No Bake Energy Bites - From My Pinterest Addiction

I was browsing through Pinterest and found a pin for No-Bake Energy Bites at Smashed Peas and Carrots Blog.  I'm on a healthy eating lifestyle change and decided that these would work well. But when I went to make them, I did not have coconut and while I did have chocolate chips, I did not want to add them in. My new version tasted like Preacher Cookies (also known as No-Bakes) without all the sugar and butter.  I'm sure the original recipe would be delicious as well.  Here is what I came up with:

1 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup ground flax seed
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup vital wheat gluten
1 heaping tablespoon  nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon vanilla

I tend to keep wheat gluten for making bread.  I added it here because it has a lot of vitamin C.  I added the nutritional yeast because of it's health properties as well.  Now when I added the cocoa powder, I expected it to taste like chocolate without the added calories of the chips, but I was happily surprised that it made the energy bites taste very similar to the preacher cookies that I grew up with.  Now it's not as sweet obviously, but a good enough substitute for me! According to the site of the original recipe, you can sub in and out many different things depending on what is in your pantry.  Try them and let me know what you think.

Yummy Empanadas!

Let me set the stage for you.  Earlier this week we discovered a 3 pound pack of hamburger in the freezer. it had been in there for a good while and was in danger of becoming freezer burnt. I had already pulled out some chicken and a london broil for meals this week.  The hamburger thawed out much faster than expected.  I cooked it up but had no clue as to how I would use it.  Then I remembered empanadas. "What's that?" you say.  Empanadas are little meat pies. Think hot pockets but filled with yummy meat mixtures (they can be made in dessert fashion as well).  Every recipe online required things that I did not have in the pantry (mainly onions) or ingredients that I knew my family would not eat.  And, I had stuff in the fridge that needed to be cooked before it spoiled.

After scouring different recipes, I found an empanada dough recipe from here.  The recipe for the meat mixture looked good, but didn't fit into my fridge cleaning plan.  As for the dough, I would recommend reducing the flour by 1/2 cup. you can add it later, but I ended up adding a lot of extra water to get most of it incorporated.  For a larger empanada, take a 2 inch ball and roll it out into a circle.  This will make a hot pocket sized empanada.  For an appetizer type, roll out the dough very thin and use a 3" cookie cutter to cut small circles. Fill with a rounded teaspoon of meat mixture.  For both, moisten the edges with water or egg and then use a fork to push the pastry together.  I've used a pie crust before, but this was better.

Now for the meat mixture:

2 - 2 1/2 lbs. cooked hamburger
1/2 roll of cooked sausage
1 large shredded carrot
1 finely diced stalk of celery
3 - 4 cups of good quailty pasta sauce or fire roasted diced tomatoes
8 ounces goat cheese
oil

1. In a pan, cook shredded carrot and finely diced celery until soft (around 8 minutes). 
2. Add cooked beef and sausage and stir.
3. Add 2 cups of the sauce.
4. Crumble goat cheese and add to the pan.  Stir it in until melted.
5. If the meat mixture is very dry, add more sauce.  The mixture should not be runny, but everything should be well coated with the sauce/cheese mixture.  My sauce was very thick and took at least 3 cups.
6. Cool mixture.
7. Take your empanada dough an begin to roll out your pieces.  Each piece should be very thin.  If I had a pasta maker, I would have rolled the dough through it to give my arms a break!
8. Fill each with the meat mixture and seal. Poke a vent hole in the top.
9. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10-18 minutes depending on the size of the empanada. 
10. Any uncooked leftovers can be frozen for later use.

I was planning on freezing some of these, but they went fast!  So fast this morning I realized that we forgot to take the corn out of the microwave!  We were downing these as they came out of the oven! 

This is a great recipe. You can change the meat mixture or use chicken or pork.  Anything would work as long as you don't fill it with a lot of liquid. 

P.S. Sorry for not having a picture.  After I ate the first one, I didn't even remember to pull out the camera!

Dreaming of Oreo's

Mmmm.  I made this little beauty for dinner at a friends house. It's an Oreo Cream Pie with extra oreos and whipped cream on top!  Just follow the instructions off the back of the Jellow Instant Oreo Pudding box. I always add an extra teaspoon of vanilla to any pudding.  For the decorations, add 6-8 oreas to a food processor and blend until they are crumb sized.  Put them over the top and press into the pudding mixture to set.  Add whole oreos to the top.  Place whipped cream in a piping bag with a 1M large star tip.  You will not have any leftovers!

Sweet Pepper and Avocado Salad

I normally use the base of this salad as a dressing for a summertime pasta salad.  But then I tasted it before adding it to pasta and fell in love! It's light, delicious and full of flavor.  I hope you enjoy it!

