Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Tacos with Cilantro Lime Sauce & Corn and Black Bean Salsa

I must again give credit to someone else for a recipe.  As a final hurrah while my little sister was in town, my brother and sister in law had us all over to their house for pork tacos.  I had heard much about them, and while optimistic - had never actually had pork tacos.  Let me say right now, I am now a believer, and not an italicizer.  I can say with certainty that I would make these again, and again, and again.  And yes, I had FOUR of these puppies that night.  At the time I said I would repent by skipping dessert.  But by the time dessert came, I had that too.  We were celebrating though, so its ok, right??

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Tacos

Here's what they used:

1 4lb pork roast
1 cup medium salsa
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup 7-Up

Here's what they did:

Put roast in crock pot. Mix other ingredients together and pour over roast. Cook on low for 8 hours. Shred when done.

Yea, that's it.  Hahaha.  So easy its funny.

This was served buffet, or "make your own", with the following choices:

Pan-Warmed Corn Tortillas (we used a cast iron skillet, but a non-stick skillet will also work.  Keep them warm between the folds of a clean dishtowel until serving)
Corn and Black Bean Salsa (recipe to follow)
Grated Cheddar/Monterey Jack Cheese Blend
Green Onions
Shredded Romaine Lettuce
Cilantro Lime Sauce (recipe to follow)

Cilantro Lime Sauce

This may have been my favorite part of this recipe.  Tangy, zippy, perfectly topped each little dainty taco.  I think I have had dreams about this in the 2 days since we had it...

Here's what they used:

1 pkg Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix
3/4 cup mayo
3/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/3 bunch cilantro
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp salsa verde (green salsa)
1 lime, zest and juice
**add 1/2 of a fresh jalapeno for HEAT
Here's what they did:

Add dressing ingredients in blender and mix well. Make ahead and chill for several hours.

Are you seeing a theme here?  EASY.  And delicious.

Corn and Black Bean Salsa

While we added this to our tacos, it is also delish with chips, or just warm corn tortillas, scooping up portions as an appetizer.

Here's what they used:

1 (15 ounce) can yellow corn, drained
1 (15 ounce) can white corn, drained
2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (14.5 ounce) can Italian-style diced tomatoes, drained
1 bunch finely chopped cilantro
5 green onions, finely sliced
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 tbsp minced garlic
1/4 cup lime juice
1 avocado - peeled, pitted, and diced
2 tbsp olive oil, or to taste

Here's what they did:

Stir the yellow and white corn, black beans, tomatoes, cilantro, green onion, red onion, bell pepper, and garlic in a large bowl. Gently mix in the lime juice and avocado. Drizzle with olive oil to serve. I would also add S&P to taste, and adjust flavors to your liking.

So the theme of that meal was not only DELISH but EASY.  Easy, easy, easy.  Enjoy!!

Mia's Pinto Beans & Cornbread

I have been MIA on two trips recently. I spent a few days with my mom in the Bahamas about a week ago, and more recently, the hubbs, Sydney and I flew to Louisiana for the weekend to go to the LSU/Auburn football game in Baton Rouge. So we've been busy!! And when not busy, we've been ordering DELIVERY!! haha. So not much cooking.

I did cook yesterday though...w/ my slow cooker.

One of my favorite meals also happens to be one of the cheapest and healthiest. Gotta love when that happens. ;) I can't say the same for a plate full of cheddar and jack cheese nachos with jalapenos. A bag of dried Pinto beans runs between 2-3 dollars, and feeds 3-4 easily. Corn Meal is equally inexpensive, but makes great cornbread. I grew up with this simple food - one that you can customize with all sorts of toppings and make it all your own.

I usually have the following toppings on hand: Sour Cream, Shredded Cheese, Jalapenos, Cilantro, Chopped Onions...

Mia's Pinto Beans

Here's what I used:

1 bag dried pinto beans
3 strips bacon, chopped into 2-3" pieces
1 onion, chopped into 1-2" pieces
dash: Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder
4-6 cups water

Here's what I did:

Rinsed the beans thoroughly in a colander to weed out any little rocks (yes, rocks) that might be hiding. Added beans, bacon, onion, seasonings and water to slow cooker and set to high. Cooked on high for 2-3 hours, checking occasionally. Added water when some of the beans began to rise above the water level. Turned to low and let cook another 2-3 hours. They were probably done after 1-2, but it didn't hurt to continue to cook them and keep them warm.

Cheesy Cheddar Cornbread

Here's what I used:

1 cup corn meal
1 cup whole milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 deli slices cheddar, broken into 1" pieces (shredded is fine too - about 1/2 cup)
1 large egg
1/4 cup sugar
3 tsps baking powder
1 tsp salt

Here's what I did:

Preheated oven to 400 degrees. Then I added all of the dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl, and whisked to remove any lumps. Then I added the oil, milk and egg, and mixed just to incorporate. Lastly, I added my cheddar pieces and mixed them into the batter. I added my batter to a med-sized glass baking dish that had been sprayed well with PAM. After 20-25 minutes, the cornbread should be golden brown on top, mine was also oozing a little cheddar on top - YUMM.

I cut the cornbread into individual squares. This recipe mades about 9-12 good-sized pieces of cornbread.

On to reviews. My dad was over last night, and was pretty happy to hear I was making one of his favorite meals, too. Its his mom's recipe, so he's a long time fan. :) He added cheese, sour cream, jalapenos and broke his cornbread into his bowl. I like to add 2 big dollops of sour cream and a good amount of cheese - and then eat each bite with its own cornbread. And then pop a jalapeno here and there. Hubbs...well hubbs doesn't think beans are a REAL dinner. He was skeptical that BEANS stand on their own as an actual protein...but ate anyway. I think just because he was hungry. Oh! And Sydney Grace loved her beans and cornbread. She just popped those little puppies in one by one. I found a proten she likes! WHEEEE.