Leftover Carnitas Grilled Cheese Melt

Remember those glorious Crockpot Carnitas I told you about the other day?

And I was all proud that I thought of using the leftovers to make a grilled cheese? (It's the little things that make me feel accomplished, people)!

Well, here it is.

Leftover carnitas + sliced avocado make for the perfect grilled cheese.

Use however much carnitas per sandwich that you desire. I suggest not overdoing it on the meat on each sandwich... you wanna be able to taste all that ooey gooey oozing cheese! It is a grilled cheese, after all. I used 2 slices of pepper jack cheese per sandwich like I usually would for my grilled cheeses, but I think I put just a bit too much carnitas on it because I wanted more cheese!!!

And use whatever kind of Mexican cheese you like. Monterey jack, pepper jack, or even get fancy with some Manchego. Whatever you do, don't skimp on the cheese!


Leftover Carnitas Grilled Cheese Melt
a SteakNPotatoesKindaGurl original

*Yields: 2 sandwiches

• leftover Crockpot Carnitas
• 4 slices of bread
• 3-4 tablespoons butter, melted
• sliced Mexican cheese (pepper jack, monterey jack, Manchego, whatever you'd like!)
• 1 avocado, sliced

Dip one side of each slice of bread in melted butter. To make two sandwiches at once, place 2 slices, butter-side down in a preheated large skillet. Top with cheese slice(s), carnitas, avocado slices, cheese slice(s), then a slice of bread with butter side up. Flip both to brown on other side.


Printable Recipe









































I'm gonna make these again and again. Not only because I need a better photo with oozy melted cheese, but because I LOVE LOVE LOVE these carnitas and the possibilities with them! I can't wait to get creative with more ideas.

Flavorful, tender, melt-in-your-mouth pork goodness with that perfect balance of crispiness, paired with tons of cheese and creamy avocado on a comforting grilled cheese sandwich. Done done and done.

Linking up here.


Peace, and bacon grease!

Crockpot Carnitas

It's a new year and thus time for new recipes! 








































I got a giant 6-quart slow cooker for Christmas from my mama-in-law and have been determined to use it! First on the list.... crockpot carnitas.

Cooked all day in a blend of seasonings and lime juice, orange juice, and beer. There's all kinds of flavor bursting from this oh-so-tender pork. You best believe it.

At first, I didn't leave it under the broiler long enough, and it didn't really get crispy and just tasted like delicious pulled pork. I kept wondering, "what makes this carnitas and not pulled pork?!" Hello, google. I googled carnitas and found out that it's actually supposed to be the perfect balance of tender and crispy pork... tender because it's slow cooked for hours in the crockpot, and crispy because of a little *broilage. #myownDesilanguage.

So yeah, broil that pork! Seriously, it's amazing. To be so perfectly tender yet have that perfect amount of crisp... it's like magic.


Pure pork magic.





































Crockpot Carnitas
ever-so-slightly adapted from Pinch of Yum

• 4-5 lbs. pork shoulder picnic
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon hot sauce
• juice of 2 limes
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 12 ounces beer (I used Yuengling lager)
• 1/2 cup salsa (I used a chipotle salsa)

Place the pork shoulder in the crockpot. Rub minced garlic into the meat. Season meat with all seasonings and rub into the pork on all sides. 

Add hot sauce, lime juice, orange juice, beer, and salsa to the crockpot. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or on high for less but check the temperature after 4-5 hours. It should be at an internal temp of 155-160 degrees. 

Shred meat with two forks directly in the crockpot. It should fall apart easily and be tender. 

Preheat broiler. Place the shredded meat on a baking sheet and pour a few spoonfuls of sauce over top. Broil for 5-10 minutes, until the edges of the pork are browned a bit and a little crispy. Keep an eye on the broiler though and don't stray too far!

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If you want, you can serve it on tortillas with fresh cilantro, avocado, and a squeeze of lime juice like we did  :) Or just eat it straight up. It's that good.

Oooh, oooh! And you can use leftover carnitas in so many things! Just google 'leftover carnitas recipes' and you'll find some good ideas. My idea though? How about a carnitas grilled cheese? :) It'll be on the blog here soon. I'm the least creative person eva eva, so I was kinda proud when I thought of that idea and didn't see it already invented and showing up all over the world wide web. Not that I really invented it... it's just a grilled cheese with some carnitas thrown on top + a little something extra. No biggie, really. 

Except it is.

Prepare your bellies. I warned you.

