Monday, February 27, 2012

3 Ingredient Pulled Pork

This recipe is SO easy. And it's our favorite bbq pulled pork! I don't remember where I got this recipe- but we've been making it for a really long time.

4 cups Root Beer
1- 16 oz bottle of your favorite bbq sauce
3 (ish) lb pork roast

Put root beer and pork roast into the crock pot. Cook on low for 7-8 hours or on low for 4 hours. Shred pork. I just shred it in the crock pot- it just falls apart and it leaves the meat mixture a little 'chunky'-- we like it that way. Add the bbq sauce. Serve on rolls. I prefer sesame seed kaiser rolls. My kids like slider rolls.

Cheeseburger Soup

Cheeseburger Soup
3/4 cup Carrots- shredded
3/4 cup Celery- chopped
3/4 cup onion- chopped
6 cups Potatoes- chopped
5 cups Chicken Broth
1 lb Ground Beef
4 tbsp Butter
2 lb Velveeta cheese (1 big block)- cut into 1" squares
1/4 cup All-Purpose Flour
1 1/2 cups Milk
1 cup Sour Cream
2 tsp Basil
1/2 tsp Black Pepper

Brown ground beef. Remove from pan. Set aside. Add to pan 1 tbsp butter, the carrots, celery and onions. Cook until veggies are tender- about 8-10 minutes. Add potatoes, broth, basil, black pepper and ground beef. Simmer until potatoes are tender- about 10 minutes. While that's simmering, in a small sauce pan, melt remaining tbsp butter. Add flour. Cook for 1 minute. Add milk (warm milk works best). whisk together. Add to soup. Reduce to low heat. Add cheese and sour cream. Stir until cheese is melted.

This recipe makes a TON of soup. We had enough for all 7 of us for at least 2 meals, with some still leftover.

(Very slightly adapted from Taste of Home)

Friday, February 24, 2012

Boston Cream Pie



This cake is YUMMY!!! I seriously wanted to eat the entire thing!!

1 yellow cake mix (and ingredients called for on the package)
1 cup cold milk
1 (3.4 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding
1 1/2 cups Cool Whip or homemade whipped cream
Chocolate Glaze:
2 squares semi-sweet baking chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoon butter
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
4 tablespoons milk

Preheat oven and prepare cake mix according to package directions. Line two 9-inch round pans with parchment paper or spray thoroughly with cooking spray. The only way you can mess up this cake is if your cake sticks to the pans so make sure that doesn't happen. Bake cake according to package directions; until golden brown and center passes the toothpick test. Once done, let cakes cool and invert on a wire rack to cool further.
Beat 1 cup of milk and pudding with a whisk or mixer for 2 minutes. Gently fold in whipped cream. Let stand 5 minutes. Stack cake layers on serving plate, spreading pudding mixture between layers.
For the glaze: Microwave chocolate and butter on high for one minute in a small microwave safe bowl. Stir until chocolate is melted. Add powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons milk; mix well until smooth. Spread over the top of the cake immediately letting drip down the sides. Refrigerate at least one hour before serving.

*** I will double the chocolate sauce from now on. Who doesn't want more chocolate sauce!?!
Adapted (lightly) from thegirlwhoateeverything

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Ashland Bread

This is the easiest and fastest wheat bread ever!!! LOVE it!!

Ashland Bread
adapted from With Love and Butter
A yeasted batter bread, Ashland Bread receives only one, brief rising and is extremely easy. Yields 2 medium loaves

6 tablespoons raw sunflower seeds
3 cups warm water
3/8 cup honey (1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons)
3 tablespoons quick-rise yeast (or 3 packets/1 strip)
4 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup wheat bran
1 cup wheat germ
4 tablespoons brown sesame seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
Generously grease two 4 x 8-inch loaf pans and sprinkle one tablespoon sunflower seeds in each.
Place the remaining 4 tablespoons sunflower seeds and the rest of the ingredients in a mixer bowl and blend with the dough hook at medium speed for 8 minutes. Divide the batter between the 2 pans. This dough is very sticky so don’t be alarmed. Just plop it in there, it bakes up all rustic and pretty. Loosely drape with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place just until the batter reaches the top edge of the pans. This will take only 10 to 14 minutes if you're using fine-grained whole wheat flour and 20 to 30 minutes with a coarser grind. When you set the loaves to rise, preheat the oven to 400 degree F with the rack in the center position.
Remove the plastic wrap and bake the bread for 15 minutes, rotate the pans, and bake another 10-15 minutes. The bread will be firm to the touch and molasses-colored, but won't rise much above the rim of the pan (don't look for a rounded top). Remove from the pans and cool on a rack but you must eat half of one all by yourself before it cools. Enjoy with butter or cheese

Austrian Bread Spread

This is so easy and so yummy!! Huge hit everywhere, with everyone!!

