Pasta Carbonara

This is one of my favorite dishes, despite the fact that it is in no way "healthy," when judged by today's dietary standards and concerns. Nonetheless, it's easy and relatively inexpensive, and uses ingredients that are almost always on-hand in the pantry and refrigerator. The following quantity makes a generous main course for two, or enough to serve 4-6 as a starter. This is traditionally made with prosciutto, which is an unsmoked Italian bacon; i use plain bacon, whatever i have in the meat drawer, and if it is strongly flavored of hickory, i sometimes rinse it first.

• 3-4 slices of bacon, chopped
• 1-2 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
• splash of olive oil
• 1/2 # of spaghetti, linguine, or other straight pasta
• 2-3 eggs
• 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
• salt & pepper

Combine the bacon, garlic, and olive oil in a skillet, and set on low heat. Stir regularly, and slowly increase the heat to render the fat and cook the bacon 'til crispy - this will likely take 15-20 minutes. Drain the bacon, reserving the fat in the skillet.

In the meantime, cook the pasta according to the package directions.

Beat the eggs in the serving bowl you plan to use, and then stir in the Parmesan cheese.

Combine the pasta and bacon fat, and then stir carefully into the egg and cheese mixture - if you aren't careful, you can end up with scrambled egg, instead of the creamy sauce. When pasta is well-tossed in the cheese, egg, and fat mixture, season to taste with salt and pepper and divide into individual bowls. Sprinkle each serving with the cooked bacon bits, and serve immediately. Pass extra Parmesan cheese at the table.

Curried Pear Squash Soup

This is a great example of tasty, nutritious, easy, Winter comfort food.

I make my own curry powder, the recipe for which I will post one day when I bother to figure it up and write it down. In the meantime, use whatever curry powder you have available, but be aware that the end result may be less spectacular if using McCormick's or store-brand seasoning.

I originally came across this recipe on a recipe brochure from Angel Food Ministries that was included in a produce box that, conveniently, contained both a Butternut Squash and several pears.

Although meatless, this dish is not strictly vegetarian as presented; use vegetable broth in lieu of chicken if this is of concern. I have substituted a can of pears for the fresh pears in a pinch, and the difference is negligible; I use the pear juice as a substitute for an equal volume of chicken broth.

This soup freezes very well and smells heavenly whilst cooking.

Curried Pear and Butternut Squash Soup


2# Butternut Squash
3 Tbsp Butter
1 Onion, minced
2 Garlic Cloves, minced
2 tsp Ginger, minced
1 Tbsp Curry Powder
1 tsp Salt
4 c Chicken Broth
2 Pears, peeled and diced
1/2 c 1/2-&-1/2
Salt & Pepper, to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350. Cut squash in half lengthwise and scoop out seeds. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and arrange the squash halves cut side down. Bake for 45 minutes, until very soft. Allow to cool and scoop out the cooked flesh.
2. Heat the butter in a pot on medium heat until foamy. Stir in onion, garlic, ginger, curry powder and salt; cook until soft and fragrant - about 10 minutes.
3. Stir in chicken broth and bring to a low boil. Add reserved squash and pears. Return to a boil and reduce to low; simmer until pears are soft - about 30 minutes.
4. Puree the soup; I use a hand blender and do it directly in the pan. A blender would also work, or even a food processor, in a pinch; do it carefully in small batches.
5. Stir cream into the soup and heat on low until warm throughout. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Cruisin' the Caribbean

I made this a few weeks ago, and we really liked the dressing. In fact, I will probably make the dressing again, whether or not I make the rest of the salad. This is very lightly adapted from a recipe I found at allrecipes.com. I think the original recipe called for serving this with tortilla chips broken up and added to the salad for crunchy bits; I am not wild about this aspect of a salad and omitted them accordingly.

