Mely Cooks Monday

Crockpot Pork Chile Verde

 

A couple years ago one of my brother's good friends Craig brought over a tasty Pork Chile Verde he had made in the oven. It was quite tasty, very juicy and had great flavor! It seemed simple enough, you cook pork with green sauce and spices. So Monday night I decided to recreate this recipe but with my Crockpot! The results? Juicy, tender and flavorful! I like to think of this as an easier and tastier version of Carnitas. My parents in law and Tony agreed it tasted sort of like Carnitas, Carnitas are usually fried with lard and have tons of flavor. This pork has just as much flavor but is not fried, instead it's cooked in it's own juices and sauce. Delish!

What you will need:

 

3 LB Pork Shoulder

3 LB Tomatillos

3 Garlic Cloves

3 Jalapenos

Salt

 

For the Tacos...

Corn Tortillas

Chopped Cilantro

Chopped Onion

Quartered Limes

 

First you will need to whip up a simple green sauce. Remember: No matter what anybody tells you, Mexican green sauce is always made with a Tomatillo base. Now if you want to use canned Green Sauce, that's perfectly fine too. I just don't because something about canned Mexican sauces deeply disturbs me. But if you do use canned green sauce you can use 5 or 6 cans of this stuff:

 

 

Peel, wash and halve your Tomatillos. Place them in a small pot and fill it with water until you almost cover them completely. Boil on medium heat for about 10-15 minutes or until your Tomatillos have a consistent darker green color through out. This means they're all cooked.

 

Once your Tomis are cooked, blend them with your jalapenos, garlic cloves and salt to your liking. This is a basic Green Sauce you guys!

 

 

This is what my meat looked like before cooking (I didn't blend all my green sauce ingredients together because I was too lazy that's why it looks a bit chunky)

 

Now take your pork shoulder and place it your Crockpot and almost cover that baby up with your sauce. Cook on low for 10 hours and your pork will practically fall apart. Keep on warm until you are ready to serve. When you are ready to serve, take a fork and shred all your pork. Use a draining spoon to serve your shredded pork on warmed tortillas with chopped onion, chopped cilantro and a squeeze of lime. Optional: You may heat up a pan with some oil and run the meat through the pan to brown the edges a bit.

 

 You can see the chunks of Tomis and Jalapeno

 

 

Final Product...

 

Done!

 

 

Weekend Story - YOSEMITE! YOOO SEEE MEEE TEEE!

Can you tell I was super excited to share this post about our trip to Yosemite National Park?

 

Yosemite is quite possibly the most beautiful place I've ever been to in my humble life. It's about 4 hours away from where we live and it's gorgeous and breathtaking. When you are there the scenery looks cut out of a portrait. Last year we went to Yosemite with a couple of my pals and I fell in love with the place. I've never seen a night sky like it. This year we went with our family, and don't get me wrong, I love my pals but it's always a good time when you throw 20 people into the mix and mexican food while camping because that's how my In-Laws roll and that just makes camping more awesome. They literally will make full Mexican dishes while camping.

 

So I had this CRAZY idea to bake up six dozen cookies for the trip Thursday nght. On my cookie menu?

 

2 Dozen Reeses Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip

2 Dozen Oatmeal Raisin

2 Dozen Chocolate Chip Walnut

 

So I had to gather round 6 sticks of softened butter, lots of brown sugar, 1 bag of Reeses, 2 bags of Chocolate chips, 1 bag of chopped Walnuts, Raisins, 3 Eggs, Oatmeal, Cinnamon, Vanilla and Flour.
 

Thursday night I was one busy lady!

 

 

Friday we were up bright and early at around 5 AM and headed to pick up a family friend and then to my Momma's house to pick up my Momma and my little sister. We would be driving her CRV which has more space then either Tony's BMW or my Honda. And off we went!

We got there fairly early at which point we set up our tents and then headed into the valley to see all the sites. I found this spot in between a few trees and I demanded Tony set up our tent there. I jokingly referred to it as the site of our honeymoon ;)

 

Our tent locale

I didn't take much pictures because I wasn't particularly in a picture taking mood and I have already been there before at which time I had taken a TON of pictures so I just wanted to enjoy my stay and not fuss over pulling out my iPhone all the time. I did, however, steal some pictures from Tony's phone that he posted. My FIL took video here and there and it will be fun to see what he filmed. He caught me stuffing my face with a mango, I'm sure that will be super attractive to look back to in the future.

Bridalveil Falls

 

Scenic Landscape

 

 

 

Merced River (runs through Yosemite)

 

 

 

El Capitan

 

We didn't take any pictures of Half Dome and I'm kind of bummed we didn't but we have pictures of it from last time. By the way, can you tell these pictures were taken with my husband's Galaxy Note with a WAY better camera than my iPhone?

