Week 5  January 26th 2020

Carnitas

I made this on a Sunday afternoon and intended to make it last for multiple meals. But it was really good and, um, we ate it all that night. Oops.

I've tried carnitas recipes that were for the slow cooker, and they work just fine, but this slower, more tedious method was worth the extra trouble. The flavor of the pork was insane.

The comments on this recipe are helpful. I recommend using a little less water than they prescribe, and adding cumin. Look at the comment from "Steve" on here and follow his advice.

$20 Pasta Dinner

When it's going to be a busy week, I usually cook this for one of our dinners. It takes all of 20 minutes and gets the job done. This will easily feed four or five people, and there's nowhere you can take the family and pay less than $20 for everyone to eat.

Slow Cooker Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

I've made this once or twice, and with the weather we've been having I decided I need to make it again. We won't use the milk or half-and-half because we're mostly dairy-free these days.

Alternative dairy products usually don't sub well for milk or heavy cream, but there's a type of alternative milk I found that gets much closer to the right texture and taste. It's made from pea protein, but since no one would buy Pea Milk they've opted to label it "plant milk".

I haven't decided yet, but I might make a sort of roux instead, then add the plant milk directly to the soup. You do you.