Caribbean Chicken Salad

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts halves
½ cup Teriyaki sauce
2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
½ cup chopped onion
2 tsp. minced japapeño pepper
2 tsp. chopped fresh cilantro (I loathe cilantro and use parsley instead)
¼ cup Dijon mustard
¼ cup honey
1 ½ Tbs. White vinegar
1 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 ½ Tbs. cider vinegar
1 ½ tsp. lime juice
Salad greens
Pineapple chunks, fresh or canned

1. Place the chicken in a bowl, and cover with the Teriyaki sauce. Marinate at least 2 hrs.
2. In a small bowl, mix the tomatoes, onion, jalapeño pepper, and cilantro (or parsley). Cover and refrigerate.
3. In a small bowl, mix the mustard, honey, sugar, oil, vinegar and lime juice. Cover and refrigerate.
4. Grill chicken on high, ‘til juices run clear – 5-10 mins. per side, depending upon the size of the chicken breasts. Cut chicken into strips.
5. Arrange salad greens on plates. Spoon some of the salsa over each salad and sprinkle with pineapple chunks. Lay some of the grilled chicken strips on each salad. Drizzle dressing over each salad and serve.

Faux Phillys

I was craving Philly Cheesesteaks but too lazy and too broke to run out to the grocery. We did have plenty of onions and mozzarella cheese, but we did not have steak rolls or the thinly sliced steak. I put my thinking cap on, looked around the kitchen and decided to be creative for a quick and easy supper.

I had tons of red potatoes -ya gotta love a potato that needs no peeling. ;D I had some flour tortillas and a 2 lb package of ground beef. I decided we were having Faux Phillys. Not the healthiest dinner and nothing fancy, but a good cheap and easy meal. The kids loved it and even my hubby who's not fond of ground beef enjoyed it. :D

Faux Phillys

Ingredients:

Ground beef or ground chuck

Onions sliced thinly in rings (small amount of olive oil for sauteeing)

Diced Green Peppers (if you're a green pepper eater -I'm definitely not)

Mozzarella Cheese -shredded

Flour Tortillas

I like to Sautee my onions separately so I don't lose onions when I drain the beef AND so my onions don't absorb too much of that saturated fat. While the onions (and peppers if you like) are cooking, crumble your beef into a pan and brown -you can go ahead and salt and pepper if you like, I'm not big on salting foods. When onions and beef are cooked to your liking, turn off heat and begin assembling your Faux Phillys.

Preheat over to 350. First mix together your onions and beef (and peppers if so inclined). Next sprinkle a very small amount of mozz. on your tortilla, just slightly left of center -leaving at least a half to an inch of space from all edges. Over the cheese place a couple of tablespoons of beef/onion mixture. Sprinkle a little more cheese. Now you will fold it. Beginning by folding up a lip from the bottom. This lip will prevent your ooey-gooey good stuff from slipping out into your lap or down the front of your new shirt (yeah, it always seems to happen to me when I'm wearing something new). Next fold the left flap over the meaty-oniony-cheesy goodness and roll up. Lay seam side down on a foil covered cookie sheet. Make as many as you like and then cover sheet with foil. Place in preheated oven for ten to fifteen minutes -just long enough to melt the cheese nicely and put a crisp edge on the tortilla.

Oven-Roasted Red Potatoes

Ingredients:

Diced Red Potatoes (depending on the size I use around 8 to 10 -but we love 'em leftover too)

Diced Onion (one large)

Chili Powder (to your taste and I use about a Tbsp (we REALLY like chili powder -one that contains salt)

1/2 tsp Garlic Powder

A few Tbsp Olive Oil

Preheat over to 425

Pour potatoes into a large ziplock bag or a large stainless steel bowl (depending on how much you feel like cleaning up afterward). Add onions and seasonings. Drizzle Olive Oil over the top. Either zip the bag and shake or stir thoroughly. Dump into either a disposable baking pan or a a baking dish. Cook 45 minutes to one hour. At one hour mine are slightly crispy, which is what I prefer, but some like them softer.

Okay, now after all those onions, just don't breathe too heavily on anyone. LOL Enjoy. Cheap and easy movie night dinner with minimal clean up.

Pork Blade Steaks, Sugar?

We are enjoying this recipe tonight; the pork is resting right now. I originally saw a version of this done on America’s Test Kitchen. I’ve adapted it for pork blade steaks, which show up on Manager’s Special regularly at my Kroger.

