Pulled Pork Sandwiches

The other week was our last meeting of RCIA at our local church - and this meant pot luck dinner! For the last pot luck we made chili because it was the middle of winter but this time we wanted to make something that felt spring-y (if that's a word). Pulled pork is such an easy and delicious option for a meal - just pop it into the slow cooker in the morning and you are ready to eat byt the time you get home from work!

Sorry guys - no picture this time!

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

• 2 pound pork shoulder
• 1 bottle root beer
• Water
• 1-2 bottles of barbeque sauce
• Hamburger buns

Put pork shoulder in slow cooker and pout root beer over top. Add water until liquid barely covers the pork. Cook on low for 8 hours or until pork shreds easily. Drain pork and shred in crock pot. Add barbeque sauce to taste.

Serve warm on hamburger buns.




CHEERS!




Adapted from my dad's recipe

Lasagna for Two

I love lasagna - I don't love the huge amount of time it takes to prepare lasagna. Especially when it is just the 2 of us. That's a problem I have with a lot of recipes - they are made for families of 6! This recipe is definitely better portioned for a couple and it is an easy fix too!

This was in the latest issue of Cook's Country by Cook's Illustrated. I really like this magazine because it is the same idea as Cook's Illustrated but has less intimidating recipes :) The serving size is smaller but is really still too big for 2 people - so there still might be left overs! I served this with some parmesan garlic breadsticks that were delicious! Just some store bought breadstick dough with garlic powder, parmesan cheese and oregano sprinkled on before baking.

Please don't be scared of the picture...it's hard to get a pretty picture of lasagna!

Lasagna for Two:

Bread loaf baking pan

Sauce:

• 1 small onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minved
• 8 oz 85% ground beef
• 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, Italian style
• 1 8 oz can tomato sauce

Filling & Noodles

• 4 oz ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese
• 3 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• No-boil lasagna noodles
• 1 cup shredded mozarella

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Heat oil in a dutch oven on the stove. Add onion and pinch of salt and cook until soft. Add garlic and cook until fragrant (do not let it burn!). Add meat and break into small pieces while cooking until meat is no longer pink. Add diced tomatoes and tomato sauce and continue cooking until thickened. Season with salt and pepper.

In medium bowl mix together the ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, beaten egg, basil, salt and pepper. Cover the bottom of bread pan with sauce. Cover with 1 1/2 noodles (break a noodle in half to cover the bottom). Spread some of the ricotta mixture on the top of the noodle. Sprinkle mozarella cheese on top of ricotta cheese mixture. Cover mozarella with sauce. Repeat layering process 3 more times (4 layers total). Place 1 1/2 noodles on top of final layer and top with remaining sauce and sprinkle parmesan cheese and mozarella cheese on top of sauce.

Bake for 25 minutes covered. Bake uncovered for another 10 minutes. Let sit for 15-20 minutes before serving.



CHEERS!



Adapted from Cook's Country

Peanut Butter Dog Treats

We have two fantastic dogs - Cooper and Holiday - and they are a huge part of our family. A couple of the guys that came out to help with the patio also have dogs so I decided in addition to the cupcakes I would also make some dog treats for them to take home. All the dogs loved them. I also sent some to work with the fiancee and their dogs loved the treats too! This is a super easy, cheap alternative to the store bought treats.


Here's a picture of the pups - Cooper is the bigger Australian Shepherd and Holiday is the little Schipperke. This is one of the best picture of them - we were at the beach up in Door County, WI.





Peanut Butter Dog Treats:

• 2 cups whole wheat flour (I got mine at Whole Foods)
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
• 1 cup natural, organic peanut butter
• 1 cup milk (I used 2%)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees .

Mix flour and baking powder in a large bowl or mixer. Whick together milk and peanut butter in a seperate bowl (I found that putting the milk in the measuring cup first helped keep the PB from sticking to the cup). Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and combine until fully mixed. Roll out dough on a floured surface to desired thickness. Use any kind of cookie cutter you want to punch out treats. Put treats on a lined baking sheet and bake for about 20 minutes.

CHEERS!

Source: Brown Eyed Baker

Cookies and Cream Cupcakes

This past weekend we started our patio - a giant DIY project! We enlisted a bunck of our guy friends to come out and help us dig out the back yard. To pay them we provided free beer, pizza and cupcakes. I wanted to make a different kind of cupcake that I had made before so I chose cookies and cream. I made these cupcakes for my soon to be sis-in-law's baby shower and they turned out much better. This time around the cupcake wrappers were REALLY difficult to peel off and were breaking. I didn't do the best job of getting equal amounts in the wrappers so I think some were a little overcooked. But rest assured that was USER error and this recipe is definitely a keeper!

