Carnitas and Veggie Taco Skillets with fresh homemade guacamole. are best served when family are around! Carnitas literally means "little meats" and Carnitas are a Mexican dish originating from the area of Michoacán. Carnitas are made by braising or simmering pork in oil or preferably lard until tender.

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My brother and I are children of rural Iowa farmers. Our grandparents were hog farmers, so pork has been part of the our culture for generations. We ate a lot of pork when we were growing up in rural Iowa. Did you know that the state of Iowa is the largest and number one pork producing state in the United States? It is! And 94% percent of Iowa’s hog farms are family owned enterprises. About 40% of these hog farms are small farmers, like our grandparents were and nearly one-third of the nation’s hogs are raised in Iowa still to this day. 

My brother decided to join me after he graduated from high school in Chicago and he quickly got his feet on a path in the restaurant business and decided he loved food as much as our grandmother did and went on to train in the culinary field. Once he graduated, he began working in a restaurant known for some of the best Mexican food in my area. He worked and trained for some time and eventually left the United States to travel and hone his culinary skills in Ecuador and Peru.

He fostered his love of great food using local ingredients and simplistic cooking methods. When he returned to the United States, he shared so much of what he had learned in South America with me. I fell even more in love with great flavors in food as he introduced me to delicious flavors. Since my brother worked in the food industry and more specifically the Mexican food industry, he and I are super partial to Mexican cuisine; and thus, this makes are spouses as equally partial.

We discovered a product available a few years ago that makes our lives so much easier now that we both have kiddos running about and super busy lives. Gone are the days of cooking all day long, like our grandmother did. We love the Frontera® products because they bring Mexican flavors right into our home. Frontera® currently has a new line of Frontera Skillets, inspired by Chef Rick Bayless, that are making my busy life so much smoother.

My life is so busy right now that I need meals that can truly be prepared in 30 minutes or less. I love the new Frontera® Veggie Taco Skillet and the new Frontera® Carnitas Taco Skillet that I picked up at my local Target. I can use these taco skillets for a quick dinner with my brother and his wife when we just want to connect and don't have a lot of time to spare. These Frontera® Taco Skillets help me prepare a fully balanced meal in a short amount of time.

I learned to cook from my grandmother and my brother and my love of food comes from them. My grandmother has always been my main inspiration for cooking, with my brother's skills sprinkled in where needed. She loved nothing more than to gather all her family around her and serve massive meals that centered around great food grown on her own farm. Her greatest joy was to bring loved ones together to enjoy wonderful food she grew or farmed herself. My brother and I have wonderful memories of her tiny table meals and we love nothing more than to do the same today.

There are certain foods that I still cook and eat today that trigger memories of being at my grandmother's tiny dining room table; everyone crowded around with barely space for an elbow and just enjoying all the table had to offer.

I love fresh vegetables and the Frontera® Veggie Taco Skillet is loaded with green beans, sweet potatoes, fire-roasted peppers, plantains and black beans. The ingredients read in plain English, so there will be zero surprises. The Frontera® Carnitas Taco Skillet was loaded with my much loved pork, tomatillos and roasted poblano chiles. Literally, all my favorite foods in two dishes. The green beans were super crunchy and the sweet potatoes were cooked perfectly. The Frontera® Taco Skillets are made from fresh ingredients and the sauces are simply delicious. Just simmer the taco skillets according to the directions and grab some friends for a fun dinner.

There is no need to travel to South America or Mexico to satisfy a taste for Mexican cuisine any longer. There are five different Frontera® taco skillets that include Veggie, Carnitas, Chicken, Barbacoa and Chicken Fajita. We can now have Mexican at home whenever the taste arises, or when my brother comes over for dinner. ☺

Flavor Moments With Friends

These simple taco skillets get a hold of your senses, and spark memories. Flavors in food cross decades of time and create flavor moments with friends and family that bring back much loved memories and make new memories as well.  Flavor is the end result after all and that moment when the evening just comes together perfectly.

VEGGIE TACO SKILLET | CARNITAS TACO SKILLET | CHICKEN TACO SKILLET

• 1 package Frontera® Veggie Taco Skillet

• 1 package Frontera® Carnitas Taco Skillet

• 1 package Frontera® Chicken Taco Skillet

INSTRUCTIONS

Cook the taco skillets according to the package instructions. Grab one skillet for each package of the Frontera® Taco Skillet you will be cooking. Follow the instructions on the package. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a skillet on high heat. Open one package of the taco skillet of your choice and pour into the heated skillet with the oil. Add ¼ cup of water to the skillet. Heat the skillet package of your choice thoroughly on medium high heat. Serve.

GUACAMOLE

• 1 package Frontera® Original Guacamole Mix

• 2 Avocados (we prefer ripe, but firm avocados, select your favorite)

Follow the instructions on the package. I simply slice the avocados in half, remove the pit and mash the halves whilst still in the peel. I just find it easier to mash in the half peel than in a bowl. Then scoop out the mashed avocados into a bowl and add the package of Frontera® Original Guacamole Mix. We also happen to like a thicker and chunkier Guacamole, so I only add 4 tbsp of the Frontera® Original Guacamole Mix for two avocados. Please use as little or as much as you want as there is enough of the Frontera® Original Guacamole Mix for a huge bowl of Guacamole!  I usually use 4-6 good sized avocados for the full package. 

FOR SERVING

• corn or flour tortillas

• 1 sliced avocado

• sliced grape tomatoes

• Queso Fresco, grated

• Roasted (sliced) sweet potatoes

• Lime wedges

• Frontera® Tomatillo Salsa

• Frontera® Guacomole

Place various skillets filled with the cooked Frontera® Veggie Taco Skillet, Frontera® Carnitas Taco Skillet and the Frontera® Chicken Taco Skillet out for your guests. Lay out your tacos (two tortillas if using corn), then scoop out a generous portion of your favorite Frontera® skillet and top with whatever you desire. Or you could eat without a taco and just top with your favorites.

I recommend the Frontera® Veggie Taco Skillet with queso fresco, the Frontera® Guacomole and the Frontera® Tomatillo Salsa. Serve warm, and you could spritz each taco with a wedge of lime juice and you should also drizzle a bit extra of the Frontera® Tomatillo Salsa over the top, because it is so good! But, the skillets are delicious without toppings as well!

WHAT DO YOU DO TO HAVE FLAVOR MOMENTS WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY?