Laser Inspired Recipes (Or your favorites)

Everything Else
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What the heck - we’re killing time…I’m going to start it off with a fabulous Pork Carnitas recipe that I adapted from a Pinterest post (Crockpot Carnitas by Jillee) - It’s easy, freezes beautifully, is gluten free, low-cal, very filling…yadda, yadda, yadda. And you can freeze it to have meals ready in an instant - giving you time for more lasering.

Pork Crockpot Carnitas

Needed:

Crockpot
Lipped cookie sheet covered with foil, sprayed with cooking spray

3 lb Pork Tenderloins (makes it leaner than the butt)
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp.salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin (optional - and I’m allergic so i leave it out)
1 tsp. dried parsley
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
juice of 2 limes (or oranges)
1 tsp orange zest (fresh)
1/2 cup orange juice
12-14 ounce can Dr. Pepper

small bottle Bar-B-Q sauce
soft corn tortillas
sour cream

Throw everything in the crock pot except the BBQ sauce and cook on low for about 6-8 hours, or until tender. (Really, you can’t overcook it - the longer it goes the more it breaks down.)

Since the meat I use is a lot leaner than the pork butt she recommends using, you might be better off using low heat to cook it.

Remove the pork when done and shred it with a couple of forks. At this point, you can freeze packets of the shredded meat, with enough of the liquid to cover it, and it will be ready to go the next time you want to serve.

For the portion that you want to eat - mix a small quantity of BBQ sauce with water (or the juices from the pot) to thin it a little. Spread the pork out on the foil lined (sprayed) tray, drizzle the sweetened juice all over, and broil it to crisp up the meat and make a terrific blackened, chewy, moist carnitas. Serve in corn tortillas with some shredded lettuce and sour cream.

Since I don’t have a pic handy, I’ll send you to her recipe…(Check out her recipe too - it’s a knock-out!)

Wouldn’t it be cool to just laser them up when you’re ready for a taco? :yum:

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No full recipe right now, but the shred with two forks thing reminded me of a tip that we learned about a month or two ago. For people with a KitchenAid stand mixer, using the standard beater arm on the lowest speed will shred 6 lb of chicken breast in less than 30 seconds!

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I crockpot a lot of meals…that’s a very handy tip!

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Very similar to the one I make without the Dr Pepper…Id rather drink it…lol

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…if you want to make it veg-friendly (but the opposite of gluten-free,) maybe try:

Faux Turkey

1/2 cup instant Seitan (aka Wheat Gluten)
1/2 cup water

Stir the above ingredients 'till they become elastic, then knead for 5 minutes and set aside

2 cups water
3 Tbsp nutritional yeast
2 Tbsp tamari
1 tsp veg-friendly Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried sage
1/2 tsp dried thyme

Bring these ingredients to boil. Slice prepared gluten (mmmm… gluuuuten) into stakes or whatever shape you want them and drop into broth. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 50-60 minutes or so. Stir about every 10 minutes. If you want it chewier, bake it for 30 min. at 350 on greased pan.

Use in Carnitas? I don’t have a “pork” recipe on hand, so this is the somewhat more mild tasting of the ones that I do have. From La Dolce Vegan. Might need to play with the spices.

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I usually sneak a little sip…:sweat_smile:

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Looks like a good recipe too, but I’d need to use something besides the seitan.

Tell you what - I have another favorite that is both Gluten free and Vegetarian (although not vegan - it uses cheese and milk) but I didn’t adapt that one - let me see if I can find the link…

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Skinny Spaghetti Squash Alfredo

Okay I’m just going to be lazy and link to it - this stuff is to die for:

Skinny-Spaghetti-Squash-Alfredo.jpg467×700 88 KB

http://www.thecomfortofcooking.com/2013/03/skinny-spaghetti-squash-alfredo.html

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Wonder what it does for pork butt?

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OK since we’re on pig.

Serves 4 as starter 2 as main. ( personally I recommend this one as a starter, it’s very low on fat, but quite rich).

start with 4x Pigs trotters.
Simmer the Trotters in a pan of Veg stock ( just enough to cover the meat).
Keep going until the trotters falls apart when you look at them. Not touch them, but look at them. Usually about 4-6 hours on a low simmer (or in a slow cooker).
Pull the meat off the bones and place in a ceramic dish and cover with the liquid until it reaches just below the top of the meat. Cover with cling film and place some weights on top. Put it in the fridge.
When it has chilled and set (the gelatin forms a loverly jelly), remove and cut into 1" cubes.
Dredge the cubes in flour then egg then breadcrumb and fry in a shallow pan with butter until golden brown.
Serve with a salsa verde or tiger sauce, hollandaise, whatever takes your fancy really, but personally I prefer something light and a little bit acidic.
This really is delicious and can be played with quite a lot. Another variation (if you have a sweet tooth) is to cook them in Coke rather than veg stock.
My kids love this, mostly because I’ve never told them what it’s made from.
If you want to make it a bit more meaty, chuck in a hock.