We came back to our campground after seeing the Valley and waited around for everybody else to get there. First, my In-Laws got there, then Tony's cousin, then we waited for Tony's Aunt and Uncle and waited some more and they would not arrive. It was almost midnight and still no Aunt and Uncle. Tony's Dad, Tony and Tony's cousin's Husband left to the valley to get reception. They didn't arrive back until 2AM. Turns out Tony's Aunt and Uncle had gotten lost in the park at 10,000 feet elevation!

I slept really uncomfortable Friday night and Saturday morning I was up bright and early. My MIL made beans, Chilaquiles and Gorditas for breakfast. It was all quite tasty! Everybody headed off to do their own thing in the valley for a while and Saturday night we had burgers and hotdogs. Later that night we enjoyed some s'mores before everybody called it a night and went to sleep.

Sunday morning it was Chorizo and Huevos for breakfast along with cereal, danishes and coffee. We all cleaned up and packed our tents. For the most part everybody was tired and just wanted to go home. It was 24 of us total so it took a lot of energy out of us to get everything organized through out the whole camping trip.

The trip back was a lot shorter than I expected and I was happy to make it home. We first dropped off my Momma and sister and then dropped off our friend Stephanie. When we got to my Momma's house we had a card from one of my brother's sweet friends to me and Tony. It was a gift card to a Sushi restaurant in Sebastopol. He found out I got married and wanted to send us a nice gift. What a thoughtful gesture! Sunday Tony and I headed to Applebee's for a post camping alone time dinner. I love going out and doing stuff just him and I because we are always with others and we don't get much alone time then the little bit of time we spend every night before bedtime.

Overall I was happy with the camping experience but I feel that for Yosemite in particular, next time I would rather go just Tony and I. We plan on coming every year and making it a tradition. It will be fun to come with our kids someday!

True Love - Marriage Divided

Today is the start of the NFL preseason which means that the regular season is just around the corner. Let me tell you a little something about myself. I LOVE Football. During Football season I will not leave my house on Sunday because I love watching Football all day at home. Not only do I love Football but I also love the San Francisco 49ers:

 

 

 

I watch every 49ers game and I become very upset when we lose. Especially if it's against the Seahawks (if you're a Seahawks fan, get off my blog NOW) I grew up in a family full of 49ers fans and I love the City of San Francisco and all it has to offer. During NFL Season I love to watch ESPN Sportscenter before bedtime because watching Football highlights make me happy and puts me to sleep. Monday mornings at work I have a hard time focusing because I like reading Football articles and all articles associated with my Niners. My favorite players are Patrick Willis, Frank Gore, Anquan Bolding and of course Kaepernick. Listen, I knew Kaepernick would be the starter way before they benched Alex Smith and always knew he was a star.

 

If you are at all familiar with the Bay Area then you are probably aware there is another city across the bay with it's own football team:

 

 

The Oakland Raiders

49er fans and Raiders fans usually don't get along. They don't like each other and usually there is lot of fighting involved when they have to play each other. I fell in love with and married a Raiders fan. Although I have persisted he doesn't want to betray his loyalty to Oakland (even though the Raiders SUCK!) and during football season we will be a marriage divided. This will be our first Football season as a married couple and hopefully we don't end up divorcing.

 

So there you have it, my one true love before Tony. My 49ers <3

 

~Mely

Mely Cooks Monday

Yesterday I had this idea to attempt to bake some chicken thighs and drumsticks using Pioneer Woman's Oven BBQ Chicken but like always I didn't follow the recipe word for word. Not because I didn't want to (which is usually the case) but because I didn't want to buy a bottle of peach preserves. So I stuck with it without the peach preserves and although they came out good, because how could you go wrong with BBQ Chicken, the peach preserves could have made all the difference. Other than the peach preserves, I did follow the recipe as stated.

 

PS. Pioneer Woman has quickly become my FAVORITE food blogger. I love her recipes with all my heart and I want to be like her when I grow up. Okay maybe not that extreme but seriously, the woman knows her stuff.

 

Here is Pioneer Woman's picture from her website...

 

 

Sigh, I wanted this for my chicken. Instead my chicken thighs looked like this...

 

 

 

Close enough? Anyways, go ahead and do the right thing and follow the recipe word for word.

