Not Your Traditional Carnitas

Wow, eating healthy has never been so delicious. I love preparing my meals at home. Nothing beats a homemade meal. Not only do you have control over the ingredients but it tastes so much better and you get the satisfaction of knowing you are doing your best at leading a healthy lifestyle. 

In my last post I mentioned working with Mazola® and agreeing to prepare and review their recipes. They sent along product as well as a token of thank you in exchange for an honest review.  As promised, here is recipe #2 in that series. 

Pork Carnitas with Tomatillo Salsa

Servings: 4 
Yield: 4 servings
1 pound pork shoulder
2 tablespoons Mazola® Corn Oil
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon Chipotle peppers in Adobe sauce 
2 tomatillos, finely chopped
1/2 cup tomatoes, finely chopped
1/4 cup coarsely chopped parsley
4 flour tortillas

Combine chopped tomatillos, tomatoes and parsley in a small bowl. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Cut pork into 1 inch cubes; season with salt and pepper. 

Heat oil in large skillet or Dutch oven. Add pork, onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder and chipotle peppers in adobe sauce (the original recipe called for 1/4 tsp Chipotle chili powder which I didn't have - this sauce worked great); saute 3 to 5 minutes to brown the meat.

Add enough water to barely cover pork. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes. Remove lid and continue to simmer an additional 45 minutes or until liquid has evaporated.

Place an equal amount of pork on each tortilla. Top with tomatillo salsa. Garnish with shredded cheese and sour cream if desired.

Enjoy!

The carnitas took more time than I realized, because I didn't pay attention to detail, but was worth the wait. Preparing this ahead would make an easy weeknight meal for those busy days. They're definitely not your traditional carnitas but so yummy nonetheless.

Click here to see the recipe that inspired my version

Another easy, delicious and nutritious dish that's sure to be a part of my menu rotation. 

Give it a try. You won't regret it!

If you are interested in reading more about Mazola® Corn Oil click here.
 

Want more tasty recipes from Mazola®? Find them here.

Spring Cleaning and Healthy Eatin'

After the long cold hard winter we're hopefully about to come out of, I am so ready for some sunshine, warmer days and lighter fare. Spring is just a few short days away (on the calendar at least) which leads me to thinking about gardens, campfires, picnics, and easy delicious and healthy meals packed with nutrition. Spring is not only time to clean out our closets and wash our windows, it's also time to clean out our pantries of all the comforts of winter so we can ditch our yoga pants and don our bikinis!

I am a sucker for health and nutrition information, especially when it relates to food and cooking, so I frequent my local library as well as the internet to feed my addiction. However, I am often left scratching my head after learning what I had trusted for years has been replaced with new research. So, I don't pretend to have all the answers. I just try to stick with what I do know. And I do know how to cook....with wholesome ingredients. 

Which brings me to today's recipe which fit perfectly into a healthy lifestyle. The recipe I am featuring today was sponsored by Mazola®. You see, Mazola® got wind of the fact that I enjoy cooking and enjoy reviewing recipes so they sent me a bottle of Mazola® Corn Oil as well as a promotional item in exchange for preparing two of their recipes and giving my honest feedback. 

The first recipe I'm sharing with you today is my version of their salmon dish that was so quick and easy and loaded with flavor that I can't wait to make it again. A perfect recipe to compliment any new healthy lifestyle.

Sweet and Spicy Salmon with Orange Salsa

Sweet and Spicy Rub:
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
Dash of cayenne pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 pound salmon fillet
2 teaspoons Mazola(R) Corn Oil

Orange Salsa:
2 cups orange sections, trimmed and diced (insides only)
1/3 cup chopped green onion
1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 jalapeno pepper, diced

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Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Combine all salsa ingredients and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Combine paprika, onion and garlic powder, salt, oregano, thyme, black pepper, cayenne pepper and brown sugar in a small bowl.
Cut salmon into 4 portions and brush with oil.
Distribute the rub over the salmon generously coating all surfaces.
Place salmon on a shallow baking pan with sides.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until fish flakes easily.
Top salmon with salsa.

Enjoy!

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Great served with a side of orzo and steamed asparagus, this salmon was quick and delicious and very light and filling. And ready in about 30 minutes. Who doesn't love a fast healthy meal. Gives us more time to enjoy our warmer days!! This could easily be grilled on those hot days when you don't want to run the oven.

Click here to see the recipe that inspired my version.

Won't you give this recipe a try? Easy, Delicious and nutritious and a great dish to add to your healthy menu. It can't get better than that!