3 lemons zested and juiced
1 avocado cubed
1/4 teaspoon dill
1/4 of a red pepper diced
1/4 of a yellow pepper diced
1/4 of an orange pepper diced
3 tablespoons oil
Salt to taste

1. Zest and Juice 3 lemons
2. Add dill.
3. Cut avocado and gently stir in lemon juice/zest mixture. (This will prevent avocado from browning.)
4. Add in peppers and stir gently to coat. 
5. Taste and add salt and oil.
6. Stir gently to coat peppers.

This will stand alone as a side or would work great over pasta, fish or in a salad.  You should eat this within 2 days of making it or the avocado will get mushy.  If that works for you then it will last longer, but I'm not a huge fan of mushy avocados.

Deb's Easy Coffee Cake

I adapted this recipe from Aunt Anne's Coffee Cake on allrecipes.com.  I've never made her exact recipe and am sure it's delicious.  What stopped me was the little instruction that said to cut in the butter.  I was pressed for time and had no desire to cut in butter.  I wanted a coffee cake that was quick and easy to put together and that had great taste.  The one I came up with fits my morning time constraints.

Prep time - 10 minutes or less
Cook time - 30 minutes

2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
3/4 cup milk (more if needed)
3/4 cup applesauce
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Topping:
1/2 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup brown sugar (no need to pack or level)
2-3 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 cup butter - partially melted
Pinch of salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease 8x11 inch pan with baking spray or flower/oil combo.  (I use an 8x11 pan and get a 1" thick slice of coffee cake.  A 9x13 will net a thinner slice and you will need to adjust the cooking time.)
3. Add  flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt to a bowl.  Stir with fingers to combine.
4. In a 2 cup measuring cup, add egg.  Add enough milk to go up to the 1 cup mark. Then add 3/4 of applesauce and vanilla.  Stirl to combine and break up the egg.
5. Add milk mixture to the flour mixture.
6. Stir until just combined and pour into the bowl.
7. Add 1/4 butter to a small bowl.  Place in the oven to allow to soften/partially melt.
8. While it's in the oven, combine flour, brown sugar and salt in a small bowl.  Mix with fingers until combined.
9. When the butter is ready, pour it over the sugar mixture.  Use your fingers to mix butter through evenly.  If the crumbs are broken apart to much, squeeze handfuls of the brown sugar mixture to make larger crumbles.
10. Place 1/2 to 3/4 of mix over the batter.  Use a knife to do a light swirl pattern through the topping.  
11. Place in the oven for 25 minutes.  Pull it out of the oven and add the additional topping.  Cook for 5 more minutes.
12. Pull out of the oven and let it sit for 10 minutes.  Cut and serve.

The reason I love this is because it is extremely quick and easy.  While other recipes have a better crumb texture, I have yet to find one that beats this recipe when it comes to time involved. And for our family of five (soon to be six), quick but tasty recipes are a life saver!  I can have this in the oven in less than 10 minutes.  You can't beat that for a homemade breakfast!

Also, be sure to put the vanilla into the batter.  I forgot it this morning and I realized that something was missing right away.  It doesn't make it bad, but it's a little flat in the flavor complexity department without vanilla!

Pomegranate Red Wine Roasted Chicken

At 35 weeks pregnant, cooking a from scratch meal is becoming more challenging.  It takes planning, thought and energy. That last one, energy, is where I struggle the most.  But there are times, like tonight, where I don't have much of a choice.  I asked Daniel to pull some meat out of the freezer last night for dinner tonight.  He chose a whole chicken and I was tasked with figuring out what to do with it.  My darling daughter strongly desired to have lemon pepper chicken, but I did not have the energy to go out to the store for lemons.  Instead, I remembered the two bottles of pomegranate red wine vinegar that I got for free at Bilo and had yet to use in any dish.  The vinegar became the base to this delicious chicken.

1 whole chicken
1/2 baseball sized onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup of pomegranate red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon minced garlic (I used the pre-chopped kind) or 2-3 cloves chopped
1/8 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary (optional)

1. Place large cast iron skillet in the oven.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 
2. Combine onion, vinegar, garlic, olive oil, soy sauce, sea salt and rosemary in a bowl and stir to coat.
3. Take the chicken and pat the skin dry.  Using your hand, create a pocket between the skin and breast meat.  Use your fingers to open the area in the legs as well. 
4. Once the cast iron skillet is hot, pull it out of the oven.  If your pan is well seasoned, place the bird in.  If not, coat the skillet with a bit of oil before placing the bird in it.
5. Take most of the vinegar/onion mixture and evenly distribute it under the skin making sure to tuck some in each leg.  Place a table spoon or so of the onion mixture in the cavity of the chicken.  Pour the remaining onions and juice mixture over the top of the chicken, using your hands to make sure the skin is covered.  Lightly salt the top of the chicken.
6. Place in the oven and bake until the juices run clear (around 30-40 minutes)
7. Enjoy!

