Two Part Post Ahead…

First tonight, I have to share dinner. It was seriously, one of those “Oh my God” dinners. It was soooo good. Tonight I tried a new recipe from the new Cooking Light magazine. Pork Carnitas is awesome!!!!! Basically, it’s an all-purpose pork recipe, and you take the pork to be used in other things. Tacos, enchiladas, sandwiches, etc. Tonight’s carnitas became fajitas. And the fajitas were good, but the pork is what really stood out. I mean, really. I had my doubts. First, pork is chunked up and combined with salt, pepper, garlic, and tomato paste, and then doused with chicken broth before tossing in the oven for a slow bake. It was so simple, yet the results are mouthwatering. The pork is so tender and full of flavor. It has become my instant go-to recipe, both because of it’s ease and flavor. And the best part is that one batch makes plenty, and it makes a great freezer meal, or something to throw in the crockpot. Check out the link to the recipe in the Trove- or run to your bookstore and pick up your copy of Cooking Light, well worth it. (And sorry, no picture, it’s really just cooked flesh…and looks like… Well, flesh.)

And the second part of tonight’s post is to share my contribution to Sweetnick’s ongoing event, I’ll Show You Mine If You Show Me Yours. This month Cate asked us to share the one most indispensable item in our kitchen. My first thought was my food processor- but I realized I could live without it if I needed to. My second thought was my fridge- but that’s kind of a necessity anyway, and not very fun to post about for this particular event. But then I realized what really was the most indispensable thing in my kitchen…

My chef’s knife. I couldn’t live without it. And I literally do take it everywhere with me. If I know I’m going to be doing some cooking, this baby comes along for the ride. I must have it. And of course, it is laying on it’s partner, my cutting board. I figure that other tools make cooking more convenient, or easier. But my chef’s knife is what keeps the kitchen flowing. I can live without my food processor, I can live without an immersion blender, but I can’t get dinner on the table without a good sturdy knife. My knife happens to be a Cutco brand chef’s knife. I really like Cutco and their lifetime guarantee. And it fits perfectly in my hand- which really is the number one consideration when shopping for a good chef’s knife.

And to see what other bloggers think is their most valuable kitchen tool, head on over to Sweetnicks for the round-up.