Sugared Pork Chops

Pork Blade Steak
Pam or Vegetable Oil
Salt and Pepper
2 Tablespoons Sugar
¼ cup Dry Sherry or Chicken Broth or Water

1. If using an electric range preheat the eye to Medium for 3 minutes.
2. Spray Pam or brush oil on one side of the blade steak; sprinkle with salt, pepper and 50% of the sugar.
3. Place steak sugared side down in cold skillet; spray and season 2^nd side of steak.
4. Place skillet on preheated eye (or over gas eye set to Medium) and cook 4-9 minutes, ‘til brown.
5. Flip steak, lower heat to Low, cover, and cook ‘til digital thermometer registers 140°F; check after 2 minutes.
6. Remove steak to platter, tent with foil, and remove skillet from heat; let everything sit for 10 minutes.
7. Pour juices from platter back into pan, and return skillet to Medium-High heat. Add Sherry (or other liquid) and deglaze the pan, scraping up all the lovely caramelized bit.
8. Cook ‘til liquid is reduced to a thick syrup.
9. Whilst liquid is reducing, carve steak into serving pieces, removing fat and bone.
10. Return pork pieces to skillet and coat both sides with glaze.
11. Serve immediately.

Chicken Piccata

This is one of my favourite recipes, and is really very easy. We had a variation last night, using Ocean Perch filets, which was very good but not as good as the “real deal.”

Slicing the lemon very thin is very important, as you want it to essentially become candied whilst cooking in the broth. Also, make certain your butter is a room temperature.

I don’t remember where I came across the original recipe for this; it is transcribed from memory and checked against a hand-written recipe I keep in my Pillsbury cookbook, marking the page for my favourite recipe for Chicken Kiev.

Chicken Piccata

2 lemons
1 ½ lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
½ cup flour
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 shallot OR 1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup chicken stock
2 Tablespoons capers
3 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons parsley

1. Cut the ends off of 1 lemon and cut in half lengthwise. Slice one half into thin slices and set aside. Juice remaining 1 ½ lemons; you want ~ ¼ cup lemon juice.
2. Preheat the oven to 200° F and place an ovenproof platter in there to preheat as well.
3. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper; coat with flour.
4. Heat 12” skillet on Med-High for 2 mins; add ½ the oil. Cook ½ the chicken 2-2 ½ mins. Per side. Transfer to oven.
5. Add remaining oil and cook remaining chicken.
6. Sauté shallot 30 seconds or garlic 10 seconds.
7. Add stock and lemons slices; increase heat to High and cook for 4 mins.
8. Add lemon juice, pepper to taste, and capers; cook 1 min.
9. Remove from heat; swirl in butter and parsley.
10. Spoon sauce over cooked chicken breasts and serve immediately.

True Blue

We had this chicken salad for supper last week, and had plenty of leftovers for several lunches afterwards.  I didn't have leftover chicken on hand, but I did have blueberries and all the rest, including a recent request to find more uses for toasted almonds; I just cooked some chicken tenderloins in a bit of oil in a skillet.

Adapted from a recipe in Cooking Pleasures Magazine, June/July 2009.

Blueberry Chicken Salad

The sweet-tart burst of blueberries is a playful addition to a creamy chicken salad.  Be sure to dry the berries thoroughly before adding them; any water on them will thin the dressing.

½ cup mayonnaise
3 Tablespoons sour cream
1 Tablespoon minced ginger
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
¼ teaspoon salt
3 cups shredded cooked chicken
½ cup sliced water chestnuts, halved
½ cup sliced green onions
½ cup diagonally sliced celery
2 cups blueberries
½ cup sliced almonds, toasted*
4 cups torn tender salad greens

1.  Combine mayonnaise, sour cream, ginger, lemon juice, lemon peel and salt in large bowl.
2.  Stir in chicken, water chestnuts, green onions and celery.
3.  Gently fold in blueberries and almonds; serve over greens.

*To toast almonds, place in small heavy skillet over medium heat ‘til golden, stirring frequently.  Watch carefully, as they burn quickly and will continue to brown for several minutes after they are removed from the heat.

