Shredded Pork Burritos

Well before I say anything else I just want to let you know that this recipe was DELICIOUS :) This is another recipe from one of my new cookbooks, it's actually one I haven't looked all the way through yet but I was flicking through and saw the picture for this recipe and had to try it. My husband LOVES meat! He especially loves the pork burritos at Cafe Rio so I knew he would want to try this. I've done copy cat recipes for the Cafe Rio pork before which were super yummy but this one seemed different (it's NOT trying to be a copy cat) because of the flavours. Anyway I got a couple of new spices and this morning after working out I got everything out, put it all together in about 15-20 minutes, put it in the crock pot and let it cook all day, easy :) I knew I would have way too much because I ended up getting a bigger piece of pork than the recipe called for because they didn't have any smaller ones. We decided to have my mother in law and 2 sister in laws, plus kids over for dinner so we wouldn't have tons of left overs. It's always scary to invite people over when you've never tried a recipe before but thankfully it was a HUGE hit and everyone LOVED it :) The dressing that goes with it is REALLY good as well. This is another recipe we'll be for sure adding to our regular list, YUMMY :)
1 bone-in pork shoulder roast (5lbs but I used about 7lbs)
2 T. plus 1/2 c. brown sugar
4 tsp. paprika, divided
2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. salt
1 can (12 oz.) cola
1 c. chicken broth
1 lg. sweet onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves. minced

DRESSING
1 c. mayonnaise
1/2 c. milk
2 tomatillos, husks removed and rinsed
3/4 c. fresh cilantro
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and cut into coarse chunks
1 envelope ranch salad dressing mix
1 T. lime juice
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
Flour tortillas

Cut roast in half. Combine 2 T. brown sugar, 2 tsp. paprika, red pepper flakes, cumin and salt; rub over meat. Place meat in slow cooker. Add cola, broth, onion and garlic. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or until meat is tender. Take meat out and shred, removing meat from bones (discard bones). Return meat to crock pot along with remaining brown sugar and paprika. Cover and cook on low for another hour or until heated through. Meanwhile, in a blender combine mayonnaise, milk, tomatillos, cilantro, jalapeno, salad dressing, lime juice, garlic and cayenne. Cover and mix until well blended. Pour into a bowl and chill until meat is ready. Serve sauce over meat and ENJOY :)

Lime Chicken Tacos

Here's another recipe from one of my new cookbooks. I really do LOVE all my new cookbooks, plus they all have pictures which is WONDERFUL. I think I got 6-7 of them and have only really looked through 3 properly. Then the other day I saw another good sale on cookbooks so of course I couldn't pass it up so I ended up buying 4 more cookbooks, I'm terrible, hahaha! Anyway I thought this recipe looked yummy and super easy, plus it's made in a crock pot which is great for me on days when I'm out and about all day. My only issue with cooking chicken in a crock pot is that the chicken always seems to have a funny texture so if you have any good suggestions on how to stop this please let me know :)1 1/2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 T. chili powder
3 T. lime juice
1 c. frozen corn
1 c. chunky salsa
Flour tortillas (6-inch)

Place chicken in crock pot. Combine lime juice and chili powder; pour over chicken. Cook on low for 5-6 hours or until chicken is tender. Remove chicken and let cool for a few minutes. Shred chicken and return to crock pot. Stir in corn and salsa. Cover and cook on low for 30 minutes or until heated through. Serve in tortillas and any topping you like. We used sour cream, lettuce, cheese and tomato's. Using the 6-inch tortillas is great for my kids because they're the perfect size :)

Salsa Chicken Fiesta

When I saw this recipe in one of my new cookbooks I thought it looked delicious and super easy so I had to try it. It was super easy but it wasn't as delicious as I thought it was going to be :( It wasn't bad though, I just need to figure out a way for the crust to not be as dry and a way to give more flavour to the chicken part.
1 1/3 c. bisquick mix
1/4 c. water
2 eggs
2 1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese
6 large boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 jar (16 oz.) thick & chunky salsa

Preheat oven to 400F. Spray 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray. In a med. bowl stir bisquick mix, water and eggs. Spread mixture into pan and then sprinkle with 2 c. of cheese. In a skillet cook chicken over med-high heat until no longer pink. Drain juices and add salsa. Heat until hot. Spoon chicken mixture over bisquick mixture within 1/2-inch of edges. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until edges are dark golden brown. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake for another 2 minutes or until cheese is melted. This can be served with sour cream and ground red pepper if you like.