Cookies and Cream Cupcakes

Cupcakes:

• Bag of oreos
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8 Tablespoons unsalted butter at room temp
• 1 2/3 cups sugar
• 3 egg whites at room temp
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup milk

Icing:

• 8 ounces cream cheese at room temp
• 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter at room temp
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
• 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 2 Tablespoons heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two 12 cup cupcake pans with liners. Twist 24 oreos and place half with icing on the bottom of the cupcake liners with the cream side facing up - reserve other half on plate. Take reserved oreo halves and rest of bag of full oreos and put in a ziplock bag and crush into large pieces. In a medium bowl mix all dry ingredients except sugar together (flour, salt & baking powder). In a mixer, cream together the sugar and butter. Blend in egg whites in batches and fully combine after each batch is dropped in. Add vanilla extract. Add half of the dry ingredients that you mixed together earlier and blend until just incorporated. Add milk and mix. Pour remaining dry ingredients into mixer and blend until just combined. Pour crushed cookies into mixer and gently fold in - do not overmix.

Pour batter into cupcake pans and bake for 18-20 minutes. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

For icing - mix butter and cream cheese until fully incorporated. Add vanilla and mix. Add powdered sugar in batches making sure to mix completely after each addition. Add heavy cream and mix on medium-high for about 5 minutes. Put icing in a pastry bag and frost cupcakes as desired.

CHEERS!

Source: Annie's Eats



Filets with Parmesan Crust

One of our favorite restaurants is Wildfire Restaurant- the crab stuffed shrimp appetizer is to die for! They have several crusts that you can add to your steaks to really enhance the flavor. I think the crust is perfect with the filets since the cut is known more for its buttery texture than its flavor so the crust adds a little bit more to each bite.

 

We have started ordering food from Peapod for special occassion dinners (like an engagement celebration!). They have a great section that has all kinds of local foods - including Wildfire filets. So we ordered a couple of those the other week and enjoyed them with a delicious parmesan crust!

 

 

 

 

Parmesan Crusted Filets

• 2 filets
• 1 stick of butter (softened)
• 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp garlic, minced
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 2 Tbsp shallots, minced
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/8 cup dried parsley

 

Whip butter in mixer. Add all ingredients to mixer and mix until fully combined. Shape mixture into a patty about the same size as the filets. Wrap in plastic wrap and put in freezer overnight.

 

When ready to eat - take crust out of freezer and slice to desired thickness (we can usually get around 3 crusts out of this recipe). Top steaks with slices of butter, salt & pepper and bring out to the grill. Grill steaks until almost at desired doneness - for us this means just after they cook to the low end of the medium temperature range. Move steaks to casserole pan and place crusts on top. Put steaks under broiler on high until crust begins to turn brown. Take steaks out and let rest for 10 minutes.

  

CHEERS!

 

Adapted from Chicago Cubs Cookbook: All-Star Recipes From Your Favorite Players

Microwave Chocolate Cake

I love individual desserts - mostly because with just two of us in the house I end up eating more than half of any cake, pie, batch of cookies, or other dessert that we make! This recipe comes from the latest Food Network Magazine and is part of a fabulous article called 10 minute desserts.

All you need is a commercial break of your favorite show and a BIG mug. No regular coffee cup here - this cake really puffs up while it cooks so you don't want it to overflow the cup. Top the cake with cocoa powder, whipped cream, frosting - whatever you are craving.

Microwave Chocolate Cake

• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 egg
• 5 Tbsp sugar
• 2 Tbsp cocoa powder
• 3 Tbsp milk
• 3 Tbsp vegetable oil
• Vanilla (as much or as little as you like - I used about 1/2 Tbsp)

In large mug whick together all ingredients. When fully incorporated put in micrwave on high for 2 minutes.


CHEERS!


Source: Food Network

Baked Chicken Taquitos

So we are finally back in the blogging world!! It has been a crazy past few weeks - at home and at work. But I think things are finally settling back into place - or at least a place that I see as manageable :)

We were planning on grilling last night for dinner but thought a storm was coming so we switched dinner plans to chicken taquitos. Of course it didn't end up raining but we definitely didn't mind the taquitos! Also - don't judge me on the photo...not my best work :)

Baked Chicken Taquitos

• 3 oz cream cheese
• 1/3 cup salsa verde (I use Trader Joe's brand)
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 tsp chile powder
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• pinch cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 Tbsp dried cilantro
• 1 jalapeno, chopped
• 2 cups cooked and shredded chicken, seasoned with salt, pepper & taco seasoning (this is about 2 chicken breasts)
• 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded Pepperjack cheese
• 8-12 small corn tortillas
• kosher salt
• cooking spray

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. While oven is preheating, mix together the cream cheese, salsa verde, lime juice, cumin, cayenne pepper, onion powder, garlic, cilantro and jalapeno to create a sauce. Mix in shredded chicken and cheeses.

Heat up corn tortillas 3-4 at a time in the microwave - 25 seconds on high. **This step is super important - the first time I made these I didn't work in small batches and the tortillas would cool and break when I tried to roll them.** Put a heaping spoonful of filling at bottom of tortilla and roll tightly. Place seam side down in baking dish. Continue until filling is gone (or you have desired number of taquitos). Spray the top of the taquitos with cooking spray and sprinkle with kosher salt.

Bake uncovered for 35 minutes until crisp.



CHEERS!

Adapted from Pink Parsley Catering; adapted from Pennies on a Platter, originally from Our Best Bites