Fish Florentine

 My local Kroger had Fresh Wild-Caught Cod on Manager's Special this week, ergo, it's what's for supper this week!

 i found this recipe, which originally called for flounder, in my 1950s Good Housekeeping cookbook and have made it several times already.  Last night was the first time i'd substituted cod for the flounder, and i do believe it's even better!  i suppose, however, that any mild whitefish would work just fine.

 i served this last night with brown rice and crusty French dinner rolls (the Pillsbury frozen ones, which are truly awesome & doubly so when bought on sale with a coupon for 40¢ a package, which works out to 4¢ each).

Fish Florentine

(1) 10 oz. package frozen, chopped spinach

1# whitefish fillets ... cod, flounder, etc.

1 Tbsp. butter

Salt

Pepper

Pam cooking spray

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (we used 2% Mexican blend last night)

1/2 cup evaporated milk

1 tsp. dry mustard

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. fresh dill, minced

Paprika

1. Preheat oven to 375° 
2. Cook spinach according to package directions; drain and season with butter, salt and pepper.
3. Spray a brownie pan with Pam and spread the spinach evenly across the bottom.
4. Arrange fish fillets on top of spinach; try not to overlap the fish, if possible
5. Mix cheese, milk, mustard, nutmeg and dill, and pour mixture over fish.
6. Bake, uncovered, until fish is done and flakes easily with a fork - about 25 minutes.
7. Sprinkle with paprika before serving.

Parmesan Chicken à la King Casserole

This recipe arrived in my email inbox via the Pillsbury digital newsletter, to which you can subscribe by clicking here. i had all the ingredients except green onions & bell peppers, which are relatively cheap & a trip to the grocery store was on the list for that day anyway.  The chicken breasts were already on hand, $1.99/lb at Publix last week, as were the crescent rolls, <50¢ after sale + coupons a few weeks ago.


All in all, given the tastiness, low cost, ease of preparation & likelihood of the ingredients being on hand, it's an excellent dish. i did make a few changes to the recipe, most notably the addition of some dry sherry, which i think always improves a casserole. We'll be having the leftovers for supper tomorrow night, most likely.


Parmesan Crescent-Topped Chicken à la King 

2	tablespoons butter
1 1/2	lb. boneless skinless chicken breast halves, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 1/2	cups carrot strips (1 1/2x1/4x1/4 inch)
1 1/2	cups cut fresh green beans or Green Giant® Valley Fresh Steamers™ frozen cut green beans (i used 1 can green beans, since that was all i had on hand)
1	cup thin red bell pepper strips (1 medium)
1/2	cup sliced green onions
1/2	cup all-purpose flour
1/2	teaspoon dried Italian seasoning (used ~1/2 Tbspn fresh chopped Italian herbs)
1/4	teaspoon salt
1/8	teaspoon pepper
1 3/4	cups Progresso® Chicken Broth (from 32-oz. carton) (used some already-opened beef stock, thinned 1:1 with water)
3/4	cup milk (used already-opened evaporated milk)
1/4	cup grated Parmesan cheese
Topping
1	(8-oz.) can Pillsbury® Refrigerated Crescent Dinner Rolls
1	egg white, beaten
2	tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS

1.	Heat oven to 375°F. In large skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook and stir 3 minutes. Add carrots, green beans, bell pepper and onions; cover and cook until chicken is no longer pink and vegetables are crisp-tender, stirring occasionally.
2.	Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off. Add flour, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper to skillet. Stir in broth and milk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Stir in 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Spoon into ungreased 2 1/2-quart oval casserole or 13x9-inch (3-quart) baking dish.
3.	Separate dough into 8 triangles. Starting at short side of triangle, roll each triangle up halfway. Arrange over hot chicken mixture with tips toward center. DO NOT OVERLAP. Brush crescent rolls with egg white; sprinkle with 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese.
4.	Bake at 375°F. for 15 to 20 minutes or until crescent rolls are golden brown.

Gruel

mmmmmm, gruel. This makes my granola bar experiments sound much better! Read on...

Gruel, the meal for hard times, of which Oliver Twist famously wanted more, will be served to the public in London on Tuesday morning.

