Shredded Pork Tacos

We were trying to make more things with pork, so I found this recipe at www.mealsmatter.org. It made quite a bit, but that was okay because it was delicious. Anthony even tried it as a sandwich, and it works that way too. All of the spices really come together for a fabulous taco filling.

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Shredded Pork Tacos

Pork Filling:
1 3 lb. Boneless pork prime rib roast
8 cloves Garlic, minced
2 teaspoons Ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons Dried oregano, crushed
1 teaspoon Onion powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon Ground red pepper
1 cup Beef broth

Tacos:
2 cups Shredded Savory Pork
8 Taco shells or eight 6- to 8-inch flour tortillas
3/4 cup salsa (if desired)
2 cups shredded lettuce
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese


Trim fat from meat.
In a small bowl combine garlic, coriander, cumin, oregano, onion powder, salt, black pepper, and red pepper; rub into the meat.

Place meat in a roasting pan that has a cover; add beef broth. Cover and roast in a 325 degree oven for 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until very tender. (Or put in crock pot--6 to 8 hours on low, 4 to 6 hours on high.)

Remove meat from liquid with a slotted spoon; discard excess fat from cooking liquid. Reserve the rest of the liquid.

When meat is cool enough to handle, shred it.

Stir in 1/4 cup of reserved cooking liquid to use as taco filling. Reheat in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently. Prepare tacos as normal.


You can also freeze the prepared meat and reheat later for an easy freezer meal.

Elegant Chicken

And so the feud continues. As I said yesterday, Elegant Chicken is my favorite. I'm going to say that Anthony probably prefers the Bacon Ranch Slowcooker Chicken simply because he's had Elegant Chicken so many more times. Because truly, this one is the better choice.

I'm adding this warning though--DO NOT use low-fat cream cheese. Yes, we all want to save calories where we can. This is not the place. I thought I had regular cream cheese in the fridge, but we'd run out, so I tried to substitute. Ugh. Nowhere near the flavor it should have. Trust me on this one.

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Elegant Chicken

2-3 boneless chicken breasts
1/4 cup butter
1 pkg. dry Italian Seasonings Dressing Mix
1 can cream of chicken soup (you can do cream of mushroom, but I think chicken is so much better)
8 oz. cream cheese
Noodles (Fettucine, Linguine, Egg Noodles, or may also be served over rice)


Place chicken and butter in crock pot.

Sprinkle with seasoning mix.

Cook on low until tender, about 4 hours.

Shred chicken and return to crock pot.

Add soup and cream cheese and mix well.

Cook half an hour more.

While sauce is finishing, prepare noodles (or rice) according to package.

Serve immediately.


The sauce can be made ahead of time and frozen for a quick freezer meal.

Bacon Ranch Slowcooker Chicken

Our house is divided. When Anthony and I started dating, I was introduced to Elegant Chicken (coming soon) at Sunday dinners with his family. One of my favorites! And then a few months ago, I ran across this recipe. It is a similar idea, and even though the ingredients are different, it seems like the same family, like their cousin recipes--sour cream instead of cream cheese, Ranch dressing instead of Italian, etc. So I thought I'd try it. But then came the problem--Anthony has declared this better than Elegant Chicken, and while I definitely enjoyed this one, I still prefer the other. I'll let you make the final decision for your home, and I hope I don't cause too much contention.

Some people say the Ranch is a little strong, or it's too salty, and they used only part of the package. I was fine with the whole thing, but you might need to experiment. I also used regular sour cream. Fat-free has a tendency to become chunky when I cook with it, especially in recipes like this where it cooks for an extended period, and it changes the consistency. If you make the switch back too, just adjust the calories (which is still pretty low even with regular sour cream).

Printable Recipe

Bacon Ranch Slowcooker Chicken

from Healthified Kitchen

2 turkey bacon strips, cooked and shredded
1 tsp minced garlic
1 package Ranch dressing mix
1 10.75 oz can condensed cream of chicken soup (98% fat free)
1 cup fat-free sour cream
16 oz. chicken breasts, frozen or defrosted/raw
8 oz. pasta (I used rigatoni), cooked

Combine the first five ingredients.

Place frozen or defrosted/raw chicken in slowcooker sprayed with nonstick cooking spray and pour sauce over the top.

Cook on high for 3.5 hours. Shred chicken with two forks.

Cook pasta per package instructions on stove.

