slow cooker green chili and pork & cabbage slaw burritos

Nuno came home one night with a huge pork shoulder that he bought on sale. It took him quite a lot of time to remove the skin, bone and excess fat, but once complete we ended up with lots of pork. He first made my dad's slow cooker pulled pork. Then we ground a couple pounds.

The last of the meat was used in Slow Cooker Green Chili from Everyday Food's October 2010 issue.

There aren't too many ingredients that go into this recipe, but one key ingredient is Poblano or Anaheim peppers. I guess these two peppers aren't a part of anyone in Niagara's diet because they aren't available here. I had my parents bring me 6 Anaheim peppers from the U.S. at Wegmans in order to make this dinner.

This recipe is positively delicious!  The whole family loved it, even Owen. I truly think this is one of the best recipes I've ever come across for a slow cooker. Everything that goes into this recipe is very inexpensive and lasts two meals (and a couple lunches). I made a side of Cilantro Lime Rice which made this dinner go even further.

The next night the left-over chili is used in Pork and Cabbage Slaw Burritos. Although the recipe doesn't call for it, I added the rest of the Cilantro Lime Rice from the day before. Again, so delicious! I usually dollop tons of sour cream and salsa on burritos because they tend to be a little dry for me, but the cabbage slaw really helped make these perfect! There is just something about cilantro - lime flavour combo that is a real pick-me-up in the middle of winter. Fantastic meal I'll be sure to make again very soon.

stuffed poblanos

I decided to start celebrating Cinco De Mayo this year. All that really means is that I have the chance to decorate the house with my 30th birthday party items and make Mexican food. I put a bunch of decorations around the house including a cardboard Mariachi man on the front door and pulled out Hot Tot's favourite costume.

Moments later my neighbour across the street came over to offer up a kiddie pool and I can't imagine what she thought seeing the front door and Hot Tot dressed up! I mean, do people really observe Cinco De Mayo? My dad hadn't heard of it and had trouble understanding why I did this. Oh well, it was tons of fun we even got Owen into the action!

There are several Mexican recipes in Everyday Food and the one I was most concerned with was the Stuffed Poblanos. The reason for this was because, as far as I know, there doesn't seem to be a single store that sells them here in Niagara. But when Katie's party brought us out of the region it was a great opportunity to grab them at Whole Foods.

We started off with guacamole and tortilla chips (also from Whole Foods).

The Stuffed Poblanos were straight forward to make. They take a little more time than most of the other recipes in the book, but I didn't have any issue with that since this is the main course for a dinner party. On the side is Cilantro and Lime Rice which took minutes to make and a great side to the peppers. Both recipes turned out perfect and they tasted great. I would definitely make them again.