Soy Curl Carnitas with PPK Cashew Queso

I have been a bad blogger and a bad tester lately and I want to apologize. I have been up to my ears with household responsibilities and Christmas to-do's that I have gotten a little behind for sure! I have even been finding it hard to get my butt in gear to make supper lately especially with my self-induced gluten strike for the past two weeks (trying to see if an intolerance was causing my headaches but nope). I really gotta tip my hat to anyone that is gluten free. It is tricky and not eating it for even just 12 3/4 days was really trying. I never knew what to make and while at first it felt like breakfast was the hardest to degluten, it turns out lunch was my sticking point since I usually have a sandwich. I did end up giving into the gluten since I was still having the same headaches during my gluten fast but I will say we had some seriously delicious meals without it so from now on I won't rely so much on the old standards.

One supper we had that really stood out was Soy Curl Carnitas that we topped with PPK's Cashew Queso. It was sooo yummy! I had bought a pouch of Frontera Grill Garlicky Carnita Skillet Sauce a while back at Grace in the Kitchen but hadn't had the chance to use it yet. Please ignore the pork on the package or you could do what my son does and just make everything vegan by simply saying it is.

I was thinking about what it would work on and landed on soy curls. I rehydrated them in some hot water, squeezed them out and put them in a container. I covered them in the skillet sauce and tossed it around so they got all covered. Then I stuck them in the fridge overnight to marinate. The next night at supper time I just tossed them into a lightly oiled, hot skillet with a chopped onion and pan fried them until they were golden and a bit caramelized. I served them on a bed of basmati rice with the queso poured over top and a side of guacamole and it was perfect! I kept saying as we ate "these would make great..." and listed off pretty much anything I could think of like tacos, burritos, quesadillas, enchiladas, and then landed on fajitas. They would make good anything really and that queso is the stuff dreams are made of. It is so rich and creamy and just the right amount of spicy and so flavourful. It makes a bunch too which is great because you are going to want a bunch of it. We had it after on nachos and just as a dip. It says serve warm but I was dipping tortilla chips in it cold and it still tasted amazing. I think it might be Ryan's favourite thing I've ever made. He was big into his queso before so he was very happy to be reunited. We both made sure that not a drop was wasted for sure with this one! It will definitely get made again and again especially over the holidays. Now I just have to restock on soy curls and skillet sauce.