Ya’ll. I’m so excited. After a couple of years of trying, I finally talked JW into building me some raised garden beds this year! We are only starting out with two because my thumb has never exactly been green, and by the time harvest rolls around I’ll be VERY pregnant (like over 8  months pregnant), but I’ve got enough room to plant tomatoes, cucumbers, green beans, and…zucchini. I’ve grown everything else to varying degrees of success before, but this is my first go-round with zucchini. And, well, I’ve already made a rookie mistake.

You see, I knew in the back of my head that zucchini plants tend to get huge and produce a lot, but for whatever reason when we were at our local greenhouse buying our starter plants, I convinced myself I needed four. Yeah. Not sure what I was thinking there. Thankfully, soon thereafter my dear friend-who is an awesome gardener and plants a massive plot every year-gave me a heads up about my mistake. I was able to give two of my little baby zucchini plants to my mother-in-law, and shift the other two around so they’ll (hopefully) have plenty of room to do their thing.

All of this to say that, if all goes well, we are going to have tons of zucchini this year. I’m not complaining, trust me! I’ve come to love the stuff in my adult years, and I can sneak it in to bread and muffins to get my toddler to eat it. Speaking of, this means I’ll be testing lots of zucchini bread recipes (YAY!). I’ll be sure and post the winner!

Zucchini is great because you can really do so much with it! One way I love to use it is in this easy Zucchini and Beef Taco Skillet. It’s mild flavor goes fantastically with Mexican-inspired flavors, and by adding the ground beef and rice, you’ve got a super tasty meal in one! If you wanted to go low-carb, you could easily leave the rice out. As for serving suggestions, we usually just pile a bunch in a plate or on a bowl, and JW will eat it with some tortilla chips. I usually add a little bit of shredded cheese. You could also serve it taco style in either flour or corn tortillas. It’s up to you!

Brown a pound of ground beef along with some diced onion and minced garlic. As per usual when I make anything with ground beef, I sprinkled a little Lowry’s Seasoned Salt and garlic salt on top. Meanwhile, cook your rice according to the package directions. I prefer brown rice in this as it’s a little more hearty, but use whatever rice you’ve got on hand (for instance–when I took the pictures for this post, I was out of brown rice and just used jasmine rice instead). Once the meat has browned and the onions turned translucent, add a can of Ro-Tel diced tomatoes and green chilis, along with the juices from the can. I use the mild version, but if you like heat go for the hot. Stir in your spices at the same time. Cook this for just a couple of minutes, then add in the chopped zucchini and the chicken broth. Important: do this at right before you add the rice, or you’ll have mushy zucchini! Next, stir in the cooked rice. Taste to check for seasoning, and add a little salt if needed. Dish it up and enjoy!

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Zucchini and Beef Taco Skillet

This this easy, zesty Zucchini and Beef Taco Skillet is a perfect meal-in-one!

Course Main

Cuisine Mexican

Keyword easy dinner, ground beef, Hamburger, Rice, Zucchini

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 4 people

Author Meagan - The Crossroads Cook

Ingredients

• 1 lb Ground Beef
• 1 Large Zucchini, chopped
• 2 Cloves Minced Garlic
• 1 Medium Onion, Diced
• 1 10 oz Can Ro-Tel Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilis
• 1/2 tsp Chili Powder
• 2 tsp Ground Cumin
• 1 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1 tsp Onion Powder
• 1 tsp Salt
• Garlic Salt and Seasoned Salt
• 4 Servings Brown Rice, Cooked
• 1/4 cup Chicken Broth

Instructions

• Brown the ground beef along with the garlic and onion in a large skillet. Season with garlic salt and seasoned salt.
• Cook the rice according to the package directions.
• Once the meat has browned and the onions are slightly translucent, add the diced tomatoes and green chilis (with the juices from the can), as well as the spices. Let cook for about 3 minutes.
• When the rice is very close to being cooked, add the zucchini and chicken broth to the skillet. Stir and let simmer for just a short time, being sure not to over cook the zucchini.
• As soon as the rice is finished cooking, add it to the skillet. Stir to combine and taste to check seasonings.

Notes

If you are on a low-carb diet, simply leave out the rice.

The post Zucchini and Beef Taco Skillet appeared first on The Crossroads Cook.

I live in a town that isn’t exactly known for its options when it comes to dining out. The choices we do have are pretty much limited to a (admittedly fantastic) Chinese buffet, a few pizza places, a drive-in that’s only open during the spring and summer months and has the best chili dogs (they call them Spanish Dogs) ever, and not one but TWO Mexican restaurants. Discussions about where we want to go out to dinner pretty much entail what nationality we want, and when Mexican is picked, North Mexican or South Mexican. It’s not that they each feature dishes from different regions of the country…nope. One is on the North side of town and the other is on the South side.

