Slow Cooker Carnitas {recipe}

Finishing these off under the broiler for a few minutes will give you delicious, caramelized, can't-get-enough Carnitas!  

My slow cooker and I are pretty tight these days.  I try to use it a couple times a week to myself a bit of a "break" on the whole cooking and big kitchen clean-up deal.  I'm always trying to find another winning slow cooker recipe to add to my rotation.. I tried these pork carnitas for the first time a couple weeks ago and they were a hit!  I stuffed my face with at least four of them.  They're juicy, flavorful, and are SO good topped with some "corn salsa".

Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas

adapted from Damn Delicious

• 3lb pork shoulder
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons oregano
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 5 garlic cloves, peeled & smashed
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 cup orange juice
• 2 teaspoons liquid smoke
• juice of one lime

Mix together the salt, pepper, cumin, oregano, and chili powder in a small bowl.  Rub all over the pork shoulder and place into the slow cooker.  Place garlic, onion, orange juice, liquid smoke, and lime juice into the slow cooker.  Cook on low for 8 hour or on high for 4-5 hours.  

Preheat broiler.  Remove pork shoulder from the slow cooker.  Shred and spread out on a baking sheet.  Coat with a little bit of juice from the slow cooker.  Broil until edges are crispy, 3-4 minutes.  Be careful not to burn!  Serve immediately!

*We enjoy these on pan-warmed corn tortillas and topped with a mix of corn/diced red onion/lime juice/cilantro!  You can certainly top with whatever you prefer - guacamole, sour cream, salsa, etc.

Getting Ready for Back-to-School

This post is sponsored by Wayfair.  All content is my own.

It's that time of year.  School is starting.. it's going to begin getting cooler (hopefully?!)... soon everything will be doused in pumpkin and apples... and this year I have a pre-schooler!  Which means next year she will be a Kindergartener!  Which means... I don't even want to think any further right now.

The start of the school year always makes me feel the need to get better organized.  Especially my little office nook.. the filing cabinet.. the kids papers.. so many papers.

Wayfair is my go-to for a lot of things.  And they also have a ton of amazing organizational options!

Tribeca 211 3-Drawer File Cabinet  //  Lean Living 72" Bookcase  // Bermuda Computer Desk with Keyboard Tray  //  Explorer 12" Educational Globe

A file cabinet has saved my sanity when it comes to organizing all my papers.  What do you use?

Homemade Arepas {recipe}

I participated in an Ambassador Program on behalf of Influence Central for P.A.N. Cornmeal. I received product samples as well as a promotional item to thank me for my participation. #PANFan

By now it's no secret that I love creating delicious recipes with P.A.N. Cornmeal.  So far I've made some delicious Pupusas and Breakfast Bites.  Today I have a another yummy recipe for you - Arepas!  

Arepas are a sort of flatbread, popular in Colombia and Venezuela.  You can take your favorite sandwich, and swap out the plain ol' bread for these arepas.. and you'll have a fun twist on a Venezuelan classic!  It can be stuffed with many different things.. meat, eggs, tomatoes, cheese, avocado, seafood.  You can do whatever you want to make it your own dish.

My picky eater likes to eat it with cheese.. kind of like a grilled cheese.  ;)

There's so much versatility when it comes to using P.A.N. Cornmeal.  Breakfast, lunch, dinner.. it can be used for virtually any meal.  It's quick and easy, which may be one of my favorite things about it!  Ha!

We filled ours with my husband favorite.. just a classic sandwich.. cajun turkey, cheese, and onion.. super YUM!  But you can fill with about whatever your heart desires!  That's the awesome thing, it's very versatile!

Homemade Arepas

2 1/2 cups warm water

1 tsp salt

2 cup P.A.N. Cornmeal

Oil for frying

• Stir water and salt together in a large bowl until salt dissolves.  Add cornmeal gradually and work the mixture together until it forms a soft dough.  Divide the dough into 10 balls and pat each one into a disk shape.
• Heat oil in a skillet and cook the arepas 4-5 minutes on each side or until golden.  Slice the arepas to form sort of a pita pocket and fill with whatever you desire.  Serve warm.

Check P.A.N. out at their Tumblr Page!

Back-to-School with Carter's

“I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for Carter’s. I received a complimentary gift card to facilitate my review and thank me for my participation.”

Is it really that time already?  Back to school?!  I can hardly believe that summer is almost through.  Clara will be attending Pre-K this year.. thankfully she won't start Kindergarten until next year.. I'm just not even ready for that!  