Stay tuned for my next post of another delicious recipe inspired by Mazola®.

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If you are interested in reading more about Mazola® Corn Oil click here.
 

Want more tasty recipes from Mazola®? Find them here.

Pumpkin Pie and Homemade Rolls - Now That's What I Call Thanksgiving Dinner

The men in my life are hunters and this time of year I become like many other women, a deer widow. Unfortunately those four-legged creatures have beckoned my husband to the woods on Thanksgiving long before we were married. I'm used to it. I'm ok with it. We compromised a few years back. As long as we share Christmas together I'm ok without my husband by my side on Thanksgiving. It doesn't mean I like it but I accept it. And my son has followed in his footsteps. So my daughter-in-law, my grandson and myself pack ourselves up and trot on over to my sister's house to share Thanksgiving with my family. Where we pig out until we feel like we could roll ourselves out the door, or until someone calls an ambulance, whichever comes first.

When my son was young and still lived at home I would make Thanksgiving dinner a week or so before the big day. I didn't do it because I loved turkey - my favorites are all the sides and dessert. Heck, I don't even need the turkey. I did it because I wanted Thanksgiving at home - with the men I loved. Since my son is now grown and gone, that tradition has gone by the wayside and it saddens me. I'm not quite sure why we stopped but it happened. 

Yearning for more family traditions of our own coupled with the desire to relight what was important to me, at the last minute I threw the idea out to my son to have our turkey dinner this past weekend. But poor communication on my part, combined with busy lives, and last minute Lucy (me!) it didn't happen as planned. 

The turkey was bought and thawed so I trudged forward. I planned on a few traditional things you see at a Thanksgiving dinner only on a smaller scale. Green beans, which we had grown and canned earlier this year, mashed potatoes and gravy, homemade rolls and pumpkin pie.

I've made homemade rolls before but yeast and I are not the best of friends. However, Rhodes Rolls and I get along just fine. But I was determined to give it another try.  I found a highly rated recipe on Allrecipes.com and went for it.  They were soft, tender, delicious. They were heavenly. I think they should be renamed "Heavenly Dinner Rolls". Here are my results:

Click here for the recipe --- Sweet Dinner Rolls

Now the name implies sweet but trust me - they're perfect and have only a hint of sweetness. Pure deliciousness and easy to make. What could get better than that? 

Pumpkin pie is my Thanksgiving dessert of choice. I love it. I found a new recipe for pumpkin pie on Allrecipes.com that I thought I would try.  When I make pie I always make my own crust but not without struggling. I remembered watching the new Food Network show Heartland Table and watching Amy Thielen make her Butter Crust and she made it look so easy. I was especially intrigued because I had always used shortening and no longer use it. So I searched for her recipe and gave it a try. Bingo! Another keeper!! This bakes up so tender and flaky. Just melt in your mouth goodness! This will be my go-to pie crust recipe from now on. The crust recipe is in with her Blueberry Pie recipe but here it is - Butter Crust. 

Here is how my Pumpkin Pie turned out:

Click here for the recipe --- Pumpkin Pie II

I didn't have evaporated milk on hand so I just put all the milk into a pan and simmered down until I had what the recipe called for. Worked great. And this was delicious served with sweetened fresh whipped cream.

So next year I will plan better and we will have our tradition back. And by then, we can share with the new grand baby who will be coming soon.

So live a little. Who needs turkey when you have delicious sides and desserts? My favorite. Especially the rolls and pie!

Hold The Sausage....Or Not

It wasn't too awfully long ago - like only 6 months - that Italian sausage was far from desirable to me. The only experience I ever really had with Italian sausage was on pizza. Now my husband, being the meat eater that he is, doesn't mind sausage on his pizza. Or bacon. Or ham. Or pepperoni. Or venison. Well OK - we've never had venison on pizza but hey, now that's an idea he would love! 

So, me being the good wife that I am, would let him get a meat lovers pizza that included the sausage and I would just pick it off and give it to him. If it were up to me, we would have a veggie pizza. That would go over like a lead balloon. Just like my idea for Meatless Monday meals. Did you hear me? I did say he was a meat lover.

This month I had the pleasure, once again, of working with Johnsonville and Allrecipes. I was given the opportunity to try Johnsonville's sausage using recipes found on Allrecipe's website. I decided to try their Italian sausage again just to remind myself that I am no longer a hater.

I truly have to say that their sausage has great flavor and now I'm hooked. I especially love that they are now offering some of their products in an all natural variety like the one shown below. With ingredients like pork, water, salt, natural sugar, spices, natural flavors and paprika and with no yucky fillers or additives they're a winner in my book. Go Johnsonville!

