Fresh Berry Fun

I'm a big salty and sweet person. Peanut butter and chocolate. Pretzels and frosting. In fact, I just found this site that gives some other unusual combos: 24 Unexpectedly Awesome Sweet and Salty Combos.

Is there some combo you can't live without? Well, in that vein. I have a lot of recipes for sauces paired with meat that involve fruit. It gives you that natural sugar taste with the savory/salt aspect of whatever spices you rub on the meat.

I believe you could use this for more than just pork chops. Perhaps chicken or beef or even a pork roast, especially since it's a sauce you put on top at the end, after your meat is cooked.

 Blackberry Sauced Pork Chops

Ingredients:
1/2 c. blackberry jam/jelly                   1 tbsp. lemon juice                     1 tbsp. soy sauce
dash cinnamon                                   4 pork chops                               2 tsp. steak seasoning
2 tsp. olive oil                                      1 c. fresh blackberries

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan, combine the jam/jelly, lemon juice, soy sauce and cinnamon.
2. Cook and stir over low heat until jam/jelly is melted.
3. Remove from heat and set aside.
4. Sprinkle both sides of the pork chops with steak seasoning.
5. In a large skillet, cook chops in oil over medium high heat for 5-7 minutes.
6. Serve with sauce and blackberries. 

Obviously if you are using this for a roast, which will take longer to cook, I'd wait until your roast is close to coming out of the oven so that your sauce stays warm.

As always, have fun!

Mom's Favorites: Ribs

I confess. I'm not a big red meat eater. I like a good steak now and then but it's not the thing that I "have to have". That's always made it interesting when we go to steak houses for dinner. At the Hilltop, I always got the seafood casserole. When we went to Ruth Chris for New Year's, I had salmon. When we go to Lonestar or Texas Roadhouse, I almost always get ribs. 

I love ribs and rubs and sauces. When they are done right, the meat just about falls off the bone! I'm also a sweet and savory kind of gal too, so my bbq sauce tends to run in the honey bbq family. Tonight's entry combines these two of my favorite things and adds a whopper of a hot kick with the chipolte!

Honey Chipolte Ribs

Ingredients:
6 lbs. pork baby back ribs   3 c. ketchup       2 bottles Guinness beer   2 c. bbq sauce
1 small onion, chopped      2/3 c. honey       1/4 c. Worcestershire       2 tbsp. dijon mustard  
2 tbsp. chopped chipolte peppers in adobo  4 tsp. ground chipolte pepper
1 tsp. salt                           1 tsp. garlic powder      1/2 tsp. pepper

Directions:

1.  .Wrap ribs in large pieces of heavy duty foil.
2. Seal edges and grill, covered, over indirect medium heat for 1-1 1/2 hrs.
3. In a large saucepan, combine the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for about 45 minutes or until thick stirring occasionally.
5. Carefully remove ribs from foil and place over direct heat.
6. Baste with some of the sauce.
7. Grill, covered, over medium heat for 30 minutes or until browned, turning once and basting occasionally with additional sauce.
8. Serve with remaining sauce.

There's not much else to say except...YUM!

As always, have fun!                  

Sweet, Spicy and Cheesy?

Sometimes you don't have a reason for picking a recipe. Sometimes it's just luck of the draw as you flip through your box, hoping something will inspire you.  My sausage and potatoes recipes caught my eye but I don't really have anything profound to say about either. I will warn you the sausage patties come with some kick! Actually, both recipes do.

Paprika, red pepper, cayenne and hot sauce give these recipes some heat but I'm not a huge fan of heat, so know that the quantities listed won't leave you begging for water. Of course, you can always add in spice and heat if that's what you are into!

Sweet & Spicy Sausage Patties

Ingredients:
1 tsp. onion powder           1 tsp. garlic powder      1 tsp. red pepper           1/2 tsp. fennel
1/4 tsp. paprika                  1 tsp. salt                      1/4 tsp. black pepper     1 lb. ground meat
1 tbsp. & 1 tsp. brown sugar                                   1 tsp. olive oil

Directions:

1. Mix your meat with all the seasonings.
2. Portion it into 8 balls.
3. Flatten each ball to 1/8 in. thick.
4. Heat oil over medium high heat.
5. Sear patties on one side until caramelized about 2 minutes.
6. Flip to cook 1 minute more.

