The smell of carnitas cooking in the home is so good that it always makes me think twice about my vegetarian life. Yep, I'm a vegetarian (I know meat tastes good...it's just a thought thing that I can't get over), but I grew up eating meat off-and-on, and I still cook it pretty regularly in my home for the rest of my family. I'm raising my kids to eat meat because monthly B-12 injections aren't awesome. But back to these carnitas: it takes quite a few ingredients to make at home, but many of us have a handful of them in our pantries already. Other than the ingredients, the recipe is incredibly simple--basically throw it all in a crock pot and wait about six hours! Best part is that no one would guess that you didn't spend all day working in the kitchen on these. For me, this is for sure a go-to meal for gatherings: it makes a lot, people can personalize them, a vegan can swap the meat out for beans, most people love them, and you save a lot of energy making them.