Carnitas Pizza with Guacamole

The Monkey Scientist and I have been experimenting with carnitas lately. There is nothing like delicious shredded pork. We've tried making it in both the Dutch oven and the CrockPot but I haven't decided which tasted better. Since we had so many leftovers, we decided to make a carnitas pizza!



I have to admit (and maybe you've noticed) that I'm not a huge fan of Mexican food. It's surprising since I love spicy food, but between the cilantro and corn tortillas there are so many things I don't like at all. I was excited that this recipe let me bring in all of the Mexican flavors I like in a familiar favorite - pizza.

I loved how this came together. The Monkey Scientist picked up the dough at the Italian market in Cleveland Park. It has wonderful flavor and came out nice and crispy on the edges. The pizza was the perfect combination of spicy, cheesy and tangy. I liked the hot pizza topped by the cool guacamole as well, it was a nice contrast. This is the guacamole recipe I always use (usually with chips of course) and I adore it! Next time we may try to make this pizza on the grill like Mom does - I bet it would be fantastic!



Carnitas Pizza with Guacamole
carnitas adapted from My Baking Addiction
pizza adapted from What's Gabby Cooking?
guacamole is a yelleBELLYboo original

Ingredients
Carnitas
1 large Vidalia onion, thinly sliced
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp paprika
2 tbsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 pork butt (ours was 2 1/2 lb)
3/4 c cider vinegar
4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 can chipotles in adobo, roughly chopped
2 oranges, juiced
1 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 bottle beer
Pizza
1 batch pizza dough
1/2 jar salsa
1 bag shredded Mexican cheese
1/2 can fire-roasted chiles
2 tbsp adobo sauce from chipotles in adobo
Guacamole
2 ripe avocados, diced
2 tomatillos, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lime, juiced
Salt and pepper
Dash cayenne
Dash cumin

Instructions
Carnitas
1. Rinse pork under cold water and pat dry with paper towels.
2. Place onions in Crock pot. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, paprika, salt and pepper. Rub to cover the roast. Place roast on top of onions.
3. Mix remaining ingredients and add to Crock pot. Add water to just cover pork.
4. Cook on low 10-12 hours.
5. Remove meat and onions from Crock pot. Chop or shred meat and onions. Add a bit of the cooking liquid for flavor.
Pizza
1. Preheat the oven to 500.
2. Carefully stretch dough to the size of your pizza pan or cookie sheet.
3. Top with salsa, then cheese, chiles, and adobo.
4. Bake 8 minutes, remove from onion. Top with shredded carnitas (maybe 2/3 c worth).
5. Return to oven and bake an additional 4 minutes.  Let rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing.
Guacamole
1. Add all ingredients to a medium bowl.
2. Mash with a potato masher or the back of a fork until well combined.
3. Smear on top of each slice of pizza.

Falafel with Chipotle Mayo and Spicy Homemade Hummus

I'm going to be honest with you, this won't be the blog post I'm the most proud of.  It's a bit of a sham.  For one, I started with this:



Now you know I know how to make falafel.  It really isn't difficult.  But I just didn't take a lot of time to read this recipe before I made it, and I thought I'd be doctoring the falafel mix more than I actually did...which ended up being not at all.  Still, I know some people might really like the kind that comes in a packet, so I didn't think it could hurt to show you how to make falafel from a packet a little more special.



Of course, making the hummus isn't all that different from making falafel.  In fact, it's almost exactly the same.  But at least this way you don't need to clean the food processor twice.  I adjusted this basic hummus recipe to be a little bit spicy, and I really enjoyed it! But, this brings me to the other reason why this post is a sham, my brain was totally slipping on remembering to take pictures, so you only get the final product.  Sorry!



And I'm also sorry to say that my other pictures aren't exactly my best either.  I don't even have more than 1 decent picture of the finished sandwich - my others were totally out of focus.  It was just one of those days. I'll try to make sure I do better next time :)



This recipe was so easy and really great.  I think the hummus can have so many other applications, including just having it with some carrots as an appetizer.  Making hummus couldn't be easier, and it's way cheaper than buying it pre-made, so I hope that's the big takeaway here.  Chipotle mayo, always great, and you can use greek yogurt instead (like I did here), and adds that creamy moisture a good sandwich needs.  I think these ingredients are all easy to keep in the house at any time for a simple dinner you can throw together in no time!



