Food: Instant Pot/Slow Cooker – Carnitas Aguascalientes

I absolutely ADORE my Mexican American culture and heritage!!

My family (mom’s side) hails from the beautiful city of Aguascalientes, Mexico and I am so thankful that my family has never forgotten where they came from.

I get an overwhelming feeling of pride and joy when I experience anything that has to do with my Mexican background. Seriously you guys, I have to hold back tears. I really get choked up. From dancers, music, art, festivals, and food- there’s something that pulls at my heartstrings and takes my breath away.

The dance below is specific to Aguascalientes.  It is about cockfighting- which at one point was a big part of La Feria de San Marcos, a HUGE festival that takes over the entire city. The shout “Viva Aguascalientes” sends shivers.

Confession: I have always wanted to be one of these dancers.

The next video is a nod to my Aztec background.  This touches my heart in an inexplicable way too!  Maybe a past life? LOL.  Mexico is such an amazing country.

Confession: Maybe I want to be one of these dancers too.
Maybe I do this in my house- I’ll never tell on that one lol.

 

Ah… the beautiful art of Mexico- who hasn’t heard of Frida Kahlo or Diego Rivera?!  The vibrant colors and passion that are in each of their work… incredible!  Below is my favorite painting by Diego Rivera.

Ok Ok NOW TO THE FOOD.  Yes, there are TONS of Mexican restaurants out there, but most that I have been to aren’t very authentic.  A lot of the food is canned or premade products (hence why many places taste the same).  It’s always that little hole in the wall place that people scoff at that has the BEST food.  Mostly because it’s probably family run and they are making everything from scratch.

I’m so lucky to have grown up eating delicious authentic Mexican food.  My grandmother passed her amazing cooking skills down to my mom- and I am trying my best to catch up.  My abuela was a machine in the kitchen.  She could make food for the whole week – ahem for our entire family- in just a day.  When we cook, we cook for an army so we always have days of leftovers.
Which brings me to these carnitas.  When I taste tested these- I was in heaven.  It brought me back to being called inside to eat- I would be so upset because I had to stop playing- BUT- when I’d walk through the door, the smell of my Abuelita’s carnitas would bring me so much joy.  It was like a mouthful of sweet delicious memories.  I couldn’t stop, you guys!  I may have had a few more taste tests here and there.  It was just so damn good!

I am so incredibly excited that I can make this for my family with little to no fuss.  I have named it: Carnitas Aguascalientes. In this recipe, I will tell you a secret ingredient that is missing in many recipes I’ve seen online.

After I made the carnitas- I made the chicken version!  OMG- so good.  If I tried to include the chicken in this post it would be quite the big enchilada- haha.  I’ll try to wrap it all up for you guys 😉 in two separate posts.  Stay tuned.

You ready?!?

Let’s hear your best grito!!

You have to.

If not, the carnitas are not going to be yummy.

It’s sacred.  Do it!

 

C’mon.  Please tell me you tried!  Ah, well.  HERE WE GO!!

**Side note** I tried a new recipe creator “app” thingy for my blog.  What do you guys think?  I’m not sure how in love I am but here it is!

[cooked-recipe id=”591″]

If you make this recipe, be sure to take a photo and hashtag it
#MADMADAMMOM