Slow Cooker Carnitas - Pulled Pork (Low Carb)

This is actually a Here's What He Cooked blog entry since hubby did the bulk of the work on this recipe. I only dug up a few recipes to work from and he did the rest of the prep, cooking, and serving. He cooked up this pork recipe overnight, so we woke to a great aroma, and had a very yummy lunch!

It's not exactly authentic carnitas due to a few added ingredients and since it was slow cooked it in (diet) cola, but it seemed more carnitas than pulled pork since it was broiled at the end to get some crispy bits, and we only served it with the cooking juices rather than additional BBQ sauces.

Regardless of what you call it, the recipe resulted in a very yummy and versatile pile of pork meat that we enjoyed as-is, but would also be great in tacos or burritos, or served in lettuce wraps as a low carb option.



Slow Cooker Carnitas - Pulled Pork (Low Carb)
Inspired by this recipe

Ingredients

~4 lb/2 kg of boneless pork roast with fatty streaks (leg, shoulder, butt...)
~1 cup cola (regular or diet) OR 1 large sliced onion
vegetable oil
1 large Ziplock bag

Spice Rub

• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2 teaspoons oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon corriander
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 large onion, finely chopped or grated

Directions

1. Combine all spice rub ingredients. 
2. Cut the pork into 4-5 smaller pieces and apply the spice rub. 
3. Put the meat into a Ziplock bag, seal, and place in the fridge overnight.
4. Before placing it in the slow cooker, heat some vegetable oil in a large pan and brown the edges of the meat. 
5. If you're opting for cola, put the meat and cola into the slow cooker. OR if you're opting for onions, place half of the sliced onions on the bottom of the slow cooker. Add the meat. Top with remaining onions. 
6. Cook on low temperature for 8-10 hours. 
7. When the meat is ready, remove it from the cooker, shred using two forks, and serve on a platter. OR shred it onto a baking sheet and broil for a few minutes until some of the meat becomes crispy. 
8. Pour the cooking liquid into a measuring cup, skim off the fat, and serve as a sauce.

Cheese Stuffed Meatballs (Low Carb, Gluten-Free, etc... no breadcrumbs!)

What's more awesome than a great meatball? A great meatball stuffed with stretchy cheese!!

These can be eaten straight out of the pan, on top of pasta, in a crusty roll,... the possibilities are endless!

Cheese Stuffed Meatballs
Makes about 12 golf ball-sized meatballs

Ingredients

• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1-2 grated or finely chopped cloves of garlic
• 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (I prefer fresh, but the powdery canned version would work too)
• 1 tablespoon dry oregano
• Fresh ground pepper to taste
• mozzarella, provolone, or other stretchy pizza cheese cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• vegetable oil
• 2 cups tomato sauce or crushed canned tomatoes

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Thoroughly mix the beef, egg, garlic, Parmesan, oregano, and ground pepper.
3. With clean hands, pick up a small handful of the meat mixture and shape it into a ball. Push one cheese cube into the center of the meatball and then close it up so that no cheese is showing. Repeat until you've used up all your meat mixture.
4. Heat a few tablespoons of oil in an oven-proof frying pan on the stove top. Gently place the meatballs in the pan and allow to brown 1-2 minutes per side. Be careful when turning them that you're not breaking them or the cheese will escape.
5. Once the meatballs are browned all around, spoon out and discard most of the oil from the pan and pour the tomato sauce on top of the meatballs. 
6. Place the pan in the preheated oven and cook for about 15-20 minutes or until the sauce is bubbly and the meatballs are fully cooked.

Bacon and Egg Baked 'Muffins'

There aren't many recipes out there for breakfast muffins that are as simple as this one and call for only two ingredients (or three if you're adding black pepper!). They're simple to make and low carb. They tasted great fresh out of the oven and the plan is to keep the leftovers as quick breakfasts-on-the-go for the week.

Hubby and I used some teamwork to get these made efficiently this morning. I partially fried up the bacon, and then he wrapped one slice around the inside of each non-stick muffin tin and carefully cracked in an egg. Once they were all completed he added a few twists of ground pepper on top and popped them in the oven. Ours only needed to cook for 10 minutes until the yolks were set, but I'd imagine the time will vary depending on the size of the eggs.

