Taco Tuesday! Braised Cherry Pork Shoulder

  I sometimes forget that I can't always handle alcohol the same way I did before children.  Not that I am boozing it up every night but sometimes you just need a drink!  Gone are the days of going out all night.  I no longer get to sleep in on weekends nor do I get to sleep the booze out of me after a long fun night.  Recovery is harder with little to no sleep and much harder with a child whining and crying because their brother is "TOUCHING ME!!".  Sometimes I question whether or not I should even go out. Typically, I don't ask myself this question until the morning AFTER I have gone out!

  One morning, I woke up after a girls night out and I seriously regretted it.  But what sucks is that during the night I was woken up several times by both of my boys.  Interrupted sleep is the worst...with or without alcohol in your system. My wonderful husband, Damon, could tell I was going through a rough time and decided he would take the kids to go see The Lego Movie.  It was music to my ears and my head!  I took a nap and when they got back they told me all about the movie and "Honey, Where are my paaaannnnttts???". You know what I am talking about.  Well, if you have seen the movie, you know what I am talking about.  

  For those of you that have never seen The Lego Movie, it is a pretty funny movie and you should watch it!  I never realized this until the movie made it's way to cable television.  In all honesty though, I probably never would have watched this movie if it wasn't for my husband putting it on...after the kids went to bed.  I literally came out of the boys room to find my husband in front of the tv watching the start of a cartoon movie.  I had no idea why a cartoon was on but I said, "You know the kids are asleep, we can watch an actual movie...". His mumbled response was something about nothing else being on and you have to watch it, it's actually funny.  So there we sat watching a cartoon and I laughed thru much of the movie. 

  Now that we have all seen The Lego Movie (several times), we all make references to the movie quite often.  So what would be better than doing a TACO TUESDAY night/recipe.  This is a slow cook, easy recipe that is awesome.  The meat is super tender, juicy and delicious.  I topped it with some shredded cabbage mixed with a little vinegar or you can top with sliced radishes and lime.  You don't have to make this into a taco but it's pretty damn good!  The kids ate them up and we didn't really have any leftovers which is always good but a little sad. I have grown to like leftovers.  Anyway, I used a zucchini "tortilla", which is a little more work but still relatively easy. They are loaded with zucchini and seriously taste like a corn tortilla. They are sure to satisfy your Mexican craving with any toppings. 

  Now go make some tacos on a Tuesday or any night and watch The Lego Movie!  It will be a good night with or without the kids! EVERYTHING IS AWESOME!  Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Happy Cooking and Eating!

Braised Cherry Pork Shoulder

Serves:4-6 people

Prep Time:5 minutes

Cook Time:3 hours and 25 minutes

Total Time:3 hours and 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 3 lbs pork shoulder
• 1-2 TBSP bacon fat or olive oil
• 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1/2 large yellow onion, sliced into thin strips
• 1 granny smith apple, chopped
• 1 1/2 cup chicken or beef stock
• 2 cups of frozen cherries (10 oz bag)
• salt and pepper

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. 
2. Place the bacon fat in a hot large oven safe pot over med/high heat. Add onions and sauté for about 5 minutes until soft.
3. Add garlic and cook for about one minute, be sure not to burn. Remove onions and garlic from hot pan and place in a bowl. Add a little more bacon fat if pot is too dry.
4. Season the pork with a little salt and pepper on all sides. Add to hot pan and brown on each side for about 3-5 minutes. 
5. Add onion and garlic mixture, apples and cherries over the pork.  Then add chicken stock, you want to almost cover the pork shoulder. 
6. Cover the pot and place in the middle of the oven for about 3 hours. Turn the pork over halfway thru cooking time and check to make sure there is enough liquid. Add more stock if needed. You want the sauce to thicken but you don't want it to burn. 
7. Remove from oven and let rest for about 15 minutes.  Shred the meat and add back to the pot to coat with sauce.  I topped with shredded cabbage tossed with a little apple cider vinegar and some sliced radishes with a little lime juice. Optional - serve on zucchini "tortilla". YUMMY!!!