Pork Barbacoa

for today here is a recipe for Cafe Rio's Pork Barbacoa. I shared it with a friend and so I am going to just copy and paste what I wrote in the email to her. Here is the link for the recipe
And here is what I did:
I did a few things different like cooking the pork for 10 hours initially in water not 12. My roast was also only like 4 pounds too. Then as I was draining off the water the meat shredded it's self and I just went ahead and took off all the fat at that point, before I let it cook for 6 hours with the sauce. (You'll see what I mean after the recipe) I used Dr. Pepper for the sauce and all I had was a 2 liter, which when I measured it out was 2 1/2 cups (just in case you have a 2 litter too). And instead of 3/4 C white sugar I did a heaping 1/3 C. And instead of hot taco sauce I did mild for the kids and not knowing how spicy it would be.
And for the dressing I just did the ranch packet, 1 c mayo, 1 cup milk with 1 T lime juice (since I didn't feel like getting buttermilk), and then a cup of medium salsa verde (the green stuff) since it is made of cilantro and tamatillos.
I kinda went crazy and cooked up a whole bunch of food for the meal. I also did the 5 minute rice but cooked it in chicken stock, 1 clove minced garlic, 1 teaspoon cumin and a few shakes of chili powder. And then I made mashed black beans. Which is 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1/2 c chicken stock, 1 can drained black beans, 1 teapsoon cumin, 1/2 teaspoon oregano, 1/2 teaspoon chili powder, 1 clove minced garlic. Just put all that in a pot and bring to a boil then take a spoon and smash up some of the beans so that it will thicken the sauce. After setting for a few minutes it should be similar to refried beans. I hope that made sense.
We then just filled our plates with some Romaine and spinach and topped it with the pork, rice, beans, dressing, and some cheese (monterrey jack or pepper jack is the best). It is now Travis's favorite meal. It kinda sounds overwhelming when you look at the recipes, but most of the cooking is in the crockpot and it isn't bad at all.

Honey wheat bread

I got this recipe a few weeks ago and have been meaning to try it. I finally did last night and it turned out great! I think this will be my new staple bread recipe.
Honey Wheat Bread
1 C water
1/4 C honey
1/4 C butter

Melt butter in water and honey on stove. You want this mixture to be between 110-120 degrees. While its cooling mix the following ingredients:
1 3/4 C Wheat flour
1 C White flour
1/3 C Oats
1 tsp Salt
2 1/4 tsp Yeast

Add liquid ingredients and stir briefly. Then add 1 egg slightly beaten.

Knead by hand or in a mixer for 5 minutes until smooth (more flour can be added if needed). Let rise in a bowl, covered by dish towel, until doubled. Punch down and shape into a log. Place in a greased loaf pan. Cover and let rise until doubled. bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes.

I did about 1 1/2 C wheat and 1 1/4 or so of the white flour. perfect!

Salsa

Lately everything has sounded unappetizing. I decided on making homemade salsa. When we were visiting my parents they had this great jar from someone my dad knows. Unfortunately he wouldn't give me the recipe because he sells it but I did get the ingredients and have been experimenting. For some reason I thought salsa took forever to make because you would have to dice everything. But with canned ingredients and a chopper it is so simple. I think I have found what works, but as always you can make substitutions and changes.
1 large can of petite diced tomatoes (He said Dole but I think I used Hunt's or Del Monte. I don't think it matters much)
1/2 white onion
3-4 cloves of garlic
about 1/4 C pickled jalapenos
1/2 a bunch of cilantro
1 1/2 tsp garlic salt
fresh cracked pepper
1 lime

1. Drain tomatoes. This reduces the amount of liquid and you can see if there are any funky pieces of tomato.
2. Chop up the garlic and onion and add to tomatoes.
3. Chop cilantro (I find my chopper doesn't work well on this. So I just use a large knife and it doesn't take long) and add to mix with garlic salt.
4. Chop jalapenos (you might want to start off with less just until you get the right amount of heat for you) and add
5. Add the pepper (a few turns of the pepper mill) and the juice of a lime. (If you had the bottled kind just eye ball it)
Like I said so simple and only takes a few minutes! And I could eat it all day.

Zesty Italian Crescent Casserole

I found this recipe online and was excited to try it. It's from Pillsbury and I of course had to change it a little bit. We loved it and will be making one of our favorite dinner recipes.
Here is the original recipe:

1	lb. lean ground beef
1/4	cup chopped onion
1	cup tomato pasta sauce
6	oz. (1 1/2 cups) shredded mozzarella or Monterey Jack cheese
1/2	cup sour cream
1	(8-oz.) can Pillsbury® Recipe Creations (Or Crescent Dinner Rolls)
1/3	cup grated Parmesan cheese
2	tablespoons butter, melted

Heat oven to 375°F. In large skillet, cook ground beef and onion over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes or until beef is thoroughly cooked, stirring frequently. Drain. Stir in pasta sauce; cook until thoroughly heated.

