Slow Cooker Mexican Pulled Pork Tacos

I made these tonight, and they were DELISH!!  They were on the spicy side, so our girls had cheese quesadillas instead.  Next time, I'll take it easy on the red pepper so we can all enjoy them!

Slow Cooker Mexican Pulled Pork

serves 4

1 lb pork tenderloin, or chicken
1 15 oz can tomato sauce, or one 12oz jar salsa (I used the tomato sauce)
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (I didn't have any cayenne, so I used red pepper instead)
½ teaspoon salt
3 cloves garlic, minced

Place pork in the base of your slow cooker. In a small bowl, stir together all remaining ingredients. Pour evenly over pork. Cook on low for 8 hours. When done, shred the pork using two forks, pulling against the grain of the meat. Serve in warmed tortillas (either flour or corn; I chose corn) with shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, grated cheddar cheese, and sour cream. Garnish with chopped scallions.  We also added sliced olives and guacamole.

To.  Die.  For.  Seriously.

Baked Chicken Stuffed with Pesto and Cheese

This is one of those meals I'm going to be thinking about until I make it again.  It was that good!

From "Kalyn's Kitchen"

Ingredients:

4 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 (heaping) T pesto or your favorite commercial pesto
4 (heaping) T low-fat sour cream
4 (heaping) T (or more) grated mozzarella cheese
2 eggs, beaten (or if they're large eggs one will probably be enough)*
Finely grated Parmesan cheese
6 T almond flour (or almond meal, but almond flour is better for this because it's more finely ground)*
black pepper to taste

(*I didn't even use the egg or flour.  I just used Parmesan as a "crust." --Kristen's note)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375F/190C. Spray a small casserole dish with non-stick spray. Trim any visible fat from chicken breasts, then put them one at a time inside a heavy plastic bag and pound with meat mallet until the chicken is as thin as you can get it. Don't worry too much about the shape or whether there are some loose pieces, you can tuck them in when you roll up the chicken.  (Kristen here again, I didn't pound my meat.  I cut a "pocket" in my chicken to fill with the mixture.)

In a small bowl mix together the basil pesto, sour cream, and grated mozzarella. Use a rubber scraper to spread a thin layer of this mixture over each chicken breast, stopping about 1/2 inch from the edge of the chicken (so it doesn't run out so much as it cooks.) Roll up the chicken breasts and secure them with a couple of toothpicks. (I roll them so the finished piece is as thin as I can get it so they will cook quickly.)

Prepare two bowls, one with the beaten egg and the other with the grated Parmesan-almond flour mixture, seasoned with black pepper to taste. Dip each chicken breast roll first into the egg mixture and then into the Parmesan-almond flour mixture, patting it on so the chicken breast roll is well-coated with the mixture.

Put chicken breasts into the casserole dish and bake until the chicken is firm and lightly browned. (Start checking after about 25-30 minutes; total baking time will be 30-35 minutes.) Serve hot.