If you have time, I would suggest putting all of this in a zip top bag and marinating for a day or so.  Even a half hour would allow the flavor to go through the meat more.  However, if you do not have the time, it doesn't matter.  This dish turned out great with no advanced marinating.  The vinegar ensures that the meat comes out tender and juice and the pomegranate flavoring pared with the onions is amazing!

I've started using my cast iron skillet for baking all my chicken dishes.  If you don't have a cast iron skillet then something must be wrong with you! Just kidding.  A standard dish will be just fine, but cooking times may need to be adjusted.  You can cook this at 350, but I go for the higher temps and have not had any dry chicken issues. 

Serve this with veggies or a salad. The juices can be reduced and used as a gravy for rice or mashed potatoes or poured over the meat. 

Plain Homemade Bagels

First and foremost, this is not my photo!  I  borrowed it from this link. And, over at TastyKitchen.com, you will find the tutorial for making homemade bagels.  I didn't change anything when I made them this morning.  Ashton and I sat out on the front porch eating these bagels with peanut butter spread on them.  We didn't talk much because we were too busy savoring the delicious bagels!

As for making them, they took a little longer than the prep/cook time stated.  Rising time alone was about 50 minutes, added to mixing and baking time, the whole thing took around an hour and a half. I do believe that you could mix the dough the night before, let it go through the first rise and roll them out for bagels and stick them in the fridge.  Then in the morning, pull them out and let them come to room temperature and rise (if necessary).  After that all you would need to do was boil them and bake them!  I may do that next time.  Then again, you could bake them the night before, but then you wouldn't have them fresh out of the oven for breakfast. Either way they would be divine and really simple to make.

Here is the link to the printable recipe.  Head on over there and try it today!

Lemon Pepper and Rosemary Chicken

If you are looking for a quick and easy dinner that tastes like it took all day to prepare, then I have the answer for you. We eat chicken all the time.  Why? It's cheap.  If I could have steak and burgers a couple of times a week, I certainly would!  So for the chicken, I'm always trying to think of different ways to prepare it.  I decided to go with lemon pepper chicken.  We had a whole bag of lemons in the fridge and the local store had chicken thighs on sale.  Now some of you might prefer the breast (and it would work for this), but dark meat roasts up to be very tender and juicy.  Plus it was on sale for $0.98 a pound.

Now, this dish can be marinated for a short time or overnight.  The longer it's in the juice, the better.  But, as a pregnant woman who doesn't always feel like cooking, doing things in advance rarely happens.  So I threw all of this together without marinating for more than a few minutes and it turned out great.  Also, I used my cast iron skillets to cook the chicken.  You can use any pan, but cast iron is my preference.

4 lemons zested and juiced
1/4 cup olive oil plus 2 tablespoons
1 tablespoon sea salt
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
4 sprigs of rosemary chopped - a little over a tablespoon when chopped (you can use 1/4 teaspoon of ground rosemary)
8 chicken thighs

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  I needed one large and one small cast iron skillet to cook all the chicken thighs.  Place both skillets in the oven while preheating.
2. Put the lemon zest in a large bowl with the lemon juice.  Add in salt and pepper
3. Slowly whisk in 1/4 cup of olive oil.
4. Coat chicken in the mixture. Make sure the skin on the thighs is stretched to cover the sides of the chicken.  Leave it to sit.
5. Pull hot skillets out of the oven.  Add remaining olive oil to each skillet and roll them to coat. 
6. Place each thigh in the skillet, skin side down.  I managed to get 5 in the large and 3 in the small one.
7. Pour the remaining marinade over the chicken in each pan. 
8. Place back in the oven and cook for 20 minutes.
9. After 20 minutes, turn the thighs over in the pan.  Turn broiler on high and place back in the oven.   Be sure to leave the pans in the middle of the oven.  If you get to close to the broiler, the skin will burn.
10. Broil for 10-12 minutes or until the chicken is completely done. Skin should be golden brown and perfectly crispy.
11. Move chicken to a serving plate.  Separate oil from juices in the pan and place the lemony juice in a bowl.  You could reduce this and add a little corn starch to make a sauce or leave it as is and pour it over your chicken or rice. Or you could grab a spoon and slurp some up. It's very versatile!

Times may need to be adjusted if you are not using a cast iron skillet.  Just be sure to check the temperature of your meat when you pull it out of the oven. While it was cooking, I made rice and snow peas to go along with it.  This meal takes around 40 minutes to prep and cook. 

I'm sorry about not having a picture.  Our camera doesn't do evening shots very well and we kind of ate it all up so fast that there was no chicken to grab a picture of!

Enjoy!

