Instant Pot Carnitas

Hey everybody! So, I’ve been hearing about it…I’ve been reading about it…the Instant Pot. At first I brushed it off, I mean I have a pressure cooker, I have a slow cooker, do I really need this device? I’m also the type of person that tends to stay away from another kitchen “gadget.” But, Instant Pot has been so popular for so long with so many great things said about it that I couldn’t ignore it anymore. So, I decided to make a space in my kitchen for it and for my birthday my beautiful wife and in-laws ended up getting me on…so it’s been about a month since I got it and I just now finally busted it out! I was perusing the internet, looking at what other people were doing and settled on trying some carnitas. All I can say is WOW! It really is a great kitchen appliance. It was so nice to be able to saute, pressure cook and then keep the food warm all in one pot! I also really like how it takes a lot of the guessing work out of pressure cooking. I have a stove top pressure cooker as well and you kind of have to baby sit them while they do their thing. I was also really impressed how easy it was to clean. So, even though I only have one cook under my belt, so far I give this thing two big thumbs up. Can’t wait to do more with it! So, as far as the recipe goes, I made some very traditional pork carnitas, that I served on yellow corn tortillas, with homemade pico de gallo and a avocado crema. Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Instant Pot Carnitas w/ Pico de Gallo and Avocado Crema

Prep time: 30m | Cook time: 1hr | Total time: 1hr30min | Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

4 lbs Boneless pork butt, cut into 2" chunks
salt and pepper
1 Tbsp canola oil
1 cup beer
1 head garlic, peeled and minced
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup lime juice
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp ancho chili powder
16 - 6" yellow corn tortillas
Cheddar cheese, shredded
Pico de Gallo, recipe follows
Avocado Crema, recipe follows

Cooking Directions

1. Click the “Saute” setting on the Instant Pot and let heat. While Instant Pot is heating, season pork chunks with salt and pepper. Add oil and , working in batches, sear pork — turning every 45-60 seconds or so — until the pork is browned on all sides. Transfer pork to a separate clean plate, and repeat with the rest of the pork, searing until browned on all sides. Press “Cancel” to turn off the heat.
2. While the pork is browning, in a separate bowl whisk together the next 9 ingredients.
3. Return the browned pork and the sauce to the Instant Pot. Lock the lid in place and set the Instant Pot to pressure cooking on High for 30 min. Cook. Then let the pressure release naturally, about 15 minutes. Carefully turn the vent to “Venting”, just to release any extra pressure that might still be in there. Then remove the lid.
4. Turn your oven broiler on high. Placing a towards the top in the oven.
5. Remove work with a slotted spoon and place on a rimmed backing sheet. Shred the pork with two forks then ladle some of the sauce over the pork. Put in the oven and broiler for 4-5 minutes until the works starts to brown and get crispy. Remove from oven, top with more of the sauce and toss with some tongs. Return to oven for another 4-5 min until brown and crisp. Remove from oven
6. Heat and crisp the corn tortillas on a cast iron pan or baking steel. Use two corn tortillas per taco. Top with carnitas, cheese, pico de gallo, and avocado crema

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Pico de Gallo

Prep time: 10m | Total time: 10min | Yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients

3 red onion, medium dice
12 Roma tomatoes, medium dice
2 Cups cilantro, chopped
3 jalapenos, fine dice
1 lime, juiced
1 tsp cumin
salt, to taste

Cooking Directions

1. Put all the ingredients in a medium bowl and stir to combine.

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Avocado Crema

Prep time: 10m | Total time: 10min | Yield: 1 batch

Ingredients

2 avocados
1 garlic clove
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp salt
1 lime, juice
1/4 tsp ancho chili powder

Cooking Directions

1. Put all the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and puree until smooth. Add more lime juice to adjust consistency; should be thick but still smooth enough to squeeze out of a bottle. Transfer to a squeeze bottle and use as needed.

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categories / Entree, Instant Pot
tags / recipe, recipes, Happy Valley Chow, instant pot, carnitas, mexican food, tacos, taco, pico de gallo, delicious, nom, nom nom nom, food, foodie, food blog

Burrito Bowl

So here is Part Two from last weeks Guacamole Post. The flavors of this recipe is definitely on point, I feel it tasted exactly like a Chipotle Burrito Bowl (Just wish I cooked the rice a little better). I guess really the only thing is convenience, it's a lot easier to just go buy a Burrito Bowl at Chipotle. I think where this recipe would shine is if you had a party or if you have a larger family and you could have people build their own burrito bowls.

