Always looking for a money and time saver in the kitchen? This recipe is a real two for one! Purchase a boneless pork roast, doesn’t need to be an expensive cut – just the opposite! Marinade the roast the night before – in the morning toss it in the crockpot and walk away for 8-10 hours! The idea here is to roast the pork and use it in two meals – Carnitas and then Pozole. Carnitas is the pork, shredded and ready for taco’s or burritos. Pozole is a wonderful spicy stew that features the pork and hominy.

As to the roast – couldn’t be any easier – make a rub for the marinade, smash 3-4 garlic cloves, 1 Tbsp chili powder, 1/2 Tbsp of paprika (hot if you have it but regular will do), a dash of coriander, 1/2 tsp of oregano and 1/2 tsp of cumin. If you don’t have coriander, don’t sweat the small stuff – its a forgiving recipe. Put the spice mix in a resealable baggie and drop the roast in, add 1 beer or 8 oz of broth to the baggie and marinade for 8-24 hours – Pull out your crock pot – line the bottom with rough cut celery (include tops) and big onion slices (both are just for flavoring) and a couple of whole peppercorns if you have them – bring the liquid level up to the bottom 1/2 of the roast (use broth or beer to increase if needed). Put it on low for 8 hours for a 4-5 lb roast. The meat should just about fall apart when lifted from the crock. Use the first 1/2 for carnitas and the rest for pozole.

Pork Carnitas taco meat – Shred (two forks work well) half of the pork roast meat. Reserve the other half for Pozole. Put the pork into a skillet and add just enough of the broth from the crock wet the meat – bring to a simmer until the liquid is all absorbed and your ready to make taco’s or burritos’. Serve with shredded cabbage, cilantro, chopped onions, jalapeno’s, salsa – whatever your group likes on their taco’s!

Now the

Pozole Here’s a great “game day” recipe for the other half of that pork roast. This is a wonderfully simple stew with a zippy broth that the savory taste of the corn kernels mellow perfectly. It will really please the hearty eaters and they won’t even realize they are getting a daily quota of ….dare i say it? – vegetables. As with all stews – this recipe is just a general guideline, feel free to add or take away ingredients.

celery-1/3-1/2 C of 1/4″ chunks
carrot – 1/4 C, quartered, 1/4″ chunks
yellow onion, heavy 1/2 C, quartered, 1/4″ slices
2 cloves of garlic, minced
4 Tbsp oleo/marg/butter
other half of the roast, rough cut into chunks
2/3 C yellow squash or zucchini – quartered, 1/2″ chunks
2 anaheim peppers – charred, peeled, rough chopped (or 1 can fire roasted diced chili’s)
can of white hominy (15.5 ounce) keep the juice

2 Tbsp flour
2 Tbsp good chili powder
pinch of cumin
1 tsp white pepper
1 tsp oregano
2 C pork or chicken broth with
1 Tbsp of tomato paste dissolved in it

Place the celery, carrot and onion in a large deep skillet or stew pot with the the oleo- over medium heat allow veggies to start to soften -about 3-4 minutes – then add the garlic, flour, chili powder, cumin, white pepper, and oregano. Turn down the heat and allow this mixture to cook for 4-5 minutes stirring often. Add the broth of choice and stir consistently until well mixed – bring the heat back up until this starts to simmer – Add the hominy (with juice),meat, chopped pepper and squash – cover and allow to simmer for 30 minutes – stirring just occasionally. If stew is too thick, add additional liquid – additional broth, water or even a part of beer. Like most stews, this is just as good the next day (if not better).
Serving suggestions:
*Ladle each bowl, sprinkle with cheese and broil for a few, just to melt the cheese and stab a couple of tortilla chips in the side
*Or serve the stew table side with cheese quesadilla’s and optional hot sauce, fresh chopped jalapenos, cilantro and/or sour cream
*Easily converted to vegetarian, by omitting the pork completely (use TVP, potato, or turnip for the substitution)