Happy Tuesday!

Sometimes you just need an otter friend to hold your hand!!

I LOVE THIS!!!!!!!

Happy Tuesday!

ps- I could watch this all day. If you need more otter love like I do, subscribe to The Daily Otter. Fabulous.

Chicken Tortilla Roll-Ups

Great appetizer for those college football Saturdays!! I made mine a little on the spicy side (because we love the spice), but you can always decrease the spices. Yay for football season!!

Chicken Tortilla Roll-Ups

2 medium chicken breasts, cooked
1 can hot Rotel, drained
12 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup shredded cheese (I used the pre-shredded mexican cheese blend)
2-3 green onions, diced
2 tsp. cumin
3 tsp. ancho chili powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
3/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
flour tortillas (I think the medium size work best)

Chicken:
I cooked the chicken in the oven; you could also cook over the stove. Seasoned my chicken breasts with the chili powder and the cumin. Cooked @ 350 for about 45 minutes covered with foil. When the chicken is cooked through, shred or dice into small pieces and let cool.

Filling:
Mix softened cream cheese, Rotel, cheese, remaining spices, chicken and green onions. Combine well and spread a healthy dose into the middle of one tortilla. Spread all around except at the edges.

Roll from one side and place seam side down on a plate.

Chill until ready. Slice with a sharp knife and serve!

Notes: this makes quite a lot. If you are feeding a crowd, you are set. I would cut it in half if you have a smaller group. Leftovers are also good. Husband loved these!! He said, "Babe these are really good!"

Sweet Pineapple and Pulled Pork Tacos

I love a good Boston butt. But, I'm talking about food people. Get your mind out of the gutter. Anyways, pulled pork may be a weakness of mine. Also, I wanted to put a spin on my traditional tacos and go a little gourmet-style. Sometimes we like to be a little fanciful (but not really). This was pretty delicious and the leftovers are going fast!

What you will need for the pulled pork:

one Boston butt, mine was only about 2.75 lbs. (if bigger, adjust proportions of everything)
1/2-3/4 quarter sweet yellow onion, sliced
3 garlic cloves, diced
15 oz. tomato sauce
3 tbls. chili powder
1 tbls. cumin
2 tbls. brown sugar
juice of 1 lime
salt and black pepper to taste

Toppings:
fresh pineapple, diced
red cabbage, sliced
red onion, thin slices
3 jalapenos, diced (fresh from the backyard!)
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/3 cup sugar
juice of two limes
fresh lime wedges for garnish
flour or corn tortillas

Preparing the pork:

place the tomato sauce in the bottom of the crockpot and the spices and brown sugar. Stir this together in the crockpot. Place the pork on top of this and then spread the onions and garlic around. Add the lime juice in and sprinkle a little salt and black pepper. Turn on low and cook for about 7 hours. (If you're in a time crunch you could crank it up to high and probably cook it in about 4 hours.) When the pork is tender, remove to a casserole type dish and discard any fat. Shred the pork with two forks. Skim any excess fat out of the sauce remaining in the crockpot. You can return the shredded pork to the crockpot to combine with the sauce or just pour the sauce over the meat. I chose option number 2 to control the amount of sauce on the meat.

Preparing the pickled red onions:

Combine sugar, vinegar, jalapenos and lime juice in a small pot and heat until sugar is combined (about 5 minutes on medium heat) .

Place sliced red onions in a small mixing bowl.

Pour liquid mixture over this. Cover and set out to cool for about 30-40 minutes.

Assemble your taco and enjoy!!

Recipe cred: Kelsey's Essentials (with my adaptations for proportions and our own personal flavor)

Notes: Husband thought a large amount of the pineapple on the taco made it too sweet for him. He loved the pork and other toppings. I really like the twist on traditional tacos. This was very good; even the leftovers rock. I think this dish made some happy, full bellies!