*broilage: (noun) the act of crisping food in a broiler. 

Linking up here.

Peace, and bacon grease!

November's Secret Recipe Club - Peanut Butter Cookie Cups + Sausage and Hashbrown Bake!

It's time for another month of The Secret Recipe Club. 

This month I was assigned to Amy's blog, The Saavy Kitchen. I instantly had a long list of things I wanted to make, like her Banana Bread French Toast, her Gourmet Mushroom Risotto, and her special BLT. 

I did end up making two recipes that caught my eye! 

First up... Sausage and Hashbrown Bake.

The breakfast casserole was pretty good but I think I just like my shredded hash browns crispy. And these weren't so I think it could have been better without the hashbrowns and maybe more of the bisquick for a biscuit taste. But that's just a personal preference.  


 














Sausage and Hashbrown Bake
slightly adapted from The Saavy Kitchen

*Makes 6 servings

• 1 (16 oz) package maple pork sausage
• 1 and 1/2 cups shredded hash browns
• 1/4 cup onion, chopped
• 1 and 1/2 cups shredded cheddar jack cheese 
• 1/2 cup Bisquick
• 1 cup milk
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• 2 eggs

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 13x9 inch baking dish.

Cook sausage in a large skillet over medium heat. Add in onions once sausage has browned a bit. Cook until sausage is no longer pink and onions have softened. Drain grease.

In a large bowl, stir together sausage, hash browns, and 1 cup cheese. Pour into the baking dish.

In a separate medium bowl, stir together Bisquick, milk, pepper, and eggs until blended. Pour into baking dish over sausage mixture.

Bake uncovered for 40-45 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake until cheese melts. Cool for 5 minutes. Season with salt to taste.

Printable Recipe


 























I wanted to give another recipe a try since I wasn't blown away by the breakfast casserole. 


And I figured I couldn't go wrong with a peanut butter cookie filled with a mini Reese peanut butter cup.

Annnnnnnnnnnd I was right. 

My mini muffin tin makes 12 but there was leftover batter. I think I'll make the rest tonight... I think there may be enough batter left for another 4 or 5 cookie cups, maybe more. The batter also stuck to my hands and wouldn't roll in balls so I just plopped 1-inch globs of the batter into the muffin pan and pushed the dough down firmly and up the sides of the muffin tin.

Peanut Butter Cookie Cups
from The Saavy Kitchen

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 large egg
• 2 tbsp milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 and 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl or mixer, beat together sugars, butter, and peanut butter until blended. Add egg, milk, and vanilla. Beat well. In a separate medium bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to the peanut butter mixture. Beat well.

Grease a mini muffin tin. Drop 1-inch balls into the muffin tins, pushing dough firmly into and up the sides. Bake 8 minutes, or until cooked through.

While still hot, push a mini Reese's into each cookie. Place back in the oven for 1 minute. Allow to cool in the pan for 15-20 minutes and then remove to a cooling rack.

Printable Recipe

 


















Check out the other SRC posts in the blog hop below:



Linking up here.


Peace, and bacon grease!

 

Apple, Bacon, and Sharp Cheddar Grilled Cheese Croissant {Crazy Cooking Challenge}

It's time for this month's Crazy Cooking Challenge!! And this month it's all about the grilled cheese. Who doesn't like a grilled cheese?


Takes me back to my childhood days when my mama used to slather the bread slices with butter and when I bit into my grilled cheese, butter used to literally ooze from it. Oh, the things my mama fed me  :)

I made my usual list of possibilities, and finally settled on this recipe from Creative Culinary, but wanted to change it up a tad. I used bacon instead of pancetta, and dijon mustard rather than whole grain mustard. And I didn't use that exact kind of sharp cheddar - I used Cabot extra sharp. No major changes.

Apple, Bacon, and Sharp Cheddar Grilled Cheese Croissant

slightly adapted from Creative Culinary

• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon honey
• 1 tablespoon dried cranberries, chopped
• 2 teaspoons butter, divided
• 1 large croissant, sliced in half lengthwise
• 2 slices of sharp cheddar
• 2 slices bacon, cooked
• One half apple, cored and sliced

For the cranberry spread, mix together the mayonnaise, mustard, honey and dried cranberries in a small bowl and set aside.

Cook bacon in a skillet on medium-low until brown and starting to crisp. Drain.

In a separate large skillet on medium-low, melt 1 teaspoon of butter. Place cut edges of sliced croissant face down on butter until slightly toasted; approximately 1 minute. Remove from pan.

