Mexican Pork Roast in the Crock Pot

Mexican Crock Pot Pork Roast

Approx. 5lb pork roast
1 onion, sliced
4 carrots, peeled and cut in half
4 stalks of celery, cut in half
4 cloves of garlic, peeled
1/2 jalapeno, cut in half again
1 poblano, quartered

Toss the veggies into the crock pot, and place the pork roast on top.
Add:

2 C of chicken or beef stock
2 C of white wine
1 C of water

Top the pork with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, cumin and chili powder to coat well.  Then top with some sugar in the raw, about 1-2 TBSPs.

Cook on high for 4-6 hours, or low for 8-10 hours.

Optional: Use 1 C orange juice in place of 1/2 of the stock or to replace the wine.

I took a portion of the pork roast to make burritos with the pork, rice and beans inside, and the following sauce, shredded mexican cheeses, and tomato and corn salsa on top.  I put the rest of the pork roast into the chill chest for another night's dinner.

Amy's Ranchero Sauce

28-ounce can diced tomatoes

1/2 onion, roughly chopped

1/2 cup cilantro, roughly chopped

Pinch cumin seeds, toasted

1 garlic clove

2 tablespoons canola oil

1/2 cup chicken broth

Salt

Sugar

Dash hot red pepper sauce

Combine and puree the tomatoes, onion, cilantro, cumin, and garlic in a food processor.

Heat the oil in a saucepan or skillet and fry the tomato puree over high flame. Add broth, and salt. Simmer for 10 minutes until the sauce thickens slightly and is heated through. If sauce tastes somewhat bitter, add a pinch of sugar. Sprinkle with a dash of hot red pepper sauce. Sauce may be served hot or cold.

Yield: about 2 cups

Beans and Rice

1 small yellow onion, finely chopped

2-3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

2 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 T of cumin

1 Tsp of ground coriander

2 C Basmati Rice

1 C of chicken or beef stock

1 C of dark beer

1 C of water

1-2 cans of pinto beans, drained, rinsed and drained well.

Optional Toppings: chopped cilantro, chopped tomatoes, chopped scallions

In a medium saucepan, saute onions in garlic until softened, lower heat and add garlic, salt and pepper for a few minutes, then add cumin, coriander and rice.....turn heat back up to toast the rice for several minutes, stirring often....add stock, beer and water, bring to a boil.  Cover and lower to a simmer, cook for 20 minutes.  Stir in beans.  Top with whatever you like......enjoy!

Fresh Tomato and Corn Salsa

6-8 Roma tomatoes, cut in half, squeezed of juice and seeds and chopped

1 ear of corn, cut from the cob

1/2 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
(ok I went to the fridge, no more jalapeno, no problem, from the pantry I used 1/4 tsp of crushed red pepper flakes)

2 green onions, white and green chopped

Zest and juice of 1-2 limes

1-2 T olive oil

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 

Toss together.

For dessert I went to my favorite brownie site:                                                                                        Out of the Box Brownies' Dreamy-Apricot-Blonde-Brownies

And, I didn't have any apricot jam in the pantry! So, I used Strawberry preserves! I also used my favorite sugar cookie dough recipe in place of the box mix, added the cream cheese and brown sugar, and mixed the strawberry jam with cinnamon per the instructions....oh just go to the site and make her wonderful creations!

(If you want my favorite sugar cookie recipe, just let me know!)