Slow Cooker Mexican Corn on the Cob

When my husband was a teenager, he lived in the great heartland state of Ohio. He lived in a fairly small town that was full of small town perfection. He even worked on a farm. A sweet corn farm to be exact. I have heard many times about him driving the tractor, singing some country song while working, and the glories of fresh corn on the cob. Seriously, don't get him started on fresh corn. He will declare at least once that if it is fresh enough, the best way to eat it is raw right off the stalk. He is also adamant that cooked corn on the cob should be almost as crunchy as the fresh stuff. He has a few opinions on the matter of corn on the cob if you couldn't tell. So when I declared (I can do my own declaring after all) that I was testing out a new recipe that would involve corn on the cob, he looked at me skeptically and inquired how I was going to be cooking this corn. "Why, in the crock pot." I sweetly replied. He pretty much grunted in disbelief. Ya, well I will show you. Show him I did. This corn was off the charts good. Plus it was a combo of two of my favorite things, Mexican Corn on the Cob and the ease of cooking in a crock pot. After one bite from Husband (aka the corn on the cob professional), he declared, "Hey, that is pretty good. I am pleasantly surprised." He then ate several ears. That my friends is what I call success. So here is the low down on how to make your very own Mexican Corn on the Cob in the slow cooker.

 

Buy and husk the corn. Get ready the right amount of foil sheets (long enough to wrap up a corn cob), chili powder, Cotija cheese, finely chopped fresh cilantro, and butter or mayonnaise.

   

 I will say, after trying both butter and mayonnaise I lean a little more towards mayonnaise but the kiddos liked the butter. You can use either.

 

Place a piece of corn on a sheet of foil. Spread a healthy amount of mayo or butter on the top of the piece of corn. AND by healthy I mean a lot, not actually healthy. Sprinkle the chili powder, cheese, and cilantro on top.

 

Wrap the corn on tight and snuggly, so that water used in the crock pot does not get in.

 

Add 1/3 cup water into the bottom of a slow cooker. Place the foil-wrapped corn into the slow cooker. Mine holds six ears of corn. Cover and cook on high for 2 hours. Remove from slow cooker with tongs and unwrap one beautiful ear of corn. Sprinkle with a little more cheese, some salt, and squeeze some fresh lime juice over the top. Then dive right in.

 

You will be pretty happy that you did. Plus it will be sure to silence the harshest corn on the cob critics. Mostly because they will be too busy inhaling this delightful Mexican Corn on the Cob.  

Taco Crunch Wrap (Copycat Recipe)

Confession time--

On occasion I am known to eat at  the Tex-Mex style fast food restaurant that has something to do with a Bell . Shh, don't tell anyone. I am not particularly proud of this confession, but since we are such close friends...and friends don't judge...I feel I can be honest with you.

Word on the street is that my dear sweet mother ate from this restaurant while I was in utero. So really my craving for the Bell started before I was even conscious of it.

So really, s'not my fault.

I can also honesty tell you that I haven't eaten there in quite awhile. Mostly because as I have grown older I find myself not as in love with fast food. Basically, when I do get to go out to eat, which is rare, I do not want it to be rolling through a drive-up.

However, I still think fondly on my favorite menu item from the a fore mentioned Bell restaurant. Ah the Crunch Wrap Supreme. That little bit of deliciousness is almost enough temptation to take myself to the boarder and the drive through.

What is not to love? They basically helped my decision between soft taco and hard taco become null and void.

No more--
"Hmmm soft taco?"
"No, hard taco..."
"Ugh, wait, soft taco...no hard...ugh, ugh, ugh."

Yeah I know suburban mom problems....

I love myself a good Crunch Wrap. Luhhhve.

Alas, I just don't have them, again the whole fast food thing.

Insert sad violin music now...

Then I became aware of the fact that I can make them at home.

Insert angels singing...

Not too long ago we got a package of fresh high quality tortillas from Bountiful Baskets. In the order, were giant and glorious 13" tortillas. At first I was all like, "What the heck do I do with these monsters?"

That is when the whole homemade crunch wrap thing happened. Hubby had pinned a recipe or two for Crunch Wraps on Pinterest previous to obtaining our giant tortilla shells (how come I had not been told about this pinning?).

There are actually quite a few options out there on how to make a Crunch Wrap Supreme.

I wasn't a fan of one single recipe, so I do what I do and I morphed and added and tweaked.

The outcome was a fast food copycat so glorious that I will never have to drive to the boarder again.