Deb's Favorite Macaroni and Cheese

When I was a child, Kraft Macaroni and Cheese was the best macaroni and cheese EVER!  But then I grew up and over time it stopped tasting as good.  Since being a stay at home mom, I've had the time to refine my homemade version.  Just to brag a little, my kids think it's much better than the box kind!

1-1 pound box of macaroni
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar
4 ounces cream cheese
2-4 cups milk
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons of worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon ground mustard
Salt/Pepper to taste

1. Cook the macaroni for 6 minutes.  (Most boxes show al dente done at 7 minutes.  If your box calls for longer, cook one minute less than the suggested al dente time.)

2. Drain most of the water from the pasta.  Leave pasta in the pan and place it back on the burner over medium heat.

3. Break up cream cheese into small chunks and add it to the pan.  Add in butter, worcestershire and ground mustard.  Stir until cream cheese and butter have fully incorporated into the macaroni and cheese.

4. If the pasta/sauce is looking dry, add up to one cup of milk.

5.  Stir in shredded sharp cheddar one handful at a time.  Allow each handful to melt before the next addition.

6. If the pasta starts to loose the creamy texture, add more milk until it's the consistency that you like.

7. Add salt and pepper to taste.  Typically the salt in the cheese is enough to salt the entire dish and you will not have to add any. 

8.  Serve and enjoy!

The creaminess of the macaroni and cheese is all up to you.  If it seems to thick, thin it out with milk.  Also add  a bit of milk while reheating.  It will bring back the proper consistency. 

This also works well for baked macaroni and cheese.  Add half of the completed macaroni and cheese to a buttered 9x13 baking dish.  Grab another bag of sharp cheddar cheese and put a thin layer over what you poured in the dish.  Add the rest of the macaroni and cheese to the dish.  Spread it out evenly.  Add 1 cup of milk.  In a small bowl, mix 3/4 cup of bread crumbs with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Don't make mush, just coat the bread crumbs. Add in a couple of dashes of seasoned salt and stir.  Place the bread crumbs evenly over the macaroni and cheese.  Bake at 350 until it's bubbly and serve!

Just Because I'm Slow at Posting...

...I thought I'd remind you of one of my most read/tried recipes - Budget Friendly Beef Stroganoff.  It's perfect for this cold weather and cheap and easy to make.  Plus it will please almost any man or child in your house!  That includes the ones that normally turn their noses up at cube steak!

I've also decided to start adding my recipes to Allrecipes.com. It will make them much easier to print out.  Here is the link.

Enjoy!

Deb's Pumpkin and Cream Cheese Muffins

According to my son, these are not Pumpkin muffins, they are "Punkin" muffins!  Either way they are are a household favorite.  I'm going to put down the recipe for a dozen, but I would recommend doubling it if you have a larger family.  Mine tend to devour two dozen in a day!  I made a batch to celebrate the most snow that I've ever seen in South Carolina!

Cream Cheese Filling

• 4 oz. cream cheese, slightly softened
• 1 1/2 tablespoons milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
• pinch of salt

Muffin Ingredients

• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (do not level)
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup canola oil

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and grease muffin pan. Use the bakers version that contains flour.
2. In mixing bowl, combine cream cheese filling ingredients. (I do this in my stand mixer and just scrape the ingredients into a smaller bowl when done.  I don't even clean the bowl before starting the next step!)
3. In mixing bowl, beat eggs until thick.  Add in Pumpkin pie spice, salt, pumpkin puree, milk and canola oil.  Beat until combined.
4. Add in flour, sugar and baking powder.  Start slowly with the mixer and then beat on medium until it's combined and no longer.
5. Fill the muffin cups 1/3 to halfway full.
6. Add in about a teaspoon of the cream cheese filling to each muffin cup. If there is any left over, add it to the ones you think need a little more.
7. Use remaining batter to cover the cream cheese.  The batter should almost reach the top of the cup.  Make sure the batter covers all the cream cheese mixture.  You may need to use a spoon to help at this time.
8. Bake 15 minutes.  Depending on your oven, you may need a bit more time.  Use a toothpick to test the edge of the muffin for doneness.  If you stick it in the middle the cream cheese will come out on the pick.
9. Place cupcakes on rack to cool immediately after pulling them from the oven. 
10. Beat off your family while waiting for them to cool down and enjoy!

I hope you guys enjoy these as much as we do!  If you want to get a little fancier, you could mix a cream cheese icing to drizzle on top or even add a 1/4 cup of pecans or walnuts to the muffin mix. 

I got the original recipe from a muffin book in the library. I don't remember the name, but it was not that impressive.  I've changed a lot of the ingredients, so I'm okay with claiming it as my own. I've also consolidated some of the steps.  Using one bowl to mix all the ingredients really helps with the clean-up.  I no longer mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl either.  I have a limited amount of time in the mornings to cook and I've found that pre-mixing the flour and baking soda in a separate bowl adds nothing to the taste or flavor of the muffins.  If it did, I would not have changed it!

