Pork Skewers With Avocado Tzatziki...

The other day I was flipping through Cat Cora's Cooking From The Hip.  When I turned to the page with this recipe on it I knew I had to make it. IMMEDIATELY. And so I did, winging it a bit as usual.  It was so good.  Good like if I had more pork in the house I'd make it all over again just so I could eat it every day for lunch this week good. I wish I had some right now.

Make no mistake, these are my, "I never have all of the ingredients", and "I don't always follow the directions exactly"  adaptations of the original recipes. Original recipes will be linked at the bottom of this post.

Cat Cora's Pork Skewers with Avocado Tzatziki

For the marinade combine:

1/2 cup, plus 3 tbsp olive oil (I think you could get away with less if you wanted to)
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice (took me two lemons)
1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice (I used mandarins since that's what I had)
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp chili powder
2 tbsp crushed garlic (I used pre-crushed from a tube because I'm all about the easy)
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

Mix until well combined.

Add enough boneless pork, cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes, to feed your family.

Marinate overnight in a sealed container.

When ready to grill, thread onto skewers (we have metal skewers, if you use wooden ones remember to soak them for at least an hour).  If you check out the original recipe below you'll see that she also threads on lemon and orange slices...I can't imagine my people would eat those so I skipped them.

Grill for 4-5 minutes per side, brushing with marinade if desired.

Serve with Avocado Tzatziki Sauce, recipe follows.

Avocado Tzatziki Sauce

2 cups plain yogurt (or plain greek yogurt)
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp sea salt
1 cup peeled, seeded and grated cucumber (1 cucumber)
1 avocado peeled and diced

Stir all ingredients together and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.

Cat Cora serves these tucked into pita bread with shredded lettuce and tomato which I think sounds fantastic.  I didn't have pita bread so I served it with some orzo sprinkled with parmesan and steamed asparagus.  It was all clean plates and no leftovers at my house.  This meal is definitely going into the rotation!

* Original recipe for Cat Cora's Pork Skewers

* Original recipe for Cat Cora's Avocado Tzatziki