8 oz Cream Cheese- softened
1 stick of Butter- softened
2 tsp Paprika
1 tsp Mustard
2 tbsp Red Onion- finely minced
2 tbsp Green Onion- chopped

Mix together the cream cheese and butter until smooth and creamy. Add the remaining ingredients, reserving 1/2 tbsp of green onion for garnish. Mix well. Add the green onion garnish. Serve with bread slices. I got a few different breads from Panera-- Sesame Semolina, Cracked Rye and Country. Loved them all!!

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Shrimp Tacos

(Sorry for the picture quality. My camera isn't working- so I had to take a picture with my phone.)

I cannot find the original recipe- so I can't give credit to whoever came up with this recipe (I will keep looking- and if I find it, I'll post it on here). But let me tell you. These are A-MA-ZING!!! I LOVE them. I crave them. They are SO yummy!!!!! And SO easy!! They are light and refreshing.


INGREDIENTS:
Slaw:
Mix together.
4 Cups shredded Green Cabbage
3 tbsp Lime Juice
1 1/2 tsp dried Oregano

Dressing:
Blend together.
1/2 Cup Mayonnaise
1/2 Cup Cilantro
1/2 Avocado
3 tbsp Lime Juice
1/8 tsp Cayenne Pepper

1 lb cooked Shrimp (deveined, peeled, tail off)-- very lightly season with salt and pepper.
1 Cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Corn Tortillas

INSTRUCTIONS:
Lightly fry your corn tortillas (about 30-45 seconds on each side). Add your shrimp, dressing, slaw and top with cheese. Serve warm.

***You can of course top it with other toppings- tomato, fresh cilantro, whatever you like.

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

One day I'll get fancy with my food pictures. Maybe I'll even stop using paper plates ;). Until then, I'm keepin' it real. Don't judge!!

These are SO good!! Even my picky little eaters ate seconds (and thirds!). My tips at the bottom of the recipe!!

1 small, onion, peeled & diced (use a sweet onion if you can find it)
3 chicken breast halves
1/2 c. chicken broth
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. garlic, minced (2-3 cloves)
salt & pepper (to taste)
6 tablespoons honey
5 tablespoons lime juice (1 large lime)
8-10 flour tortillas
1 lb. Monterey jack cheese, shredded
16 ounces green enchilada sauce (we like Las Palmas brand, but any brand is great)
1/2 c. heavy cream

Saute onion in a little butter until it becomes transparent and soft. In a crock pot* add chicken, chicken broth, sauteed onion, chili powder, garlic, and salt & pepper. Cook on low for about 8 hours (or high for 3-4) adding more broth if needed (you don't want it to cook out completely). Remove chicken from crock pot and shred, then return to crock pot and simmer another 5 min. Drain out some of the juices (but not all of it... keep about 1/4 c.) and add honey and lime. Place seasoned, shredded chicken in a Ziploc bag and seal tightly, pressing out as much air as you can. Marinate at least 30-40 minutes.. longer if you can (I did about an hour). While chicken is marinating spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray, then pour about 1/2 c. of enchilada sauce over the bottom. Fill tortillas with chicken mixture and shredded cheese, saving about 1 c. of cheese to sprinkle on top of enchiladas. Mix the remaining enchilada sauce with heavy cream. Pour sauce on top of the enchiladas and sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until brown and crispy on top. Serve hot and top with your favorite enchilada toppings.

*If you don't have a crock-pot, just boil chicken in the same ingredients in a large pot with a little extra chicken broth until cooked through and can shred.

*** MY TIPS*** I used a rotisserie chicken. I didn't let anything marinate. I just sauteed the onion for a minute, added the garlic, let it sautee for about 2 minutes. Add the shredded chicken, 1/2 cup of chicken broth, the lime juice, honey, salt, pepper and chili powder. Let it simmer together for about 5 minutes. Then follow remaining directions. It took about 15 minutes to put it all together and then about 45 minutes to bake.
Adapted from favfamilyrecipes.