If you try these, let me know what you think!

Sopapilla - My Favorite "Mexican" Dessert Recipe

Sopapilla is a Mexican inspired cheesecake.  It also happens to be the only way that I have ever enjoyed cheesecake!  Now, if you are worried about your weight, stop here.  Don't even look at the recipe.  It'll make you gain weight!

2 can of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls (8 pack)
3 8 oz. packages of Cream Cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups Sugar
2 teaspoon Vanilla
1/2 teaspoon of salt

Topping
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1/2 cup Sugar
2 heaping teaspoons of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Salt
Honey

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a 9 x 13 glass baking dish, spread out one can of the crescent rolls to cover the bottom.  You can roll these out or you can use your fingers to spread them out to cover the pan.  Pinch the seems together to seal.
3. In a bowl, mix the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and salt together.  Beat until well mixed and fluffy (about 2 minutes on medium).
4. Spread cream cheese mixture evenly over the crescent roll mixture.
5. Take other can of crescent rolls and spread them over the top of the cream cheese.  Take care to pinch together seams and pull to the edge of the cream cheese.  The top is a bit harder than the bottom!
6. For the topping - Pour the melted butter over the top layer of the crescent rolls.
7. Mix the  sugar, cinnamon and salt together in a bowl.
8. Spread topping evenly over the butter.
9. Bake for 45 minutes.
10. Once this comes our of the oven, drizzle the top with the honey.  Don't skip this step.  This is extremely good without the honey, but even better with it!

You could add a can of fruit over the cream cheese layer if desired.  I'm not a fan of cooked fruit, so I've never tried this. Don't expect to bring any of this home and don't be surprised if people lick the pan. It's just that good folks! 

If you make it, let me know what you think.

Recipe Shock!

I was clicking through some new tabs that popped up on the blogger screen and found the stats page.  On it I noticed a link to one of my old posts - Budget Friendly Beef Stroganoff.  It's a family favorite for sure, but the link led me here.  And to my surprise, it was listed as one of the top ten hits for cube steak!  This article was posted last year, but I don't care!  It's great to be recognized at another site!

Sausage and Barley Soup

Goodness, I love Fall!!  We went up to the mountains for the weekend and the cool, crisp air was rolling in!  It made me long for a good bowl of soup.  So when we came home, I made up this tasty little concoction.  At the end of the recipe, I'll give you some ideas on how the soup can be altered.

1 pack of Johnsonville Smoked Andouille Sausages (cut in bite sized pieces)
1 onion diced
2 carrots (shredded or quartered and thinly sliced)
2-3 celery stalks diced
2 cups frozen or fresh Green beans
1 can diced fire roasted garlic tomatoes
3 tablespoons beef base
32 ounces bottle of V8 Juice
1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning (optional)
2 teaspoons crushed rosemary
2 teaspoons crushed oregano
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon cumin
Water
8 oz. uncooked barley

2-3 squashed (cut into 1/2 cubes)

1. In a deep stock pot, cook onions, celery and carrots until the onions are translucent (about 6 minutes).  Remove them from the pot.
2. Add bite sized sausage pieces to the hot pot.  Cook over high heat until the sausage is browned.  Some pieces may look burnt, but it's okay!  That adds a ton of flavor to the soup!
3. Pour out any oil if you are worried about calories.  Since I'm not, I leave it in for more flavor!
4. Add in the beef base and green beans. 
5. Add enough water to cover the tops of the vegetables.  Let it come to a boil and stir to dissolve the beef base.
6. Once the beef base is dissolved, add in all the other ingredients EXCEPT for the squash.
7. Bring to a boil and add in the barley.  
8. Turn the heat down to low so that the soup can simmer.  Cook for 40-45 minutes.
9. At the 30 minute mark of cooking, add in the squash.  This will allow the squash to retain a little bite.  If you like squash to be completely cooked, add earlier in the process.
10. Top with sour cream or cheese if desired and serve with some crusty bread.

This soup is heaven!  And as promised, this soup is versatile!  You can change things up however you want and it will be delicious!

• I normally use a kielbasa for sausage soup.  It just so happened that the andouille sausage was on sale and it really made this batch of soup pop.
• All the spices listed are optional!  Pick and choose as you see fit.  I love a hearty soup that is rich and flavor but it's not for everyone.
• And, all the spices are my estimate of what I put in. I normally measure with my palm and throw it in the pot.  So if a measurement feels like it's to much, then reduce the amount. You can always add more later!
• The beef base and water can be replaced with either chicken base and water, beef broth or chicken broth.  I get the beef base at Sam's Club.  I think it's better than beef bouillon.  But that would work as well.
• All the veggies can be changed, but I recommend keeping the onions and celery because they add a lot of flavor to the base.
• Use any kind of diced tomatoes that you want.  I had these in the pantry and they worked great.
• You can change the V8 out for tomato juice.  But I love the fact that V8 thickens the soup and adds in extra servings of veggies for the family!
• Barley absorbs a lot of water even after it's cooked.  You may need to add additional water, broth or V8 when reheating the soup!