Heaven help me these were so yummy. If you are a fan of tacos, soft or hard, the Bell, Tex-Mex, or all together scrumptious food, then you will enjoy these. They are super easy to make and a complete meal all wrapped up.

Enjoy and thanks for letting me share my deep dark secret about fast food with you! It sure feels good to get that off my chest.

Taco Crunch Wrap (Copycat Recipe)

13" (or bigger) flour tortilla shells
Corn tostada shells
1 lb ground hamburger
Taco Bell taco seasoning packet
1 jar mild or medium cheese (like Tostitos Salsa Con Queso)
light sour cream
shredded iceberg lettuce
diced tomatoes

Cook the ground hamburger, drain off the fat. Season with the Taco Bell seasoning.

Lay a flour tortilla on the counter. If the shells are not pliable, then nuke them for a couple seconds in the microwave. Spread about 1/4 cup of the meat in the middle of the tortilla. It should be spread in a circle that will be perfectly covered by a tostada shell.

Once the meat is spread in the center of the tortilla. Pour over 2-3 Tablespoons of cheese sauce. Top the cheese with a tostada shell.

On top of the shell, spread a couple of Tablespoons of sour cream. Top with the shredded lettuce and diced tomatoes.

To fold up the shell, fold up 1/6 section of the shell toward the center. Then work left to right and keep folding, overlapping each section slightly until the last sixth is folded over. Depending on how full you stuffed them there might be a slight gap in the middle.

Cook the crunch wrap in a slightly greased skillet on medium high. Cook the folded side down first, carefully laying it down so the folds do not come undone.

Cook for until the tortilla is golden brown, about a minute. Carefully flip and cook the other side.

Serve warm.

And...you're welcome!

Thanks for reading!

My Favorite Cinco de Mayo Recipes

First, I am over at Crafter Club celebrating Birthday Week. 

I am sharing my favorite buttercream frosting recipe that is 

great for birthday cakes, cupcakes, and sugar cookies.

Stop by and say HI!

The 5th of May would have totally sneaked up on me if it weren't for the fact that as I was menu planning for visiting family I realized that the Sunday they are here was Cinco de Mayo.

A perfect excuse to make a veritable Mexican (aka American version of Mexican food) feast. The last Mexican feast we had around here was on Bean's Mexican Fiesta First Birthday.

Uh that was over a month ago, and that is WAY too long to not have had Mexican food on our dinner table.

I excitedly put together my Cinco de Mayo menu.

Shredded Beef Tacos

Cheesy Rice

Refried Beans

Homemade Pico de Gallo

Guacamole

Homemade Salsa

Churros

Yum. I am wishing it were May 5th already.

As I was figuring out what to make, I realized that maybe Cinco de Mayo was sneaking up on some of you as well. So I put together a little round up of our favorite Mexican Food inspired recipes here on Just Another Day in Paradise.

Enjoy!

Cinco de Mayo Approved Recipes

Shredded Chicken Tacos 

 Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

 Three Bean Corn Salsa

 Shredded Beef Tacos

 Sweet Pork Baked Taquitos

 Tex Mex Shredded Pork Burritos

Cheesy Spanish Rice

Thanks for stopping by! I would love for you to share the Fiesta Fun by pinning or sharing on Facebook. One big Mexican food love fest!

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Slow Cooker Saturday: Shredded Beef Tacos

Hoorah for me actually showing up to a Slow Cooker Saturday. I have been MIA on Saturdays around here for a couple of weeks. Chalk it up to crazy weekends. It surely isn't because I haven't been using my slow cooker, 'cause I have.

A slow cooker using fool, that is me.

Let me introduce you to these Shredded Beef Tacos.

Reader, meet Taco...

Why Hello....

Sorry for the food conversation. Where was I.

Oh right, the tacos.

These are scrumb-diddli-umcious people.

Srumb.Diddli.Umcious.

We served these at our recent Turning Uno Birthday Mexican Fiesta. These tacos were a crowd pleaser. In fact, the next day when Oldest asked for leftovers and I had to tell him they were gone, he was pretty displeased.

He was really counting on another Shredded Beef Taco.

Oh this meal was yummy. I am kind of wishing that it wasn't several weeks ago when I made this. I am kind of wishing it was like um cooking in my slow cooker right now...okay like really I wish that it was already done cooking so I could eat while typing. All the while dripping yummy taco bits all over my keyboard.

The rice and beans were good too...we will talk about that another day. Here is a teaser. Yum.

