LARABARS FOR…
None. We didn’t win the Mega Millions. Shocker, I know. 
Pssht, who needs it anyways when we’ve got Mango Carnitas Enchiladas that taste like a million bucks?!
Oh yes. Shredded meat and I are getting serious.
I was a little nervous before our first date earlier this week and took things slow, but…we’ve decided to take our relationship to the next level.
There’s even sauce involved!!!
This evening I added leftover slow-cooked carnitas to sautéed shallots and mango, then slathered the whole thing in a little enchilada sauce.
Next I rolled the mixture up with shredded cheese in corn tortillas and repeated until I filled up an 8×8 baking dish.
Finally I topped it all off with…
Old El Paso Enchilada Sauce.
I know! I got a big can of the Las Palmas sauce because it looked super authentic-tasting and yummy. Well it was a little too authentic (really smoky!) so I’m glad I got an emergency can of the commercial stuff.
Topped with a little more cheese and into a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes, followed by 5 minutes at 425.
It was one HOT date!
I was supposed to use the leftover pork to make Carnitas & Goat Cheese Pizza with Mango tonight, but these babies were calling my name from the fridge. “Kriiiistin…maaaakkkee meeee!”
So glad I answered the call!
There are few textures better than thick, corn tortillas baked in savory enchilada sauce. They get super creamy and thick.
The pork only got BETTER overnight, and I think a little spicier too! I could really taste the chipotles in adobo sauce today.
And the mango duo – fresh & sautéed – were absolutely unbelievable together. Perfectly sweet to compliment the heat. Mayyyybe best enchiladas….EVER?! I could’ve eaten the whole pan!
Instead I’ll stick to a million handfuls of these Brach’s Sour Cherry Jels that Ben bought for me.
![4343283125_12d17ccb8d[1]](http://iowagirleats.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/4343283125_12d17ccb8d1.jpg "4343283125_12d17ccb8d[1]")
He said he got them because he didn’t think I’d like them too much, therefore wouldn’t eat too many at one time.
AAAHHHAhahaha. It was a good idea, in theory. Too bad I’ve never met a sour cherry jel I didn’t love…
Darn you unseasonably early holiday candy!
Have a great night!
~~~~~
Have you ever been on a bad or awkward first date?
Wow, these look incredible. Did you just make this up in your head or were you inspired by a recipe. Either way, props to you!
In my head! There’s orange juice in the cooking liquid for the pork, which inspired the mango. SO good – I think you’d really like this dish Lauren!
NO WAY! I love those candies, and I forgot all about them…
what a fun twist on enchiladas (one of my favorites)! will definitely be trying these
I love those candies. They would last seconds in this house!
Wow! Thanks for advertising those candies! Now I need some! My favorite!
LOVE the sour cherry gels…will be looking for those!
I wonder how many WW points the cherry gels are??…. Do you ever think about calories or fat content…or jsut healthy ingredients?
Crap – that was one of my goals for 2011 – to more mindful of the ingredients in my splurges. Rewind.
That’s what I was thinking too! I love enchiladas verdes
Have you tried the Trader Joe’s enchilada sauce? I made chicken enchiladas last night and used it for the first time. I would recommend it!
I went to get some tonight and they were OUT
So sad.
I have been on SEVERAL awkward/bad dates. They make great stories the next day though. Thanks for the recipe!
The enchiladas look great but I was in the mood for shrimp tonight and I came across your shrimp and sweet corn maque choux recipe. I live in northern Indiana and over the summer we bought a ton of sweet corn at an Amish produce auction. We spent the entire day blanching, shucking and freezing the corn but it was well worth it. The recipe was so delish and the sweet corn made it sing!
My favorite meal from NOLA!
These look delicious! I have been craving enchiladas hardcore lately, I need to make some soon. I bet they would be awesome with green enchilada sauce too!
It totally would! I was *this close* to using green sauce.
Just bought enchilada sauce on Monday – but I go for HOT!
Most recent awkward date was about a month ago when she kicked it off by spending the first five minutes flirting with the waiter…Didn’t get much better either.
oooh mango and mexican together?? sounds absolutely fabulous.
I just went on an awkward first date a few days ago. There were several awkward silences where neither one of us knew what to say!! We did go on a second date, which went much better…. I guess we were less nervous. Third date coming soon!
Oh my those enchiladas look SO good! The most awkward date I’ve ever been on was a never-ending date with this guy from work. We could barely keep conversation flowing the entire night! Needless to say, there wasn’t a second date.
for some reason, i love first dates. i’d usually drink a glass or three of wine before to make them less awkward.
They had Easter candy out in the stores today…seriously!!!
Two words: blind date. A high school classmate convinced me to start talking to a guy she worked with. Well, we talked for a few weeks and finally decided to meet. It wasn’t a horrible date but we definitely weren’t attracted to one another and we never talked again. HA!
i love that you added mango to enchiladas…this really is serious! holy yum
A few weeks ago I went on a first date where the guy asked “Do you ever feel bad for not giving your parents grandchildren yet?” Is that appropriate first date conversation? I don’t think so!!!
A bag of the sweettart hearts jumped in my basket at the store tonight, so I hear you about the early candy
My inlaws didn’t win last night either, bummer.
We tried las palmas last week and weren’t fans either!
