CleverDudes Can Cook

CleverDudes Can Cook: Shredded Pork Enchiladas Edition

A Cleverdude (or Dudette) is someone that watches their spending and gets maximum value for his or her dollar. A Cleverdude is also not afraid of little DIY project if it means saving money Yes, Clever Friends, we are a multi-talented breed. There’s one skill that I haven’t talked much about here yet and it’s time to start.

Cleverdudes can also cook.

There’s no reason to waste your money dining out when a fantastic meal can be made at home for little effort, and a fraction of the cost. Welcome to first edition of Cleverdues Can Cook, where I’ll be showing you a recipe that I saw recently and has made it into heavy rotation at the Kernin home.

Let’s make shredded pork Enchiladas.

Grocery List:

• 1 package of lean pork loin country style ribs: $5.28 (varies by weight)
• 1 package (2 cups) Kraft Mexican Blend Cheese: $2.98
• 2 small cans of enchilada sauce: $2.76
• 1 package flour tortillas: $2.68

Total Cost: $13.70

Step 1:

Put the country style ribs in a slow cooker on medium heat. Pour one can of enchilada sauce over the meat and let cook for 8 hours.

Step 2:

Drain most of the liquid from the pork (leave some for moistness). Shred the pork using two forks. After 8 hours in the slow cooker, the meat will just fall apart on it’s own.

Step 3:

Put pulled pork into flour tortillas, roll them up, and place in an 8×8 square glass baking pan. Five rolled tortillas will snugly fit into the pan. I like to cut the tortillas down the middle once in the pan to make them easier to extract with a spatula after cooking.

Step 4:

Pour the second can of enchilada sauce over the rolled tortillas, then pour the cheese over the top spreading easily.

Step 5:

Bake in an oven preheated to 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Before serving, the enchiladas can be topped with raw onion and hot sauce if so desired (I desire, but Mrs. Kernin does not).

Making these enchiladas requires only a few minutes of actual effort. I put the pork in the slow cooker before I leave for work, and then do the rest when I get home, and pop it in the oven. Half an hour later we have a delicious meal ready to roll.

For our $13.70 not only do we have dinner, but we have enough left over for me to take for lunch the next day, and for my son to have a couple of times after school before he heads off to work.

Easy, inexpensive, delicious, and totally Clever.

Do you have an easy, inexpensive recipe that your family loves? Share it in the comments below, OR send it to me using the contact form. Maybe I’ll try it out and feature it in a future edition of Cleverdudes Can Cook!

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Brock Kernin

Brock is a software engineer by day and personal finance blogger at night. He is a fitness junkie and enjoys grilling and smoking meat. Married with two children,  Brock strives to improve his skills as a husband and father, and is always on the lookout to stretch his family’s budget as far as he can.