Besides being delicioso (yea I just threw in my best Spanish, which I know thanks to Dora), these are insanely easy to make.

Roast and fixins just chilax in the slow cooker for the day. Then when it is done cooking, you just shred it up and serve it up on a tortilla with your favorite taco toppings.

Seriously yum.

Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Taco
classy cooking

Printable Recipe

1 2-3lb chuck roast
1 14oz can beef broth
1 1/2 Tablespoons chili powder
1/2 Tablespoon cumin
1/2 Tablespoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
freshly cracked black pepper
juice of 1 medium lime

flour tortillas
lettuce, shredded
cheese (I used cojita a Mexican crumble cheese)
guacamole
sour cream 
pico de gallo
cilantro    

In a bowl, whisk together the chili powder, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper.

Place the roast in the slow cooker. Pour the beef broth over the roast. Then add the lime juice. Sprinkle the roast with the spice mixture. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours.

Remove the roast from the slow cooker. Remove any fat. Shred the beef and return to the slow cooker. Cover with a lid and cook an additional 30 minutes.

Remove the shredded beef from the juices. Serve up on a warm tortilla, topped with your favorite taco toppings.      

Baked Chipotle Chicken Taquitos

In just a few short weeks...eek...BIG eek...we have a birthday party in this house. Bean is turning one. Months and months ago I decided I wanted to throw him a Mexican Fiesta for turning Uno.

Hehehe, sorry I had to.

Anyway.

For my Little Men's first birthdays we have stuck to having families over. I mean for the most part, no one-year-old is hopping on the pre-toddler social scene.

Since we have other families over, I like to throw more of a dinner type party.

Oldest had a western/cowboy themed party with bottled rootbeer and all the fixins.
Middle had a chili/pumpkin painting Halloween party with some very spooky brain cupcakes.
Little had a carnival party with cotton candy and hot dogs.

Now it is time to celebrate Bean. My very last First Birthday Party to throw. In order of my last hoo-rah, I figured a little Fiesta was in order with a full on Mexican food spread.

Besides decoration ideas which I am gathering up in my noggin and on my Mexican Fiesta Pin Board, I am also making a list of possible food to serve.

I am thinking homemade refried beans, a taco bar, chips salsa and guacamole, Cheesy Rice, Jarritos drinks, churros (Maybe even the oh-so-popular Churro Chex Mix), tres leches cupcakes...

Remember how I said we like Mexican food? I probably could keep adding more things onto this party menu.

Like for instance, I could totally add these Baked Chipotle Chicken Taquitos.

These chicken taquitos were quite lovely. The chipotle adds a glorious smoky taste that compliments the slight heat that comes from the chilies and other seasonings. Plus they were baked so I could eat them guilt free. I do enjoy guilt free eating.

My new favorite Mexican cooking ingredient is Mexican cheese. It melts wonderfully and it is dreamy smooth and creamy.

Then you have sour cream with a touch of lime.

All together it is like a fiesta in my mouth.

I used a rotisserie chicken, my go-to time saver. So not only was the meal yummy, but it was fast to make.

Fast meals are always a good idea if you ask me.

You weren't asking me?
Well you should?
I would tell you they are a good idea.

The fam enjoyed these. The heat was a teeny bit much for Little, but he quickly resolved the issue by doubling his serving of sour cream in which to tip his taquitos.

I hope you enjoy these as much as we did.

Baked Chipotle Chicken Taquitos
adapted from The Kitchen  

Printable Recipe

2 Tablespoons butter
3 cups cooked and shredded chicken (I use a store bought rotisserie chicken)
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle powder
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 4oz can diced chilies
24 small flour tortillas or 12 regular
2 cups shredded soft Mexican cheese
1 cup sour cream
Juice of 3 limes and 1 Tablespoon of lime zest

Preheat the oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with foil and set aside.

Combine chicken, paprika, salt, garlic powder, cumin, chipotle, chili powder, and can of diced chilies.

Melt butter in a skillet. Add in the chicken mixture to the skillet and cook until warmed through.

Warm up a a few flour tortillas at a time by heating them in the microwave for about 20 seconds. Place 2 tablespoons of chicken mixture in the middle of each tortilla and top with shredded cheese. Tightly roll each tortilla and place seam side down on foil-lined baking sheet.

Fill all the tortillas shells and roll them the same way. Place them all on the baking sheet. Coat the tops with cooking spray and sprinkle with kosher salt.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.