Cheesy Vacation Potatoes

Ingredients:

3 potatoes, sliced 1/8 in. thick          oil and salt, to taste             

pico de gallo:  2 roma tomatoes       2 scallions              1 tsp. hot sauce      1 tsp. lime juice

                       1/8 tsp. cumin            1/8 tsp. cayenne

casserole:       1 tbsp. unsalted butter         1/2 c. jack blend cheese         1/2 c. mozzarella

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 375.
2. Fry potatoes in 1 inch of oil, 3 minutes on each side.
3. Season with salt.
4. Prepare the pico de gallo in a bowl and set aside.
5. Butter an 8x8 pan.
6. Layer half the potatoes then half the jack blend cheese, then half the pico de gallo and half the mozzarella.
7. Repeat the layers, ending with mozzarella.
8. Bake until cheese melts (app. 18 minutes).

So there you go, a pair of fun recipes that aren't super hard to put together.  Oh and I absolutely don't remember why they are called vacation potatoes. As always, have fun.

Cherry Pork

It's the main event! My alternative to a ham with yet another fruit involved in the meal. This time, cherries.  This sweet pork roast has a little bit of a zing to it with the addition of horseradish.  

Don't be deterred by the cooking sherry. You can pick up a cheap bottle at most grocery stores.  If you really need to substitute something else in for it, google options online. Depending on the recipe, there are numerous options from white wine to vodka to chicken broth or even orange juice.  Since you've already got orange juice in this recipe, I'd lean toward the white wine or chicken broth. 

Roasted Pork with Cherry Sauce

Ingredients:

2 - 3 lb boneless pork loin roast               21 oz. cherry pie filling                1/2 c. orange juice

1/4 c. dry cooking sherry                         1 tbsp. Dijon mustard                   1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. prepared horseradish

Directions:

1. Place roast on rack in a shallow baking pan.
2. Bake, uncovered, at 325 for 1 1/4 - 1 3/4 hrs or until meat thermometer reads 155.
3. Combine remaining ingredients in a saucepan.
4. Bring to a boil.
5. Reduce heat to low and simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6. Brush cherry sauce over roast twice during the last 30 minutes of cooking.
7. Cover roast with foil and let stand 10-15 minutes before slicing.
8. Reheat cherry sauce - and serve with roast.

And that's it, a full meal. Did you save room for dessert? I hope so, since I've come up with a unique way to end this meal. Stay tuned tomorrow!

As always, have fun!

Cooking Fear?

What's the best way to face your fear? Run away from it? Actively avoid it? Heck no - hit it head on!

"I'm all about the crockpot since I seem to always find a way to mess up more complicated meals.. And chicken- always afraid to undercook it"

I get that chicken phobia, especially since I was the recipient of a lovely case of food poisoning after eating chicken at a restaurant. But, guess what? I still eat chicken - I just am careful to watch its color and if you are really into making sure meat is cooked right, invest in a meat thermometer. You can find one for fairly cheap and truthfully, cooking meat to a temperature rather than just relying on time makes it taste better too!

So here's a chicken recipe that's not a crock pot one but it's one where it's pretty easy to spot if the chicken is undercooked. Also, you brown it and then heat it in liquid so it should cook up nicely and not dry out.

Chicken and Chorizo Paella

Ingredients:
1 1/4 lb. boneless chicken breasts, cut in 2 inch chunks    1/4 c. flour      2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped     2 garlic cloves, minced    
4 oz. cooked chorizo sausage, cut in 1/4 in. rounds            1 1/2 c. long grain rice                
3 1/2 c. chicken broth     15 oz. can diced tomatoes, drained         1 c. frozen peas

Directions:

1. Dredge chicken in flour.
2. Warm 1 tbsp. oil in a skillet over medium high heat.
3. Cook chicken until browned on all sides (about 6 minutes total).
4. Transfer to a plate.
5. Heat remaining oil and add onion and garlic.
6. Cook, stirring until soft, about 3 minutes.
7. Add chorizo and cook until lightly browned about 2 minutes.
8. Stir in rice, broth, and tomatoes.
9. Bring to a boil and add chicken.
10. Cover, reduce heat to low. 
11. Cook until rice is tender and chicken is cooked through (10-12 minutes).
12. Remove from heat and stir in peas.
13. Cover and let stand until peas are heated through (5 minutes).

Face your fears. Check!  Buy a meat thermometer. Check!  Make a delicious dinner. Check! Oh yeah, and as always, have fun!

Wonton Stars

In the spirit of all things Asian and my obsession with Chinese food, I'm moving into appetizers next. I've played with rice paper and spring roll wrappers and wonton wrappers. I have tried teriyaki and soy sauce based stuff. I love fresh ginger too - it's got quite a zing!