Serve chicken over pasta.

Nutritional Information: 456 calories, 61 carbs, 5 fat grams and 36 protein grams (according to the original author)

Makes 4 servings

Rotisserie Chicken

And here's the main component of the Rotisserie Chicken series--the actual chicken. I had no idea how easy it was to make your own whenever you want. I go back and forth on whether I prefer to buy a whole raw chicken and make my own Fauxtisserie chicken or just to go with the deli's already-done-for-me rotisserie. I don't usually have a whole chicken in my freezer, so both are going to involve a trip to the store. I've priced it out, and usually it ends up being basically the same price (around here--I can't vouch for anyone else), so I often go the easy route. But if there's a good sale on whole chickens, it's another ballgame.

Printable Recipe

Rotisserie Chicken

 from Our Best Bites

1 whole chicken, small enough to fit in your slow cooker

Salt-based seasoning (Seasoning salt, Cajun seasoning, lemon pepper with salt in it, etc. Just make sure salt is one of the first ingredients on the label.)

Whole garlic cloves, peeled

Fresh herbs (although I use dried)

Make 3 large balls of aluminum foil and place them in the bottom of your slow cooker. These hold the chicken off the bottom so the hot air can circulate all around the chicken and so it’s not stewing in its own juices.

Remove the neck and gizzards, then rinse chicken, including the cavity, and pat dry with paper towels.

Place the chicken on a plate on its back so the breast is facing up and the legs are on the plate.

Slice a few garlic cloves in half lengthwise, then pull the skin up around the chicken (separate it from the meat like you're making a pocket, not pull the skin off entirely) and stick the garlic cloves under the skin.

Add some fresh herbs like rosemary, thyme, and/or sage under the skin, or sprinkle some dried herbs.

Rub salt-based seasoning very liberally onto the skin of the chicken.

Place chicken breast-up on the foil in the slow cooker and cover.

Cook on low heat for 7-8 hours.

You can either eat as is, or use the chicken in multiple recipes.

Italian Beef

I received this recipe from my dear friend Evelyn when we worked together at an insurance office. She was the same age as my grandmother, but I could talk to her about anything. One thing we shared was our love of cooking. I had never had Italian Beef, but Anthony told me when we were first married how much he loved it, and I came across this recipe that I'd received from Evelyn several years before. I used to just throw all the ingredients in the crock pot and serve it the same day, and while it was good, it didn't have as much flavor as we wanted. Making it the day before and letting it marinate really made the difference! For the sandwich rolls, we use traditional French rolls, but I don't know if they're available at every store--any kind of Hoagie roll should work. Right before we had these last time, the thought occurred to me that this might be really good with Provolone also. We haven't tried it yet, but I'll update when we do!

Printable Recipe

Italian Beef

1 (3-5 lb.) rump roast
2-3 cups beef broth

1 tsp marjoram

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp oregano

1 Tbsp hot sauce (optional--I don't usually add it in)

2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 clove garlic

Salt & pepper

1/2 cup green pepper, sliced (optional)

Sandwich rolls

Place roast and beef broth in crock pot. Cook 6-8 hours on low heat.

Remove meat from drippings and add other ingredients. Simmer on high with lid on for 20 minutes.

Shred beef, place back in crock pot, and marinate overnight.

Before serving, heat through in crock pot (about half an hour on high).

Serve on sandwich rolls.


This beef freezes wonderfully, so it makes a great freezer meal to set aside for later use.

Serve with: Tater tots, carrot sticks

Beef Stew

This recipe came from my freshman roommate, Jacqie. We ate this stew at her sister's house one Sunday, and I had to get the recipe. It has a creamy base instead of broth, and as always, it's easy and delicious. Great for throwing in the crock pot on Sunday morning. You can put it in a bread bowl, or serve homemade rolls on the side.

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Beef Stew

2 lbs beef stew meat

4 cups potatoes, peeled and cubed

4 cups carrots, sliced

1 onion, diced (optional--I have some onion haters in the family, so I don't put it in anymore)

2 cans Cream of Mushroom soup

2 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded

Add beef, potatoes, carrots and onion to crock pot.

Cover with Cream of Mushroom soup. 

Cook on low 6-8 hours. 

Stir in cheese just before serving.

Makes 8 servings.

Serve with: Rolls

Freezer Meal: Freeze after preparation. To eat, thaw and heat through.