While they are baking, mix the sour cream with the lime juice and zest. Set aside.

Serve the baked taquitos with a side of lime sour cream.

Ole'.

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Cheesy Spanish Rice

This last Slow Cooker Saturday we had Shredded Chicken Tacos. The lovely little sidekick to our tacos was this Cheesy Spanish Rice.

I promised that I would share this recipe with you all this week.

I can't tell you how happy we are to have finally found a good Spanish rice recipe. We have tried many and all of them have come up short. You wouldn't think it was that big of a deal,  but it really is. We eat our fair share of Mexican meals in this house. Finding the sides to go with those meals, that is a conundrum.

I know, problems, problems...

Even this recipe is a mix of a couple of recipes.

I kind of picked and chose what sounded good. Then it all came together and BAM we had ourselves a pretty darn tasty Mexican side dish.

Yum worthy. Left over worthy...now you know I am not joking around.

The rice is great on its own...but with the addition of some cheese, well...

Please, cheese makes everything better.

Oh wait, that is bacon...

Oh wait, that is chocolate....

Oh wait, all three of those things make everything better...probably not together...

Probably...

Yeah, definitely not together.

However, cheese + rice = delightfulness in a bowl.

You know what I will have with my tacos now...a side of awesome topped with cheese.

Cheesy Spanish Rice

Printable Recipe

1 cup diced onions
1/2 cup diced red peppers
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 cup white rice
1 can mild Rotel (tomatoes with chilies)
1 cup frozen corn
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
shredded cheddar cheese

Heat up the olive oil in a saute pan over medium high heat. Cook the onions, peppers, and garlic in the pan for about 5 minutes, or until the onions are translucent. Stir constantly.

Add the rice in with the vegetables and cook for another 2-4 minutes, long enough for some of the rice to turn golden. Stir in the can of tomatoes and the corn. Stir to mix everything together evenly.

Add in the chicken broth. Stir. Cover and let it simmer for 20 minutes. Stir every once in awhile to keep the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

At the end of 20 minutes, fluff the rice and add salt to taste.

Serve immediately, topped with shredded cheese. It will melt like a dream on the hot rice.

Have a gloriously lovely day.

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Pork Carnitas

When I was a teenager, I had this horrid little habit of conforming. Not in the nasty little middle school and high school norms. I mean, I did keep my language clean, I didn't dress too revealing (who am I kidding I dressed like a 30 year-old substitute teacher...a cute teacher...but still), and I was not a mean girl.

However, I was a teenager and I was still programmed to conform.

So how did I conform?

Several ways, for example...

Heaven forbid I admit to knowing what or even listening to country music.
"Garth Brooks. Nope never heard of him. Nope I did not scream my head off at his concert. Nope that was not one of three times that I cursed (Friends in Low Places people)."

I would never choose to stay home and read a book instead of cruising around the town with kids my own age. When I said no to going out it was always because, uh...my parents are lame and are making me...uh...clean all the bathrooms...

Eww chocolate, that stuff will make your skin break out. I don't like the taste of chocolate.

Pork. Gross who eats that. I mean yuck. I don't eat most meat. It will make me fat. Chicken only please.

Yup, I was like tofu. A bland little sponge of a thing. Soaking up several mass accepted teenage norms.

Man am I glad I am not a teenager anymore.

I mean, don't get me wrong I am still a little bit tofu, but that is best left for another day...

But I can happily say that I do not conform the way I did when I was a teenager.

Good thing too, otherwise I would have never made myself this to.die.for pork carnitas...aka heaven on a tortilla.

This slow cooking carnitas had my house smelling like a favorite neighborhood Mexican restaurant all day. The process of first cooking it in the slow cooker ensures that it is tender fall apart glorious. Then thanks to glazing and some broiling it is caramelized and just slightly crispy on the outside.

It is not a heavy meat dish. The carnitas pairs perfectly with crisp lettuce, fresh salsa, and a little bit of sour cream.

I am not going to lie, I at this meat right off the pan. I had made my mouth wait all day to try it, so I kind of had to deliver as soon as I could.

I have said many times that I am not a leftover kind of gal. I like enjoying the meal when it is made, but it takes something extra special for me to want to enjoy once it is a leftover. Poor leftovers, I am so mean.

So when I tell you that I happily ate this as leftovers the next day, you know that is saying something.

If you are a fan of pork. Make this.
If you are a fan of Mexican food. Make this.
If you are a fan of fall apart, melt in your mouth meat. Make this.
If you like food. Make this.

