overs. 

Enjoy!

7 Layer Mexican Dip

This recipe was made before the Instant Chicken Ramen Noodles that I shared previously.  I made this recipe for a Mix n Mingle at church in New York.  My friend Whitney shared this recipe with me.  Sadly, this recipe got lost in the shuffle until now.  Thank you everyone who continues to follow my food hijinks and kitchen adventures.   

Who doesn't love a dip with 7 layers? 

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. shredded Sharp Cheddar
1 1/2 cups  Sour Cream (I used homemade, my recipe is here)
1 Packet Taco Seasoning
1 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
3 ripe Hass Avocados
2 tablespoons Fresh Cilantro
1/2 Lime, juiced
6 Campari Tomatoes (You may substitute with 3 Roma Tomatoes,  or 2 Beefsteak Tomatoes)
4 Green Onions
1 can Black Olives
1/2 lb. cooked Black Bean mashed (You may substitute with 3 cans pinto or black beans)

Mix sour cream and taco seasoning.

Spread the beans on the bottom of a 8x12 inch glass/ceramic dish.

Sprinkle garlic, 1 sliced green onion, and cilantro in a molcajete if you have one.
Grind together.  Otherwise cut green onions and cilantro finely in a bowl.

Add chopped up avocado to ground mixture and grind until the texture you like.
Add lime juice and mix.

Spread guacamole on the beans.

Spread the sour cream mixture on the guacamole.

Sprinkle shredded cheese on top.

Cut up tomatoes into 1 inch pieces and sprinkle on the cheese.

Cut remaining 3 green onions and black olives and sprinkle on top.

Grab and bag of tortilla chips and begin dipping.

Enjoy!

7 Layer Mexican Dip

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. shredded Sharp Cheddar
1 1/2 cups  Sour Cream (I used homemade, my recipe is here)
1 Packet Taco Seasoning
1 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
3 ripe Hass Avocados
2 tablespoons Fresh Cilantro
1/2 Lime, juiced
6 Campari Tomatoes (You may substitute with 3 Roma Tomatoes,  or 2 Beefsteak Tomatoes)
4 Green Onions
1 can Black Olives
1/2 lb. cooked Black Bean mashed (You may substitute with 3 cans pinto or black beans)

Process:

Mix sour cream and taco seasoning.

Spread the beans on the bottom of a 8x12 inch glass/ceramic dish.

Sprinkle garlic, 1 sliced green onion, and cilantro in a molcajete if you have one.  Grind together.  

Otherwise cut green onions and cilantro finely in a bowl.

Add chopped up avocado to ground mixture and grind until the texture you like.  Add lime juice and mix.

Spread guacamole on the beans.

Spread the sour cream mixture on the guacamole.

Sprinkle shredded cheese on top.

Cut remaining 3 green onions and black olives and sprinkle on top.

Grab and bag of tortilla chips and begin dipping.

Enjoy!

Phở Gà (Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup)

Rememebr when I made Phở Bò (Beef Pho)? This is a chicken version, and I've made it as simple as possible.  We all like simple right?  This was our dinner shared with two bachelor friends. Our gentlemen guests were so excited to have a home cooked meal and were completely impressed.  It has been cloudy and cold, so soup was wonderful to come home to.  Plus when I went to pick up our friends, I was on the wrong side of the street.  Anywhere else this woudn't be a big deal, but next to the Queensboro Plaza Train Station, it meant a whole lot of lanes and barriers, dividers, and no way to cross.  I ended up turning too soon and going across the bridge to Manhattan and coming back to Queens.  Thankfully, we finally made it back to the apartment and a wonderful wafting smell from my pressure cooker where the broth was cooking.  I highly reccomend making broth of any kind in a pressure cooker.  The results are always fabulous and fast.

 This is a steaming hot bowl of flavor beyond any chicken soup you have ever experienced.