Melt another teaspoon of butter in skillet and place bottom of croissant in pan, toasted side facing up. Layer 1 slice of cheese, apple slices, bacon and a 2nd slice of cheese on top of croissant. Spread the inside of the top piece of croissant with the cranberry spread and place it spread side down on layered ingredients. Lower heat and cover the sandwich with a lid until the cheese starts to melt, carefully watching the underside so as not to burn. Carefully flip the sandwich over and repeat. Remove from heat, cut in half and enjoy. Makes one sandwich.

Printable Recipe

 























When I told PJ that I was making this for myself while he was at work, he said it didn't sound good. Honestly, his judgment had me a bit worried. How would I like this on a croissant grilled instead of bread? I've tried bagels before and wasn't too impressed. How would this mustard and cranberry mixture taste on a grilled cheese? Does the grilled cheese even need that? Apples and cranberries? Is this a bit much?

Um, no Desi... are you crazy?!?! It wasn't too much at all. In fact, it was amazing. It was delicious. It was one of the best grilled cheeses I've ever had. 

That croissant. Oh, I just may use you every time for grilled cheese from now on. The buttery, flakyness definitely outdid any plain old white bread for sure. Usually I can't really tell a difference in different kinds of cheddar, but the sharpness really really stood out. It was a perfect cheese for this sandwich. 

I did have problems photographing these, so I do apologize that the pictures aren't all pretty to show you just how delicious this really was. I'm really sorry for that. But I'm not sorry that I made this and am now sharing it with you all. 

You're welcome for that. 

And the little tang from the mustard and cranberry mixture added that extra somethin too. I even liked the apple slices on it! What the? If you are if-y about the apple slices, I'd say try it with them and you just may surprise yourself on how much you like it. But if you don't wanna get all bold and risky, then this grilled cheese croissant is just as amazing without the apples. 

Now I've got to make these for PJ one day when he's home! I love when he thinks he doesn't like something and therefore I get to prove him wrong. That's always fun :)

Oh, and maybe... just maybe, you can scroll down to the blog hop below and click on my recipe - it's #17 - we've got a contest going on and the grilled cheese that gets the most clicks is crowned the Ultimate Grilled Cheese! Please? I'll love you for life.

Peace, and bacon grease!

Linking up here.

March's Secret Recipe Club - Sausage Cheese Breakfast Biscuits

Why hello there! I've missed you. I've been blogging less these days.... I hope you'll forgive me! I hope to get back on track one of these days because I really do miss it.

I'm so happy to be bringing you a tasty treat today for The Secret Recipe Club. This month I was lucky to be assigned the wonderful blog, Feast on the Cheap, run by mother-daughter duo Mary Anne and Mariel, and Mary Anne is a professional caterer. I've got love for the catering business because that's what PJ does for a living! It sure would be nice to start a catering company one day. 

Um, loved this site! Every month when I get my assignment, I go through and list all the recipes I'm interested in on a word document and save it, and let me tell you... there were a LOT of recipes from this blog that made my list. But eventually I settled on their Southern Sausage and Cheese Breakfast Biscuits, because I can never pass up breakfast food. It's one of my favorite things. I love sausage almost as much as I love bacon. You know that's big, people. So I knew I wanted these balls in my mouth. Oh, oops. Too much?

Went to the grocery and got the necessary ingredients... including ground cloves and allspice, which I've never used before. Kinda pricey! I also purchased maple sausage, but when I got home I noticed that the recipe called for ground pork, not sausage like I had thought. I kinda realized that the recipe was calling me to make my own homemade sausage using ground pork (not ground sausage) and all of the spices, including the allspice and ground cloves. Since I had bought sausage and not ground pork, I didn't want to use all of the spices called for in the original recipe because then I may be over-seasoning it if the sausage I had bought was already seasoned, which I assume it is. So I decided that the best thing to do was just not use the spices since I bought sausage instead of ground pork as to not over season. So now I have some pricey allspice and ground cloves in the pantry waiting to be used up.... any suggestions??


We also halved the recipe as to only make about 25 instead of 50. Turns out that we only got about 20 out of them. Guess I made mine a little too big...

Sausage Cheese Breakfast Biscuits

adapted from Feast on the Cheap

*Makes about 20

• 2 and 1/4 cups Bisquick
• 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 lb Bob Evans ground maple pork sausage
• 1/4 lb extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated
• warm maple syrup, for serving
  

Position the oven rack to the middle level. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the Bisquick and buttermilk, stirring to combine. 