Deep-dish Taco Squares

Here's another recipe from one of my new cookbooks. I LOVED this recipe and so did most of my family. Only one of my kids wasn't a fan but I think that was because of the sour cream, she's not really a sour cream fan. Anyway this was super easy to put together and REALLY yummy.
1/2 lb. lean ground beef
1/4 c. chopped onion
2 T. taco seasoning mix
1 c. bisquick mix
1/4 c. cold water
1/2 c. sour cream
1/3 c. mayonnaise
1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 med. tomato, chopped
1 (4.5 oz.) can chopped green chiles

Preheat oven to 375F. Spray 8-inch square baking dish with cooking spray. Over med-high heat cook ground beef and onions until thoroughly cooked. Drain and then stir taco seasoning into beef mixture until blended. In a med. bowl stir bisquick and water together until it forms a soft dough. Put dough mixture into the square dish and pat down so it's evenly spread and about 1/2 inch up the sides. In a med. bowl mix sour cream, mayonnaise and cheese until blended. Layer beef mixture, tomato and chiles over dough. Spoon sour cream mixture over the top. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until edges of dough are light golden brown.

Taco Casserole

I made this a while ago but I'm still trying to catch up. This recipe is from our school cookbook but is also one of my really good friends recipe, thanks Susan :) My family really enjoyed this dinner, I especially did. I really love Mexican food, I never thought I would say that but that's due to really never trying any when I was younger. This picture doesn't actually give this meal justice because it was super good and really easy to make aswell.
2 lbs. hamburger
1/2 onion, chopped
2 (10 3/4 oz.) cans cream of mushroom soup
10-12 (6-inch) corn tortillas
1/2 can diced green chilies
1/2 pkg. taco mix
grated cheese (about 2 c.)

Brown hamburger with chopped onions. Drain grease and add chilies, soup and taco mix. Layer in a casserole dish, start with quartered tortillas, then hamburger mixture, then cheese and repeat. Bake for 20 minutes at 350F. Serve with grated cheese, tomatoes, lettuce and sour cream (whatever you like).

Southwest Crockpot Burritos

This recipe is from our school cookbook and because I've been loving Mexican food lately I wanted to try this one. I was a little disappointed only because in my mind I thought it was going to be this fantastic recipe. It was still really good but I think it needed something a little extra. I did like the refried beans with it though, that was yummy :)
2 lbs. boneless chuck roast
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp. beef bouillon granules
1 med. onion, chopped
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. cumin
2 1/2 T. fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. water
8 large tortillas
Refried beans
Shredded cheese

Place roast, pepper, garlic, beef bouillon, onion, chili powder, cumin, cilantro, salt and water into a crockpot. Cook on low for 8-9 hours until tender. Remove meat and shred, then place in a bowl. Combine meat with 1 c. of cooking juices. Spread tortillas with cooked refried beans, add beef and sprinkle with cheese. You could really serve this however you like so enjoy :)

Ooey Gooies

So tonight for dinner I made another recipe from the school cookbook and once again it was YUMMY! Another thing I wasn't the biggest fan of when we got married was Mexican food and once again it was because I hadn't really eaten it very much or I hadn't eaten very good Mexican food. I now LOVE eating Mexican food, one of my favourite places to go eat is Cafe Rio and I always get their pork, can you say DELICIOUS :) Most of my family liked this meal tonight but I always make my kids eat everything they take or I give them. I think it's good for them to try EVERYTHING! Of course I know there are things that they don't like but I also think they need to try new things at least once. Anyway here's the recipe, this one was brought to you by Macy Sautter (hahaha, I feel like I'm on Sesame Street).

3 chicken breasts (I used 5 because we like meat at our house)
1 (10.5 oz.) can cream of mushroom soup
1 (10.5 oz.) can cream of chicken soup
1 c. salsa
1 (4 oz.) can diced green chilies
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 1/2 c. shredded monterey jack cheese

Put frozen or non-frozen chicken breasts in a crock pot. Mix together soups, salsa, green chilies, beans and spices and pour over chicken. Cook on low for 6 hours. After 6 hours shred chicken and add cheese and cook for another 30 minutes. Serve in a tortilla like a taco. This meal is about 2105 calories altogether (it was 2265 for me because I added more chicken). Then just divide that by however much you eat and ENJOY!

Instead of using tortilla's for my kids like the recipe called for I put it in a bowl and let them use fritos to scoop it out and they liked that. I used a tortilla and added salad, you could also add rice as well or anything you like. It was thinner than I thought it would be so I think just served over rice would be great too. My friend said she doubled the recipe and froze half of it for another day. We had a Relief Society meeting about freezer meals last month so I will doing that with some of these recipes and will hopefully learn as I go along and will share my tips or disasters with you as I go :)