I always remember one of my favorite parts of going back to school, was going school shopping... notebooks, pens, and other odds & ends... and of course, CLOTHES.  New school clothes are the best.  All the fall clothing is starting to fill the stores and it gets me really excited.  I was able to go shopping last weekend for some new outfits for Clara.. and some for little man, as well.  My go-to for them is always Carter's.  I love how their clothing is well made, it's happy, colorful, and has beautiful styles.

The coordinated sets make it easy to pick out an adorable outfit.. and they're always have sales!  The best part!  Right now they're have their Count Me In Preschool Sale through 8/31.  And you can use this coupon below (in-store or online) for 20% off your purchase of $40 or more!

I could spend hours inside a Carter's store - if only my kids (and husband) would let me!  ;) Clara was excited about the new clothes I bought for her, though!  I absolutely love her in the outfit below.. she looks so good in pink.. and I love the floral!  Carter’s now offers clothing up to Size 8 and shoes up to 3y!

Sam got some clothes too, of course.  I can hardly believe my little chunk is wearing 9 month clothing!  He's so much bigger than Clara was as a baby.  But I'm definitely loving all the baby chub!

Have you gone back-to-school shopping yet?  Are you as excited about all the fall clothing coming out as I am?!  Hit up Carter's while they have this great sale going on!  Also, visit them at Carters.com, Twitter, and Facebook!

Popsicles Solve All The Problems

There are times when being an adult is fun.. like eating ice cream whenever you want.  And then there are times when being an adult is not so fun...like when it's a billion degrees outside (or 112 degrees to be exact) and your air conditioner and other car parts that I don't know anything about decide to crap out on you.  So there's that.

So what better time to go out for gourmet popsicles?

I opted for the strawberry... which is made with locally grown berries.  And I had it dipped in belgian dark chocolate.. and coated in homemade graham cracker crumbs.  Clara had a dark chocolate pop and Coleman had a plain strawberry pop.

Necklace // The Vintage Honey Shop

 We've been here multiple times and I really enjoying trying all the fun flavors, and getting a different popsicle each time.  It's a fun place to go to enjoy a unique treat - I love that they use locally grown produce when they can!  I'm all about the support local.

So the moral of the story is, even some adult things suck.. you can always go get fun treat.  Because you're an adult.  And you can make those decisions.  And you probably deserve it for putting up with all those stupid adult things.

The kids like those days too (Clara obviously really enjoyed her chocolate popsicle).  ;)

Shaun the Sheep Movie {entertainment}

I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for Lionsgate. I received a promotional item to thank me for my participation.

There is no shortage of kids movies and TV shows in our household.  Some of it can get old real quick, but there are some that I just love to snuggle up on the couch with her and watch!  Shaun the Sheep is one of those show we watch quite often - and it something all of us enjoy!  I was SO excited when I found out they were making a movie.  I can't wait to surprise Clara and take her on a little date to go see it when it comes out on August 5th!

One of the things that always really caught my eye with Shaun the Sheep Movie is the Claymation.  It's so much different than anything else Clara watches and all the rich textures really make it a lot of fun!  Clara adores the sheep and thinks they're "so cute".  The movie is about... of course... Shaun, who decides it would be a good idea to go out and have some fun, but ends up in the big city and trying to find his way back to his grassy home.  You'll have so much fun with your little ones going out to see this Shaun the Sheep Movie!  Be sure to check out the movie trailer:

Meet Shaun!  He's a young sheep who is fed up with getting told what to do every day by the farmer - so he decided to head out on an adventure.  He's kind of the ring leader, and the trouble maker.  But everyone loves him!

Visit the website at ShaunTheSheep.com - we cannot WAIT to see the movie.  Any other Shaun the Sheep fans out there??

Serta’s “Shaun the Sheep Movie” Sweepstakes

Now through August 18, 2015, enter to win one of our weekly prizes! One randomly selected winner will be chosen each week to receive a Movie Basket that includes:

·         Two movie passes to see “Shaun the Sheep Movie”

·         One “Shaun the Sheep Movie” plush toy

·         One “Shaun the Sheep Movie”  picture frame

·         One “Shaun the Sheep Movie” junior novelization (book based on the movie)

·         One Serta Counting Sheep plush toy

·         One Serta Counting Sheep keychain

·         One Serta Luxury Fleece blanket

On the last day of the promotion, one grand prize winner will be randomly selected to receive a Serta Perfect Sleeper mattress and a hometown screening of “Shaun the Sheep Movie”!

To enter, simply fill out the form on Serta’s Facebook Page!