A while ago, I picked up a special issue from Better Homes and Gardens that was all relatively healthy slow cooker meals.

As per usual with food magazines, I realized the other day I had gawked at all the food porn photos and never actually made anything from its pages. I decided to change this, and handed it to Matty.

A few minutes after thumbing through it (and mumbling the occasional "oooh,") he arrived on the following recipe. I tweaked it a bit to suit our tastes, but we definitely have BHG to thank for our meal last night. These were easy and so, so delicious.

First thing you should do is pickle some carrots. This made a lot, so if you don't care to have a bunch of pickled carrots left over (I decided I did), then just halve this formula.

• 1 cup warm water
• 4 T white vinegar
• 2 T sugar
• 1 t salt
• 4-5 carrots, cut into thin strips (I used a veg peeler and did ribbons). Should total about ~4 cups once cut

How it's Made:

• Combine all ingredients except carrots and stir to combine.
• Pour over carrots, cover and refrigerate for 8+ hours, or up to one week.

I should have let these go for longer in the fridge, so get them in as soon as you decide this is what you're going to make. After the carrots are pickled and the pork is in the slow cooker, you have all the time in the world to spend your Monday holiday drinking all the beers productively.






~30 mins prep, 6 hours slow-cooker cook time (on high, 10+ hours on low)
Serves 8-ish

What it's Made of:

• 1 ~4lb bone-in pork shoulder
• 3 T dark brown sugar
• 1 t cracked black pepper
• ~3 jalapeños (1 to go in the slow cooker, plus more for serving) 
• 1 decent sized onion, quartered
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup water
• 3 T fish sauce
• Limes (1 for juice & zest, plus additional for serving)
• 8 whole wheat tortillas, warmed
• Arugula, mesclun or spring salad mix
• 1 large hothouse cucumber, cut into strips
• Aforementioned pickled carrots
• 1 bunch cilantro

How it's Made:

1. Combine brown sugar and pepper, rub into the meat
2. Add the meat, jalapeño, onion and garlic to the slow cooker
3. Combine water, fish sauce, and the juice and zest of one lime; pour over the meat
4. Cover and cook on high for ~6 hours, until the meat is falling off the bone
5. Warm your tortillas! (in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes, in a warmer or wrapped in foil)
6. Remove the meat and onions from slow cooker
7. Shred the meat, discarding any fat

This is where I just set up a taco bar and let everyone serve themselves. You could compose tacos for others, but why bother when they can do it themselves? I put out a bowl of each of the following:

• Shredded pork
• Pickled carrots
• Chopped cilantro
• Diced cucumbers
• Sliced jalapeños (some de-seeded, some not)
• Salad greens
• Cooked onions
• Lime wedges