I get into grooves and moods with my Mexican restaurant dining habits. For multiple visits, I’ll order one type of dish and stick with it. Sometimes it’s steak tacos…Mexican style (with lots of cilantro, onions, and a squeeze of lime). Sometimes it’s as simple as an a la carte chicken burrito. Other weeks it’s arroz con camarones. And it’s always, always (well, unless I’m pregnant like right now. Sigh.) with a margarita on the rocks, no salt.

One of my constant go-to dishes at any Mexican restaurant, though, are pork carnitas. Tender, slow roasted pork that is shredded and served with all of the fixings for delicious build-your-own tacos are a can’t miss. Mouth watering. I never considered trying to make them at home, though, because I knew the pork took hours upon hours to cook properly, and I’m hardly ever on top of things enough in the morning to get dinner going. That is, until, I got my Instant Pot a couple of years ago for Christmas. Talk about a game changer! Now all of those dishes that would usually take forever, like carnitas, can be ready in basically the time it takes to make any other dinner! Now all I have to do is make sure I pull the meat out of the freezer in time to defrost for dinner. I started playing around with ingredients and let me tell you, this recipe is so easy, and so good, you’ll be putting it on your normal rotation, too!

I like to use pork shoulder when I make carnitas, but you can really use any pork roast-type cut you prefer. Start off by making a quick rub: combine olive oil, oregano, cumin, minced garlic, and salt. Rub that tastiness over the top of the pork, using it all. Put a little olive oil in the bottom of your electric pressure cooker to keep anything from sticking, and put a layer of sliced onions down. Lay the pork on top of the onions. Pour the orange juice, chicken broth, any remaining onions, and the can of drained diced jalapenos (you can also use diced green chiles if you prefer things to be a little more mild) around the pork. Pop the lid on, set to pressure cook for 1 hour, and allow to naturally release for 20 minutes. Manual release the rest of the way. Open her up and use two forks to break the pork up into chunks. You can then refrigerate the pork (and the liquid! Don’t forget that liquid!) for later, or move on to the next step right away.

If you want some crispy brown edges to the pork (highly recommended!), do the following right before you’re ready to eat: either in a skillet or the oven (I prefer a skillet because I can keep a better eye on it), place some chunks of pork and use two forks to shred down more. Allow to brown until there are crispy edges, stirring occasionally. Once there are some crispy bits, I always add in a bit of the cooking liquid so they are nice and juicy. Makes for messy eating but it’s worth it!!

To serve, we prefer flour tortillas around here. If you like corn better, go for it. Put some meat on your warmed tortilla, then a layer of lightly dressed broccoli slaw (I just pick up a bag of the pre-shredded broccoli slaw mix at the store and dress it with some jarred slaw dressing) for some tang and crunch, then top that with some chopped cilantro, diced white onion, and a little squeeze of lime. Oh my, my, my.

Oh, and if you want to freeze the carnitas to eat later, just put them in a large gallon freezer bag and defrost/reheat when you’re ready to eat!

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Instant Pot Carnitas

Break out the Instant Pot and make these oh-so-delicious Instant Pot Carnitas! They are tender, juicy, and flavorful...plus they're ready in a fraction of the time thanks to the electric pressure cooker!

Course Main

Cuisine Mexican

Keyword easy dinner, Instant Pot, pork

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 2 hours hours

Servings 6 people

Equipment

• Pressure Cooker

Ingredients

• 1 Pork Shoulder or Pork Roast
• 1 tbsp olive oil + 1 tbsp
• 1 tbsp oregano
• 2 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp salt
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 1 onion, sliced
• 3/4 cup orange juice
• 3/4 cup chicken broth
• 1 can diced jalapenos or green chiles drained

To Serve

• flour or corn tortillas taco size
• 1 package shredded broccoli slaw
• 3 tbsp jarred slaw dressing approximate
• diced white onion
• chopped cilantro
• lime wedges

Instructions

• Mix 1 tbsp olive oil together with the oregano, cumin, minced garlic, and salt to for a paste. Spread on top of the pork shoulder.
• In the bottom of the electric pressure cooker, spread 1 tbsp of olive oil followed by the sliced onions. Place the pork shoulder, rub side up, on the bed of onions. Pour the diced jalapenos in the pot, along with the orange juice and chicken broth.
• Put the lid on the pot and set to pressure cook for 1 hour. Allow to release naturally for 20 minutes, then manually release the rest of the way.
• Remove the pork from the pot and shred with two forks. Brown the meat on a large skillet until the ends get a little crispy.
• Mix the broccoli slaw with the cole slaw dressing. I prefer mine lightly dressed, but add more dressing as you see fit.
• Once the pork is slightly browned, add some of the cooking liquid into the skillet and let simmer for about a minute.
• Serve the pork on warmed tortillas topped with the slaw, cilantro, onion, and a squeeze of lime.

The post Instant Pot Carnitas appeared first on The Crossroads Cook.