[Slow Cooker] Pork Carnitas

No doubt, this year has brought about a lot of changes. Some have been a breeze, and others have taken their sweet time. Matt and I love our new home. There are so many outdoorsy things that he loves doing that I get to tag along for--hunting, fishing, hiking, etc. My work/life balance, however, has been more like WORK/life. I knew coming to a new place and starting at a new school with new standards would be challenging, so I had told myself that now would be the time to devote as much time as was needed to my work. Matt would be working hard at school and we don't have children (don't tell Avery), so I could spend time making my lessons/classroom/teaching practices perfect. Perfect? Really? No matter how much preparation goes into any of it, these kiddos I teach are twelve and thirteen. There is no perfect, and in fact, imperfection gets us much further in our classroom.

Recently, I made a decision to alter my work/life to be better for me. I said that "I made a decision," when really, I know the Lord nudged me (or shook me) and reminded me to take care of myself. I am back to working out 5-6 days a week, cooking healthy meals that I am proud to share, and I still feel like I am devoting the time needed to my students and my classroom. And hopefully, all of this will show back up on the blog.

For now, I am going to stop talking about me and start talking about a fantastic new [slow cooker] recipe that is sure to have you going for seconds (or thirds if you're anything like my hubby). This weekend was the start of my Spring Break, so today was all about playing. We were in and out of the house all day. Many people feel that slow cooker recipes are best for days when you are at work for long hours, and I completely agree, however, I am all for those recipes even on the days you are home... like today. I LOVED being able to start dinner around 11am, and do nothing about it until it was time to eat dinner. I know you clicked on the link for the recipe, so I'll stop blabbing and get to it.

Pork Carnitas
For the Pork:
Ingredients:
-2 T chili powder
-2 t cumin
-1 t ground coriander
-1 t onion powder
-1 t garlic powder
-1 t sea salt
-1 t oregano
-Pork loin (about 3 pounds)
-1 1/2 cup water
-Bay leaf
Directions: 
Mix all of the spices (first seven ingredients) together in a bowl. Rub down the entire pork loin and place in the slow cooker. Pour in water and place bay leaf inside. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. When the pork is finished cooking, it should shred easily with two forks. I like to shred mine fully and then leave the meat in the juices for a little while longer before serving (just while I'm putting together the rest of the meal).

For the Avocado Cilantro Topping:
Ingredients:
-1/2 of an avocado
-1/4 cup plain greek yogurt
-1/2 cup water
-1 cup cilantro (leaves and stems)
-1 clove garlic
-1/2 t salt
-Juice from half a lime (or more)
Directions:
Pulse all ingredients in a food processor until smooth.

For the Carnitas:
Ingredients:
-Corn tortillas
-1 can Black beans (drained and rinsed)
-Romain lettuce
-Roma tomato (diced)
-Avocado (diced)
-Cheddar cheese (shredded)
Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray both sides of tortillas with cooking spray and place tortillas on a baking sheet. Cook for about 8 minutes, flipping them over at about 4 minutes. I usually heat up the black beans on the stove for a few minutes, but you can omit this if you want. The rest of the ingredients are just for toppings. Feel free to add or take away any ingredients.

This may seem like a lot of directions, but it really does not take long at all. You can make the dressing ahead of time or while your tortillas are heating up. Put them together for your family/guests or have everything spread out on the counter and serve buffet-style (my favorite)!

Enjoy! Let me know if you try it!