I was pleasantly surprised that after leaving them to sit for a few moments out of the oven they all came out of the muffin tins without a hitch! I just used a small spoon to gently loosen the edges before lifting them out.

This is definitely a recipe I'd consider if I were serving brunch to a group of people since the bacon can be prepped ahead of time and the cooking is simple and straightforward.

Bacon and Egg Baked 'Muffins'

Ingredients

• one dozen eggs
• 12 slices of bacon (about 3/4 lb based on the thickeness of our bacon)
• fresh ground pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Cook the bacon in a frying pan until it's about halfway cooked. You want it to be pliable but not raw.
3. Remove the bacon from the pan shaking or blotting off excess grease and wrap each slice around the inside edge of a muffin tin. It's okay if the bacon doesn't wrap fully around the circumference. 
4. Carefully crack an egg into each muffin tin, ideally not breaking the yolk. (Don't stress if it does break, it'll still taste good but be a little less pretty!)
5. Add a few twists of ground pepper to taste.
6. Place the pan in the preheated oven for approximately 10 minutes. Cook until the egg feels firm and the yolk is cooked through, using a toothpick to test for doneness. 
7. When fully cooked, remove from oven, let sit a few minutes to cool, then gently loosen edges with a spoon or knife and remove onto a plate.

Roast Chicken

Last August I decided that we weren't eating nearly enough homemade food. We used to cook a lot in the pre-kids olden days, but life had since gotten pretty busy and hectic and freezer meals from the grocery store and delivery food were so much simpler... and unhealthier... and more expensive... So my new school year's resolution was to start cooking more no matter how busy or rushed we might feel. Here we are about six months later and I've discovered that it's usually just as simple to throw something together from fresh ingredients... and healthier... and cheaper... and also a lot more fun!

One of the first dishes I made at the end of last summer was a whole roasted chicken complete with veggies and potatoes. It turned out beautifully yummy. And when the kids asked where it came from (since no one had rung the door bell to deliver it to our house), I knew I was on the right track!

Since then I've been roasting a chicken about once every two weeks. I love that we get a good meal out of it and still have enough leftovers to make something else like chicken salad sandwiches or chicken fried rice. When I'm feeling like spending a little more time in the kitchen I toss all the bones and some veggies into the pressure cooker after dinner to make some stock.

Sometimes I make the chicken in the pressure cooker using this recipe if we're working under time constraints and my chicken is small enough to fit in the pot. The chicken turns out really moist but not very pretty since I haven't figured out yet how to properly brown the chicken skin in the pressure cooker without all the skin getting blasted off at some point during the pressure cooking which results in a funny-looking naked chicken when the lid comes off. It's still tasty and moist but I serve it on a platter off the bone.

Tonight I made a roast chicken in the oven inspired by Jamie Oliver's recipe. I placed a few bacon strips on top of the chicken during cooking since I already had an open pack in the fridge from earlier this week, and they were the clear highlight of the dish for my kiddos. I think they would have been happiest if I'd just skipped the chicken altogether and simply fed them a half pack of bacon!

Roast chicken
inspired by Jamie Oliver

• ~2 kg/4lb whole chicken
• 2 medium onions
• 2-3 carrots
• 2 sticks celery 
• 1 bulb garlic (Yes, a whole bulb, not just a single clove. Garlic is good!)
• olive oil
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 lemon
• 1 small bunch fresh thyme, rosemary, bay or sage, or dried poultry seasoning
   Preheat oven to 400F.

1. Chop the onions into quarters, the carrots and celery into finger length pieces, and peel all the garlic. Place it all in your roasting pan and drizzle with olive oil. 
2. Rinse and pat dry the chicken. Rub with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. 
3. Make many small cuts into the lemon, and then place that in the chicken cavity with the herbs.
4. Place the chicken on top of the vegetables and put in the oven for about 1 hour 20 minutes. 
5. After about 30-35 minutes, baste the chicken (or add bacon strips on top like I did tonight!). Also add in some quartered potatoes at this point if you'd like to cook your dinner all in the same pan. 
6. Give the potatoes and all the stray veggies a stir after another 30 mins and add a little water if the pan is looking dry so things don't burn. 
7. When the chicken is cooked based on your meat thermometer reading, remove from oven and let sit for about 15 minutes before carving.