Carnitas Tostadas with Strawberry Salsa

Slow cooker pork carnitas tossed with sweet & spicy strawberry salsa and served on fresh corn tortillas for a Springtime tostada.

Last week was Spring break and we planned an Epic Midwestern Loop. We'd visit friends and factory tours, literary and artistic venues, natural wonders and iconic American landmarks. I came down with a cold at the first stop on our tour and messed up our plans. Instead of spending the week driving around the midwest, we were headed back home after just a few days.

Best costumed interpreter ever.

Yes, we did manage to drink freshly brewed beer and learn what the whole 'beechwood aged' thing was all about, ride to the top of the arch in a tiny barrel, and see both the Louisiana Purchase document and the World's Largest Golf Tee. It wasn't a total bust.

Returning home unexpectedly meant that not only did I not have any food in the house, I also didn't have a food plan for the week. My amazing spouse picked up milk, salad, and pizzas while the dogs reunited with the kids and I tried not to blow out the contents of my skull, one tissue at a time.

I had the foggy idea to rummage around in the freezer and was rewarded with a few meals for the kids to make. This recipe is not the result of some gorked-out by cold medicine creativity. As if--I wasn't cooking much less photographing or eating food. I'm getting to my point in a minute. My daughter thawed taco meat and corn to make nachos one night, we had spaghetti with sauce from roasted vegetables another night, and my son emptied the little freezer so I could rearrange and rediscover some leftover Chinese food I'd planned to stretch/reimagine. We survived/thrived.

My point is this:  if you eat meat, buy the big hunk of ________ [in this recipe a pork shoulder/Boston butt], cook it, and freeze a 'your family size' portion. It's so much easier to plan a meal around a ready-to-go protein than to stand in the kitchen cluelessly wondering where to start.

When we eat at Chipotle, carnitas is our favorite protein. When I make it at home we've got easily 12 to 15 servings which is a bit much for our family of 4--even with 2 teens who love meat. I automatically freeze half of the cooked and cooled meat, knowing that when I pull it out again the effort of initial cooking is done and I just get to play.

These tostadas are a nice Spring meal. While they are warm and filling for a cool evening, the sweet spiciness of the strawberry salsa reminds me that our berry patch is waking up and I'll soon be savoring fresh strawberries. [I'll wait for the local ones. Life is too short to eat flavorless food.]

[It's interesting what comes out of my pen when I wake up at 3 am because I have not been coughing.  Yes, I woke up concerned because I was not coughing. I know. Weird. Just try the recipe.]

Love the strawberry seeds in this photo.

Carnitas Tostadas with Strawberry Salsa (serves 4)

8 corn tortillas (I use the raw ones and cook them according to package directions)

½ cup strawberry salsa (here's how I make mine)

2 cups prepared carnitas (I used this terrific recipe--don't forget the final step of crisping in oven)

1½ cups shredded Mexican blend cheese

to serve, chopped peppers, red onion, and guacamole (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Lay cooked tortillas on a backing sheet and spread with a tablespoon of strawberry salsa. Top with crisped carnitas, about ¼ cup per tortilla. Top with a handful of cheese. Bake for 5 to 8 minutes until tortilla is warmed and cheese is melted. Add optional toppings--peppers, guacamole, red onion. Enjoy!

For extra credit I will now illustrate telophase.

Behind the scenes--I ran out of daylight with the first batch, then ran out of guacamole before the second batch. My daughter's leftover lunch on the kitchen counter.