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Saturday, November 20, 2010

Product Review: Pace Picante Sauce ...Spicy Southwest Tortilla Soup (#7) & Shredded Southwest Pork

A little while ago, I received a couple of jars of Pace Picante Sauce to try out from Pace through the FoodBuzz Tastemakers program. This isn't something I normally buy at the market, so I was glad to get the opportunity to experiment with it a bit.  Although the heat is labeled as medium, we found it rather mild...but I'm sure this is due to the fact that we eat a LOT of chiles around here.  It did have a nice, subtle heat to it, though.  Picante sauce is smoother than salsa...with a good balance of sweet and heat which makes it great for cooking with as opposed to dipping or smothering, as one normally would with salsa.  After playing around with it a bit, I actually think that it's a great convenience product to have in your pantry...for days when you want a no-fuss meal that still packs a bit of heat and a good deal of flavor.  I knew immediately that I would use it for a quick version of Tortilla Soup...you know me...I'm on a quest and all.  I did want to try it in another application, though...so I pulled a bag of cubed pork butt from the freezer (an essential in this house) to start it thawing.


Spicy Southwest Tortilla Soup
from the kitchen of girlichef

soup:
olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. ground cumin
big pinch of dried Mexican oregano
1 c. Pace Picante Sauce (medium)
1 (14.75 oz) can creamed corn
1 c. cooked black beans
1 qt. chicken broth/stock
1 chipotle chile in adobo, chopped

garnish:
freshly made tortilla chips, crumbled
sour cream
shredded pepperjack cheese
lime wedges
Heat a big glug of olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Sauté onions and garlic until they begin to soften.  Add cumin and oregano, stirring for ~30 seconds, just so they start to release their fragrant oils.  Add Pace Picante sauce, corn and black beans and cook for a few minutes.  Pour in broth, lime juice and add the chipotle chile.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a gentle simmer and let it cook for ~ 15 minutes.  Serve with garnish.
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I liked it!  It had a great amount of heat and the corn and beans added some great texture.  The picante sauce was a quick, simple way to add a lot of flavor with no effort. 

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Speaking of no effort, this shredded pork dish is by far the simplest thing in the world to make (with a little help from a slow cooker)...and it is TO DIE FOR!  It makes a great taco or tamale filling or stuff it inside of a crusty bun for a gorgeous, flavor-filled shredded pork sandwich!

Shredded Southwest Pork
from the kitchen of girlichef

1½ lb. pork butt, in 2" cubes
1 c. Pace Picante Sauce (medium)
2 onions, sliced
4 garlic cloves, peeled & smashed
1 bell pepper, chopped

Ready for this?  Place everything in a small slow cooker.  Put on the lid.  Cook on low for 5 hours.  Et Viola!  Start stuffing your face sammiches, tacos, burritos, quesedillas....

tortillasoupchallengegirlichef SouperSundays

*I received these products free of charge from Pace through the FoodBuzz Tastemakers program to review if I chose.  I did not receive any compensation for this review.  The opinions expressed in this post are all mine. MINE!

Would you like to comment?

  1. Tortilla soup looks mouthwatering! The shredded pork would make a great sandwich too.

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  2. Yum! I am a big fan of the old pork butt and salsa slow-cook!

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  3. This just might be the simple throw-together soup I've been looking for!

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  4. I haven't seen that picante sauce here in the grocery store - I'll need to look because that shredded pork recipe looks excellent!

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  5. That is a quick and easy way to make the tortilla soup. I've bought Picante before but normally I don't have it in my pantry. We're all about raw chile's here at home in every sense of the word. As I said it is a good and quick way to make a soup. Great post and pictures and review.

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  6. Oh yeah! Pace ingredients rock. Good soup you made. Perfect for the weather cooling down.

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  7. You are such a smartee. Good recipes. I have a Pace story..what don't I have a story for????? We vacationed in San Antonio. SM never makes reservations....must be a stubborn man thing. We get into town he find an "suite" hotel near the freeway so we can hit it early and get around to the sights. We spent Sunday at Sea World....Monday morning we walked outside to get in our car and we were almost choked to death on the fumes of the Pace plant across the freeway. Didn't see it or smell it on the weekend but come Monday morning?????? Yoweeee. Eye watering jalapeno smog. Too funny. Love Pace honest. The Olde Bagg

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  8. Wow that soup looks amazing! My favorite part about tortilla soup is the crunchy corn strips on top...yum!

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  9. Mmmm, Heather this pork looks so juicy and tender and delicious!

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  10. So is that a metric glug or standard glug? (ha ha ha)

    Very creative way to utilize the sauce. And your easy southwestern pork is a great way to make pork for a variety of dishes, I might have to steal that technique from you.

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  11. mmmmm I bet that slow cooker did a great job for this soup. I really need to drag out my crockpot more often.

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  12. I love Pace..esp. late at night with potato chips! Ha! The hot one is my fav, its pretty spicy!

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  13. i love the idea of using salsa in tortilla soup, what great flavor!

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  14. Ooo great review! I bet that pork would make for some DELICIOUS tacos or burritos!

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  15. I do like it in tortilla soup - easily adds flavor.And that pork - well that's just outstanding.

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  16. You made good use of your sauce--another soup for your challenge. ;-) Thanks for sending it to Souper Sundays. BTW--That pork looks pretty incredible too.

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  17. I love this sauce and bookmarked the soup recipe. Will surely try it out soon :)

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