Ingredients:

4-5 pound Rotisserie Chicken (Costco really has the best price and sized chicken)
2 large bunch of Green Onions
7 large cloves of garlic
3 pieces of Dried Ginger
Roots and Stems of 1 bunch of Cilantro
2 whole star anise
12 cloves
2″x1″ piece of Cassia Bark (a.k.a. Saigon Cinnamon)
1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper
80g Light Brown Sugar
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon Kosher Salt

1 Jalapeno

1 Lime

Water

Japanese Noodles or Rice Noodles

Remove chicken from bones.  Place chicken bones in pressure cooker pot with 1 whole bunch
 of green onions, 1/2 bunch of Cilantro, star anise, cloves, cassia bark, black pepper, sugar, fish
sauce, salt, and add water to the top of the fill line for your pressure cooker (mine is 16 cups).  

Set pressure cooker to high for one hour.

Strain broth through a fine mesh sieve into a large stock pot.

Bring to a boil.  We used Japanese noodles, but you can use traditional rice noodles if you want.  Cook noodles in broth according to package instrucitions.

Slice jalapeno thinly.  Slice remaining bunch of green onions.  Remove remaining cilantro
from stems.  Place all ingredients aside on a serving plate.  Cut chicken or shred chicken into bite
size pieces and serve next to the broth and plate of vegetables.

This is a build your own Phở Gà bowl.  Add ingredients then the noodles and broth over top.
We really had fun building our soup bowls and customizing how much of each ingredient.

Enjoy!

Phở Gà (Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup)

Printable recipe Found Here

Ingredients:

4-5 pound Rotisserie Chicken (Costco really has the best price and sized chicken)
2 large bunch of Green Onions
7 large cloves of Garlic
3 pieces of Dried Ginger
Roots and Stems of 1 bunch of Cilantro
2 whole Star Anise
12 Cloves
2″x1″ piece of Cassia Bark (a.k.a. Saigon Cinnamon)
1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper
80g Light Brown Sugar
2 tablespoons Fish Sauce
1 tablespoon Kosher Salt

1 Jalapeno

1 Lime

Water

Japanese Noodles or Rice Noodles

Process:

Remove chicken from bones.  Place chicken bones in pressure cooker pot with 1 whole bunch of green onions, 1/2 bunch of Cilantro, star anise, cloves, cassia bark, black pepper, sugar, fish sauce, salt, and add water to the top of the fill line for your pressure cooker (mine is 16 cups).  

Set pressure cooker to high for one hour.

Strain broth through a fine mesh sieve into a large stock pot.

Bring to a boil.  We used Japanese noodles, but you can use traditional rice noodles if you want. Cook noodles in broth according to package instrucitions.

Slice jalapeno thinly.  Slice remaining bunch of green onions.  Remove remaining cilantro from stems.  Place all ingredients aside on a serving plate.  Cut chicken or shred chicken into bite size pieces and serve next to the broth and plate of vegetables.

This is a build your own Phở Gà bowl.  Add ingredients then the noodles and broth over top.  

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!

Cilantro Lime Sauce

We had fish tacos last night for dinner and with them I made guacamole and a new sauce.  That sauce is the sauce I'm about to show you.  This sauce will take your fish tacos, or fish sticks, or whatever fish you want to eat to all new levels.  Think about that tartar sauce you always serve and serve this instead. Really it is that good.  Don't believe me? Ask the dishes, I mean my friends Whitney and Erin who had some with our fish today for lunch.  This sauce is super simple and full of flavor. You could even change the full fat ingredients for low fat or fat free, but I can't promise that it will be as amazing.

 This sauce will be your new favorite fried fish condiment.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Mayonnaise
1/2 cup Sour cream
Juice of 1 Lime
1/4 cup Fresh Cilantro
1/4 of a Red Thai Chili

 Cut the cilantro.

Slice the small piece of thai chili, seeds and all.

 Juice the lime into a bowl, add all the other ingredients.  Stir until smooth.

Enjoy!

Cilantro Lime Sauce

Printable Recipe Found Here

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Mayonnaise
1/2 cup Sour cream
Juice of 1 Lime
1/4 cup Fresh Cilantro
1/4 of a Red Thai Chili

Process:

Cut the cilantro.

Slice the small piece of thai chili, seeds and all.

Juice the lime into a bowl, add all the other ingredients.  Stir until smooth.

Enjoy!