Crock Pot Pulled Pork - Two Versions

Pulled Pork is one of my favorite dishes to prepare for a crowd.  A pork shoulder is a very affordable cut of meat, and when slow cooked all day in the crock pot with a few seasonings - it is a crowd pleaser!
I make it two different ways.  Both are delicious.

Apple Seasoned Pulled Pork

1.  Sear pork shoulder on all sides in a skillet before transferring the meat to the crock pot.
2.  In the same pan, saute a large sliced onion until it is golden brown and nicely caramelized.  Pour caramelized onion over the browned shoulder in the crock pot.
3.  Add 1 sliced apple OR 1/2 cup applesauce OR 1/2 cup apple juice (any of these work well)
4.  Generously sprinkle the pork with thyme, salt and pepper.  Add a light sprinkling of rosemary leaves and oregano leaves.  Add one or two bay leaves.  Cover and cook all day. 
Serve with roasted potatoes and a green vegetable or in summer, serve with a buffet of cold salads and crusty bread.

Mexican Pulled Pork

1.  Sear pork shoulder on all sides in a skillet before transferring the meat to the crock pot.
2.  In the same pan, saute a large sliced onion until it is golden brown and nicely caramelized.  Pour caramelized onion over the browned shoulder in the crock pot.
3.  Squeeze the juice of 2 large limes over the pork and onion mixture.
4.  Stab holes in the pork with a sharp knife and insert several cloves of garlic (according to your taste).
5.  Cover and cook all day, but near the end of the cooking process, add a generous sprinkling of cumin and thyme - according to taste. 
Serve with tortillas and taco toppings for a Mexican style dinner.

Tomatillo Enchilada Sauce

I really try to avoid nightshades and that includes tomatoes - which means a lot of wonderful dishes are not available to me.  While in Mexico, I was reading some recipe books and I found multiple recipes for making sauce with tomatillos.  They are not related to tomatoes.  Not a nightshade.  Actually - they are related to gooseberries, apparently.  So, I thought it would be worth a try.....this sauce is delicious!

Mexican Green Tomato Sauce

Tomatillo Sauce for Enchiladas

4 or 5 medium size tomatillos

1 clove garlic

1 dried Ancho chili

1 dried Serrano chili

¼ cup agave nectar

Peel tomatillos, cut into quarters and cover with water in a saucepan.

Simmer on medium high heat until tomatillos begin to break down.

Remove pan from heat and add garlic and dried chilies.  Set aside for 15 minutes until chilies are soft.  Remove stems from chilies and add pour everything into a blender –adding in the agave nectar.  Blend until sauce is liquefied. 

This sauce may now be refrigerated or frozen until ready to use.

Reheat the sauce in a skillet large enough to dip the tortillas into if making enchiladas.

Fried Plantains

During our trip through Arizona, we happened to visit a Cuban restaurant, where plantains were a garnish on our plates.  I had never tried them before and I fell in love with their starchy sweet flavor.  While in Mexico, they were always in the stores and I found them a wonderful accompaniment to the Mexican Hot Cakes I made with masa harina.

Breakfast Plantains

Peel and slice plantains as desired.  (vertically or crosswise) to about ¼” widths.

Heat coconut or other oil of your choice in a frying pan and add plantain slices.

Cook until plantains turn golden brown, then turn and brown on the opposite side. Drizzle honey over the cooked plantains and stir to coat.  Sprinkle lightly with cinnamon, if desired.

Serve over Mexican pancakes or as an accompaniment to any other suitable dish.

Mexican Hotcakes

We spent 3 weeks in Puerto Penasco, Mexico in February and I wanted to try my hand at adapting our meals to the ingredients available in that small fishing village.  I found a package of masa (corn flour) with a hot cake recipe on the back.  These were so good, I made them multiple times!  

Next weekend, I will explain how to cook the plantains I used for a garnish.

