I will be seeing the cardiologist in the morning so I'm hopeful that she'll do a few tests and tell me I'm as good as new. ;-) I developed Peripartum Cardiomyopathy a few years ago while pregnant with Lily. I ended up going into congestive heart failure and spending some time in the ICU. I was lucky and my heart improved despite the fact I was unable to tolerate the meds. In fact, at one point, doctors told me I wouldn't be able to do more than walk *slowly* to the mailbox. They didn't even want me to walk up the stairs to tuck in the kids. Fast forward five years and since I found a new, wonderful doctor, I've run several 10Ks, two half marathons and am dreaming of running the full 26.2 miles. I agreed to wait until she did the tests to start training seriously so we'll see how it goes tomorrow. Wish me luck!

I'm still craving Tex-Mex so tonight I whipped up one of our old faves: Frijoles Teresa's Way , along with a new family favorite: Salsa Verde Carnitas. I always find tons of recipes to bookmark when I browse around Elise's Simply Recipes, and most of the recipes I've tried have been fantastic. I knew as soon as I saw her recipe for these carnitas that it was going to move to the front of the line. I ran out for supplies that day and whipped them up for dinner that night. Delicious! And easy to prepare as well. I even had to run out for a couple of hours after I'd started making it so I dumped it into the crockpot for several hours while I was gone and it still tasted great. Tender and gently spiced. Lots of flavor but not a lot of fire. The kids all ate some and Lily and Jake even asked for seconds. I have to admit that even though I generally try to eat vegetarian myself, I tried it and I loved it! Definitely a dish that will be made again and again around here!

Salsa Verde Carnitas
Recipe By Elise Bauer

3 1/2 pounds pork butt (pork shoulder)
2 cups salsa verde, bottled, canned, or homemade
1 onion, finely chopped
3 cups chicken stock
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
1 tablespoon fresh chopped oregano (or 1 teaspoon dried)
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Salt
12 corn tortillas -- heated and softened (12 to 16)
1/4 head cabbage -- very thinly sliced
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon seasoned rice vinegar (if you only have -- add 1/4 teaspoon of sugar to it)
unseasoned
Salt and pepper
1 avocado, peeled, seeded, and chopped
1/2 cup crumbled Cotija Mexican farmer's cheese or some grated Monterey Jack cheese
Crema fresca, crema Mexican, or sour cream
chopped cilantro leaves for garnish

1 Trim the excess fat from the roast. Put the meat in a large casserole or Dutch oven with salsa verde, onion, stock, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, and oregano. Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat, cover, and simmer until meat is very tender when pierced, about 3 hours.

2 Preheat oven to 400°F. Remove meat from liquid in pot and put the meat into a roasting pan. With 2 forks, tear meat into large shreds. Roast meat for 15 to 20 minutes until parts are brown and crispy.

3. While the meat is roasting, skim and discard fat from liquid in the casserole pan. Boil juices, stirring, until reduced to 2 1/2 cups, 8 to 10 minutes.

4 Return the meat to the Dutch oven. Stir in chopped cilantro. Season with salt.