Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Random {Recipe} Rainy Wednesday

...if only Wednesday started with a R - we could have had some serious alliteration going on. Random Recipe Rainy Rednesday... hm, doesn't work so well, huh??

Speaking of random - every, single day I watch my cat go from the floor, to the coffee table, to the couch... as if the coffee table is the portal to the couch. Cats baffle me sometimes.



Please tell me that where ever you are it's not raining... we had one beautiful sunny day then BAM... rain. It's making me beyond sleepy. Kinda just want to crawl in bed and read for the rest of the evening. Anyone else? I think all Ohioan's are suffering from seasonal depression something fierce. We need warmth, sunshine, sand in our toes... what? Ohio has lakes...

Anyways, on with the recipe, Jackie...

Carnitas, Quinoa, Veggies --- Mexican One Pot Wonder.




When I was home a couple of weeks ago I happened to snag a few packages of freshly butchered pork. There's something about knowing exactly where that meat is coming from that makes it that much better. Thank you, Dad and Uncle Kelly!

Ingredients:
Pork Shoulder
1 large jar of salsa
1 onion - diced
1 yellow bell pepper - diced
1 orange bell pepper - diced
1 can diced tomatoes
1 cup of uncooked quinoa
1 1/2 cups water
mexican spices or taco seasoning
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

This meal was so easy. I put the pork shoulder in the crockpot in the morning with the jar of salsa poured over top of it - threw a few dashes of chili powder, garlic, cumin, salt, and pepper on it and let it cook all day long.

When I got home I began to pull the pork out of the crockpot and shred it - it had already fallen clean off the bone and began to shred itself. I discarded all but about 1/2 cup of the liquid in the crockpot.

In a large pot - drizzle your EVOO on the bottom and throw in the onion and peppers {you could omit this or add more veggies} let those saute for about 10 minutes on med-high heat. Once the onions are almost translucent put the pork and the 1/2 of cooking liquid into the pot. Stir it to get everything combined - you can add more seasoning at this point if you'd like. I let that cook for about 5-10 minutes.

Next pour the can of diced tomatoes {with the juices} into the pot, add the water, and the UNCOOKED quinoa. {The brand I had was already rinced and drained - but make sure you do that first if you need to}. Let simmer, uncovered on med-low for about 25 - 35 minutes or until the quinoa has uncurled and is cooked through.

I served this with a little bit of cheddar cheese on top and a few tortilla chips for dipping. But it's absolutely delicious just eating it without any extras {that's how I had it for lunch today!}.

And with only 463 calories per serving. It made for a healthy, super easy, and yummy dinner!

Recipe adapted from here.

Happy hump day, loves!

p.s. Don't forget to use code HAPPY for 25% off at Nora & Jac.

Linking up with Shanna for Random Wednesday!








4 comments:

Ami @ a champagne dream said...

Hi, I'm a new follower. I'm always looking for new quinoa recipes and this one looks delicious. Thanks for sharing!

xo Ami
a champagne dream

Sarah said...

Yum!! This sounds like a mash up of all of my favorite things!! I've never made quinoa like that...I'll have to try it!

Natalie said...

This cracked me up. And also, this looks DELICIOUS! Never thought to make quinoa with Mexican.

lacey said...

that recipe looks bomb! quinoa is one of my faves, but i have yet to actually cook it myself. i used to work in a retail shop/restaurant that made tons of quinoa salads. so so good. and the fact that's it's made in the crockpot? SOLD.