Recipe: crock pot pork carnitas

With summer quickly approaching and summer temperatures already here, I have been trying to utilize my crock pot more.  I generally see the crock pot as a winter cooking tool but there are some many wonderful, season appropriate dishes that can be make in the crock pot.  I've recently tried a few new crock pot recipes and I have one cooking away on the counter as I type.  The first I'm going to share with you is for these super tasty pork carnitas.

Now, I'm not going to lie.  There is definitely a bit of prep work that goes into this recipe.  However, once the prep is done you just stuff everything in the crock pot and it's AMAZING!  If you like pork and Mexican food this is a must try recipe!

 You will need:

• 2.5 lb pork shoulder blade roast, lean
• 6 cloves garlic, cut into sliver
• cumin
• dry adobo seasoning (if you can't find this just omit)
• garlic powder
• 3/4 cup 99% fat free chicken broth
• 2-3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. (These add spice so start with less and add more if you need)
• 2 bay leaves.

Season pork with salt and pepper. In a medium sauté pan on medium-high heat, brown pork on all sides for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Using a sharp knife, insert blade into pork, cutting small holes and insert garlic slivers. Season pork generously with cumin, adobo and garlic powder all over.

Pour chicken broth in the crock pot, add bay leaves and chipotle peppers. Place pork in crock pot and cover. Cook low for 8 hours. After 8 hours, shred pork using two forks and combine well with the juices that accumulated at the bottom. Remove bay leaves and adjust salt and cumin (you will probably need to add more). Let it cook another 15-30 minutes.  



I ate this three ways.  The first night I just put the carnitas on tortilla shells with a bit of sour cream and taco sauce.  Divine, but high in calories if you eat your fill. The second night I ate this I roasted a spaghetti squash and tossed the carnitas with squash, black beans, cheddar cheese and bit of sour cream.  It was wonderful eaten with a fork and in a tortilla.  I also took it as a carnitas salad for lunch a few days.  I didn't do anything too fancy, just some shredded lettuce, black beans, carnitas, onions and tomatoes.  Such a good lunch!

Seriously, I couldn't believe how wonderful this recipe turned out.  It's worth the time and effort, trust me!

I'm back!

Wow, I cannot believe how long it has been since I've posted to this thing! I have to apologize that it's taken me this long to get back here. 


I have had a lot going on in the last 6 weeks.  Obviously there was that whole back injury thing that didn't make me very happy.  However, I am pleased to report that I have successfully graduated physical therapy and am feeling pretty good.  There is some minor, residual back achiness (if it's not a word it should be) that I've never had before but it's not something that I can't live with. In the spirit of full disclosure, I haven't been very faithful to my home rehab, it's a lot harder to motivate yourself when you don't feel pain.  I need to make sure that I work on those exercises so that I don't get into the same situation I was in. I'll tell you, I have a whole knew appreciation for chronic back pain sufferers.  If the pain that I was experiencing is anything like what they live with on a daily basis I don't know how they do much of anything but lie on the couch and want to die.

At the end of April I made an amazing trip home.  Fortunately my back played nice the whole time (my PT fixed me the day before I left!!) and it was so nice to be home, even though it was much too short of a trip.  I got to spend lots of time with the family.  I took Hailee to gymnastics and realized that she got the Warnke-lack-of-grace genes (poor girl), but I think gymnastics will help her. Most importantly she had an amazing time being there.  Yay for fun physical activity!! I also got to meet my newest nephew Peyton, finally.  He is so incredibly adorable (and no, I'm not an unbiased observer) and he's a really well behaved baby for the most part. I even got to spend a morning with him alone.  His baptism was wonderful and he LOVES the moose I got him for his present!  Karla and Justin assure me it's his favorite toy.

Work has been it's usual crazy self.  Right now I'm taking an 8-week course that meets all-day, every Thursday.  The class is a foundations class for managers.  It's been really great, I've learned a lot about the policies and procedures of the University but I've also learned a lot about myself.  We've had classes that look at communication and management style and that information is really helping me to see some of my flaws and work to correct them.  I know, it's hard to believe I have flaws but they're there ;-) We're also gearing up for a crazy summer.  It's our busiest season and we have our EPIC transition in August so we have a summer loaded with classes and inevitable change.  Woot...

I am really looking forward to this summer.  I have some great goals set for myself and I'm looking forward to a camping trip that I'm taking with some friends in the Traverse City area at the end of June.  I've never been 'up North' in Michigan so I'm really excited about this.  We're going to be tent camping and I know that we're going to spend a day at the dunes in the area, we're chartering a fishing boat for a day and I think we'll spend a day either rafting, kayaking or tubing down the Platte River and end up beaching it on the crystal clear blue water of Lake Michigan!  I cannot wait!

