Slow Cooker Carnitas

Since Brady's been born, I've relied heavily on the slow cooker.  I've been branching out and trying new recipes and this is a new favorite in our house.  It's simple to prepare, makes enough for plenty of leftovers, is so delicious.  I use the  carnitas for tacos, but you could also do burritos, quesadillas, enchiladas, etc.  

Slow Cooker Carnitas (adapted from allrecipes.com) 

Ingredients

• 3 teaspoon salt
• 3 teaspoon garlic powder
• 3 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1.5 teaspoon crumbled dried oregano
• 1.5 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 (4 pound) boneless pork shoulder roast
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 cups chicken broth

Directions

1. Mix together salt, garlic powder, cumin, oregano, and coriander in a bowl. Coat pork with the spice mixture. Place the bay leaves in the bottom of a slow cooker and place the pork on top. Pour the chicken broth around the sides of the pork, being careful not to rinse off the spice mixture.
2. Cover and cook on Low until the pork shreds easily with a fork, about 10 hours. When the pork is tender, remove from slow cooker, and shred with two forks. Use cooking liquid as needed to moisten the meat.

Gooey Butter Cookies

I made these cookies for Christmas and they were absolutely divine.  They were a bit sweet as well as a bit savory and light and fluffy (so you can eat 25 before feeling ill- I know this from experience).

Gooey Butter Cookies (recipe by Mathew Rice of Nightwood Restaurant)

• 4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 pound cream cheese
• 2 sticks unsalted butter
• 1/2 vanilla bean, scraped (optional (Tim thinks it is optional, but important))
• 3 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Confectioner’s sugar for rolling and dusting

Stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Set aside.  In the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the cream cheese, butter, vanilla bean seeds, and sugar together until fluffy.  Add the eggs and vanilla extract.

Incorporate the flour mixture.  Chill for at least 30 minutes.  Scoop roughly 1-ounce balls and toss in the confectioner’s sugar.  Place on a baking sheet, lined with parchment, a couple of inches apart.  Bake at 325° F until they spread and puff slightly, about 12-16 minutes.  They will be really soft in the center.  If they start to brown, they’ve gone too far.  Cool to room temperature.

The recipe recommended refrigerating them from here and I was skeptical but decided to try it and they were even better cold!  Try them both ways and see which you prefer.

Brady Taylor

at the hospital

dressed up for Christmas dinner

bath time

checking himself out in the mirror

Almost 8 weeks ago, we welcomed Brady Taylor into the world at 7 pounds 1 ounce, 19.5 inches long.  It's incredible how much love and joy this tiny little guy has brought to our lives. The instant we met him, we felt like he filled a space in our hearts we didn't even know was there and we suddenly couldn't imagine how we ever lived without him.  He's growing and changing every day and now weighs in at 11 pounds!  His current interests are smiling, cooing, cuddling, and checking himself out in the mirror.  These photos represent his first 8 weeks, in chronological order.