Red Chile Pork Tacos

At my house you can never go wrong with tacos, or nachos or how 'bout anything mexican or TexMex. I guess its only natural with us living in Texas and so close to great authentic flavors. And these tacos are a favorite, there's something about the spicy yet sweet pork and the crunchy taco shells. Its making my mouth water just thinking about it! I'm changing up the directions a little bit because as you know we've been in a crazy heat wave and I don't dare use my oven. So everything's going in the crockpot.

Menu: Red Chile Pork Tacos, fruit salsa and black beans(go ahead throw in a frozen margarita, I promise not to tell)

Red Chile Pork Tacos with Caramelized Onions

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon ancho chile powder
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pound pork tenderloin, trimmed
Cooking spray
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
3 cups thinly sliced onion
8 hard taco shells
1/2 cup chopped tomato
8 teaspoons chopped green onions

1. Preheat oven to 425°. Or set your crockpot to low.
   

2. Combine first 3 ingredients; rub evenly over pork. Here's where I'm changing it, throw it in the crockpot for about 8 to 10 hours, you know the drill. Place pork on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 425° for 20 minutes or until a thermometer registers 160° (slightly pink). Remove pork from oven; let sit 5 minutes before slicing. If you're preparing the night before, just pop in the fridge and when you're ready for dinner reheat and continue to step 3.
   

3. While pork cooks, heat oil in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat. Add onion; cover and cook 10 minutes or until golden brown, stirring frequently. Uncover and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.

4. Fill each taco shell with about 2 ounces pork, 3 tablespoons sautéed onion, 1 tablespoon tomato, and 1 teaspoon green onions.

Now I'm not a banana fan, actually can't stand the smell or taste of them but my hubby and son love them with a passion and they both need to eat more fruits and veggies so this one's for them.

Fruit salsa: Combine 2 cups sliced banana, 1/2 cup diced pineapple, 1/4 cup chopped cilantro, 1 teaspoon brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 2 diced seeded jalapeño peppers in a large bowl; toss gently.

Because I won't eat the salsa I throw together a 2nd side dish. Open up a can ob black beans and drain them. Dice up a red bell pepper and a jalapeno. Add a few handfuls of them to the beans and heat them up. After warming the beans, put a dollop of sour cream and there you go.

Grab a plate of tacos, add your side dish and go to town.

Recipe and picture courtesy of my favorite website CookingLight.com