ok i'm seeing a lot of sweets, which is nice and i'm sure everything is good. but how about some DINNER!!!! i'm not posting my own pics because, well, i am not the picture taking kind of gal. maybe next time i make them! but i would be REMISS to not share one of my favorite recipes.... these CARNITAS by my boy kenji.

https://www.seriouseats.com/no-waste-tacos-de-carnitas-with-salsa-verde-recipe

there's a bunch of other stuff i usually make to go along with it. i will make this salsa verde recipe included with the recipe, and then almost always pickled red onions & jalapenos and occasionally guacamole. if you don't wanna do all that you don't have to, i get it. but the carnitas have definitely got the lowest effort to the highest yield of flavor in any dish i've ever made. like they're SOOOO FUCKING GOOOOOD AUGHHHH... i'm getting hungry just thinking about them. typically i'm using a big ass pork shoulder for this, so i have food for days + enough to feed my friends, but if you can't eat that much, there's enough fat in the dish that it freezes really well.

basically all of the active time (like ~30 minutes once you get good at it) is in the prep; cutting up the meat is the most laborious part of the process. after that, though, it's just sticking all of the meat into a 9x13 dish with a bunch of the aromatics and letting it cook for a few hours. i cannot recommend these enough, literally one of the best fucking things i've eaten every single time i make them. you can use the cooked carnitas as a protein for all kinds of things, i've done tacos, quesadillas, rice bowls... you could probably even make like a bbq-y sandwich with them it'd be pretty good.

ok i know i said you don't HAVE to make all that other stuff, but you should make the salsa verde to go with it. so so so good, i made this for a friends b-day party one time and one of my friends was like raving about the salsa. it's so good, so easy. i think the recipe says to boil the tomatillos but i always broil them in the oven and get a really nice charred flavor. here's a video where kenji cooks it that way, this is how i learned to make them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRlmQdRN0G8