Now go and make some yourself!  And don't forget to let me know what you think of it.

Update:  I also think and adobo chili pepper would be good in here, but the hubby and kids would not approve!  They might go for a jalapeno or two!

Pork Shoulder with Apple Chili Chutney

Mmmm.  I love pork.  I first made the Apple Chili Chutney when trying to figure out a different seasoning on pork tenderloins.  It's not a "hot" spicy blend and the chili really accentuates (I love that word) the flavor of the apples.  It's hearty makes you feel all warm and good on the inside.  And it's great over the pork and spectacular over mashed potatoes.  And if you are like me, you can grab a spoon and dip it right in the chutney. I said it before and I'll say it again... Mmmm.

Oh, this is scalable.  I'll be basing this off of a 9-10 pound pork shoulder.  But you can make the rub and use it on something smaller.

1 9-10 lb. Pork Shoulder
4 large Granny Smith Apples
1 cup Apple Juice
1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1 teaspoon Onion Powder
1 teaspoon Paprika
2 tablespoons Chili Powder
3 tablespoons Brown Sugar
Salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
2. Place Pork shoulder in a large roasting pan.  If the shoulder still has the skin on, score the skin.  (Make shallow cuts on the skin 1" apart in one direction.  Then turn and do it again in the other direction.  This will create diamond on the top and allow the seasoning to penetrate the skin.)
3. Generously salt the pork shoulder on all sides.  I probably use 2-3 tablespoons.
4. In a small bowl (preferably one that can close), combine garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, chili powder and brown sugar.  
5. Use a 1/3 to 1/2 of the spice blend to coat the outside of the pork tenderloin. Rub it into the scored skin and all sides of the meat.  
6. Peal the 4 granny smith apples.  Cut the apples into 1/4inch chunks.  I like to cut them into 1/4 inch slices first and then into 1/4 inch chunks.  Place them in a bowl.
7. Add 1/2 of the remaining spice mixture to the apples.  Stir to coat the apples.  If the apples do not seem to be well coated, add some more of the mixture.  I tend to add more.
8. Lift up the back end of the pork shoulder and pour in a good amount of the apples.  Lift up the front and do the same.  Take the remaining apples and mound them on top of the shoulder.  Any that will not sit on top can go around the edges of the pan.  Pour in a cup of apple juice.  Make sure to evenly distribute it throughout the pan.
9. Cover the pork shoulder with foil and place it in the oven.  Bake it 40 minutes for each pound.  When the shoulder has about 2 hours left, uncover it.  The apples on top may get a little crispy around the edges. Don't fret.  All of the good stuff is in the pan under the pork.  You can add more apple juice if it seems to be getting dry.
10. Pull the roast out when the internal temperature reaches 180 degrees.
11. Allow it to rest on a cutting board for 10 minutes before carving.
12. Now for the good part.  Take the apple chutney mixture in the bottom of the pan and put it in a bowl.  Give it a few seconds and the fat from the pork will come to the top.  Dip it off and serve it warm.  This stuff is to die for.  Eat it on the cut meat or put it over some mashed potatoes.  It's heaven.

After all is said and done, I may or may not go back and lick the pan.   If you have any spice rub left, save it.  You can use it on sweet potatoes or for the next roast.   

Oh, and don't be scared about the leftover meat from the shoulder.  We are going to use it in either carnitas or fahitas later this week.  If there is more, I'll make a pan of pork fried rice.  Mmmm.

Money Saving Red Sauce

I love Sam's.  You could say I'm addicted.  One of my favorite cost savers is to get a huge can of crushed tomatoes (less than $3) and make my own tomato sauce.  By the time I'm done, I spend about 5 dollars and get a huge amount of red sauce.  And it's adaptable.  You can add different things to make mirror the ingredients that you would get in a $3-4 bottle of nicer sauce.


1 6lb. 6oz. can of crushed tomatoes
1 large can tomato paste (or 3 of the little ones)
2 cups of tomato juice (optional)
1 can of condensed beef broth
2 large onions, diced
6 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon dry parsley
1 tablespoon dry basil
2 teaspoons dry oregano
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt  to taste
Sugar to taste (if you like sweeter sauces)

1. Saute the onions in olive oil until translucent.
2. Add in garlic and cook for an additional minute.
3. Add in tomato paste.
4. Add in beef broth.  Stir until the tomato paste is broken up.
5. Add crushed tomatoes and tomato juice and stir.
6. Add in the basil, parsley and oregano.  I like to put it in my palms and crush it as it goes into the pot.  
7. Stir and taste. Add salt to taste.  
8. If desired, you can add sugar at this time. I like having a little bite in my sauce so I refrain.
9. Simmer for 30 minutes to an hour.

