Slow cooker Carnitas

This dish is to die for!! And so incredibly easy to make. DH called it "The best pork EVER!" and wants me to make it every week. What's more, the very next day he bought another shoulder roast for this purpose, though we still had plenty leftovers. In fact, we got 3 meals out of it: one day's dinner, 2 days' lunch.

I followed some of the suggestions in the reviews of this recipe, and I added those changes in this post. Feel free to check the original recipe and decide if you want to make any changes at all.

Slow Cooker Carnitas - Adapted from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon crumbled dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 (4 pound) boneless pork shoulder roast
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 cups chicken broth

Directions

1. Mix together salt, cumin, oregano, coriander, and cinnamon in a bowl. Cut meat into big chunks and coat them with the garlic and the spice mixture. Place the bay leaves in the bottom of a slow cooker and pile the pork chunks on top. Pour the chicken broth around the sides of the pork, being careful not to rinse off the spice mixture.
2. Cover and cook on Low until the pork shreds easily with a fork, about 10 hours.
   
3. When the pork is tender, remove from slow cooker, and place on a baking sheet. Place in the oven preheated to 375ºF for 20 minutes. Shred the meat with two forks and serve.

Burrito, anyone?

Marinated Boneless Pork Loin Chops

This recipe is fantastic. DH made it and we loved it so much, we actually prepared it for a party with DH's coworkers. It was a hit!

From Discovery Health's Just Cook This

Ingredients
6 boneless pork chops, about 3/4-inch thick, trimmed
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons fresh ginger root, chopped very fine
8 ounces Newcastle Brown Ale (or any good, dark and slightly sweet beer)

Put soy, brown sugar, ginger, and Newcastle in a container (large enough to hold the marinade and the chops) mix well then add the chops (like I needed to add the 'large enough' part, because if you put them in a container that was too small and everything started to spill over ... I'm pretty certain you'd know that was not what I intended.)

Refrigerate overnight.

Heat grill to medium-high and put on the chops. Grill until done to about 160 degrees—somewhere around 10-15 minutes.

Serves 6.