Crock Pot Pulled Pork

So I realized our blog has been a little neglected. Holli and Charly have been in Utah for the past two weeks. I should have done more blogging, but when you are cooking for one, it's hard to find the motivation. Plus after working for 10 hours a day, the last thing you want to do is...well anything.

Sorry guys, Holli has the camera so these aren't my pictures. Source

Chili Verde and Salsa

Merry Christmas everyone. Because it's Christmas this will be a very special blog post. The Coats family loves Mexican food. We can put some Mexican away- especialy my sister Lindsey. We love Mexican food so much we forgo the traditional Christmas dinner of turkey, ham and the works and have a Mexican feast! The main attraction of our Holiday feast is the ever popular Chile Verde. We have a recipe that my Dad holds as a benchmark for all mexican restaurants we go to. I still don't think he has found one that has satisfied him. I have been holding this recipe back for a special day. It is as close to a secret family recipe as we have in my family and today I found out that I had it's origins all wrong, but that's a story for another day. Well now that I am stuffed with our blessed holiday tradition, here is the recipe. I also included a nice blended salsa recipe. You can put this on a tortilla or over rice or just put it on a plate with beans, rice, and whatever other Mexican stuff you like.

Chili Verde
3 TBS vegetable Oil
1 large (5-6 lbs) Pork Boston Butt(boneless if possible), cubed 1 1/2" - 2"
1 16oz can (or equivalent in small cans) Ortega whole or diced green chilies
1 large white onion, diced
1 8oz canned crushed tomatoes (not drained)
3-4 TBS garlic powder
4 TBS cumin powder or more to taste
2 cans chicken broth (enough to cover meat)
1 - 2 TBS Salt to taste
corn Meal (if needed)
1 C. blended Salsa (if desired)

Brown pork on medium high heat until there is no pink. Add onion and chile and saute 5 - 10 min until onion is soft. Add tomato, garlic powder, cumin and stock. Add enough stock to cover the meat. Boil 2 hrs uncovered. Add salt to taste. If too thin add 2-3 TBS corn meal to thicken. You can add 1 C. Blended salsa (See next recipe) 30 min before Chili Verde is done.

Blended Salsa
1 large can whole tomatoes
1 large bunch of cilantro
1 bunch green onions (green parts only)
1 small can pickled jalepenos
garlic Salt to taste

Add all ingredients into blender. Pulse a few times and taste. Add more salt or jalepenos until you reach desired hotness and saltiness. Remember that the salsa will get hotter as time goes on. You can also cut out the middle of the Jalepeno rings to make salsa more mild. If you want the salsa to be a little chunkier be careful how many times you pulse it. If you want a more blended salsa pulse more until it has reached the desired consistency.

Maple Mustard Pork with Creamy Polenta

This is one of our favorite meals in the Coats household. I made it again this week and forgot how much I love it. The polenta takes a little time but takes almost no effort. If you have never had polenta, do yourself a favor and try it. It’s basically like yellow cream of wheat. I hope to post more polenta recipes in the near future. I like to put the polenta on the bottom and the pork on top of that, then drizzle it with sauce. That way the polenta soaks up the sauce. For as good as this recipe is, it really isn’t that hard to make! Also, whatever you do, don’t use pancake syrup buy legit maple! On a final note I like to make a little more sauce then it calls for, I just can’t get enough of it.

Maple-Mustard Pork Chops

4 (6-ounce) bone-in center-cut pork chops

1/2 teaspoon salt, divided

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Cooking spray

1 tablespoon butter

2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots

1/4 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons maple syrup

2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1. Sprinkle both sides of pork with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper.

2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add pork to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until cooked through, but with a slight blush in the center. Remove from pan; keep warm.

3. Return pan to medium-high heat. Add butter to pan, swirling pan to coat. Add shallots; sauté 3 minutes or until tender and translucent. Add broth; bring to a boil, and cook 1 minute. Stir in mustard, syrup, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt; cook 1 minute or until slightly thick. Return pork to pan. Cook pork 1 minute on each side or until thoroughly heated (be careful not to overcook pork). Serve pork with sauce. Garnish each serving with 1 1/2 teaspoons parsley.

Creamy Polenta Recipe

INGREDIENTS

4 cups water

Salt to taste

1 cup medium-grain yellow polenta

4 tablespoons butter

1 cup cream cheese

METHOD

1 Heat water lightly seasoned with salt to a boil over high heat, about 5 minutes. Quickly whisk in the polenta until fully incorporated.

2 Lower the heat to a low simmer, add the butter and allow the polenta to cook, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes.

3 Finish by stirring in the cream cheese and salt to taste.

If preparing in advance, cool, cover and refrigerate. Reheat in the microwave, about 5 minutes on high, just before serving. Stir vigorously after reheating to fluff.

Serves 8.