Haven’t ever heard of tacos al pastor? Neither had I until my husband introduced them to me and now they are one of my favorites! They are made using pork that is seasoned to just the right level of heat and combined with sweet pineapples and a little cilantro and onion for the perfect taco. Typically, the pork is cooked on a large upright rotisserie similar to what Greek gyros or Turkish döner kebab meats are cooked on. I haven’t found too many places in Utah that use this method, but if you are nearby Salt Lake City, Chunga’s tacos al pastor has one of these rotisseries and their tacos al pastor are excellent!    The restaurant is super small, but has an outdoor eating space that is a fun experience.

Although I would love to cook the meat in a upright rotisserie, this recipe  uses a pork loin that is cooked on the stove to simplify it. I have found it works great with leftover pork. Simply lessen the cooking time as the meat is already cooked. Sometimes we will bake a pork loin for a meal one day and then cube the leftovers and make this as another meal later on in the week. I find that these can be a little too spicy for my kids, so I usually leave a little of the pork aside minus the seasoning.

Tacos al Pastor

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 (1.5 pound) pork loin cubed into 1 inch cubes
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cumin
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 onion diced
1 fresh pineapple diced (or 1 can pineapple tidbits drained)
salt & pepper to taste

In a large pan heat the oil over medium/high heat. Add the cubed pork loin and diced onion and cook for 6-7 minutes until the meat starts to turn white and is almost cooked through and onions become translucent. In a small bowl combine the garlic powder, cumin, cayenne pepper, and chili powder. Add the seasonings to the pan and stir to coat the meat and onions. Lastly add the diced pineapple and cook to warm through just slightly.  Serve in corn tortillas with diced cilantro and raw onion if desired. Enjoy!

When my husband and I were first married one of our favorite places to eat was a little Thai restaurant tucked next to a laundry mat and bookstore. They had the most delicious curry and spring rolls. Once I stopped working to stay home with our kids, gone were the days of eating out as much. So I experimented with making my own curry and I have to say we don’t miss restaurant curry at all! This curry is rich and smooth and slightly spicy. We love to use chicken as our protein. This recipe calls for a specific type of curry paste. Most national stores like Walmart will carry the red Thai Kitchen paste, which will also work, but try googling Asian markets in your neighborhood because most of them will carry this paste. I buy a lot of cans so I have all the ingredients on hand in my pantry. Making curry at home is so much cheaper and this recipe is really so simple. My kids still find the curry too spicy, so before I add the curry paste to the recipe I will take out the cooked chicken, carrots and potatoes and they eat that over rice. 

Thai Coconut Curry

1 tablespoon oil
1 can massaman curry paste (we prefer the Maesri brand) or 2 tablespoons red curry paste (like Thai Kitchen brand)
1 can coconut milk
1 can chicken broth**
1 chicken breast sliced thin
1 yellow onion sliced into thin slices
2-3 Russet potatoes, cut into large chunks
3 carrots cut into large chunks
Optional-1 bell pepper either orange or red

Heat oil in large pan over medium heat and saute onion for 3-5 minutes. Add sliced chicken and cook until the chicken is no longer pink and cooked through. Add the can of curry paste and mix with chicken and allow it to cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the coconut milk and chicken broth. Bring everything to a simmer and add the potatoes, carrots and bell pepper.  Simmer for 15-20 minutes until potatoes and carrots are tender. Serve over rice. We like to eat Calrose rice that we cook in our rice cooker.

*Tip- As a shortcut I place my potatoes and carrots in a microwave safe bowl and cover with water. Microwave for about 15 minutes until potatoes are tender. Then I drain the water and add the cooked potatoes and carrots into the curry . This helps to make this meal even faster since I do this right when I am cooking the chicken so I don’t have to wait for them to cook later on.

**We have this curry in our regular meal rotation and I have started omitting the can of chicken broth. The curry goes further with it added, but without it the curry is more thick and creamy. So if you prefer a thicker curry omit the chicken broth completely or only use half the can.

***A few other notes-I use a frozen chicken breast that is slightly thawed so that I can cut it into really thin strips. This makes slicing it much easier. Also, if you are sensitive to spice you may want to start with just a few tablespoons of the masaman curry and then taste it after it has been simmered and add more according to your taste.  We also like serving the curry with peanuts on top for added crunch.

Growing up I was the pickiest eater. My poor parents. One of the things I hated was pizza. This caused problems because what’s usually served at parties or other events? Yup, pizza. So for years I would eat something else before my mom sent me off to parties so I wouldn’t be hungry. I don’t remember exactly when I started liking pizza, but not until I was a teenager. Now I’ve been making up for all those years eating lots of pizza!

One of our favorite meals is homemade pizza. We usually do it on Friday nights and it’s a family event. Little Man’s favorite job is sprinkling the cheese. He still needs a little help spreading it out since he tends to sprinkle all in the same spot. We’ve tried lots of different combinations, but the kids favorite lately is ham and pineapple. We usually like sausage, mushroom and caramelized onions. There are so many different options that we don’t get bored having this weekly (some other ideas- BBQ chicken, chicken alfredo, pepperoni, Margherita etc.) We also have found we can continue having pizza during the summer time without heating up our kitchen by using our grill. Individual pizzas are easiest on the grill. Roll out like usual then brush with olive oil and cook on a  preheated grill for 3-5 minutes. Flip over and cook for only one minute. On your more well-done side of the dough, add your toppings, then place back on the grill to cook for another 3-5 minutes and you will have the most delicious grilled pizza!

I have tried a couple of other pizza doughs, but I love this dough because it’s takes just a few minutes to mix and only needs 10-15 minutes to rise. Just enough time to get all the other toppings ready and preheat the oven.

Quick and Easy Pizza Dough

Ingredients
1 cup warm water
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon instant yeast
1 teaspoon salt
2-3 cups flour

1.  Mix the water, honey, oil, yeast and salt in a large bowl or stand mixer and gradually add the flour until a soft dough forms and pulls away from the bowl.  The dough should be soft, a little sticky but smooth and not too stiff.*
2. Knead the dough for 2 minutes. Remove & let rest for 15 minutes.
3. Divide the dough into two and shape into two pizzas. Spread with sauce and toppings, and bake at 475 degrees for 8-10 minutes on a lightly greased pizza pan or one lined with parchment paper (what I like to do-easier clean up!)

*The more flour you add makes for a tougher dough. So you want to add only up to what makes the dough just pull off the sides. I learned in a class once to shake your flour in its container before you measure it so that it’s not so packed together and makes for more accurate measuring (besides weighing). There are a number of factors that will affect the dough consistency, so sometimes when I make the recipe I use closer to the 3 cups or sometimes I use only a little more that two. That’s why it’s very important to gradually add your flour.

Recipe Source- Mel’s Kitchen Cafe