Innovative Leftovers Part 3–Pulled Pork Fajitas

When my mom made pulled pork the other night, I think my brother's vow of vegetarianism was sorely tested. It was tested even more the next day when I made fajitas for lunch with the leftovers. We had a couple of ears of barbecued corn left over as well, so I threw those in too.
For the record, fajita is pronounced fa-he-ta. My friend insists on calling them fa-ge-tas. Are you reading this, Gabe?

Pulled Pork Fajitas
Makes 6 fajitas, serves 3

2 bell peppers (or 6-7 small peppers or 5 small peppers and 1 large pepper)
1/2 onion
4 ears cooked corn on the cob (or however many you have; supplement with frozen corn)
3 cups pulled pork
5-10 button mushrooms

1/2 can black beans, drained and rinsed
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

6 small tortillas
6 slices cheese

1/2 pouch red chile enchilada sauce (We love Rick Bayless's Mexican Everyday sauces.)
1/2 jar roasted garlic and tomatillo salsa (We love his salsas too.)


Instructions:

Slice onion, bell peppers, and mushrooms.

Cut corn off cob.

Pour olive oil into large pan over medium heat and place onions, peppers, corn, and mushrooms inside. Stir.

Continue cooking and stirring for about 3 minutes, then add beans and pulled pork. (I put the pork in a separate pan so my brother could have veggie fajitas.)

Stir, then cover and cook until onions are nearly translucent. Turn off heat.

Meanwhile, place tortillas with cheese in toaster.

Toast until cheese is melted.

It's melted. Yeah, I know it doesn't look like it is.

While tortillas are toasting, combine enchilada sauce and salsa in a bowl and stir to combine.

Fill each tortilla with sauce and filling. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve.

You're gonna need a fork and knife for this fajita.

Mmm... Pulled pork is just as good in a tortilla as it is on a bun. While it may sound strange to combine enchilada sauce and salsa, the sauce is very good. It doesn't clash at all with the barbecue sauce on the corn and pork. The cheese adds a nice gooey element, while the vegetables are slightly crunchy. I have to say, I wasn't expecting Mexican-American fusion to be this good!
Enjoy your fa-he-tas!

Bell Pepper Yogurt Harissa Soup

So a couple of days ago, I was looking through Martha Stewart Living and I found this soup recipe. Mom said I could make it for dinner this week, and last night was the night! It's soup-er easy (sorry, couldn't resist) and takes less than 15 minutes to prepare. Since it has to chill for at least an hour, it's perfect to prepare earlier in the day if you're super busy (See? I can abstain from making bad puns.)

Bell Pepper Yogurt Harissa Soup


Ingredients:
3 yellow bell peppers
2 teaspoons harissa
2 cups low-fat plain yogurt (I used Whole Foods Organic Nonfat Plain Yogurt)
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

Preparation:

Chop peppers into quarters and slice out seeds. Cut quarters into large chunks.

This was very hard to photograph and involved me precariously balancing a knife embedded in the peppers on the edge of the counter and praying it wouldn't fall.

Dump everything in a blender and pureé until smooth.

Not all the peppers fit in the blender. The ones on the cutting board were very relieved until I made them the second batch.

Chill for at least an hour in the fridge or for 15 minutes in the freezer if you're pressed for time.

This soup is really good! For me, it was a tad spicy, but I still enjoyed it. My family all liked it (although I wasn't present when they tried it, so they might have just been saying that...)

Actually, never mind. My dad was raving about it; he definitely liked it. The texture never got completely smooth because the blender couldn't get the little tiny bits of pepper and stuff in the harissa (which is a North African chili sauce, by the way. I didn't know what it was either.)

I apologize for the terrible quality of this picture. I shrunk it so you wouldn't have to look at its dreadfulness as much.

If you're not a big fan of spice, I would recommend reducing the harissa to 1-1/2 teaspoons. If you want a slightly creamier soup, use low-fat yogurt like the recipe calls for. I was racing through Whole Foods trying to get these ingredients and everything else on the shopping list based on a glance at the Martha Stewart Living on the newsstand. I'm just lucky I didn't grab chili peppers instead of bell.

These aren't bell peppers.

These definitely aren't bell peppers.