Masa Harina Hot Cakes

Mexican Hot Cakes

1 cup masa (I used Maseca brand, which is commonly available in the US)

1/3 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon baking soda

3 tablespoons oil

¾ cup water or milk substitute

Mix all ingredients.  Pour about 1/3 cup onto heated and lightly greased griddle per pancake.  Turn when bubbles begin to form on the top side.  Serve with butter, syrup and fried plantains.

This is the masa I found in the Puerto Penasco grocery store that I thought would be safe since it says 100% maiz on the package.  The package had the Hot Cake recipe on the back.  It called for milk, but I substituted with coconut milk.   

Shanghai Chicken Wings

Shanghai Chicken Wings

Adapted from “More from the Gluten Free Gourmet”

By Bette Hagman

2 ½ lbs chicken wings

1 cup honey
1 cup chicken broth

1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger root

¼ cup dry white wine (or rice wine)

¼ cup apple juice

¼ cup Tamari sauce (gluten free soy sauce)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Pat chicken wings dry.

In a small saucepan, over medium heat, mix together the honey, ginger, wine, apple juice and soy sauce.

Place the chicken wings in a 9” x 13” pan or casserole.  Drizzle with the marinade.  Let set for at least 1 hour (may be marinated in the refrigerator overnight), and bake for 45 minutes, turning every 15 minutes until golden brown and tender.

Serve immediately, or cool, refrigerate and reheat the next day.

Serves  8 to10 as an appetizer.

* I confess, I do not eat these myself because the Tamari sauce does contain soy - which is a problem food for me.

Taco Salad

Beef Tacos

Many of the pre-packaged taco seasonings contain gluten.  I make my own.

 Tacos

Brown ground beef, bison, or turkey

Midway through the process, add 1/2 diced onion and continue browning

When ground meat is nearly completely browned, add one or two cloves of garlic - either finely diced or pressed through a garlic press

Season with a generous sprinkling of salt, black pepper, and 1/2 to 1 teaspoon cumin.  Add a light dusting of dried oregano. Taste and add more seasonings as desired.

 ground chili powder,  cayenne pepper, or chipolte pepper may be added as desired (I don't usually use these because I avoid nightshades)

Serve on a corn or rice flour shell, sliced black olives, sliced avocado, salsa, diced lettuce, diced tomato, and a squeeze of lime.

Tomatillo

The tomatillo is a small fruit in the tomato family that grows enclosed in a husk. When peeled, the fruit resembles a small unripe tomato and is usually green or yellow. The yellow color indicates ripeness, however, tomatillos are usually used when they are still green. Green tomatillos are firmer and easier to slice. The husk that holds the fruit is paper-like and is light brown. The flesh is slightly acidic with a hint of lemon.

The tomatillo is a great addition to soups, salsas, stews.  Tomatillo was included in my previously posted Tortilla Soup recipe.

Margarita - It's a Gluten Free Cocktail!

 While visiting with my sister's family in Puerto Penasco, Mexico - we were served delicious margaritas - while we enjoyed the view from their Margarita Deck!  My brother-in-law splashed these ingredients (below) into our glasses over ice.  He didn't measure anything and it was perfect!

I know they got their ingredients in Mexico, but they can probably be found in the U.S.!

Fish Taco

This fish taco was made with flounder fillets sauteed in oil and sprinkled with my special gluten free fish taco seasoning.   Serve on a soft corn shell with avocado, lettuce and mago salsa.

 Fish Taco Seasoning

While browning fish fillets (flounder, cod, or talipia all work well) in a well oiled frying pan, sprinkle generously with this combination of ingredients:

                                    ½ t. ground cumin

                                    ¼ t. salt

                                    ¼ t. black pepper

                                    ¼ t. onion powder

                                    ¼ t. garlic powder

                                    1 ½ t. ground chili powder (optional)

                                    1/8 t. ground cayenne pepper (optional)

• Omit chili and cayenne if you are on a nightshade free diet, and add more cumin.

• This seasoning is good for anything “Mexican” – rice or beans.  Cumin is one of my favorite seasonings.