My weight loss life has been a bit meh as of late. When I hurt my back I was in excruciating pain just standing so I didn't have a strong desire to much of anything and exercising was simply out of the question. I found myself eating a lot of take-out and highly processed foods.  Pair that with no real physical activity and I just didn't feel good.  I was tired and irritable (although that could have been from the pain as well) and I just didn't have interest in making healthy choices.  Man, I was an idiot. While on my hiatus I gained a bit of weight back.  Not a lot but it was real weight gain, not just I ate too much sodium and crap weight gain.  This is the first time that I've gained real weight back since September of 2010 and  I am not happy with myself about it. 

I'm taking the steps to get back on the right track. First and foremost I was given the go-ahead to slowly get back into running. I have been doing interval workouts the last two weeks and I have to say that it's a bit discouraging to realize how quickly you lose fitness when you stop exercising.  Before I hurt my back I was in a great place.  I had just completed my fastest 5K time.  I could do a 5K, alternating between 5 and 5.5 mph and have an average heart rate in the low 170's.  I did a 60-minute interval workout yesterday where my 5 mph intervals lasted 2:15 minutes.  By the end of the runs, my heart rate was in the low 180's. Boo... However, I'm not giving up.  I'm going to keep working at it and get back to where I was.  I just have to give myself permission to take the time I need.

My eating has also been a bit abysmal as of late.  I've gotten into the habit of eating out way too much and I need to break that habit, again.  It's funny how I always go back to the same bad habits.  I wonder if it's just me or if it's everybody. When I got back from Iowa I told myself that my eating out had to stop.  I told myself that I wasn't going to eat out in May.  It simply was not an option. I told the girls at work that if I toyed with the idea of running down to Subway to remind me of my goal.  I told my sister that if I called her and said that I wanted to order Jimmy John's for dinner that she needs to tell me know. I'm happy to report that I've done really well.  I did eat out last Saturday for lunch.  I had a good friend in town with her husband and kids and they wanted to meet up.  We ended up have lunch out but I don't feel to guilty about it.  The eating out ban is not to keep me from eating out ever, it's to help me break the idea of grabbing dinner out whenever the mood strikes.  It's all about making the right, healthful choices the majority of the time. Not to mention, it's the time of year that I'm really inspired to cook so I should focus on that!

Anyway, I should really stop typing.  This post is already really long.  I have a few recipes that I'd like to share with you and and I'm sure there are other things, however, this beautiful weather is calling to me and I want to get out and enjoy it.  I hope that your May is going well!  I have lots of reading to do on your blogs, I can't wait to catch up!

I'm still here...

Hi ladies.  I just wanted to let you know that I'm here, but not really. I hurt my back over a week ago and just as it was feeling better I screwed it up royally.  Now back pain alone couldn't stop me from blogging but sitting at my desk is the WORST place/position and I can't handle more than a few minutes in this chair.  I promise that I'll be back once I'm feeling better.  Until then have an amazing Easter weekend and wonderful spring!

Recipe: lime bars

Don't worry, they're not as scary as they sound.  One of my colleagues has a birthday this weekend and we celebrated Friday at work.  We ordered lunch in and I decided I was going to make something sweet.  I needed a good excuse to try my new lime bar recipe, however, because I gave up sweets for Lent I was hesitant to try a new recipe.  If they didn't turn out I didn't want to bring them to work.  I don't know how it happened but I have cultivated a reputation as a good baker and I've been trying very hard to not mess that up.  I debated for a while and finally decided to give them a whirl.  I figured, worst case scenario they turn out bad and I just explain that it was a new recipe that I'd never tried before.

Well, after whipping these bars up, I decided that there was no way that they could be bad.  I brought them into work and they got rave reviews.  And, in the spirit of full disclosure I ate a tiny one and it was amazing.  There I admit it, I cheated on Lent. Although, I'm not Catholic so it's not that bad, right?!?!?  I've decided that these bars are the perfect spring dessert.  They're not too sweet but they're not pucker your lips tart.  They are an amazing green color and are just perfectly refreshing! I told Karla that I was going to make them for Peyton's baptism in April...I can't wait!

For the crust you will need:

1 c. flour
1/4 c. powdered sugar
1 stick butter (unsalted), cold*
1/4 tsp. sea salt*

*I used salted butter so I left the salt out and I think it was perfect

For the filling you will need:
1 1/4 c. white sugar
1/4 c. flour
4 large eggs
2/3 c. lime juice (about 6 limes if using fresh)
green food coloring (enough to reach desired green color)
2 tsp. zest (optional if you want it more tart)

powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

To make the crust, combine the powdered sugar, flour and sea salt in a large bowl. Cut in the cold butter and work with your fingers until the mixture resembles cornmeal. Press into a greased nine inch pan and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden.