In a separate mixing bowl, combine the sausage and cheese, using a fork to combine thoroughly. 

Add the sausage-cheese mixture to the Bisquick mixture. Powder your hands with a tablespoon or so of  Bisquick or flour and gently knead the mixture until thoroughly combined. 

Shape the mixture into 1-inch balls, rolling between palms.

Place the balls on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes or so until golden. Transfer to a serving tray and serve with warm maple syrup.



Printable Recipe

These balls were so tasty! I loved the mix of sausage and biscuit. Two in one! Can't beat that. And I liked the hint of cheesiness. I wanted to experiment and try it with some cool spicy pepper cheese I saw at the grocery store but thought that may mess up the whole recipe if supposed to be served with sweet maple syrup. The sharp cheddar worked well. Next time maybe I will be daring and try some different kinds of cheese! We will definitely be making these tasty breakfast balls for our weekend breakfasts. Can you say, "keeper"?

Linking up here.

Peace, and bacon grease!

My entry into Just Something I Whipped Up sponsored by Appliances Online and the Bosch Washing Machines

Bacon Pancakes with Maple-Peanut Butter Syrup

I love breakfast food. The sweet, the savory, the salty, the meaty, the breads, all of it. And pancakes are no exception. I didn't really start eating them until I was older and could make them on my own. I've made them with Bisquick mix, as well as homemade. This recipe comes from Betty Crocker and is a jazzed-up version using Bisquick mix.

I did think these pancakes were a bit too sweet. I know, I'm shocked too! PJ doesn't care about bacon as much as I do. Sometimes I think I'm crazy for being with someone who doesn't share my love of bacon :)  Just kidding, just kidding. But strangely, the bacon inside of the pancakes didn't do much for me, and neither did the sauce. Maybe it was the combination of the peanut butter syrup, which was a bit overpowering and sweet. If I made this again, I would definitely not pour as much peanut butter syrup on top of the pancakes. I'm usually a sauce kinda gurl, but sometimes I'll admit too much can be a turn off.


We cooked the whole peanut butter syrup recipe, since I thought I would love it. And we halved the pancakes recipe. I didn't have an electric mixer - it's on my want list - so I just beat it with my hands really well. Instead of real bacon pieces from a package, I cooked 4 slices of bacon, measured out 1/4 cup, and ate the rest.


What?


You guys knew that would happen :)

Bacon Pancakes with Maple-Peanut Butter Syrup

slightly adapted from Betty Crocker

* Yields: 6 pancakes total ( 2 servings of 3 pancakes each)

Maple-Peanut Butter Syrup

• 3 tablespoons peanut butter
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1/2 cup maple syrup

Pancakes

• 1 cup Original Bisquick mix
• 3/8 cup milk
• 1/8 cup maple syrup
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup cooked and crumbled bacon
  

For syrup, in a small microwave-safe bowl, beat peanut butter and butter with electric mixer on low speed until smooth. Beat in 1/2 cup syrup until well mixed. Heat in the microwave to warm the syrup.

Heat a nonstick 12-inch skillet over medium-low heat.

In a medium bowl, stir all the pancake ingredients except the bacon with a wire whisk or fork until blended. Stir in crumbled bacon.

For each pancake, pour 1/4 cup batter onto hot skillet. Cook 2 or 3 minutes or until edges are dry and batter starts to bubble. Turn, cook other side until golden brown. Serve pancakes with syrup.

Printable Recipe

Oh, and do you see that pic on the Betty Crocker site? Those beautiful, perfectly browned pancakes? And I've seen many blogs that just have gorgeous pancakes that are nice and thick but also golden brown. Mine always turn out thin, they've got the sag and flimsy effect, and when I try to get them golden brown they sometimes burn a bit. Practice makes perfect, I guess. At least I've got some great inspiration from which to improve!

Peace, and bacon grease!

Honey Chipotle Pork Tenderloin

Hope everyone's having a great weekend. I am, now that my MAT test is over! I guess I did ok, but I'm just glad it's over :) Now I'm getting my pool table fixed, then later going to dinner at Benihana with family for my brother's birthday. And tomorrow PJ and I are going kayaking; that's always so much fun! I'd say the weekend is rounding out pretty well after that dreadful test!

This recipe is supposed to be for a tenderloin, but I'm pretty sure this huge hunk of meat that I cooked up was a pork loin. But I thought I bought a tenderloin. Why would I have bought it if it said 'pork loin' on it? This just seems too big to be a tenderloin, which is a lot more slender.

