Some of my best summer recipes!

Now I have a few go to summer recipes that are sure to please any crowd! My carnitas, Caribbean jerk seasoned pork sliders with a citrus slaw, and a mixed fruit salad.

For my carnitas I like to use a bone in pork butt, it has more flavor than using a pork loin and shreds a lot better too. There are two ways to make this, in the oven for about 2 hours, or in the crock pot for 6 hours. I prefer the crock pot because I can start early in the morning and its done by noon.

Let's the the pork seasoned to perfection. For my spices I use as follows:

8 cloves of crushed garlic or press it through a garlic press

2 tbsp of cumin and chili powder

1 and 1/2 tbsp turmeric powder

1 tbsp salt and pepper

1 white onion quartered

1 jalapeno seeded and diced

2 dried bay leaves

1/3 cup orange and pineapple juice

2 limes, juiced and leave the squeezed limes in with the pork

And lastly about 1/4 cup of vegetable oil

I like to cut the pork after getting the skin off and cutting into 2 inch cubes and put them in a bowl with a lid or in a ziplock bag. I also like to make kind of like a dry rub on the pork before adding any of the liquid. Once the pork is seasoned well add the liquids and if you use an orange instead of the pre-squeezed juice leave the orange in there just like the lime.

Moving on, I like to leave it to marinade over night at the most and about 3 hours at the least, (also, side note, everything in the marinade goes in the pan) then after that get the oven preheated to 450 F, I personally like to use the disposable foil pans for this, it comes with a lid and you can throw it away when you're done. So in the oven for 2-2 and a half hours or until done and tender. Once it's done its time to crisp it up! In a large skillet over medium high heat place the shredded meat in the skillet and fry it up until its crisp and put it in a tortilla with any toppings you like.

For the crock pot, literally everything is the same except you put it in the crock pot on high for 6 hours and then once its done and shredded follow the instructions above and crisp it up in a skillet on medium high heat until crispy and put in a tortilla with whatever you want to top it with.

**********************************************************************************************************************************************

My Caribbean jerk seasoned pork sliders are by far my favorite recipe in the recipe haul, so I'm very excited to share it with you, it is also the easiest! This is also another crock pot recipe I love my crock pot and pork is such a versatile meat to work with and can take the strong flavors that are in the jerk seasoning. What is in the jerk seasoning you ask? A lot of fragrant spices like cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and many more, but I like the generic Walmart jerk seasoning for this especially since whole spices may be harder to come by and can be expensive for someone like me.

So I use another pork butt and take the skin off, however this time I leave it whole and coat it in the seasoning, I use 2 packets of the premade seasoning and let it sit in the fridge covered in a bowl or in a zip lock bag on a plate over night. Then in the morning put it in the crock pot on high for 6 hours or until for tender.

A great compliment for the sliders is a citrus slaw. The premade slaw saves a bunch of time and money, the dressing is where its at though. Ingredients will be listed below:

3 tbsp of lime juice

6 tbsp of orange juice

6 tbsp of pineapple juice

3 tbsp of honey

1/2 tsp salt and pepper

1 tsp of turmeric powder

And mix that together before tossing with the slaw. Once the pork is ready its time to plate everything up. I personally like to toast the slider or burger buns I plan to use, it adds another delicious texture. Now the bottom bun gets the pork piled high, next is the slaw, its tangy and sweet, a perfect compliment to the spicy savory and slightly sweet pork, then the top bun! You can also use the slaw on the side instead of on the sliders.

**********************************************************************************************************************************************

My mixed fruit salad is very simple and very delicious. Ingredients will be listed below (this also makes a very big fruit salad, like it lasts a family of four over a week) :

2 gala or honey crisp apples

2 lbs of strawberries quartered and diced

1 pineapple, I usually do this in chunks, feel free to use the canned stuff if you want, I prefer fresh

1 cantaloupe seeded and cut into a medium dice

A sprinkling of sugar

2 basil leaves cut in the chiffonade cutting style

Mix this all together and voile a very refreshing fruit salad! It's great on its own or as a side, a topping for desserts, or to blend as a smoothie!

**********************************************************************************************************************************************

Thank you so much for reading!