We'll start with a pseudo Asian recipe that uses wonton wrappers but mixes in some distinctly American flavors too.  A lot of popular Chinese food here in the U.S. is more American Chinese than what you would actually find in China. That doesn't make it bad - it's just its own unique style I think.

Sausage Wonton Stars

Ingredients:
1 pkg. (12 oz) wonton wrappers    1 lb. bulk pork sausage       2 c. shredded colby  cheese
1/2 green pepper                           1/2 red pepper                    2 bunches green onion
1/2 c ranch dressing

Directions:

1. Lightly press wonton wrappers on the bottom and up the sides of a greased mini muffin pan.
2. Bake at 350 for about 5 minutes, or until edges are brown.
3. In a skillet, cook sausage over medium heat until no longer pink. Drain.
4. Stir in cheese, peppers, onion and salad dressing.
5. Spoon a rounded tablespoon into each wonton cup.
6. Bake for 5-7 minutes, until heated through. 

Pretty easy, right?  And it makes about 4 dozen so it's a great little appetizer. Sometimes, you just need something to munch on and these bites are nice and filling.

As always, have fun!

Beer, it's what's for dinner

I was flipping through my recipes, wondering what I should talk about next and decided why not an unusual cooking ingredient? Sure everyone likes a tall frosty mug of beer once in a while, but how many times do you think about cooking with it? It's quite versatile and can add a different flavor to any dish.  So, here's two somewhat simple ways to incorporate your favorite beer into your next dinner!

Brats & Beer

Ingredients:
8 brats     1 large onion, sliced     1 12 oz. beer    1 c. chili sauce     1 c. ketchup     
2 tbsp. vinegar  1 tbsp. worcestershire sauce        2 tbsp. brown sugar   1 tbsp. paprika  
1/2 tsp. salt

Directions:

1. Boil brats in water filled skillet for 10 minutes. 
2. Drain and put in slow cooker.
3. Mix remaining ingredients in a bowl and pour over the meat.
4. Cook on high for 2 hours.

Beer Macaroni & Cheese

Ingredients:

16 oz. macaroni                 1/4 c. butter     2 minced garlic cloves     1/4 c. flour     

1 tbsp. ground mustard      1 tsp. salt        3/4 tsp. pepper                 2 1/2 c. milk

3/4 c. amber beer               1/4 c. heavy whipping cream                   3 c. shredded cheddar

2 c. shredded fontina          2 tbsp. grated parmesan                         2 tbsp. chives

5 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled

Directions:

1. Cook macaroni according to al dente directions.
2. In a dutch oven, heat butter over medium high heat.
3. Add garlic; cook and stir for 1 minute.
4. Stir in flour, mustard, salt and pepper until smooth.
5. Gradually whisk in milk, beer and cream.
6. Bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes or until thick - Make sure to keep stirring.
7. Reduce heat and add 2 c. cheddar, all of the fontina and 1 tbsp. parmesan until melted.
8. Add chives.
9. Drain macaroni and stir in sauce.
10. Transfer to a greased 3 qt. baking dish. 
11. Sprinkle with remaining cheddar and parmesan.
12. Bake, uncovered, at 400 for 15-20 minutes until golden brown and heated through.
13. Top with crumbled bacon.

The brats are a really simple and quick crock pot recipe. It's a great one to do in a jiffy. Though the mac & cheese seems more involved, it's really not.  It's generally the same sort of recipe as if you were to make the box stuff - boil pasta, melt and mix stuff to make sauce. The difference is that you have real ingredients and not fake cheese powder and baking it makes it all come together in a gooey yummy mess. Mac & cheese is one of my favorite things and I'm sure you'll see at least another recipe pop up in my blog in the future.

As always, have fun!

Crockpot Ribs

Ribs are not just a summer treat. You can do them right in your crock pot and then throw them in the oven to crisp them up. What is even better is when you make your own BBQ sauce to go with them!

Crock Pot Ribs

Ingredients:
3 tbsp. paprika     2 tbsp. brown sugar     1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper     1 c. BBQ sauce
2 (2 1/2 to 3 lb) racks St. Louis style spareribs

Directions:

1. Mix paprika, sugar, cayenne together and rub evenly over ribs.
2. Arrange upright in slow cooker with meaty sides facing outward.
3. Cover and cook until ribs are tender, 4 to 5 hours on low.
4. Adjust oven rack to 10 inches from broiler element and heat broiler.
5. Place wire rack in aluminum foil rimmed baking sheet and spray with vegetable oil spray.
6. Transfer ribs, meaty side up, to prepared sheet. 
7. Brush ribs with some of the BBQ sauce and broil until browned and sticky (10-15 minutes).
8. You should flip and brush with additional sauce every few minutes.
9. Serve ribs with remaining sauce.