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From a person who’s eaten raccoon and alligator, it sounds delicious. (And no, I’m not kidding.) :no_mouth:

:thumbsup: to the hollandaise - it’s one of my fav’s.

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I love alligator…never tried coon…

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I can’t imagine it would be any less effective. It was like magic to watch it work!

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The coon is much better…if slow simmered for multiple hours with the holy trinity (onion/celery/green pepper) and spices, it comes out just like the most tender flavorful pot roast you ever ate.

Of course it’s a lot easier to just get a pot roast.

The gator I had was an exercise in exercising your jaw muscles…tough, tough, tough. Took a week to chew it.

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Yum. Love carnitas!

If making tacos de carnitas, HEB has a great mango salsa and I pair that with crumbled cotija cheese (Feta works also but doesn’t cut the sweetness of the mango salsa as much). I usually hit them hard in a searing hot cast iron pan on one side for about 50-60 seconds and that leaves a great crunch on one side and super tender on the other.

And they do freeze so well!!! Freeze just the slow-cooked meat (with juice!) without crisping the meat and then just thaw and throw in the cast iron pan (or broiler!) when ready to eat and it will be like you just made them.

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Oh thats too bad your gater was tough…We did gater nuggets, lightly breaded and deep fried…was fall apart tender…like fish…yours may have been overcooked…like calimari…goes rubbery

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Calimari was exactly what it was like - I’ve never had any that wasn’t more work to eat than it was worth. (And every salesman who ever took us out for lunches had to order it!)

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Got to try that mango salsa - sounds like the perfect finishing touch! :yum:

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Gluten Free

FB_IMG_1461534094005.jpg960×540 71.9 KB
Peanut butter kisses

355°

Hershey kisses
1cup creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp confectioners sugar
2 Tbsp GF flour blend w/o gums
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1/4 cup sugar for rolling…

Unwrap a few dozen kisses.
Beat remaining ingredients (except sugar for rolling) together until a dough forms that pulls away from the side of the bowl.
Make 1" balls, dip in sugar and place on cookie sheet.
Bake 8 mins, remove and push a hershey kiss into each cookie… The dough will crack . Return to the oven for 2 1/2 more minutes. Let cool on sheet for 15 mins then transfer to cooling rack. You may need to place in the refrigerator to reharden the chocolate kiss.
If you only want the cookies with no kiss, Roll in sugar then press the raw dough with a fork, turn 90° and press down again making a checker pattern. Bake 8-9 mins.

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I know this discussion isn’t limited to gluten-free; but that started it, so that’s what I’ll share.

Here’s a gluten-free recipe my sister in law gave me.
I don’t know where she got it, but I’ll put it in her words:

Mouse Trap Cookies

This is not the original name. However, since these are the
delectable cookies that lured a vile mouse into our kitchen and cupboards, and
were subsequently used to lure the mouse to a trap, it seemed fitting to change
the name of the cookie. I can’t say I blame the mouse for going to extremes to
chow down on these because these cookies are awesome. Just make sure you store
them in a mouse-proof container. :slight_smile:

Cream:
1/2 c. white sugar
1 c. brown sugar, packed
3/4 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
1 c. peanut butter

Add:
1 c. oatmeal
1 (12 oz.) chocolate chips

Mix well (if too dry add a few drops of milk). Drop on
cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees until lightly browned about 10 to 12 minutes.

I have some family members - both my side and my husband’s - who have celiac; so we provide plenty of GF options for family events.

My Hawaiian Haystacks include a gravy that’s gluten free. It goes like this:

1stick butter
1cup white or brown rice flour
6 cups hot chicken stock (I use GF bullion)
1/3 cup milk
Salt, pepper, garlic salt

Melt butter in a pot on the stove. Stir in flour and cook
for about 2 minutes stirring constantly. Meanwhile, warm your chicken stock. I
do mine in the microwave.

After cooking butter and rice flour for / minutes, add the hot
stock and whisk quickly til it’s all combined and mixed well and lumps are
gone.

Let simmer for 2-3 minutes to thicken.

Stir in milk.

Add salt, pepper and garlic salt to taste. I do about 1tsp
salt, ½ tsp pepper and a few shakes garlic salt. Sometimes I get in a mood and flavor differently.

Put that lovely tasty slosh into a crockpot with some chicken and go away for a few hours.

Later, make rice and chop veggies and pile up the plates like this:
Rice
Chicken & Gravy
Blanched Peas
Shredded Cheese
Diced Tomatoes
Crushed Pineapple
Green onions
Chinese Noodles (these aren’t gluten free)
Coconut, if you are that kind of person

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