El Cinco De Mayo!

Dear Bloggers,
          Feliz cinco de Mayo! I don't speak Spanish well at all, just Italian, but today it's special because MEXICO WON THE WAR BETWEEN FRANCE IN 1862! Yea, so we have to celebrate, being in California, because we love our immigrants. So today, I decided that it would be lovely to accompany my father's fiance in cooking some homemade pork enchiladas, fresh salsa and chips, and some Mexican seasoned asparagus; I had to add some healthiness to this meal. I first began by seasoning a cut of pork shoulder in 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of pepper, 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper, 1 teaspoon of paprika, and 1 teaspoon of red chili flakes. I added 2 teaspoons of olive oil to the bottom of a dutch oven and let it heat up. One heated, I braised the pork shoulder until beautiful golden brown, about 5-8 minutes. Once fully braised, I added 32 oz of chicken stock (which ideally would've been pork stock, but I had none), 2 handfuls of cilantro (stems and all, because they were going to be removed), 2 small yellow onions, quartered, 4 small tomatoes, quartered, and 2 teaspoons of oregano. I put the lid on the dutch oven and let it cook on the stove on med-low for 4 hours, or until perfectly cooked. Once done, I pulled it out and put it on a plate, covered with foil (so all of the juices would remain inside) and let it cool for about 30 minutes. Once done, I simply began shredding the pork with my hands; which you could also do with a fork.
       Then took a container of chili verde that I bought from Trader Joe's and emptied half of it into an 8x10 pyrex dish and dipped the whole wheat tortillas in it and filled them with the shredded pork and some grated cheddar and monterey jack cheese. I repeated this process until the pyrex dish was loaded with enchiladas. After I poured the remainder of chili verde on top and added some more shredded cheese. I put it in the oven covered with foil at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, then removed the foil and cooked for 5 minutes.
         On the side, I fried up some quartered corn tortillas to make chips. I also made some salsa with 4 diced tomatoes, 1/2 diced red onion, 1/2 cup diced cilantro, 1/4 cup diced jalapenos, 1 tablespoon of fresh lime & 1 teaspoon of lime zest, 1 teaspoon of olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste.
        To make this meal slightly healthier, I cooked up some asparagus in a skillet with 1 teaspoon of olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon of oregano, 1/4 teaspoon cumin, 1/2 teaspoon paprika, and salt and pepper to taste. I added some water to add a tender texture. Overall, this meal was absolutely delicious and the margarita I made on the side with 2 cups of strawberries, 3/4 cup tequila, 1/2 cup orange juice, 1 tablespoon of lime juice, and 1 cup of ice, just completed the meal. Well cheers! Give this recipe a try because it simply was delicious! Until next time, stay healthy and happy cooking!