One thing that I did learn though is a really easy substitute for Chipotles in Adobo. Me being the bone head I am, forgot to grab a can for this recipe. So I did a little googling to find this substitute that worked out really nice. You simply mix 1 Tbsp Ketchup, 1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar, 1/2 tsp Smoked Paprika, 1/2 tsp Cayenne Powder, 1/2 tsp Cumin, and a pinch of oregano. It worked surprisingly well! Permanent substitute? No, but an easy fix with some common household ingredients for sure. On to the recipe!

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Burrito Bowls

Prep time: 1hr | Cook time: 30min | Total time: 1hr30min | Yield: 4 portions

Ingredients

For the Chicken

1 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 chipotle peppers in adobo, finely chopped
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp black pepper
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

For the Rice

1 tsp vegetable oil
1 cup white basmati rice
2 cups water
1 lime, juiced
2 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
kosher salt to taste

For the Toppings

1 cup black beans, warmed
1 cup charred corn (canned or frozen), warmed
1 each red and green pepper, julienned and sauteed
1 cup guacamole
1 cup pico de gallo, or salsa of your choosing
1 cup monterey jack cheese, finely shredded

Cooking Directions

For the Chicken

1. Combine the vegetable oil, chopped chipotle peppers in adobo, garlic powder, cumin, dried oregano, and black pepper in a small bowl, stir to combine.
2. Place the chicken in a large zip top plastic bag and add the marinade. Zip the bag and mix the chicken into the marinade. Place in the fridge and let it marinate for at least 1 hour.
3. Heat a large saute pan or outdoor grill to medium high heat. Place the chicken on the cooking surface and cook 5 to 6 minutes per side, until the internal temperature reads 165F. Remove chicken and let rest for 10 min. Chop the chicken into small bit sized pieces and use as needed.

For the Rice

1. In a heavy saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Once hot, add the white rice and lime juice and saute for 60 seconds to toast the rice.
2. Add the water and bring the rice to a boil. Cover and reduce the heat to low and cook until the rice is tender and all the water is absorbed.
3. Add in the cilantro and fluff the rice with a fork.

To Assemble

1. Arrange equal parts of the white rice and chopped chicken in 4 bowls. Top with equal parts of the black beans, corn, guacamole, fajita peppers, and cheese. Season with salt and pepper as needed and serve immediately.

**Note: I sauteed the peppers in the same pan as the chicken to pick up some of the marinade flavors**

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Cooking your meats to the perfect temperature is crucial not only from a food safety stand point, but from flavor and tenderness stand point as well. Make sure you cook your chicken, like in this recipe to 165F. The best way to accurately monitor the internal temperature of your meats is by using a Thermapen MK4. They are the most durable, accurate, fast, and reliable thermometer on the market. These are a kitchen MUST HAVE! Go buy yourself a Thermapen MK4 today!

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Banana Bread

Thanksgiving has come and gone (hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving!) and I don't know about you, but we have been having a pretty mild late fall compared to other years. This is going to be our first Christmas in the new house so we were super excited to start decorating it for the holidays. I think we did a pretty good job, don't you think??

A few days ago we finally got our first snow, and it was actually a significant snow, probably about 4 inches. One of my favorite things on a snowy day, besides soup, is some kind of homemade bread...especially banana bread. There is something just so comforting about it, especially when it is still a little warm. My mom would make us banana bread all the time and we would always fight over the end pieces (because those are the best!). Luckily I don't have anybody to fight over the end pieces with so they are all mine :)

This is a pretty standard banana bread recipe and it's super easy. It's also nice that it doesn't require a lot of ingredients, I actually wasn't even planning on making it, but I had all the ingredients already and some over ripened bananas that I was probably just going to throw away, so I made some. Give this recipe a try and let me know what you think in the comments, it's definitely a winner in my book!

Banana Bread

Prep time: 15m | Cook time: 1h 5m | Total time: 1h 20m | Yield: 1 loaf

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 1/3 cup overripe bananas, mashed

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

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