The barely-palatable meal composed of water, oats and milk, plus an onion, has been recreated from the novel and other old sources by the Royal Society of Chemistry to offer passers-by on Piccadilly the day before the great musical Oliver!, starring Rowan Atkinson, opens in the West End.

The revival of Victorian workhouse gruel is the first step in the Royal Society of Chemistry's 2009 theme of food, and the meal's reappearance comes a week before a major RSC report "The Vital Ingredient: chemical science and engineering for sustainable food" is due to be published with a launch at the House of Commons.

The gruel will be prepared by French chef Fabian Aid in the Royal Society of Chemistry kitchen in the basement of Burlington House, a building with which Charles Dickens would have been familiar.

Beadle Mr Bumble will slop the legendary stomach-turner into pewter dishes at the entrance to Burlington House on Piccadilly and a food nutritionist will be on hand to comment.

Dickens, in his second novel, wrote that the workhouse board: "established the rule, that all poor people should have the alternative of being starved by a gradual process in the house, or by a quick one out of it. With this view they contracted with the waterworks to lay on an unlimited supply of water; and with a corn factor to supply periodically small quantities of oatmeal; and issued three meals of thin gruel a day, with an onion twice a week, and half a roll on Sundays."

Royal Society of Chemistry chief executive Dr Richard Pike said: "The part that food plays in our lives has perhaps never been more memorably portrayed in literature than in the workhouse scene. Thankfully in Britain matters have improved tremendously but it remains a daily threat in many parts of the world. This year we will be looking closely at food sustainability and the part that science and engineering play in this. Even in the UK we have to prepare for the future."

Cranberry Sauced Pork Loin

Kroger had pork loins on sale recently for $1.99/lb, a fantastic deal given that they're usually nearly $4/lb.

We'd intended for Russ to grill it tonight, but the rain inspired him to ask me to find some other way to cook it. i found this delicious recipe on Cooks.com; the original is a little light on details, so i'm expanding it below to include how we actually made it.

The original recipe calls for 1 can of whole-berry cranberry sauce; i made cranberry sauce from scratch, which is very much worth the extra effort, as it turns out.

Cranberry Sauced Pork Loin

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

12 oz bag of cranberries, fresh or frozen

2-4# boneless pork loin roast

Salt

Pepper

1/2 Tbsp butter

2 Tbsp onion, minced

3/4 c orange juice

1/4 tspn cinnamon

1/8 tspn nutmeg

1. Bring water & sugar to a boil.
2. Rinse & drain cranberries; add to sugar water. Return mixture to a boil; reduce heat & simmer gently 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Transfer to a bowl & allow to cool at room temperature.
4. Season pork with salt & pepper to taste & place on a rack in roasting pan. Cook at 350F 'til internal temperature is 155 - about 20 mins/lb. Remove & let rest, covered loosely with foil.
5. Sweat onion in butter in small saucepan just 'til edges are starting to turn golden.
6. Add orange juice & return to boil; cook for 2 minutes.
7. Add 1/2 of the cranberry sauce (or 1 entire can), cinnamon & nutmeg. Boil gently, stirring frequently, until sauce starts to thicken. If desired, use a potato masher to break up some of the cranberries (this helps thicken the sauce).
8. Slice desired amount of pork. Spread some sauce in the bottom of a baking pan, arrange the pork slices & cover with remaining sauce.
9. Bake in oven at 350F 25-30 minutes, until sauce is bubbly & starting to glaze on pork.
10. Serve with remaining cranberry sauce.

Russ's Awesome Tacos

i promised a friend of mine that i'd post this last week, but Russ & i suffered some communication issues, both technical & personal, & then i got busy.

Russ makes these about once a week, using whatever leftover meat we have on hand. They turn out a bit different each time, but always delicious.

We've successfully made these using leftover beef, chicken, pork, & most recently (last night), turkey; we haven't yet made lamb or duck tacos, & this recipe would totally overpower fish.

The recipe as written makes enough for 3 generous servings; multiply as needed for your family. And remember, this is a "as you like it" kind of recipe, so feel free to adjust as necessary - use tomato puree or tomato sauce, for instance, if you family doesn't like chunks of tomatoes in their food.