Meanwhile, in medium bowl, combine mozzarella cheese and sour cream; mix well.

Pour hot beef mixture into ungreased 9 1/2 or 10-inch glass deep-dish pie pan or 11x7-inch (2-quart) glass baking dish. Spoon cheese mixture over beef mixture.

Unroll dough over cheese mixture. In small bowl, mix Parmesan cheese and butter. Spread evenly over dough.

Bake at 375°F. for 18 to 25 minutes or until deep golden brown.

First the change I made was I used chicken instead of beef. Beef just kind of creeps me out in general, and I really don't care for it while I'm pregnant. I absolutely loved it with the chicken. I also omitted the fresh onion for the chopped dehydrated onion. It is harder for the kids, and Travis, to detect and pick out. :) I also probably added an extra 1/4 - 1/3 C sauce. In the summer or for those who are wanting a meat free meal I think sauteed eggplant, squash, zucchini, and portabella mushrooms would be FANTASTIC.
With the parmesan cheese mixture, make sure it is even otherwise it cooks unevenly. I also had to let mine cook for almost 30 minutes and cover the edges to keep from browning too much.
And the picture shows that they used the crescent rolls and placed them in slices. I just unrolled mine and then made it like a pie crust for the top. Which ever way floats your boat you could use.

Cake Bites

I've seen these little treats floating around the internet. I don't know if it is like a mormon thing that's new or if it is just a new fad dessert. So I decided to try them today and I LOVE THEM! They are super simple and easy to make...just a little messy.
There were two different ways I've seen to make these and I mixed them both to what I thought would work best.

Cake Bites
1 Can of frosting
1 Cake (made)
Almond Bark
sprinkles (optional)

1. Let the cake cool 15 minutes after it comes out of the oven. Then take a fork and crumble the cake. It goes fairly quickly with the cake still being hot.
2. Place cake crumbs in a large bowl and add the frosting. Mix it all together. The heat helps melt the frosting so it can get mixed easier.
3. Place in the fridge for an hour or so until cool.
4. Roll into one inch (or so) balls and place in the freezer. I lined a cookie sheet with wax paper and they all fit on the sheet and into the freezer. Leave in the freezer for about 30-45 minutes.
5.Take out of the freezer. Chop up the Almond bark and melt in the microwave.
6. Roll the balls in the chocolate and place on wax paper. Top with sprinkles if you want.

When using the Almond Bark, I usually shred 3 squares and put in a bowl. It takes about a minute for the bark to melt. If you over heat it, it gets clumpy and just doesn't work. So just heat it slowly and stir it.

I used a strawberry cake mix and white frosting, to go with the Valentine/February theme. But you can use whatever cake mix and frosting combo you want.

Corn Sausage Chowder

I got this recipe from American Baby in February 2006. We absolutely love it. The girls however, not so much. But they have turned into quiet the picky eaters, not eating any potato unless its a french fry.
Corn Sausage Chowder
1 lb pork sausage
1 C chopped onion
3 C 1/2 inch pieces of red potatoes (unpeeled)
2 C water
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried oregano or majoram chrushed
1/8 tsp black pepper
One 15 1/4 oz can of corn drained
one 14 3/4 oz cream corn undrained
12 oz can of evaporated milk

1. Cook sausage and onion until sausage is browned and cooked. Drain well
2. Add sausage, potatoes, water, all spices and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover. Simmer about 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
3. Stir in corns, and milk. Cook and stir until heated through.

I usually double the water and potato in this. You can use a little less water but I really like potatoes in the soup. You could double the corn as well but I find it's fine with just doubling the spice, water and potatoes. (And of course you don't have to use red potatoes, just use what you have)
Last night I used a mild italian sausage and both Travis and I really liked it. So there is another variation.
And the recipe also says that this is a great dutch oven recipe. I'm not a big dutch oven person , so I've never tried it.

Banana Cookies

Warning: These are VERY addictive!!!!
1 C butter at room temperature
1 C sugar
2 eggs
1 C mashed banana
1/2 C buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 C flour (more to stiffen)
about half a bag of milk chocolate chips

cream butter and sugar together. add eggs. Mix in banana and buttermilk and vanilla. Mix in dry ingredients add enough flour so that it is more like a soft dough. Hand mix in chocolate chips.
Bake 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

Frosting
1/2 C melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 Tablespoon milk
2 C powdered sugar
(I usually don't make as much frosting)

Buttermilk Substitutions (for 1 cup buttermilk)
-1 C milk + 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
-1 C milk + 1 3/4 tablespoon cream of tartar
-same amount of plain yogurt or sour cream (which is what i do)

If you double this it makes A LOT of cookies. I usually do a little less chocolate chips than it says just because it is too chocolaty for me. And if you puree 2-3 bananas that should be about a cup of banana. If there is a little more that is OK, it might just take an extra little bit of flour. The cookies don't brown unless they are over done too. If the edges look slightly brown and the middle is set then they are done.