One-Pan Turkey Enchilada Pasta

And here we are, in August. How?! I last posted a month ago, and suddenly, we're in the middle of August! I'm obligated to say this: It's blazing outside...ugh. If every Texan you know isn't commenting about the weather in some capacity, they're doing it wrong!

So the last time I wrote, I had a zillion updates and reasons for neglecting you guys--and my blog. Today, there's really just one--I went to Belize a few weeks ago for a mission trip with a wonderful team from my church! We were there for eight days and spent time serving at an orphanage called Laugh Out Loud Children's Home. What a transformative, humbling experience we shared!

Shredded Pork Sliders with Fresh Mango Slaw

As I mentioned in my last post, I had a recent kitchen victory! Let me tell you the background story. In the past, I've attempted to make pork carnitas in my slow cooker, with ZERO success. Ugh. When I've tried, I always follow the directions EXACTLY, and it would smell so wonderful after eight hours in the crock pot. I'd rush into the kitchen and grab my forks, ready to shred some tender, juicy pork, and.....it was never what the recipe promised. Though always tasty, it would be chewy and sometimes tough...always disappointing.

 I have no idea what went wrong each time--whether I didn't get the right cut of meat, whether I didn't trim enough fat or didn't add enough liquid for the meat to soak up...in any case, my pork attempts always left me with dashed hopes and feeling like a kitchen failure, ha! I took it really personally, but I learned something new each time.

Spinach and Mushroom Quinoa

Friends! Romans! Countrymen! Lend me your bellies...ha. Hi, guys. It's been a while since I've been here, and I'm very sorry about that! It's not that I haven't been cooking; but like usual, it's about finding the time to get recipes to you guys!