Cook's Illustrated's Tacos (tostadas) al Pastor

Aaand once again we have no picture, I don't actually know what happened to them, but oh well, sigh :).  Tacos al pastor is a pretty traditional taco, and I've always shied away from making them because of the pineapple.  I don't love pineapple with meat, but I decided to go for it, because we are all about tacos in this family :).  I ran out of corn tortillas, and so we made these into tostadas, which worked out well.  This was a hit.  They were a little spicy, a little sweet, and the meat was tender and delicious.  It was also surprisingly simple to make, so a total win around here.  Owen and I gave these a 9, and Noah and Aaron gave them a perfect 10.  Calories are hard to figure out, depending on how many servings you want, but it is low, since the majority of the calories are from the rest of the ingredients, not the meat.  Plan for about 40-50 calories per serving.  I found this recipe from Cook's Illustrated's Best International Recipe cookbook, and here's the easy recipe the way I made it:

3 dried chilies
1-2 chipotle chilies in adobo sauce
6 oz pineapple juice
1-2 c cut up fresh pineapple
garlic salt, salt, cumin, and a pinch of ground cloves
around 2 lbs pork loin
1 T white vinegar

Preheat the oven to 350.  Toast the dried chilies for about 5 minutes, cool them and then stem and seed them.  Cover them with about 3 cups of hot water, and stir them intermittently until the chilies have softened.  Drain the chilies, transfer them to a food processor, then add the pineapple juice and spices, and chipotles and puree until smooth.
Lay the pineapple pieces in a greased square baking dish.  Place the pork on top of the pineapple, then cover it with half of the pureed mixture.  Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil and bake it for about 2 hours.  Remove the pork from the oven and let it set.
Shred the meat with two forks, add in the vinegar, and more of the chili mixture if desired.  Serve.

Our Best Bites' Sweet Chili Chicken with Pineapple Salsa

Here is a fun recipe that is easy to put together, and great for the summertime, especially if you like sweet with meat, like my Aaron does.  This really hit the spot with him, he loved it, and gave it a 9, while Owen and Noah gave it an 8, and I gave it a 6, because I don't like the sweet meat thing :).  Anyway, this comes together quickly, especially when I have Aaron around to cut up the pineapple for me :).  Each serving was 236 calorie for the five of us, and here's what I did:

1 lime, juiced
1 1/2 t curry powder
2 t vegetable oil
1 lb chicken tenders
salt and pepper

Salsa
1 1/2 c diced pineapple
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
1 avocado, diced
1 T fresh lime juice
3 T cilantro
salt

Sauce
3 T sweet chili sauce
1 T honey
1 1/2 t soy sauce
1 T warm water

Marinate the chicken with the lime, curry, vegetable oil and salt and pepper for about 4 hours.  Broil the chicken, about 4 minutes per side, checking internal temperature to ensure doneness.

Mix together the salsa ingredients and serve with the chicken.

Mix together the sauce ingredients and serve with the chicken.

Classic Thai Fried Rice

I found this recipe for Thai Fried Rice on Tasty Kitchen, and although it wasn't great, it wasn't terrible.  We liked the pineapple the best, we felt the rest was rather tasteless.  Aaron gave it a 6, I gave it a 7, and Noah and Owen gave it an 8.  This was super easy to make, so that is one positive.  Here is where you can find the recipe, I followed it exactly, except I mixed everything together instead of trying to mold it.  The calories for 1/6 of the total recipe were 405, and that includes the rice.  Not great, but not bad.