 

Ingredients

• 3 cups Your Favorite BBQ Sauce
• 1/2 cup Peach Preserves
• 1 clove Garlic
• Hot Sauce, Optional
• 12 whole Chicken Thighs, Bone-in, Skin-on
• Olive Oil For Brushing

Preparation Instructions

Combine BBQ sauce, peach preserves, garlic, and hot sauce in a medium saucepan and heat over medium heat for 5-10 minutes, or until nice and hot. Set aside.

PREHEAT OVEN TO 400 DEGREES.

Drizzle olive oil on 2 rimmed baking sheets and place chicken thighs skin side down in the pans. Roast for 25 minutes. Remove from oven briefly, brush sauce all over the thighs, then use a spatula to flip them over to the other side, being careful not to tear the skin. Brush the tops with more sauce and return to the oven for 7 minutes. Remove from oven, brush on more sauce, and return to the oven for another 7 minutes. Remove from oven, brush on sauce, and turn up the temperature to 425 degrees.

Continue roasting for another 5 to 7 minutes, or until the sauce is starting to brown around the edges and the thighs are totally cooked through. Remove from the oven and let sit for at least 10 minutes before serving.

 

 

I paired this BBQ Chicken with some Jasmine Rice and Veggie Steamers. And it was delish!

 

 

 

 

~Mely

Weekend Story

Friday

Friday Tony and I went to my Mom's house to make Mac and Cheese and after finishing up the Mac and Cheese my brother asked us if we wanted to join him at the local billiards for some beers. We tagged along, Tony doesn't drink but I had a couple beers.

Saturday

Saturday we woke up late. Like 9 AM late, CRAZY! I immediately when into domestic mode and put some clothes to wash. I also cleaned up our room and cleaned our bathroom. Tony helped his Dad take some old furniture to the dump and later in the afternoon we headed to my Momma's house again. I brought a Digiorno's Pizza, Trader Joe's Chow Mein and some Chicken breasts. So random I know, I wanted to get my cooking fix in and boy did I! I made the Digiorno and Chow Mein for lunch and later on for dinner I used the chicken breasts and some Carne Asada meat my Mom had to whip up some Tacos. They were good! I made the salsa from scratch and it was tasty. I also whipped up a batch of my Chocolate Chip Cookies for the kids and my nephew, my sister, Tony and I played for a while. My nephew loves playing Football with Tony, he sees him and all he wants to do is play Football or Baseball. We took some silly pics of our shennanigery.

 

 

These were supposed to be our sexy faces but they ended up being our gangsta faces

 

 

 

My sister made her favorite (only) Brother in Law Tony a jumbo Chocolate Chip Cookie



 

 

PS: Here is a quick and easy way to make a Salsa for Tacos or anything your heart desires. This packs on the flavor and you can make it as spicy as you'd like.

 

Grab 4-5 tomatoes (any kind will do)

Some Onion

2 cloves of Garlic

a little handful of Cilantro

2 Jalapenos

Salt

 

Now throw some foil and Olive oil on a pan and you cook those Tomatoes and Jalapenos with a generous amount of salt for a good 25 minutes until they've almost turned to mush.

 

 

Mushy like this

 

 

Trust me on this one...

 

Now you go ahead and throw those garlic cloves, onion and small hand full of cilantro in a blender...

 

 

And add that Tomato mush with all it's gloriousness including the browned tomato skin into the blender

 



 

Now blend and pour that delicious Salsa on some grilled Chicken breast or Carne Asada for Tacos along with diced onion, cilantro and a squeeze of lime....

 

 

 

You're welcome.

 

Sunday

Sunday we went with my Mom to Howarth Park for a nice hike. Afterwards my Mom insisted on taking us to breakfast so went to our favorite restaurant Black Bear Diner and I got Chicken Fried Steak and Tony got the Grizz (which comes with pretty much everything you could imagine). It was superb as always. After breakfast we came home and took a long nap and naps on weekends are a rarity for me, I told Tony to soak it all in. Usually he will nap and I will bug him to wake up and do something because weekends are too short and so much fun must be had! I woke up and snuck out to the grocery store and when I got back I watched him play Grand Theft Auto V, I find it so entertaining to watch. We also watched some Netflix for a few hours and I whipped up some grilled Ham and Cheeses on Sourdough with Gouda, Fontina, Cheddar and Virginia Ham. Yum.

 

 

Partially consumed breakfast at Black Bear. I gave my Momma my toast, eggs and half my potatoes. I managed to down 1/2 my Chicken Fried Stead, 1/4 of my potatoes and 1/4 of a pancake. That's a lot for a Bariatric patient!

 

Later on we went to Baskin Robbins for my favorite sweat treat - a mini Oreo Cappuccino Blast. SO GOOD!

 

I promise I don't make awful dietary choices all of the time ;) We came home, hung out a little longer and went to sleep late.