Falafel with Chipotle Mayo and Spicy Homemade Hummus
slightly adapted from Weight Watchers' New Complete Cookbook

Ingredients
1 (10-oz) package falafel mix
1 1/4 cups water
4 tsp olive oil
4 (6-inch) whole wheat pita breads, halved
6 tbsp chipotle mayo (see below)
1 cup spicy homemade hummus (see below)
8 small romaine lettuce heads

Instructions
1. Stir together falafel mix and water in a medium bowl until combined well; let stand according to package instructions.
2. Drop falafel mixture by 2 tablespoonfuls onto large sheets of wax paper (I used my silpat), making a total of 20 mounds (I made bigger but way fewer).
3. Heat 1 tsp oil in a very large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Shape 5 mounds of falafel mixture into 2-inch patties and add to skillet as they are shaped.  Cook until golden and firm, about 2 min per side.  Transfer patties to plate covered in paper towel and keep warm.  Repeat with remaining oil and falafel mixture.
4. Spread 1 1/2 tsp chipotle mayo and 2 tbsp hummus in each pita.  Cut 4 falafel patties in half and add to each pita along with 1 lettuce leaf.



Chipotle Mayonnaise
from Weight Watchers' New Complete Cookbook

Ingredients
6 tbsp reduced fat mayonnaise
1 chipotle pepper from can of chipotles in adobo, minced
2 tsp adobo sauce

Instructions
Combine all ingredients in a small bowl with a spatula.  Store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.


Spicy Homemade Hummus
adapted from Weight Watchers' Complete New Cookbook

Ingredients
1 (15 1/2-oz) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
3 garlic cloves, peeled
2 tbsp tahini paste
juice of 1 lemon
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp water
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
3-4 drops hot sauce (I used Frank's Red Hot)
1 chipotle from a can of chipotles in adobo
1 tbsp adobo sauce
1/2 tsp paprika

Instructions
1. Combine all ingredients except paprika in food processor and puree, adding a little bit more water if hummus is too thick.
2. Transfer hummus to serving dish; sprinkle with paprika.  Serve at once or refrigerate in a covered container up to 3 days.

Mom's Pot Roast [Guest Blogger]

I'd like to welcome to the blog a certain someone you might have heard me mention before.  I'd like to give a big welcome to the Monkey Scientist, who will be sharing his Mom's Pot Roast recipe.  He did take photos of the prep, but very unfortunately his house was robbed last night and his camera was taken.  A big thank you to him not only for blogging, but for cooking me this meal - it was super delicious! (And I'm glad you'll finally get to see how much he teases me!!)

photo by d.liff

Greetings everyone…Monkey Scientist here. Believe it or not I do actually have a name but I’m going to leave that anonymous to add to the intrigue.

D always gets mad when I made fun of the way she writes on her blog (she does actually talk this way in real life by the way), so in that vein I am going to try and imitate her style as much as possible…

photo by the Monkey Scientist

If there’s one thing you should know about me, it’s that I’m not usually one to follow any sort of set recipe. I more just like to throw everything together in a big pot and see how it turns out. D introduced me to this thing called a “side dish” but I still don’t quite subscribe to that belief.

So today’s “recipe” comes from my mom’s kitchen back in Chicago. Pot roast is one of her the rarer dishes that she cooks, but when she does make it we all enjoy quite the feast. For Christmas she gave me my very own Crock Pot, and since then I have made some pretty fantastic meals (you’ll just have have to wait til February for the family Super Bowl Chili recipe…my personal favorite). I absolutely LOVE cooking with the Crock Pot! It brings together so many diverse flavors, and you don’t need to break the bank in finding the best meat out there. Just your typical run-of-the-mill top round roast from the local supermarket will do. When I went to the store, I was delighted to see that roasts were the “Big Buy” of the day. Over 2 ½ pounds of meat for under eight dollars!

I’ll admit there’s really nothing fancy about this pot roast recipe compared to any other. Just throw in a bunch of vegetables with the meat and let it all soak together throughout the day. Based on a limited veggie selection at our grocery store, I just went with some white potatoes, carrots, and celery, and to add a little twist, some chili peppers…not a necessary addition but certainly worth trying if you like a little kick.

photo by d.liff

When it was done we just scooped it out of the pot and served on toast to make some nice hearty sandwiches. You might find that when it’s done it will need some sort of sauce to add another dimension. We used Sweet Baby Ray’s barbeque sauce but you can probably also use a spicy mustard or throw some flour in the meat juice to make a thicker gravy. Also, you might want to brown the meat before putting it in the Crock Pot for the day, but I was a little pressed for time so I just skipped that part. I would recommend some mashed potatoes and maybe some steamed green beans if you’re into the whole side dish thing…or just grab more out of the pot and put that on the side!