And that's it!

How do you make it into expensive sauce?

Red Sauce with Red Wine

•  Reduce 1 cup of red wine in a pot. Let it reduce by half.  Add desired amount of red sauce and simmer for 10 minutes.

Garlic and Onion Sauce

• Dice 1 medium onion up and saute in olive oil until translucent.  Add 2-3 cloves of minced garlic.  Cook for an additional minute and add desired amount of sauce.  Simmer for 10 - 20 minutes.

Easy Vodka Sauce (My all time favorite sauce)

•  Dice 1 medium onion up and saute in olive oil until translucent.  Add 2-3 cloves of minced garlic.
• Add in 1/2 cup of vodka (you really don't have to add this) and 1/2 cup of beef broth (you can sub with beef bouillon). Cook until it's reduced by half.
• Add in 1/2 to 1 cup of  heavy whipping cream.

And I just read you can freeze spaghetti sauce so this can last you for a while!

Crock Pot Curry Chicken and Rice

I took most of this recipe from Complete Slow Cooker Cookbook by Carol Heding Munson.  Her book is okay, but I wouldn't buy it again.  I really wanted a one pot meal type book and for a lot of the recipes, you need to make additional things on the side. But I digress...  I saw this recipe and another one (from a place I can't remember) and combined them.  And this is what came out.


1-2 lbs of boneless*
2 medium onions
4-6 cloves of garlic
1-2 carrots
1 tablespoon of soy sauce (eyeball it)
1 tablespoon of curry
2 teaspoons of chili powder or 1-3 chili pepper in adobo chopped up finely
1 teaspoon of turmeric
1 teaspoon of ginger
1-2 tablespoons of curry paste (optional)
1 tablespoon of butter
1 cup chicken broth
1 can of coconut milk

1. Cut chicken into 1 inch cubes and add to pot.
2. Slice onion lengthwise and then thinly slice the onion. This will cook down so don't waste your time chopping it up smaller. Add it to the pot.
3. Finely grate a carrot (or two) and add it to the pot.  If your family will eat larger pieces, feel free to chop them larger.  Since it's a veggie, mine wont willingly eat them!
4. Mince garlic (or use a press).  Throw all that goodness into the pot as well.  Don't skimp.  You will not notice a strong garlic flavor.
5. I ran out of chili powder and used some chilis in adobo.  If you have to use chilies in adobo, take out the seeds and ribs for less heat (if you want to).  Using only one will add some flavor and no spice.  Using 2-3 and adding in some adobo sauce will give you a nice kick.  The seeds might kick you out of the room!  So decide how you like them, mince them, and throw them in the pot.
6. Add in everything else EXCEPT the coconut milk.
7. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8.  In the end, it depends on how hot your crock pot runs. If the onions are still crunchy and not dissolved, then it needs to go longer.
8. Shred the chicken.
9. Add in the can of coconut milk.  Stir.
10. Salt and pepper to taste.
11. Prepare some rice on the side.  I like to use  basamati.  It's not sticky and cooks in 15 minutes.  Add in a clove of garlic, salt and a little olive oil and it will taste phenomenal!

I make my own chicken broth.  I grab a whole chicken and throw it in with carrots, onion, celery, ground oregano, a few bay leaves, salt and peppercorns.  It beats the store bought stuff hands down.  But in a pinch I have no issue with the store broth.  If you have a cooked chicken laying around, pull off all the meat and add it towards the end of cooking.  It's still delicious.

The curry paste is optional. I had some in the fridge from a previous recipe and decided to use it in this.  The turmeric is optional as well.   Curry has some in it already.  Unfortunately, I'm the only one that likes hot curry so 1 chili leaves it very, very mild.  So mild that everyone else in the family loves it. 

Also you can add a teaspoon of paprika if adding chili peppers.  I missed the smokiness that chili powder adds and the paprika should make up for it.

Hope you enjoy one of our families favorite meals!

Chicken and Barley Soup

Have you ever tried barley?  No?  Well you are missing out.  We love barley.  I tend to replace the rice in a few recipes and put this in. It's got a delicious slightly nutty taste and the texture is amazing.

For this soup, I actually used left over turkey and chicken stock that I had made previously.  You can use a pre-cooked fryer and store bought stock if you choose.  And I think this would go well with either chicken, turkey or beef. I originally made this for a group of 9 folks.  Feel free to halve the ingredients.