Make this! Make this! Make this!

PS...that was me chanting for you.

Pork carnitas...so yummy!

Pork Carnitas
My Kitchen Escapades

Print Recipe

4 pound boneless pork butt or shoulder, fat trimmed and cut into 2 inch cubes
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 onion, peeled and halved
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 cups water
1 medium orange, juiced and keep the spent halves

First, adjust the rack in your oven to the lower middle and preheat to 300 degrees.

Combine all of the ingredients in a large Dutch oven (or any kind of large pot that can go from stove top to oven) including the spent orange halves and the juice from those halves.

Bring the mixture to a simmer. Once it simmers, cover the pot with the lid and transfer to the oven. Cook until meat falls a part at the touch of a fork. This will be about 2 hours.

Remove the pot from the oven and turn on your oven's broiler.

Using a slotted spoon, remove the meat from the pot and place on a foil lined cookie sheet. Take everything out of the pot but the liquid. Place the pot with the liquid in it, over high heat and bring to a boil. Let boil until liquid reduces, thickens and looks like syrup. About 20 minutes.

While the liquid is reducing, separate each piece of pork into three equal bite-sized pieces. Then when the liquid is syrupy, add the meat to the pot and lightly mix making sure that each piece is coated in the syrup. Add salt and pepper here if necessary.

Remove the meat from the pan and once again place it on the foil lined tray. Spread it out so there is only one layer of meat. Put it in the oven and broil until the edges are browned a little crispy. Anywhere from 5-8 minutes. Then with spatula, flip each piece of meat. Repeat and broil the other side.

Serve on a warm tortilla with your favorite toppings.

Thanks for stopping by! Thanks for letting me confess my horrid teenage habit of conforming.

Did you conform as a teenager? Were you tofu like me? I would love to know!

Tex Mex Shredded Pork Burritos

Mexican food in some form or other is probably one of our family favorites. We really enjoy fresh and light Mexican. Not that meals smothered in cheese and sauce aren't good occasionally. We just prefer lighter flavored Mexican food.

That is what I have for you today.

The other day I stumbled upon an old recipe when I was looking through my actual recipe box.

Remember those?

Smallish boxes filled with hand written recipes on cards. I almost didn't know what to do with my non-Pinterest hard copy recipe filing system.

It is kind of like asking a teenager to use a rotary phone, as they stare at it in wonderment scratching their heads. "What the heck is this?"

Yup that is kind of how I felt when going through my recipe box.

Boy am I glad I did go through it.

For I found this shredded pork recipe. I adapted my original recipe a little. The addition of the Cilantro Ranch Sour Cream and some shredded Monterrey Jack cheese made this burrito even better.

It was a tasty, tasty treat. A Tex Mex meal that wasn't too heavy and paired perfectly with one of our last Summer evenings.

Since this meal is primarily a slow cooker meal, it is also a perfect school night meal. Put the meat in the crock pot in the morning and then with minimal work in the evening you have a delicious and easy meal.

Perfect.

Tex Mex Shredded Pork with Cilantro Ranch Sour Cream

1 3lb boneless pork loin roast
1-8 oz can tomato sauce
1 cup original BBQ sauce, your favorite brand (I used Sweet Baby Ray's)
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2-4.5 oz diced green chilies
1/4 cup chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
shredded Monterrey Jack Cheese
Cilantro Ranch Sour Cream (recipe below)
flour tortillas

Cilantro Ranch Sour Cream
1/2 cup light sour cream
1/2 cup light ranch
1/4 cup salsa verde (I use Hernedez brand)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Combine all the ingredients but the pork in a crockpot. When they are well combined, place the pork in the crock pot and pour some of the sauce over it. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.

When done, remove pork and shred using two forks. Then place the shredded pork back into the crockpot with the sauce and allow it to set on low for another 30 minutes.

Meanwhile make the Cilantro Ranch Sour Cream by combining ranch, salsa, and cilantro in a small blender or bullet-type food processor. Mix until the cilantro is well combined. Then fold in the sour cream. Add more or less sour cream depending on how spicy you want it. Set aside in the refrigerator until ready to use.

When you are ready to serve, place some of the shredded pork on a warmed tortilla. Then top with some shredded cheese, the Cilantro Ranch Sour Cream, and some fresh cilantro.

Dig in.

Oh P.S., you might want a stack of napkins close by, this delicious burrito is drippy, juicy, messy good.

Seriously, happy eating!