Russ's Awesome Tacos

This is a ‘from the hip’ ‘recipe’.  We aren’t baking here and a co-carpenter once offered up this wonderful bit of advice: Relax, we aren’t building a watch.

And the quantity of ingredients depends on how much meat (or main item) you have/want to use.

The goal is to end up with a chili-like slurry of sorts that isn’t too moist so it won’t make the tacos soggy.

If the meat is a leftover and already cooked then I don’t add it until the fresh items have been sautéed for a while.  I do clean the meat of fat and bone and get it down to just the lean parts then I chop it up into 1-2 inch cubes.  Nothing fancy – it will become shredded during cooking and stirring.

 If the meat is raw then I cook that first in some oil to get it slightly browned then remove the meat until the vegetables get going good.

1-2 cups of meat, chopped
Onion – chopped (1 medium onion is good for 2-3 servings)
Green chilies – chopped, drain the liquid (1 can is good for 2-3 servings.  I buy the canned whole chilies so I can detect and remove any pieces of skin that may have been left behind.  This is a personal preference only.  I also assume the whole chilies are a better quality pepper than the ones that end up in the chopped can.)
Diced tomatoes, keep the liquid (Half to two-thirds of a standard can is good for 2-3 servings - the remainder are used for taco topping)
Garlic – just a little, if you want
2Tbs of chili powder to taste
0.5-1tsp of hot pepper powder (usually cayenne)
Tiny amount of cinnamon
1Tbs of paprika (this is mostly for color and can make up for the difference if you feel like cutting back on the chili powder and hot pepper powder)
A pinch or two of the basic green herbs such as basil or oregano (No reason why cilantro and/or marjoram couldn’t be used too)
2 cups of water or complementarily flavoured broth or stock

1. Sauté the onions in a little bit of oil (I try to use as little as possible but don’t want the vegetables to get dry). While the onions are cooking you can add a little chili powder to start giving it some color and it helps ‘activate’ or ‘roast’ the chili powder just a bit.  Don’t add all the chili powder yet.
2. After the onions are starting to soften and turn a little clear add the chopped chili peppers. Add the garlic, if you are using any, at this point too. If the mixture starts to get too dry then add a little of the tomato juice from the can of diced tomatoes. Some of the water or broth can be added too but keep most of it for later.
   
3. After the vegetables are well cooked, add the cooked chopped meat then add the remainder of the tomato juice and about ½-2/3rds of the diced tomatoes.
   
4. Once all the solid ingredients have been added to the pan, add the remaining ‘red’ spices (chili powder, paprika, ground cayenne pepper & cinnamon). At this point the mixture should have a little extra liquid from the vegetables, tomato juice, etc.  The powdered spices will begin to dry it out while everything simmers along on medium heat. Let the mixture cook for a while and dry out a little.  Keep stirring it as necessary.  Some of the chunks of meat should begin to break apart but nothing major yet.
   
5. Once the mixture has cooked 5-10 minutes and is getting drier, stir in the broth, and let it get hot again.
   
6. The heat will probably need to be reduced at this point but you want it hot enough to simmer and yet not so hot that it is splattering all over the kitchen. Cover, or partially cover, the pan and let it simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring it every once in a while to keep an eye on the liquid content. Use your stirring spoon to break up the chunks of meat into shredded bits as much as you feel like.  As the mixture gets drier the meat should become more tender and easier to break apart by simply stirring things around. If the mixture is still too watery just continue the cooking and occasional stirring.
   
7. Towards the end of cooking time and before serving, add the green herbs.  Don’t go overboard with the herbs – a teaspoon or so should be enough.  But remember: we aren’t making a watch.  The broth generally adds enough salt content so I usually don’t add any.  Give it a taste while there is still some liquid to deal with to see if it needs any adjustments.
   

McEntyre's Bakery Weekly Special

Every Tuesday - well, more accurately, late every Monday night - McEntyre's Bakery in Smyrna publishes its Weekly Internet Special.

