Crock Pot Pork Carnitas Tacos

Recipes
Written By Aleah Dechant
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Making meals and staying healthy can be hard. Making meals and staying healthy while dealing with a baseball schedule is even harder. Not everyone has to face the challenges of how to eat dinner at 11pm after a game is over.

What restaurants are still open? If I am making the food, does that mean we aren’t eating until midnight? And how is this late-night scheduled eating affecting my health?

Thankfully, there are a few tips, tricks and tools that all of us can rely on when it comes to whacky schedules and getting a meal on the table quickly. 

One such tool is our handy crock pot. Personally, I have a love/hate relationship with this thing. I love the ease of putting a few ingredients in and having a meal ready to go 8 hours later, but I hate how so often the food can get mushy and it all tastes like the same flavor. Until these pork carnitas tacos entered the picture. 

Something amazing happens to the meat as it marinades and cooks all day long. Tender, easy to shred and packed full of flavor – it’s simply amazing. 

“Carnitas, literally meaning “little meats”, is a dish of Mexican cuisine that originated in the state of Michoacan. Carnitas are made by braising or simmering pork in oil or lard until tender.” *Wikipedia Another way to think of it is Mexican pulled pork. And rather than standing over a hot stove, we’re going to make ours in the slow cooker. 

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Crock Pot Pork Carnitas Tacos

Yield: 8
Author:
prep time: 5 Mcook time: 8 hourtotal time: 8 H & 5 M
Mexican pulled pork, perfect for tacos, nachos and leftovers!

ingredients:

  • 2 lb pork tenderloin
  • 1 taco seasoning packet
  • 1 24 oz jar of Verde Salsa (I recommend Herdez brand, found in most major retail stores)

instructions:

How to cook Crock Pot Pork Carnitas Tacos

  1. Place the tenderloin in the crockpot.
  2. Sprinkle the loin with the taco seasoning. Top with the jar of Verde salsa.
  3. Set cooker to low and let cook for 8 hours.
  4. At the end of the 8 hours, shred the pork (while it is in the crock pot) and let it sit and soak up juices until ready to serve. Create tacos to your preference. With this much flavor, a simple tortilla, cilantro and avocado are perfect!

NOTES:

TIPS: Leftover pork can be used for nachos or a burrito bowl for future meals. It will store well in the fridge for 2-3 days, and up to 2 months in the freezer.  To make tacos gluten free, serve in a hard or soft corn tortilla (be sure to check the packaging for the GF designation). If you have a few extra minutes and want to up the “wow factor”, you can sear the tortillas over the stove. *This only works with flour tortillas RECOMMENDED SIDES: Refried beans and rice Chips, salsa and guacamole Mexican corn salad Chips, salsa and guacamole
Created using The Recipes Generator

Enjoy Mexican meals that you can create quickly?  Check out my recipe for Mexican Quinoa! 

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Aleah Dechant
Aleah Dechant

Hi, I’m Aleah Dechant.

I’m a meal planning expert whose passion is to help busy families stress less in the kitchen so that they can spend more time with those that they love.

I live in the woods in a small Amish town in Northern Indiana with my husband, our two boys and our golden retriever, (also a boy – I’m outnumbered).

Being a planner has always been a big part of my personality. When I was growing up you could find loads of post it notes stuck all over my mirrors in my bedroom. Pretty post-its, colorful pens and lists to cross off were what surrounded me rather than your typical teen’s boy-group posters. Maybe it has something to do with being an Enneagram 2 – The Helper.

As a Mom, I still rely on lists and love a good post-it. If it’s not written down, don’t expect me to remember it! Chasing after our two active boys along with our dog keeps my mind occupied during the day. So I RELY on those lists and plans to get me through. And THEY DO!

Personally, I’d never want to glorify the act of being busy. But really, what parent isn’t mind-boggling, knee slapping, fall asleep on the couch at night, busy? Exactly. We all are. And over the last 10 years I have continued to tweak my methods of getting it done so that I can work more efficiently. When those kids go to bed at night, I want to be able to relax with my husband and have time to recharge for the next day. I don’t want to be cleaning and prepping and handling all the other stuff into the wee hours. It’s just not for me. I’ve had so many moms come up to me and say “How do you get it all done? I just don’t understand!” Honey, it comes down to a little planning, list making and working smarter not harder. Oh, and being able to throw all of that out the window at any given notice because that’s just how it works when you have kids, am I right?

So, here’s why I’m here. I’m going to try and show you how I am able to get some of these daily chores done and still have time to relax in the evening. I’m going to show you how to plan ahead with your meals so that you aren’t stressing about “What’s for dinner?” I’m going to help you take back your house so that it can become a place of refuge rather than something that keeps you up at night.

We’re not going to glorify being busy, friend. We are going to do the opposite. We are going to find ways to make you LESS busy, so you can enjoy your life and actually move it in the direction that you are wanting to be!

You can find me at:

idratherbebaking.com

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Aleah Dechant

Aleah Dechant is time management guru and meal planning expert whose passion is to help busy women stress less in the kitchen so that they can spend more time with those they love. With a husband that travels frequently for work, Aleah knows the importance of stability and juggling many hats to keep a home front running. She uses her experience to provide recipes and meal plans that even the most basic cook can pull off effectively.

http://www.idratherbebaking.com
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