The Pork Tacos

I may try them again, but it definitely needs some tweaking.  Either I didn't give it enough time to cook, or the sirloin roast was just too dang lean... but the meat didn't shred very well.  Flavor was good.  
Jerod:  2 tacos
Elise:  not even two bites (typical)
WeightWatchers:  12 points for just the pork (!!), not to mention adding cheese, salsa, sour cream.  HOWEVER, I think it really could be less.  The think the recipe calculator thingy is suspect when a hunk of meat slow cooks in a liquid, since very little of the liquid is actually consumed.  Expertise I have which entitles me to be suspect equals ZERO.  

The beans were good, though I will most definitely cut the salt next time.  
Elise:  2 bites (miraculous)
Jerod:  0 bites.  The boy don't do beans.
WeightWatchers:  4 points

Slow Cooker Pork Tacos

My main goal for this here blog is to document things I've tried.  Despite the fact that I'm writing two posts today, posting is likely to be intermittent.  But, there's something new in the crock pot, so I thought I'd write about it.  

The Recipe:  Slow Cooker Pork Tacos 
Initial thoughts after getting it all prepped and in the slow cooker:  My understanding of the recipe is that it called for fresh chils.  I went with dried.  I don't have a good reason, just thought it seemed the right way for me to go.  I used three anchos and three mulato chili pods.  
The mulato chile:


The ancho chile:


Yes, they look strikingly similar to me too.  Anyhoo... I reconstituted (essentially simmered them in hot water) the chiles and made the chile sauce last night.  This morning I did the rest of what needed to be done and threw the whole shootin' match into the crock pot.  
In an effort to keep things a little more on the healthy side, I went with a sirloin roast instead of the pork shoulder.  I have no authority to declare the sirloin roast to be better for you, but it just looked a lot less fatty as I stood in the meat section of the local grocery store.  
I also prepped and cooked some refried beans without the refry .  They cooked overnight and are ready to be reheated when dinn dinn is ready.  It made a whole lotta beans, so I froze some.  Side dishes are a constant shortcoming of mine, so hopefully they'll taste good coming out of the freezer.  I'll let ya know.

Here a Blog, There a Blog, Everywhere a Blog Blog

Let me start by saying that I fully acknowledge that I have no business whatsoever starting another blog.  I already have two other blogs that are shamefully neglected.  However, both served a purpose at the time I started them; and this one is no different.  

This particular blog will pertain to one of my favorite subjects:  FOOD!  Last summer I read a most fabulous book entitled Dinner:  A Love Story.  There's an incredible blog to go along with it.  It struck a real chord with me, probably mostly because the author's kids are essentially the same age as mine; and it so perfectly documented my own family's recent past in terms of kids and food.  The similarities pretty much ended there, as she was a successful writer/editor type and I have been pretty much completely out of the work force for eight plus years.  Regardless, I felt like she was speaking right to me.

Long story short, when she had kids, she committed to cooking and eating dinner, at home, as a family, every night.  To call this goal lofty is an understatement of epic proportions.  The idea admittedly elevated my blood pressure (despite having no gainful income, my family eats out more than I would care to tell you).  However, after reading the book, I took on the goal of eating at home more.  No way, no how will I commit to every stinking day... but I resolved to do better.

I read the book in June.  Now, at the start of the new year, I've decided to blog about my efforts.  My food challenges are as follows:

• My kids are eight and ten years old.  They're not terrible eaters, but there is plenty of room for improvement.
• My husband had hip surgery last summer.  Long story short, he's up about 30 pounds, and currently doing the weight watchers point tracking thing (at least in theory... he's not the best tracker).
• While I don't claim to be anywhere nearly as busy as a working mom, our lives are hectic. Somebody's got somewhere to be essentially every weeknight, often needed to leave the house by 5:30 (and kids get off the bus at 4:15).  Yes, we are hyper-scheduled.  There are plenty of ways to look at it, but I'm not going there now.  
• I tend to do ok with main dishes, then lose all my gusto when it comes to getting a side dish on the table.  This annoys my husband to no end.