I'll preface this by saying that these aren't authentic Caritas. All I had was a pork loin so went with it and did not mess with running to the store for a shoulder. The seasoning however was authentic. Sadly though I didn't write down amounts so can just give a brief summary if asked. I cubed the pork really small and put it in the slow cooker. It ran for about 8 hours on low then turned to "keep warm" till dinner time. Being a loin it didn't take as long to get super tender. A while back our good friend Jeff (
jcam222
) posted some taco shells he made with melted cheddar cheese. That visual has stuck with me since seeing the post so thought I'd try a derivation of that concept for the "vessel" these were served in.
Meat in the slow cooker. Looks horrible but that's what happens to meat that's been cooked for hours and hours Sure did smell good though.
Here's where the fun starts...the cheese bowls. Two piles of cheese that were 1 cup of cheese each.
They went into the oven at 375 for a few minutes, The cheese was melting but not browning up like I wanted to turned the broiler on for just a couple minutes. That did the trick.
Take two small bowls and lay the cheese patty over them and mold to fit the shape of the bowl. Very simple process. Let them cool and firm up
Made some fresh pico de gallo ala Joe ( xray ) We love this stuff!!
I made up some Spanish rice. That went into the cheese bowl first
Next I add a nice serving of the pork
More cheese, as if the cheese bowls weren't enough. Cheese is like bacon or gravy: more is always better
Finish with shredded lettuce, pico, sour cream, and avocado slices.We are ready to eat alas
These were creative, fun, and dangerously delicious. Something about just snapping off a chunk of that crispy cheese shell to go along with all the goodies inside was beyond words. Next time I'll use the same amount of cheese, make the "circles" smaller, thus making the shells thicker. Mine held up adding all the ingredients but Tracy's started to soften up from the heat. A thicker shell would eliminate that issue. Oddly enough this was a very easy meal to put together. The shells only took a few minutes to make, same with the pico, and the meat just took care of itself in the slow cooker. This one goes on the "must do again" list. These were just outrageous. Well, enough bandwidth taken up. I'm gonna call this one done and sign off now. Y'all take care, stay safe, and we will see ya next time...which may be pretty soon. I had a productive weekend cooking and have a couple more things that are worthy of posting.
Robert
Meat in the slow cooker. Looks horrible but that's what happens to meat that's been cooked for hours and hours Sure did smell good though.
Here's where the fun starts...the cheese bowls. Two piles of cheese that were 1 cup of cheese each.
They went into the oven at 375 for a few minutes, The cheese was melting but not browning up like I wanted to turned the broiler on for just a couple minutes. That did the trick.
Take two small bowls and lay the cheese patty over them and mold to fit the shape of the bowl. Very simple process. Let them cool and firm up
Made some fresh pico de gallo ala Joe ( xray ) We love this stuff!!
I made up some Spanish rice. That went into the cheese bowl first
Next I add a nice serving of the pork
More cheese, as if the cheese bowls weren't enough. Cheese is like bacon or gravy: more is always better
Finish with shredded lettuce, pico, sour cream, and avocado slices.We are ready to eat alas
These were creative, fun, and dangerously delicious. Something about just snapping off a chunk of that crispy cheese shell to go along with all the goodies inside was beyond words. Next time I'll use the same amount of cheese, make the "circles" smaller, thus making the shells thicker. Mine held up adding all the ingredients but Tracy's started to soften up from the heat. A thicker shell would eliminate that issue. Oddly enough this was a very easy meal to put together. The shells only took a few minutes to make, same with the pico, and the meat just took care of itself in the slow cooker. This one goes on the "must do again" list. These were just outrageous. Well, enough bandwidth taken up. I'm gonna call this one done and sign off now. Y'all take care, stay safe, and we will see ya next time...which may be pretty soon. I had a productive weekend cooking and have a couple more things that are worthy of posting.
Robert