Carnitas Tacos (and Butternut Squash Quibebe)

This meal got rave reviews and is really easy (with some planning). Great meal to impress company. I'll have to make this for the next family reunion. Sorry no pictures - click on the links.

Tacos:
Carnitas
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Slow-Cooked-Carnitas-Tacos-241855
(the key is not to add any liquid to the crock pot so it can cook in it's own fat as it renders)

Pico de Gallo salsa
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cookbook:Salsa_(Fermented)
Except I added some lime juice too. and I go easy on the chili peppers...

Corn Tortillas
http://www.cheeseslave.com/homemade-corn-tortillas-part-one/
Woot! made my own corn tortillas out of popcorn! (had to soak it in pickling lime) *** parchment paper if the key to rolling these out thin and them not sticking to anything


Side dish (or main dish):
Brazilian Butternut Squash Quibebe with Rice (I used tiny shrimp instead of chicken)
http://www.cynthiapresser.com/recipe-blog/main-dishes/chicken/325-butternut-squash-quibebe-with-chichen-and-coconut-milk-quibebe-com-frango-e-leite-de-coco

Shrimp Scampi (with hidden veggies!)

This "Shrimp Scampi" Reminds me of an adult version of Mac and Cheese.

(Disclaimer: I usually cook by making up a recipe that is "based on a real recipe" or some hodge podge in my brain so I mostly cook by taste and smell using ethnic flavors as my guidelines and this is my attempt to start writing some down for those times when I fall in a rut)

Step 1: Puree a bunch of random veggies together (and throw it in the freezer because you are going on vacation and don't know what else to do with everything)
-I used Potatoes, Green Beans, and Zucchini (seasoned with some bone broth, garlic, onions, salt probably)
It didn't go over well as baby food so I had to come up with another idea...

Step 2: Make the sauce
- Saute some shrimp with garlic and butter (whatever you want really)
-  add maybe a cup of the veggie puree (if cooking for 2-3 people)
- season with some lemon juice, salt, pepper, "scampi seasoning blend"
- add some frozen peas and a little Parmesan cheese for good measure
- thicken the sauce if desired (I used a tablespoon of arrowroot powder)

Step 3: Mix in the noodles - linguine

It resulted in a really sticky/cheesy sauce without any cheese really. Yum!

... side note... I'm not a fan of freezing the DIY squeeze pouches (especially if your kid decides they don't like the flavor). It takes up too much room and is difficult to warm up. I would rather freeze the puree and warm it up separately and put it in the squeeze pouch before serving (faster, less mess than spoon feeding, plus kids gobble it up). I'm not sure if I would recommend taking the homemade ones on the go yet... only do flavors that are good cold and double bag it.  

Homemade pasta

I let myself go to Goodwill and I found an Imperia pasta machine for $5! Except I found out it was missing the handle. I did not feel like paying $16 for a replacement handle online so Prince Charming crafted this wonderful handle out of a hanger! I was so impressed. It got the job done, but someday I think I'm going to need something a little more solid.

 I served this pasta with cilantro pesto and some garlic mushrooms. Yum! Prince Charming thinks it's amazing too.

Whole Wheat Pasta Recipe:
3 cups flour
4 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp oil
Water as needed

Mix the dough. Mine was too solid to actually be mixed the bread hook on the Bosch, so I just finished it by hand - it felt like a brick. The dough should not be sticky or else it will get stuck in the machine.
Then let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
Then I got to try our my machine! I rolled it on the widest setting first and then on a thin setting and then through the noodle slicer. It was a little tricky handling long sections of dough. I'm sure I'll figure out a better technique in the future.
Let the pasta air dry for at least 15 minutes to avoid clumping. I separated out the noodles, but I don't know how necessary that was. It seemed logical. I kind of wanted a pasta drying rack so that I could hang up all of my noodles. 
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. These fresh noodles only needed to cook for 3 minutes. I did it in a few smaller batches so that it wouldn't be too crowded. 
Probably makes 8-10 servings...

I also made some giant lasagna type noodles for tomorrow night because I did not have room to lay out any more cut noodles. Maybe I'll even use them to do a lasagna roll...
I made the curly pasta by wrapping it around a skewer and letting it dry for a while in that shape.So fun! It would make a great gift to give someone a bunch of dried homemade curly noodle sticks - and they would make a pretty decoration. I'll have to see how well homemade pasta dries.
I just had a really great idea I'm going to try sometime: make letters out of the pasta! maybe even write your name in cursive! It would be fun for kids- assuming it works.