 

PS... Yosemite is less than 4 days away!!! 

~Mely

Mely's Fancy Mac and Cheese

One of my favorite things to eat is Mac and Cheese, the gourmet kind. When I go to restaurants and see fancy Mac and Cheese I always want to order it. With that said, I've always wanted to make restaurant quality gourmet Mac and Cheese at home and after searching online I found this recipe to work with. I customized it to my liking, changed the cheeses and omitted a few things I didn't agree with and so like that "Mely's Fancy Mac and Cheese" was born.

We went to my Momma's house Friday after work to make this recipe because I feel most comfortable in my Momma's kitchen and being there makes me happy #mommasgirlforlife

Okay back to the Mac and Cheese... 

Salt And Black Pepper To Taste
1 TSP Garlic Powder

10 slices Thick Cut Bacon

2 Whole Yellow Onions, Peeled, Halved, And Thinly Sliced

4 Tablespoons Butter, Plus More For Buttering The Pan

1/2 cups Shredded Gouda Cheese

1 cup Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese plus 1 Cup for layering

1/2 cups Shredded Fontina Cheese

1-½ pound Macaroni

¼ cups All-purpose Flour

2 cups Whole Milk
3/4 cups Half-and-half

(For a rich vegetarian option simply omit the bacon)

First shred your cheeses and peel and slice your onions

Fry the bacon until chewy but not yet crisp. Chop the bacon into bite-size bits and set aside. Remove most of the bacon fat from the skillet except for about 3 TBSP. Return to stove and add the sliced onions. Cook on medium-high heat for 15 minutes until golden brown. And yes I had you cook onions in bacon fat because well, it's delicious.

Cook the macaroni according to directions in a large pot, drain and set aside.

Now would be a good time to preheat your oven to 385 degrees

To make the sauce, melt 4 of your tablespoons of butter in the large pot you used for the mac over medium heat. Sprinkle in the flour, whisking to combine. Let the sauce cook for a minute or so, whisking constantly. Pour in the milk, whisking constantly, then cook the white sauce for 3 to 5 minutes, or until thick and bubbly.

Next, add the half and half, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, plenty of black pepper, and stir to combine.

Now add your shredded cheesy goodness to the mix, and whisk away to make a thick cheesy sauce. This should only take a couple minutes.

Now add the cooked macaroni and stir to coat. Splash in milk as needed for thinning.

 Butter a 9 x 13 inch baking pan generously.
 (sorry I have no pic of this, I got excited seeing my cheese mixed in with the macaroni that I forgot to take a pic)

Lay half of the cooked onions on the bottom of the pan with 1/3 of your bacon bits, add a layer of half of the macaroni then layer of 1/3 of your bacon, the rest of your onions and 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar, this will be your middle layer. Pour your remaining Macaroni on top and then top off with 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese and remaining bacon.

Bake 20-25 Minutes until golden brown and the bacon on top is crisp.

Serve and Enjoy!

This is a great dish because you have the richness of the cheese but the sweetness of the onion and saltiness of the bacon balance all the flavors out!

~Mely

Friday Favorites Link Up

Today I'm linking up with Andrea over at Momfessionals to share my Friday Favorites!

 

Don't be in the least bit surprised about my Friday Favorites revolving around food.

 

Lately I've been on a serious Trader Joe's kick! Here is just a couple of my favorite things from TJ's!

 

 

 

TJ's BBQ Chicken Teriyaki

All the easiness and tastiness of Chicken Teriyaki without the hassle. I also blogged about this stuff here.

 

TJ's Szechuan Style Spicy Beef and Broccoli

So easy, tangy, sweet, spicy and a little crunchy. Yum!

 

 

 

 

And to pair off with that tasty Chicken Teriyaki and Beef and Broccoli?

TJ's Organic Jasmine Rice

This stuff is good! So easy to pop a pouch in the microwave and pair with anything that tickles your fancy.

 

What are your favorite products from Trader Joe's? Do tell!

 

And on a non-Tj's related note...

Starbucks' Treat Receipt

Right now Starbucks is doing their evil way of getting you to spend money on Starbucks twice a day Treat Receipt. Buy any drink before 2PM and come after 2PM with your receipt and get ANY Starbucks Grande cold drink for only $2. Yum! I recommend the Starbucks Double Shot on Ice with Vanilla. It's shots of Espresso shaken with Ice and Vanilla poured into a cup and topped with some milk or half and half. Also, you'll be surprised to know that shots of Espresso have significantly less caffeine than regular coffee. Crazy right? 

 

Thaaat's all folks.

~Mely