photo by d.liff

Mom's Pot Roast 
(serves 4-6)

Ingredients

2.5 lbs top roast (you can use more or less depending on size of slow cooker)

7 carrots, unpeeled (but washed) and chopped

3 medium-sized white potatoes, quartered

2-3 stalks celery

2 whole jalapeños, fresh

1 can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (if you don't love really spicy food, only use 1-2 peppers)

1 packet of onion soup mix (can be substituted or augmented with 1 whole white onion)

*Note: amounts of ingredients may vary with size of Crock Pot


Instructions

1. Chop carrots and celery into ½ to 1 inch chunks, depending on width

2. Chop potatoes into about 8 pieces, or slightly bigger than the carrot chunks

3. Slice jalapenos and cut into half circles

4. Add about half of the chopped vegetables and 3-4 chili peppers from can into crock pot. Save the other half to top around and on top of the meat.

5. Rinse the meat and pat dry. You can brown lightly to add texture and cut some of the fat but if short on time this is not necessary.

6. Place meat on top of vegetables and fill the rest of the crock pot to about ¾ depth with remaining vegetables.

7. Add water to ¾ depth, or enough to cover all contents. Add onion soup mix and lightly stir to mix it all in.

8. Set crock pot to low, cover, and let cook for 8-10 hours

9. Meat should easily fall apart with a fork and be stringy in nature.

10. Dig in and put it all on toasted bread to make the perfect pot roast sandwich

Southwestern Pulled Brisket

This is the last of my Passover recipe this year. I mentioned a few times that I made meat with all of my milk dishes.  Definitely not Kosher, but I felt like brisket was necessary for Passover.

I picked up this brisket frozen several weeks ago, before my farmer's market closed for its spring hiatus.  It was from a local farmer in southern Pennsylvania.  It was my inspiration for hosting a Seder!

Make sure you scrape up all the tasty brown bits before you put it all in the crock pot - they're the best part!!

The veggies in this recipe end up getting cooked to death.  I mixed a few into the meat, but most of them I threw out.  That's ok because they did their good deed - donating all of their delicious flavor to the brisket.

Chipotles in adobo are the best secret ingredient for anyone who lives spicy foods. My coworker told me she often mixes the adobo into my latin slaw and it comes out great! I need to try it next time I make the slaw.

The crockpot was the key to making this for Passover.  I had so many things to do, but being able to throw this in the crockpot in the morning and let it do its thing was a huge help!

This was far and away the biggest hit of my Seder.  My aunt has made this a few times for dinner and said it was really convenient and a big hit served with slaw. It's spicy and flavorful, while still juicy. It definitely isn't your traditional brisket, but it's a great alternative!  I recommend you make it anytime you need to throw a recipe together hours before your guests arrive.

Southwestern Pulled Brisket

From smitten kitchen

Ingredients

3 pounds beef brisket

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

5 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed

1 Spanish onion, halved and thinly sliced

1 tablespoon chili powder

2 teaspoons ground coriander

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1 1/2 cups water

1 (14 1/2-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, with their juices

1 to 2 whole canned chipotle chiles en adobo [Read: 1 or 2 from a can, not one or two cans. Many misread this amount!] (I used two because I like it spicy!)

2 bay leaves

1/4 cup molasses

For serving:

If sandwiches, soft sandwich buns. If tacos, small soft tortillas. For Passover, either eat it alone or on matzo.

Instructions

Season the beef generously with salt and pepper, to taste. Heat a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oil and heat just until beginning to smoke. Add the meat and cook, turning once, until browned on both sides, about 10 minutes total. Transfer the meat to the slow cooker; leave the skillet on the heat.

Add garlic, onion, chili powder, coriander, and cumin to drippings in the skillet and stir until fragrant, about one minute. Add vinegar and boil until it’s almost gone (and seriously, get your head out of the way of the steam; inhaling vinegar is no fun!), scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Stir in water and pour the mixture over the brisket. Crush the tomatoes through your fingers into the slow cooker; add the tomato juices, chipotles, bay leaves, and molasses. Cover the cooker, set it on LOW, and cook the brisket until it pulls apart easily with a fork, about 8 to 10 hours.

To serve, leave the meat in the slow cooker and use two forks to pull it apart and stir it evenly into the sauce; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Remove and discard bay leaves, draining most of the liquid.

Don’t have a slow cooker? Cook in a Dutch oven in the oven at 350°F for 3 hours.