Pinterest Success: Pork Carnitas

I have lesson plans to write (the semester starts in two weeks for me).

I have this weird allergy / cold thing going on. Scratchy throat, nasal congestion, sneezing, the whole lot. It's super sexy.

But, I also have this recipe from Pinterest that I found for Pork Carnitas. And LOVED it.

Yes, I eat dinner on my couch. Next to my laptop. And yes, I put my blueberries in a coffee cup. 

It was so good. Trust me, try it.

The only con of this recipe is the time it takes. It takes like three hours. You can read the original recipe  here, but here's my summary:

• Combine all the ingredients in a Dutch oven and bring it to a boil. 
• Place the Dutch oven in your oven. 
• Wait two hours. 
• Take it out of the oven, separate the meat from the rest of the stuff, pull the meat apart, and reduce the liquid. 
• Put the meat in the reduced liquid.
• Broil the meat on each side. 

Sigh. 

I know you're thinking "ain't nobody got time for that." But take the time. It makes a ton of food. Ray and I split the cooked meat and I managed to make three (almost four) meals out of my half. Such good bang for your buck! 

So, do what I did. Go to brunch on Sunday. Pass out on your couch. Then wake up and cook so you don't feel like a complete hot mess. 

This is the perfect Sunday afternoon, post brunch haze dish to make. I speak from experience.

Happy Monday, everyone.

My New Year's.

Sometimes, things just don’t go according to plan. And, that’s okay.

Sometimes, you have awesome New Year’s Eve plans to ring in the new year with lovely friends you don’t get to see that often and your cat gets crystals, a.k.a. kitty kidney stones.

(Did you know that kitties can get kidney stones?! Me either!) But they do. And when this happens, they have to get an IV put in their little kitty leg. And a catheter in their little kitty nether-region. (And you start to freak out about your finances because kitty IVs and kitty catheters are shockingly expensive.)

They shaved his leg. How sad is that? 

And your New Year’s Eve celebration becomes a barbecue feast, a Survivor marathon, and a night of watching to make sure your kitty pees. And eats. And drinks enough water. And, you pat him on his head whenever he has “leakage” because “some pee is better than no pee” when it comes to kitty kidney stones.

And, that’s okay too.

 Because, you love your cat more that you ever realized. And the thought of him not being around scares you to your very core and reduces you to a sobbing mess on a couch that may never be the same again.

So, you shell out the cash without hesitation. And, you embrace your new New Year’s Eve plans. And, you learn to get used to the pee smell in your apartment (and hope that a Groupon for a carpet cleaner will roll in soon). Then, you take a deep breath because you realize that your cat getting sick just taught you a lesson about what's really important.

And then you shower, rush out the door for work, and continue your day, as best you can.

All the while hoping that the cat pee smell is all in your head and in your nose, and not on your scarf.