Meat from one whole chicken
1 bag of barley
4 chilies (use chilies in adobo sauce)
Olive oil or butter
3 cloves of garlic - minced
1 large onion - thinly diced
2 stalks of celery - thinly diced
2 carrots finely shredded
8-10 cups of stock (just a guess it may take less)
1 small can of tomato paste
1 can of evaporated milk or heavy cream
Salt and pepper

• In a deep stock pot (I prefer my non-stick one), saute onions and celery in olive oil or butter for 2-3 minutes.  
• Add in garlic and cook until the onions are translucent.  
• While this is cooking, cut the chillies in half and take out the ribs and seeds.  Chop the chilies into small pieces and set aside. (You can reduce the number of chilies if you do not like the soup too spicy.) 
• Once the onions are translucent, add in the bag of barley. Stir it for a few moments.
• Add tomato paste.
  
• Turn the burner up to high and slowly add in the broth until it's a half inch above the barley. Stir it all together.
• Add in 1/2 a teaspoon of salt.  Taste the broth and add more if desired.
• Cook the barley for 40 minutes (per package directions).  Add more broth as needed.  You can stir the barley if desired.
  
• About 10 minutes before the barely is finished, stir in chilies and carrots. Add in some of the adobo sauce from the can (if you can take the heat).
  
• Shred the meat from the chicken. When the barely is complete, add it to the pot.
• Add 1-2 cups more broth to make it soupy.
  
• Add in 1/2 cup to a cup of cream or canned milk.  
• Taste and season with salt and pepper as desired.

I think I may have added in some frozen corn when I made this the first time, but I can't remember.  I only added the milk because I put in 4 chilies and it was to spicy for Daniel and Sarah.  The milk helped to calm it down some.  I guess that makes the milk optional!  Be careful about the adobo sauce in the soup.  This stuff is spicy!  And feel free to cut the carrots into larger pieces and add them earlier in the recipe. My clan will not eat carrots unless they are so small that you can't pick them out of a meal!

Tomatillo Soup with Chicken and Rice

Since January is Soup Month, I thought I'd post a few soup recipes.   This is now Sarah's favorite meal. 

1 cup rice (I prefer basamati but use what you have)
1/2 the meat off of a whole fryer (or 2-3 chicken breasts) shredded
1 1/2 pounds tomatillos cubed
4-6 cups chicken broth
1 onion (about the size of a baseball)
3-4 cloves of garlic
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1-2 chilies or jalepenos diced (I like the chilies in adobo with the seeds removed)  You can use both depending on how hot you like it.  I've made it both ways and like the chilies the best.
salt and pepper to taste

Dice onion and garlic.  Cook onion 2-3 minutes and add garlic.  Cook until translucent.  Add tomatillos, cayenne, chilies or jalapenos, and some salt and pepper.  Cook for 2-3 minutes longer.  Add enough chicken broth to cover the tomatillos.  Bring to a boil then lower heat to medium.  Cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  While this is going on, cook rice based on package instructions.  Once the tomatillos are cooked, puree the soup in a blender.  Put it back in the pot.  Add in shredded chicken and cooked rice. Add in more broth if the soup is too thick. Add salt and pepper to taste.

At the table, have sour cream and Mexican cheese to add in if desired.  

We had it last night.  I make my own chicken stock by boiling the whole chicken with onions, celery, carrots, oregano, bay leaves, salt and peppercorns. It's cheaper and I get the meat from the chicken and a whole pot of stock to use during the week. 

You can use either jalapenos or chilies.  I like the chilies best, but the hubby likes the jalapenos.  Both are good.  The chillies give the soup a deep flavor while the jalapenos keep it lighter.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bars

Sometimes we come across a culinary masterpiece in the kitchen.  Last night was my moment!  We'll at least Daniel and the kids thought so!  As usual, I wanted to make a recipe an didn't have all the ingredients. And here is what came of it!

2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups quick cook oats (old fashioned will work as well)
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup butter softened
2 cups white chocolate chips
1 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tsp. Vanilla extract
1/2 can of pumpkin
1/4 teaspoon salt
Nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease a 9 x 13 baking pan

Combine flour, oats, and brown sugar in a large bowl.  Add butter and mix until crumbly.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Reserve 2 1/2 cups for the topping.  Press the rest of the remaining mixture in the bottom of the baking pan.

In a mixer bowl, beat softened cream cheese it's creamy.  Add sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice, vanilla extract, salt and pumpkin.  Mix until smooth. Pour the mixture over the crust. Sprinkle remaining flour mixture over the cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle nutmeg over the top.  Bake for 35-40 minutes. 

Cool completely in pan on a wire rack.  Slice into bars and enjoy.

P.S.  We could not wait until they were completely cool.  They were divine warm!