adobo pork & cauliflower rice taco bowls

i promise this cauli rice is actually good

My husband, George, was traveling for work this week, so I was home solo with our three boys. And though caring for a trio of highly opinionated three-foot-tall gremlins is difficult at times, solo mom-ing also comes with its perks, like:

1. Eating weird leftovers for dinner. On Thursday night I made a hodgepodge plate of sauerkraut, crackers, questionably old chicken, mustard, and cheddar cheese, and I loved every last bite.

2. Star-fishing in a king-sized bed. Forty-two square feet of sleeping space all. for. me.

3. Getting to watch whatever I want on TV (read: not watching Netflix’s latest male-hosted comedy special).

What was on my TV this week? Episode after episode after episode of One Day. The cheeky banter in this rom-com Netflix series had me blushing and grinning at the television like a loon. I am completely enchanted by the friendship and love between these characters.

There's a scene in an early episode where Emma, our protagonist, finds herself working in "London's second-worst Mexican restaurant." The decor and the dodgy food immediately took me back to the "Mexican" restaurant that my friend Scottie and I discovered in Sevilla, Spain, where we studied abroad during our junior year of college. About six weeks into the program, we found ourselves hankering for a taste of America. And by “a taste of America,” I mean Americanized Mexican food. 

We traversed the city of Sevilla hunting down bowls of tortilla chips, free-flowing salsa, and cheese-soaked enchiladas… and found ourselves in what was surely Spain’s #1 worst Mexican restaurant. The chips were stale, the music and decor were racist at best, and the food was nightmare-ish. 

It's funny the memories that stick with you. We ate a million perfect meals that trip — in Sevilla, Rome, Madrid, London, Paris — but the giggle fit induced by that abhorrent restaurant we so desperately sought out is the memory that sticks with me the strongest. 

The only thing that little trip down memory lane has to do with this week’s recipe is that we are making some very inauthentic Mexican food: adobo pork cauliflower rice bowls! Who’s ever heard of such a thing?! Absolutely no one, but they’re healthy and delightful and they borrow some of the delicious flavors of Mexican adobo (chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, cumin, oregano, cayenne — YUM).

I absolutely love cauliflower rice when done right, and here it’s done perfectly right. The trick is to not think of it as a rice substitute at all, but more as a finely chopped roasted vegetable. It’s seasoned and roasted (NOT cooked in a skillet! It’s so much better when roasted!) alongside perfectly seasoned pork tenderloin. We add black beans and corn to the sheet pan at the end to create a delicious Mexican cauliflower rice base for our pork. Slice the pork, pile it on top, and load it up with smashed avocado, cheese, and maybe some sour cream and/or salsa if you’re in the mood to really go for it.

This is a really healthy and nutritious meal that doesn’t feel like you’re eating something really healthy and nutritious. Always a big win in my house.

“… you went to BOARDING SCHOOL?!” Anytime I mention this fact on IG, I get a ton of DMs with questions. So this week on So Into That, I get into all things boarding school with Lily Wick, one of my best friends from Lawrenceville (the school we went to) and a freakishly talented interior designer based in NYC. We chat about what the boarding school experience was like from day to day, why we loved it, all the boys we loved (lol), the pros and cons, etc. And we laugh — a lot. Listen here while you cook this week’s recipe!

If you’re enjoying So Into That and have a second to like, follow, rate, and/or review it on Apple or Spotify, I’d be so grateful!!

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adobo pork & roasted cauliflower rice bowls

Serves 4 (with leftover pork)

Cook time: 45-50 minutes