Monday 10 February 2014

Crock Pot Beef Carnitas

 
   Anyone still alive out there, or has everyone moved to Mexico at this point? It's -1000 here again, for about the billionth day in a row. I'm slightly over it, anyone else?

   This past weekend we decided to do something fun with the kids and get out of the house. Now, if you have kids you may be familiar with this feeling I'm going to describe. You've been stuck in the house and you are ready to take a hostage.You need to get out! Why not be super-parents and plan a last minute weekend trip, right?? You do your best to make it a fun weekend for the little buggers and it all falls apart and kicks you in the crotch while you're down. Anyone relate to me here? If you are shaking your head telling me no, then you're what I like to call a dirty liar. :))

   We had recently heard really great things about the Holiday Inn in Lethbridge. The wave pool looked fun and there was water slides. There is also a little spray park that was perfect for Kort to toodle around in that wasn't deep. Done. Booked. In the car and on the way.

   When we get there we start to unload the bags. Hmmm, something doesn't look right. Maybe because Grey's suitcase was sitting at the door. At home. Ok, awesome. No problem, we got this. We try to rip over to Target to grab some new swim shorts and an outfit for him. Following the GPS on Shane's phone, it graciously leads us to the "Lethbridge Harold", not Target. Maybe because Lethbridge doesn't even have a god damn Target! So, about 45 minutes later we find a Walmart which was about 5 ft from the hotel in the first place. Patience running thin. Trudge on.....

   Drag the kids to supper so they can fuel up for swimming. Morale is back up as we head back to the hotel finally for the pool. As we get there the lady informs us that due to the magical weather we're having, the waterslides have frozen up (somehow?) and aren't working. After I manage to peel Grey off the floor from his borderline life-ending devastation, we head to the spray part to get Kort busy. One toe in there and it was game over. I am not kidding you, it was ice water. And toddlers just love that, they love being freezing. Now that and the waterslides are both off limits. I am about 2 seconds away from smashing my head itno the wall a few times, it was a disaster! The wave pool was a degree or two warmer, so at least Grey could go in it after some good shifts in the hot tub!

   The rest of the weekend went a little like this: kids running into the walk-in shower wearing full clothing, room heater not working, an attempted trip to the mall ending in flying food and broken dreams, dragging crying kids through the parking lot in -475, a verrrrrrrrry long ride home, and then (wait for it)......my personal favorite...all 4 of us with some degree of the flu (or food poisoning) by Sunday night. Are you jealous yet? I am available for hire if you need a family vacation planner anytime soon. God knows I'm not doing that again!! :)

   I was up most of the night with at least one person at anytime, so I needed an easy meal today. I had a pot roast thawed already, so I tried the beef carnitas recipe. It was a risky move, as Shane is touch and go (as I've mentioned before) with meat in the crock pot. But I don't care at this point!! And he loved it, I might add. You can adjust the spices as you like, and I would of added jalapenos if I had any. You could also add a can of black beans at the end. In a previous post I showed you how to make savory wraps/crepes for enchiladas. I made up a batch of those and some spicy avocado sauce and dinner was done. Now, fingers crossed no one will talk to me for the rest of the night.





Crock Pot Beef Carnitas 
** note- this recipe requires marinating time, overnight is recommended, but leave at least 2 hours to let it rest before 7-9 hours in the crock pot....)

You need:
2-3 pound pot roast of any cut. (I used sirloin)
1 tsp (ish) of : onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder and a mesquite powder mix (optional)
1 cup beef broth or water
1 jar of salsa

The night before, mix up your spices in a small bowl. Lay your roast on a large piece of saran wrap. Rub down your roast in a living manner with the spice blend until covered.


Wrap the roast up in saran so it's all covered. Then swaddle that thing up in tin foil, nice and tight.



Into the fridge for a sleepover. (or like I said, at least 2 hours)

When you're ready to cook, grease the crock pot and place the roast in.
Dump the salsa on top, followed by the cup of water or broth. Don't stir.
Cook on low for 7-9 hours, checking at 6.


Once it's done, remove from the liquid and onto a cutting board. You should very easily be able to shred it with 2 forks. 
I just served it in a bowl with some salsa and the avocado sauce on the side. Don't forget the wraps!

For the avocado sauce, all I did was put 2 avocado in the food processor with a chopped up garlic clove, 1 tbsp both lemon and lime juice and some salt and pepper. Just blend until smooth. Add a pinch of cayenne for heat if you like. 


Enjoy!!!




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