Oh gosh, I remember a bad first date, sort of…it was many years ago (I am probably your Mom’s age, lol) and went out with this guy-nice looking and a great personality. As the date went on, we realized that we had nothing in common! Anything he liked, I didn’t and vice versa. We laughed about it the whole time and we had fun. We dated about a month but no longer because well, we didn’t have anything in common. I still remember the guy and we did have a lot of fun though!
My friend and a buddy of his came over to my place once to fix my computer. Apparently his buddy liked me, and so my friend arranged for me to go out with him. I had barely talked to him or paid attention, but he seemed normal enough. We decided to go get lunch at Chipotle and then go see “40 year old virgin” in the theater (this was a while ago.) He barely spoke to me, and then when we went to go get burritos he started whining about how he couldn’t eat the whole burrito so he didn’t know if he wanted to get one. I was like “well you don’t have to eat it all…or we could split it….or you could get tacos…..or a bowl….” he just kept whining! He wasn’t joking. He was weird and quiet the whole time and kept whining and mumbling. ALSO he kept talking about how he really finds Japanese women attractive. I’m white. With curly hair, and like blue eyes, and like….I’m not Japanese. If he wasn’t a friend of a friend I would have excused myself to go to the bathroom and took off, it was seriously that awkward. I went home and posted on myspace that I was never going on a date again. Like 4 days later I met my boyfriend and we’ve been together for over 5 years. We have an inside joke that we can both eat the whole burrito. lol! Oh….and that guy is married and living in Japan with a Japanese woman. So everyone’s happy!
Haha I love Ben’s reasoning about buying the Cherry Jels for you. My fiance is the same way! When we approach the candy aisle in the grocery store, he starts asking anxiously, “Are we going to look the other way? Should we just not even look at it?” And if we do decide to buy candy, he’s all about trying to figure out what I (/we) won’t eat too much of and then complain about later when I have a tummyache!
Those enchiladas look Amazing! Definitely going to have to try them out. Thanks for all the yummy recipes-I actually made three of your recipes this week, and the husband loved them all!! Healthy and delicious
For some reason my computer at home has not been allowing me to comment on your posts! Wah! These look AMAZING and I am totally making ‘em!
Could you tell us what model of keurig you have? I was going to cash in Christmas gift cards but wasn’t sure if the basic one was what you use?? Thanks so much!
You bet! It’s the one in my Amazon store: http://astore.amazon.com/iogiea09-20/detail/B000AQPMHA
Oh gosh! Now I am craving Mexican food!
Nothing beats the man showing up with candy.
I remember going on a first date with a guy I met at a party. At first, the date was quite and I didn’t know if he was interested in me…
Then we watched a horribly cheesy RedBox movie and our true personalities came out.
Now we’re engaged!!!!
Where on earth did you find decent mangoes this time of year? I have bought several recently and they were all SOOO bad
The worst first date I ever went on was this guy who talked about hanging out at the comic shop and playing magic cards and stuff. After he realized that I was not interested in hearing about that he told me all about what he wears to work every day…khakis and a polo shirt. Riveting. Needless to say I asked for the check as quickly as possible and hightailed it out of there!
I love that you’re using the shredded meat for multiple meals — and showing us all how to do it along the way. Love this, GIRL!
I love mixing savory & sweet. Those enchiladas look delicious! I’m not a fan of pork, but I may try this with chicken!
This recipe looks delicious! I don’t eat pork though so I would probably use chicken or beef. I have been on several bad first dates in the past. I am so thankful I don’t need to worry about that now.
In college I went out to dinner with a guy for our first (and last) date. The whole time I thought he was looking past me at someone/something. Every time he talked he would glance to the right. I started to get nervous that there was something on my face or in my hair.
Finally, I got sick of it and asked him what he kept looking at. Turns out he had a lazy eye! I felt like such a horrible person!!
Those look SOOOOO good!!!
Lots of awkward first dates…yep. They never get easier!
I went on this date in high school with a guy that ended up being interesting. He accidentally bumped knees with me, and apologized for it. Yeah, he ended up being gay. Story of my life!
Ive never meat a recipe including mango that I didnt like!
On one first date, I met this guy out to get thai food (we were set up by an acquaintance of an acquaintance) , and I ordered something with chicken, and he (loudly) berated me for several minutes for not being a vegetarian! When he went to the bathroom, I ran out of the restaurant and sped away in my car. It was so embarrassing! Thankfully I’ve never seen him again, haha! That was years ago now. My first date with my (now hubby) was awkward in a cute and nervous way
Right after we moved in to our new place, the slow cooker was my best friend… it eased me into cooking again after eating at restaurants for a year.
I’ve been so busy with the holidays that I haven’t commented in awhile. Hope you had a lovely Xmas… & all the best in 2011! xo.
Oh yes: bad, awkward, terribly uncomfortable. I’ve seen it all. I’m just thankful to be married to the best guy for me : ) He’s heaven sent AND our first date was amazing. That was partly how I knew : )
That dinner looks so delish! I’m unsure if my kids would like it but why not try, right? I have been on awkward first dates before and there’s not much that is more uncomfortable than that! I am so thankful I met my husband……..almost 14 years married!
I love anything mexican and your enchiladas look amazing!! especially the fruity twist; that’s a great idea!!
I’ve been on an awkward first date. At the movies, we saw a movie the guy had secretly already seen and tried to show off by ‘predicting’ what was going to happen. I knew he had seen the movie all along. ughh
I really need to make enchildas. Never have. But should.
[...] shower your loved ones even more love and attention than usual, and perhaps get some chocolate and sour cherry gels out of the deal? I’m not mad at [...]