Coffee BBQ Sauce (makes 4 1/2 cups)

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, chopped     2 tbsp.olive oil     8 garlic cloves, minced     2 c. ketchup

1 c. cider vinegar                   1 c. honey            1/2 c. soy sauce                 1/2 c. brewed coffee

1/4 tsp. salt                             1/4 tsp. pepper

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan, saute onion in oil until tender.
2. Add garlic and cook 2 minutes longer.
3. Stir in the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 35-45 minutes or until desired consistency.

As always, have fun!

Another Lite Night

Another Lite Night


Soup and salad are a perfect combo when you aren’t sure what you want, but don’t want to get into a heavy casserole or worry about getting a roast in the oven. They also usually guarantee leftovers as you are doing two decent sized recipes.


Fiesta Pork Soup


Ingredients:
1 lb. ground pork     1 14.5 oz. can chicken broth     1 8 oz. jar picante sauce
1/8 tsp. cumin     1/8 tsp. ground pepper    1 c. tortilla chips, broken
1 11 oz. condensed fiesta nacho cheese soup     1/4 c. sour cream


Directions:
1. In medium saucepan, cook and stir pork until browned. Drain.
2. Add chicken broth, picante sauce, cumin and pepper. Bring to a boil.
3. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 15 minutes. Stir occasionally.
4. Stir in cheese soup and simmer until heated through. Do not boil.
5. Pour in serving bowls – garnish with tortilla chips and sour cream.


Summer Corn Salad


Ingredients:
5 tbsp. olive oil, divided     1 tbsp. lime juice        1/4 tsp. hot pepper sauce
1 1/2 c. fresh or frozen corn, thawed     1 1/2 c. cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 c. finely chopped cucumber     1/4 c. red onion
2 tbsp. minced fresh basil or 2 tsp. dried basil     1/4 c. feta cheese


Directions:
1. In a small bowl, whisk 4 tsp. oil, lime juice and pepper sauce. Set aside.
2. In a large skillet, cook and stir corn in remaining oil over medium high heat until tender.
3. Transfer to salad bowl and cool slightly.
4. Add tomatoes, cucumber, onion and basil.
5. Drizzle with dressing and toss to coat.
6. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving or refrigerate until chilled.
7. Sprinkle with cheese just before serving.


I had a fairly difficult time picking the “right combo” of recipes for this one. Soup and salad is almost cliche as a pair. What immediately comes to mind for me is your regular garden variety salad and either a tomato soup or a french onion soup. I’m not sure why this is the image in my head, but I just feel like there are far more possibilities. It’s yet another chance for you to get creative. What are your favorite veggies? Do you have a salad dressing you can’t live without? How about your soup? Does it need meat? Is it chock full of ingredients or is it simple bisque?


As always, have fun.

Pulled Pork Tortilla Pie

It’s time to whip up something new with your leftovers! Now that you have both the pork and corn ready to go, it makes this recipe go even faster.

Pulled Pork Tortilla Pie

Ingredients:

1 can corn, drained (or 2 ears of corn)     1 can green chilies, drained

12 corn tortilla     12 oz. pulled pork, seasoned (or your carnitas leftovers)

8 oz. sour cream     10 oz. green chile enchilada sauce

1 1/2 c. shredded cheese (your choice)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Grease a 8×8 square baking dish.
3. Mix the corn and green chilies.
4. In the baking dish, layer 4 tortillas, followed by half each of the pork, corn, sour cream, enchilada sauce.
5. Add 1/2 c. cheese next.
6. Repeat layering one more time and sprinkle with remaining cheese.
7. Cover & bake for 30 minutes.
8. Uncover and bake 10-15 minutes more.

How did you do with your first duo of planned, related meals? Think you can do more? Are you sensing a theme here? Perhaps, Mexican? Could you do a week of Mexican recipes or would you even want to? Meal planning doesn’t have to be that boring…that’s how you get into ruts. You might have a theme night or a bunch of related recipes based on ingredients. What works for you?