To make the filling, whisk together the granulated sugar and flour in a bowl. Add the eggs, one at a time, whisking well after each addition. Add the zest, lime juice and enough green food coloring to produce desired green color and mix until everything is smooth and combined.

Pour filling over hot crust and return to oven to bake for another twenty minutes. When done, the filling will no longer jiggle. Let cool completely in the pan before slicing and dusting with powdered sugar.

I got 25 bars out of my 9x9 pan and they came to about 117 calories each. Not too bad!  I also should mention that I didn't add the zest because I didn't use fresh limes.  I cheated and bought the bottled lime juice to save my hands the burning from having to squeeze citrus fruit. If you want a really tart dessert, and some people do, you could definitely add it.

These bars were amazing and so very easy to make.  There really isn't any way that you could mess them up so if you need a quick, easy and delicious dessert I say give them a try!

New specs and itty bitty specs...

So I finally broke down and went to the eye doctor.  I've worn glasses in the past but they never help me see better (mostly because I've never had vision issues) and they just get in my way.  However, lately I've been noticing that when I read I have a hard time getting the words to focus. I've put it off and put it off, I was worried that they would tell me that my perfect left eye was going bad and I didn't want to hear it.  As it turns out, my left eye is still perfect and my right eye still blows.  Dr. Knight prescribed reading glasses for me and, yay, they were ready in an hour. I had a hard time deciding between the pair I got and a really cool pair of eco metal frames (they're made from 100% recycled material) but in the end these won out.

I also finally talked myself into, well more like talked myself out of talking myself out of, buying the one thing that I told myself I would buy when I lost 100 pounds.  When I started out on this journey, months and months ago I told myself and anybody else who would listen that when I lost 100 pounds I was going to buy myself a pair of diamond earrings. As 100 approached I started to think of all of the more practical things I could spend that kind of money on.  I hemmed and hawed trying to decide if it was worth it.  I really, really wanted them but I have a hard time spending that kind of money on necessities let alone extravagant purchases (under which heading diamond anythings fall).  However, I had an hour to kill from the time my eye exam was done until I could pick my new glasses up.  I didn't really feel like clothes shopping and there was a conveniently located jewelry store right next to Pearle.  As if I needed any other signs, they were having a sale!! And boy, did I get a good deal. They were on sale for $299 and when I declined the lifetime warranty they offered to give me the 'managers' discount and the lifetime warranty for $310.  I figured for 10 extra bucks it was worth it.  I already love them!  It's funny how something as small as switching out cubic zirconia for real diamonds can make a girl feel like a real grown up!  Anyway, here is a picture.  They're not huge but they're perfect for me!!

Anyway that's all I've got.  I'm probably going to spend the remainder of my weekend doing laundry and cleaning...woot!

I hope you all had a fabulous weekend and wonderful St. Patrick's Day!

Shamrocks and Shenanigan Success

My first race has come and gone and it was a success! My only goal going into the event was that I didn't want to walk. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to accomplish  that goal, especially as we approached the top of a half mile incline but Julie was there reassuring me the whole time. Some of my speeds were quite slow but I managed to jog the whole 3.11 miles!!  I have to say that I'm really proud of myself.  There were a few points that I really wanted to just walk, if only for a short time, but I managed to push through the feelings of death and keep my feet going.  In all honesty, without Julie there I probably would have walked at one point.  It was really nice having someone around to keep me accountable. In the end I managed to finish in 39:40.7.  It might not be fast but it's mine!!

Anyway, the first group 5K of the pediatric EKG lab was a great success. Sadly Jill was really sick and couldn't make it but we stuck her bib under Corey's and she got a time, even though she wasn't there.  I think the next run we're going to do is the Dexter-Ann Arbor run in early June. Corey is planning to run the half marathon but the rest of us will do the 5K. I really excited to start training so I can improve my time!

Apparently I'm all about pictures lately so here is the group shot after the race. One of our fellows found us before the race and then he waited at the finish line to cheer us on as we finished.  He's one of our favorites!!

p.s. if you buy new running tights make sure you try them out before the race.  I spent the first 10 minutes of the race holding my pants on so I didn't flash the poor kid behind me...

A picture is worth 1000 words...

And I have three!  I was working in my closet today (it's a disaster!!) and I stumbled across the two pair of before pants that I am keeping for the end of my journey so I can remember just how far I've come.  I took them to the bathroom and tried them on and then held them up...wow.  I just had to take some pictures!!

p.s. please ignore my cluttered laundry room :-)