Yum, yum and yum. I read about this somewhat waist-friendly carnitas recipe on seriouseats.com. I made them the night before so they were ready in a flash, just broil to crisp them up.

Here's the recipe, slightly modified by me:

Pork Carnitas

Ingredients

1 medium onion
3 pounds boneless pork butt (shoulder), rind removed, cut into 2-inch cubes
Kosher salt
1 orange
4 cloves garlic
2 bay leaves
1 cinnamon stick, broken into three or four pieces
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Directions

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 275 degrees. Split onion into quarters. Set aside. Season pork chunks with 1 tablespoon of kosher salt (cut in half if using table salt) and place in a 9 by 13 glass casserole dish. The pork should fill the dish with no spaces. Split orange into quarters and squeeze juice over pork. Nestle squeezed orange pieces into casserole. Add onion quarters, 4 cloves garlic, bay leaves, and cinnamon stick to casserole. Nestle everything into an even layer. Pour vegetable oil over surface. Cover dish tightly with aluminum foil and place in oven. Cook until pork is fork tender, about 3 1/2 hours.

2. Using tongs, remove orange peel, onion, garlic, cinnamon stick, and bay leaves from pork. Strain the liquid from the pork. Once de-fatted, you can use the liquid as a base for a sauce. Transfer pork back to casserole dish. Shred pork into large chunks with fingers or two forks. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

3. Broil until brown and crisp on surface, about 6 minutes. Stir to expose new bits to heat, and broil again for 6 more minutes or until crisp.

Serve them on tacos, or like I did with rice and black beans and a little mango-cilantro salsa.

We had really nice ground lamb from a local farm (East Fork Farms), so I decided to make lamb kebabs. I know some folks don't like the gaminess of lamb, but it is one of our favorite meats. Lamb in NC is expensive, so we only get to enjoy it every once in a while which makes it a special treat. A simple kebab preparation lets the meat shine through, and a little tzatziki adds richness and contrast.

Lamb Kebabs

Ingredients

1 lb ground lamb
1/2 onion finely diced
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon fresh oregano, minced
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, minced
1/4 teaspoon fresh sage, minced
1 teaspoon olive oil

Directions

Combine the meat with the finely diced onion, salt, pepper, herbs, spices and olive oil. Form into long thin "patties". Cook them under the broiler until crisped and golden on the outside and cooked throughout, approximately 4 minutes a side.

I served the kebabs with a variation on tzatziki with zucchini instead of cucumber, and mayo instead of greek yogurt (since my husband is lactose intolerant). I also made a little tomato salad and pan roasted potatoes with onion.