This week's is a 1/2-dozen cupcakes for $2.99.

Click here & print up the coupon & enjoy!

Rice Pudding

i love rice pudding, so with plain leftover rice after shrimp & rice for supper, i decided to whip up a batch. i followed the Creamy Rice Pudding recipe at AllRecipes.com, except that i only had 1 cup of leftover rice, so i cut all ingredients to 2/3, except for the 1 egg.

Next time i'll try adding some alcohol ... maybe B

ärenjäger, & perhaps using brown sugar rather than white.

Here's the recipe, in case you're too lazy (as i usually am), to click on the link

Creamy Rice Pudding

1-1/2 cup cooked rice

2 cups milk, divided

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 t salt

1 egg, beaten

2/3 cup raisins

1 T butter

1/2 t vanilla

1. Combine rice & 1-1/2 cups milk, sugar & salt in saucepan. Cook on medium heat until creamy, 15-20 minutes.
2. Stir in remaining 1/2 cup milk, egg & raisins. Cook another 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
3. Remove from heat & stir in butter & vanilla.
4. Serve warm.

Souper-Easy Supper

This has been one of my favorites ever since i was a little girl; Mama used Pillsbury Golden Layers Biscuits, but otherwise it's exactly as she always made it.

i think the original recipe came from the back of a Campbell's Chunky Soup can.

Cheesy Soup Casserole

2 cans Chunky Soup - we prefer Sirloin Burger with Country Vegetables

1 small can (4) Pillsbury Crescents

2/3 cup shredded cheese

1. Empty both cans of soup into a 2-quart casserole dish with cover. Heat, covered, in oven while preheating to 400 - about 15 minutes. The soup needs to be hot before proceeding.
2. Separate dough into 4 triangles & lay across the top of the hot soup; it is not necessary to seal completely.
3. Cook, uncovered, 8 minutes. Sprinkle cheese on top of dough & return to oven another 5-6 minutes, until nicely browned.
4. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Pulling It All Together

So, to assemble the perfect Pulled Pork BBQ Sandwich, you need:

Hamburger buns

Pulled Pork (preferably homemade Crockpot Pulled Pork, recipe below)

BBQ Sauce (preferably homemade Carolina-Style Mustard BBQ Sauce, recipe below)

Cole Slaw

Chips

Pickles

1. Toast buns lightly.
2. Heat Pulled Pork in a small saucepan over low heat, adding enough BBQ Sauce to moisten to taste.
3. Squirt BBQ Sauce, to taste, on both sides of buns.
4. Spoon warmed Pulled Pork onto bottom of buns.
5. Spoon Cole Slaw onto Pulled Pork & top with remaining half of buns.
6. Serve with chips & pickles on the side.

Pulled Pork BBQ, part 3

This is a modified version of Tyler Florence's Cider Vinegar BBQ Sauce.  i make it while the pork is cooking in the crockpot, & allow it to simmer as long as possible; the vinegar smell is over-powering at first, but mellows the longer you simmer the sauce.

This is a Carolina-style, mustard-based BBQ sauce, similar to Cattlemen's Southern Gold, except that it's significantly tastier & much cheaper!

This makes about 3 bottles (cleaned out ketchup bottles & other squeeze bottles) of sauce; it keeps indefinitely in the refrigerator.  This recipe can easily be doubled or tripled if you are entertaining a large crowd.

Carolina-Style Mustard BBQ Sauce

3 cups cider vinegar

2 cups yellow mustard

1 cup ketchup

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

4 cloves garlic, smashed

2 tspn salt

2 tspn cayenne

1 tspn black pepper

Reserved drippings from pork roast

1. Combine the vinegar, mustard, ketchup, brown sugar, garlic, salt, cayenne, & black pepper in a heavy saucepan over medium heat.
2. Once sauce starts to bubble gently, reduce heat to low & simmer gently as long as you can, stirring frequently to scrape up caramelizing sugars at bottom of pan.  The longer you simmer, the less vinegary the sauce.  Do not be overwhelmed by the initial vinegar smell!  It goes away!  (I've heard of folk throwing the entire pot of sauce away after the initial 5 minutes of simmering - lol!)
3. When pork roast is cooked & drippings are settling in measuring cup, take the sauce off the heat & use a hand blender to smooth it out & incorporate the chunks of garlic.  If you don't have a hand blender, you could process it in batches in a regular blender or a food processor; be careful, as hot liquids can be dangerous & tricky to work with in those appliances!
4. Once drippings have separated somewhat, pour off as much fat as possible & add remaining goodness to sauce, stirring well to incorporate (you can leave this part out, if you want to make a vegetarian BBQ sauce, although i fail to see the point of that!).