So yeah, this could be a tenderloin, or it could be a pork loin. To be honest I don't freakin know at this point and I made this so long ago, but either way the meat was still tender and delicious. But definitely use tenderloin, because that's what the original recipe calls for!

Honey Chipotle Pork Tenderloin 
from Mostly Food and Crafts

• 3 tablespoons of honey
• 2 chipotle chilies in adobo and a bit of the adobo sauce
• 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 pork tenderloins
• 1 -2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Heat oven to 350.   Combine the honey, chipotles, adobo, cilantro and garlic and set aside.  Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Trim fat from tenderloins and season with salt, pepper, cumin and chili powder. Sear in olive oil browning all the sides.  Transfer to a lightly oiled baking pan (or leave in skillet if it's oven proof.)   Roast for about 15 minutes and brush with the chipotle mixture. Continue roasting fro another 15 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

Printable Recipe

We loved the blend of sweet and spicy against the tenderness of the meat. The basting sauce packs alot of heat and kicks it up a bit, so if you aren't so fond of spicy foods then use less chipotle chiles and juice. We will definitely be making this again soon, just not when it's 100 degrees outside!

P.S.  I'm aware that I've been posting about hot recipes lately, and no one wants to make anything involving heat right now! I hope to have some cool, summery recipes for you soon :)

Peace, and bacon grease!

Secret Recipe Club Reveal - Chicken Lettuce Wraps with Avocado Bacon Dressing

This is my first time ever participating in Amanda's Secret Recipe Club. And I have to admit, I absolutely loved it. I will definitely be back month to month. I loved being assigned a specific blog from which to pull recipes. It's kind of like a Secret Santa, but the food edition. It's pretty genius.

I was assigned to Tami's blog, Tami's Kitchen Table Talk, and I'm so glad I did because I didn't know of her blog before. So now I have found many recipes of hers that I need to make! The one I chose for the swap this month was her delicious Low-Carb Chicken Lettuce Wraps with Avocado Bacon Dressing. Say what?! Yes, you read right. I couldn't pass up a chance to make a tortilla-less wrap with bacon AND avocado. I am not big on eating much bread or those kinds of things, so I like this low-carb version of a wrap.

I made a few modifications to the original recipe to suit our likings and convenience. Instead of one grilled chicken breast, we used two small breasts since there are two of us, and diced them into small squares, seasoned with cajun seasoning, and then sauteed them in a skillet in butter. And we did use 3 large romaine leaves: I had one wrap and PJ had two. I also used a whole avocado because you can never have too much avocado, am I right or am I right? :) We also left out the celery because neither of us are too fond of it. I think I liked it more than PJ did just because of the bacon addition. He said he would have liked it more without bacon. How did I end up with someone who doesn't share my enthusiasm for bacon?! It just doesn't seem right. Smh. And he added his to bread because he is a bread kinda guy. Me, I like my lettuce wraps and don't need the bread. I would just end up picking off most of the crust anyways.

Chicken Lettuce Wraps with Avocado Bacon Dressing

adapted from Tami's Kitchen Table Talk

* Yields 2 servings

• 3 large romaine leaves, rinsed and patted dry
• 2 small chicken breasts, diced and seasoned with cajun seasoning
• 1 tbsp butter
• Avocado Bacon Dressing (recipe follows below)

Avocado Bacon Dressing: 

• 1 ripe avocado, peeled
• 1/4 tsp cajun seasoning
• 1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp Frank's hot sauce
• 1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 3 pieces of bacon, cooked and crumbled
• Salt, to taste, if desired

In a large skillet, saute the diced seasoned chicken in 1 tbsp butter until cooked through. Mix the first 5 ingredients of the Avocado Bacon Dressing together well in a bowl. Stir in bacon. Lay romaine leaves open on a plate. Spoon in diced cooked chicken, evenly dividing amongst the three romaine leaves. Spoon Avocado Bacon Dressing evenly over wraps.

Printable Recipe

I'm also linking this up to Everyday Sisters' Sharing Sundays... this week's theme is GREEN!

We will definitely make this again! Next time I may try these wraps with the avocado sauce minus the bacon (gotta please the man sometimes), but would add onions instead. The dressing can also be used as a veggie dip, or to top Mexican dishes, replacing guacamole. It's been fun, and I can't wait until next month's Secret Recipe Club :) Be sure to check out everyone elses' recipes from Secret Recipe Club below.

Peace, and bacon grease!