Okay, so let's get down to business! A quick rundown of the 21 Day Fix for those of you who are not familiar - 30 minute workouts once a day, Shakeology (not mandatory but a HUGE plus), and a flexible, portion controlled eating plan that is super simple to follow. Now that we're all on the same page, here's what's in my crockpot as we speak:
I can't wait to share this with you (and update this post with another picture when it's finished cooking haha)! Also, have you heard of slow cooker liners? They're made by Reynolds, the aluminum foil people, and holy moly if they aren't my new favorite thing. I may never wash my crockpot again. :) So start out by sticking one of those bad boys in your crockpot so when you're all done you can just dump it in the garbage, wipe out your crockpot with a paper towel, and put it away. Helloooo easy cleanup, I love you!
Once you've got your liner situated, go ahead and put two cans of Rotel in the bottom. I used one original and one mild, sometimes those little buggers can be pretty spicy... or I'm just a big baby. One or the other.
Next, you need a bunch of spices! I buy the no name brand at my local supermarket (unless it's something like ground coriander that of course, I couldn't find, so I had to buy the organic expensive one ;) and they're just as good as the expensive McCormick or whatever else. Here's what you need:
2 tbsp chili powder (I used half regular and half chipotle chili powder for a little more spice)
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin (I went a little light on the cumin because I find it can be overpowering)
1 tsp ground coriander (basically the ground up seeds of cilantro, yum)
1/2 tsp dried oregano (if you use fresh, start with a small amount, fresh oregano is very potent)
2 tsps onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder (be careful with this guy too, too much garlic is bad news people)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
I think it might be traditional to add something like cloves or cinnamon to carnitas, but I am not about that life. Cloves and cinnamon need to stay in their lane, and that is dessert. :)
Dump all of those lovely spices into a bowl, mix them up with your fingers, and then rub them all over the pork. Drop the pork on top of the Rotel, put the lid on your crockpot, and cook on high for 4-6 hours or on low for 8-10 hours, or until the pork shreds up easily with two forks. If you're fighting with the pork to shred it, it's not done, no matter how long it's been cooking, and you will probably end up burning yourself with the hot liquid when the pork finally does pull apart... not that I know from experience or anything. ;)
Here's my finished product:
Depending on what you like, you could serve this in a couple of ways:
Over brown rice, with traditional taco fixins (lettuce, tomato, red onion, shredded cheese, and plain Greek yogurt instead of sour cream, you will not taste a difference I promise) = 1 yellow (rice), 1 red (carnitas, maybe a little more if you use a lot of Greek yogurt on the top), 1/2 to 1 blue (depending on how much cheese you use), 1/2 to 1 green (depending on how much lettuce, tomato, and red onion you use). If you're like me you'll pop 1 orange container of green olives with pimentos on there too and be happier than a pig in... well, you know.
You can also do what I think I'm going to do tonight and that is dump some of this and some of the fixins I listed above and roll them up into 2 small corn tortillas (about the size of my hand, maybe a little smaller). Yum. If you're hoarding your yellow containers (hey, who isn't?), you could also put this over a big salad!
Let me know in the comments below if you try this recipe out and what you think! You can find the printable (and downloadable) link to the recipe below!
21 Day Fix Pork Carnitas
xo,
Sara