Pulled Pork BBQ, part 2

This assumes you've already made the Dry Rub posted below.  This is adapted from Tyler Florence's Oven-Roasted Pulled Pork Sandwiches, but rather than baking the roast in the oven at 300F for 6+ hours, i use my crockpot.

Crockpot Pulled Pork

1 recipe BBQ Dry Rub

1 (5-7#) pork roast, preferably shoulder or Boston butt

1. Rub the spice blend all over the pork & marinate for as long as you have time for, as little as 1 hour or up to overnight, covered, in the refrigerator.
   
2. Brown roast on all sides, either on outdoor grill, or in a large skillet on the stove.
3. Place roast in large crockpot, & cook on low for 8-14 hours, or on high 4-7 hours.  Basically, cook the pork until it's falling apart & an instand-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 170F.  In my experience, it is not possible to overcook the roast this way.
4. Remove the roast from crockpot & pour accumulated juices into a measuring cup to allow fat to separate from drippings (reserve for sauce).
5. While roast is still warm, take 2 forks & "pull" the meat to form shreds, steadying the meat with 1 fork & pulling it away with the other.

Pulled Pork BBQ, part 1

i made pulled pork BBQ last week, complete with homemade BBQ rub & sauce.  It's very, very tasty & very easy.  The recipe is based on Tyler Florence's Oven-Roasted Pulled Pork Sandwiches with various changes throughout.

i'm going to break this into 3 posts - 1 each to make the BBQ rub, the BBQ sauce, & the meat itself.

The following makes enough BBQ rub for a good-sized roast.  i often quadruple the recipe & store the remainder in an air-tight container in the spice cupboard; it's very good on all sorts of meats & seems to keep indefinitely, although you do need to stir it before using, as the brown sugar tends to clump up over time.

BBQ Dry Rub


3 T paprika (x4 = 3/4 cup)
1 T garlic powder (x4 = 1/4 cup)
1 T brown sugar (x4 = 1/4 cup)
1 T dry mustard (x4 = 1/4 cup)
3 T coarse salt (x4 = 3/4 cup)

Mix all ingredients together

Mmmmm ... Pork!

We had very yummy pork burgers tonight, recipe from All Recipes - minor changes made listed in red below.

Mostly, i halved the amount of meat & all other ingredients, except the apple & egg, which i did not reduce.  i added 1/4 cup of Panko bread crumbs, & set the formed patties in the freezer for ~30 minutes before Russ grilled them.  I also skewered the pineapple slices so Russ could grill them while the burgers were cooking.  We had this with couscous (used the reserved pineapple juice for part of the water), mixed lettuce salad & fresh tomatoes.

Pork Apple Burgers

2# ground pork (i used 1#)
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored & chopped
1 sweet onion, finely chopped (i used 1/2 an onion)
3 cloves garlic, minced (i used 1-1/2 cloves)
1/4 cup Teriyaki sauce (i used 2 Tbsp)
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup Panko bread crumbs
Buns
1 (20 oz) can sliced pineapple, drained, juice reserved (i used the smaller-sized can)

1. In a large bowl, mix together ground pork, apple, onion, garlic, Teriyaki sauce, egg & bread crumbs.  If too dry, add some juice from the can of pineapple slices.  Form into eight (4) patties.  Chill 30-60 minutes, while grill is pre-heating.
2. Skewer pineapple slices.
3. Lightly oil grill grate.  Grill pork burgers & pineapple slices for 10 minutes, or until well done.  Toast buns on grill.  Serve burgers on toasted buns topped with pineapple slices.