Here are the tasty recipes I've tried this year using Johnsonville's products. The links to the recipes are shown below the pictures. Be sure to give them a try. They make quick, easy, delicious meals your whole family will enjoy.

One of my favorites was this Sausage, Peppers and Spaghetti Squash recipe. I got to eat this one all by myself. Veggies of the onions and peppers variety, like you would find on a veggie pizza, makes this one mine - all MINE!

Sausage, Peppers and Spaghetti Squash

You may be able to tell that I made this next one, Pizza Pasta, when the darling hubby wasn't around. It's packed with flavor not only from the sausage but also from green peppers. Again, stuff you'd would find on veggie pizza.

Pizza Pasta by Johnsonville®

And last but not least, here is a recipe that any man or child would love to sink their teeth into. Why not break away from the regular mundane burgers you're used to eating and try an Italian Sausage Slider? They're sure to please.

Johnsonville's Italian Sausage Sliders

Hold the sausage? I think not. So if you've tried something before that you don't like why not give it another try? Your tastes may have changed with time. Or is it with age?

Man I'm getting hungry!

I am an Allrecipes Allstar Brand Ambassador (a voluntary position) and I’m not compensated for my work with Allrecipes.com.   Product received from an Advertiser is only used for experience based reviews on this site. The reviews, content and opinions expressed in this blog are purely the sole opinions of Livin' Life - One Spoonful At A Time.  

Bison - The New Healthy Red Meat

When I was contacted a few months ago by Allrecipes and was asked if I was interested in working with bison I jumped at the chance. My husband is an avid white tail deer hunter and loves all things "meat" so I knew he wouldn't have been very happy with me if I passed up this opportunity. Plus I was kinda excited to try something new that he would be willing to eat.  Allrecipes had teamed up with The Bison Council and were looking for home cooks to try some bison and spread the word about how healthy bison is. Here is one fascinating tidbit about bison - it has 45% fewer calories, 88% less fat and 88% less saturated fat than beef. Now that's huge.  Check out more of their nutrition information here on their Health & Nutrition page.

Sixty home cooks like me elected to try bison and Allrecipes sent us a list of twenty-five recipes to choose from one afternoon. The list of recipes had a variety of bison cuts to choose from. Anywhere from bison dogs to tenderloin. Oh how I would love to get my hands on a bison tenderloin. Now, since I work outside the home and I don't have access 24/7 to the internet or have a smartphone, some of my fellow cooks were able to see this list of recipes and make their choice before I even knew the list was posted. Call me envious - that's ok :) By the time I got to the list my choices were limited. I remember there were bison dogs, bacon and brisket left and maybe a couple more that seemed to have left my memory. I chose the brisket recipe knowing my meat loving husband would love the fact that we would be getting a five pound brisket delivered to us from The Bison Council. Imagine our excitement when we found out we would be getting twice the amount of brisket we thought we would. Ten pounds of brisket to try is a lot of brisket! Talk about being overwhelmed by the generosity!  So we waited patiently for September to roll around and for the delivery man to show up at our doorstep with our bison. And this is what we got!

The bison brisket came to us frozen tucked away neatly in a Styrofoam cooler along with freezer packs. It arrived on a very warm Friday morning and I can't believe it was still frozen solid when I opened it. Now that's some good packing!

I chose to make Beer-Braised Bison Brisket with Root Vegetables using the slow cooker. Now I don't normally have good luck using a slow cooker. Things usually turn out overcooked and smelling weird so I was a little leery of trying this method. I considered baking it in my enameled cast iron french oven but decided in all fairness that I must make the recipe per the instructions in order to give honest feedback. Here is my finished product:

Beer-Braised Bison with Root Vegetables

This turned out delicious. Not only did I get to try one new ingredient but this recipe calls for dried apricots, turnips and parsnips that I had never had before. I couldn't find the parsnips so I left those out but I found out I enjoy turnips and love the dried apricots (they may just become a new snack for me).

Please take a moment and check out more information about bison on The Bison Council's webpage and see just how healthy bison is. You'll be amazed at what you find out.  And be sure to browse Allrecipes for all sorts of recipes.

I am an Allrecipes Allstar Brand Ambassador (a voluntary position) and I’m not compensated for my work with Allrecipes.com.   Product received from an Advertiser is only used for experience based reviews on this site. The reviews, content and opinions expressed in this blog are purely the sole opinions of Livin' Life - One Spoonful At A Time.  

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