I try to watch what’s on sale to maximize my budget. However, as I do this more and more, I tend to start planning a few weeks out. I mean getting a schedule together of meals so I have a variety. I try to do a beef, a chicken, a seafood, a pork and a vegetarian dish each week. I also planned all 7 nights meals at first. What I failed to realize, pretty quickly, was that I didn’t always take servings into consideration. Making a lasagna as a a dinner for 2 will in fact feed us for 4 meals total. So that’s dinner and 3 lunches or 2 dinners and 2 lunches. Imagine if multiple recipes made that much food. Start doing the math in your head and you’ll realize that by mid-week you will be drowning in food.

If you have a few weeks planned out informally, then you can switch ones in and out depending on your need. I was in the grocery store one week and saw tuna steaks on sale. They weren't on my grocery list, but I knew I had a tuna recipe coming up so I scooped those up. This was probably my 2nd or 3rd grocery store stop, so I knew I didn’t buy everything for every recipe yet. Why and how I shop at multiple stores is a whole separate blog post! When I got home, I took a look at what I had for recipes and ingredients left to buy and switched my tuna recipe in to that week and bounced one of my meals that had pricier ingredients to a future date. This may seem overwhelming, but don’t be scared. As you do it more and more, it comes more naturally.

That’s all for now. As always, have fun!

Ole! It's Carnitas Time!

Today is going to be a simple crockpot recipe that will yield plenty of meat for dinner tonight as well as serving as a key ingredient for tomorrow’s recipe. This is the first step in meal planning for those of you who are more of the “let’s figure out today what we’ll have tonight” and want to be more of the “how do I maximize my grocery budget and still have a variety of dinners that my family will enjoy”? You need to start thinking in terms of common ingredients between recipes or how many ways to make chicken (if it’s on sale that week) without feeling like “oh my god – if I eat chicken one more time, I will turn into one”!

Carnitas, literally “little meats,” is a dish of Mexican cuisine. You will slow cook this meat so it is extremely juicy and tender.  The meat can then be used as an ingredient in tamales, tacos, tortas and burritos. I was never a huge pork person growing up but I love this recipe. It’s just so easy and tasty.

Pork Carnitas

Ingredients:

3 lb. boneless pork shoulder cut into chunks     2 tsp. salt     1 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp. cumin     1/2 tsp. oregano     1 large onion, quartered     3 cloves of garlic

Directions:

1. Sprinkle pork with salt, chili powder, cumin and oregano.
2. Place in crockpot with onion and garlic.
3. Cover and cook on low until meat is tender, about 6 hours.
4. Shred and serve warm.
5. Save about 12 oz. of meat for tomorrow. We’ll be making pulled pork tortilla pie.  For tonight, this meat is great plain, but I do it in pork tacos with my own sauces. I skip the traditional chopped tomatoes, lettuce etc. I may put a little cheese on them as well as Creole Tomato Salsa and some Charred Corn Guacamole. And, yes, you get those recipes too!

Creole Tomato Salsa

Ingredients:

4 c. chopped tomatoes     1 c. chopped onion     1 chopped jalapeno

1/2 c. chopped cilantro     1 tbsp. parsley     1 tbsp. garlic     1 tsp. Worcestershire

1 tsp. hot sauce     6 tbsp. lime juice     1 tbsp. olive oil

Directions: Combine all! Yes, it’s that easy.

Charred Corn Guacamole

Ingredients:

2 ears of corn, husks and silks removed     2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil

3 avocados    1/3 c. chopped scallions     1 tbsp. lemon juice

1 tsp. ground cumin     1/2 tsp. red pepper

Directions:

1. Prepare a gas, charcoal or indoor grill.
2. Brush ears of corn with oil.
3. Put corn on grill and let it start to blister for a few minutes on each side.
4. Rotate accordingly until all sides are charred (app. 10 minutes). Let cool.
5. Cut kernels off the cob.
6. Cut each avocado and remove pit.
7. Remove avocado from its skin and put it in bowl with the corn.
8. Add scallions, lemon juice, cumin, red pepper.
9. Mash with a fork until halfway smooth and chunky.

Ole! A Mexican feast and the beginnings of a second night’s dinner as well. I would advise one more thing in this combination of recipes. If you are making the guacamole listed above, grill 2 additional ears of corn if you’d like. You’ll need a can of corn for the tortilla pie the next day and, depending on price of corn, this may be cheaper than buying a can. Besides, corn fresh off the cob has always tasted better to me. I use cans of corn and ears of corn interchangeably in my recipes depending on what is cheaper at the time.

As always, have fun!