Tostadas

Have I mentioned I love Mexican food?  One of the great things about tostadas, is you can load them up however you want.  The ones I made here are a vegetarian version, but we've had them before with meat too.  I love the crunchy shell, great texture! 

Vegetable oil
Flour tortillas
Refried beans (we did homemade, but you can use canned)
Guacamole
Cheese
Sour cream
Taco seasoning
lettuce
tomato
Cilantro

This list includes what these are made with, but of course you can add beef, chicken, pork, onion, black olives, and so on, whatever you like!

Heat oil in a large pan.  There should be about a half inch or so of oil in the pan.  If you aren't sure when it's ready, just sprinkle a drop of water in it, if it sizzles, it's ready.  I did 1 tortilla at a time.  It will puff up while it's cooking, you may want to press the bubbles out, so you have a somewhat level surface to put your toppings on.  Fry the tortilla, flipping once, until it's golden on both sides.  It won't take long.  You'll notice that the first few will take a little longer, then it starts going really quick.  Lay the tortillas on a baking sheet lined with paper towel.

After your finished, start loading up your toppings.  We did the refried beans first, then a layer of guacamole, then cheese, lettuce, tomatoes and cilantro.  I mixed some sour cream with a bit of taco seasoning, and topped it off.  That gave it a little color and a burst of flavor.

Yummy!  

Slow Cooker Sunday: BBQ Pork Burritos with chopped salad

This recipe was inspired and adapted from one of Food and wine Magazine's cookbooks.

I found 3 of these cookbooks at a garage sale!  what a great find!  I changed this 'quick' from scratch meal to a slow cooker one.  It turned out GREAT!








2 lbs pork roast
1 bottle of bbq sauce (I used Sweet Baby Rays)
1/2 tsp thyme
1 tsp cumin
Tortillas (I used whole wheat)
Cheese for topping

Put roast in the crock pot.  My meat was actually left over from another pork roast that I had split.  I intended to do pork steaks with it, but changed my mind.  So, my meat was sliced.  It really doesn't matter, but I think it cooked quicker being sliced.

Sprinkle with Salt and Pepper.

Pour the bottle of bbq sauce on top so the meat is covered. Sprinkle the thyme and cumin on top.  Cook on low for 8 hours.  Mine was finished in about 6 hours, but it won't hurt it to go longer.

Once the meat is cooked, grab a couple forks and shred it, or cut it into small pieces.  Roll it up in a tortilla and sprinkle some cheese on top.  Place under the broiler for a few minutes to melt the cheese.

I served this atop a chopped salad.  Make your salad with whatever you like.  I cut my Romaine lettuce into small strips.  I added diced tomato, green pepper, and avocado along with a couple of lime wedges.

Enjoy your Sunday!

Slow Cooker Sunday: Cranberry Pork Roast

This is a recipe I got from one of the wonderful ladies that facilitated the "Apples of Gold" bible study at my church.  This is a wonderful study and included time to prepare food and eat together.   It is one of my fondest memories.  I wish I knew which lady it was as I like to give credit, so if you're out there reading this, please let me know!  The women were kind enough to type up all the recipes we had over the course of the 6 week study.

2 1/2-3 lb. Boneless, rolled pork roast
16 oz of jellied cranberry sauce (I made my own, the recipe is here, or you can use canned)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup cranberry juice
1 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp ground cloves
2 Tbs cornstarch
2 Tbs water
1 tsp salt

Place roast in crock pot.  Combine cranberry sauce, sugar, cranberry juice, mustard, and cloves.  Pour over roast.  Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or until meat is tender.

Remove roast and keep warm.  Skim fat from juices.  Measure 2 cups, adding water if necessary.  Pour into saucepan and bring to boil over medium heat.  Combine cornstarch and cold water to make a paste. Stir into gravy.  Cook and stir until thickened.  Season with salt and serve with sliced pork.

"The Doctor is in" spare ribs

We haven't had ribs in a long time and really enjoyed these! This is an easy one too. I know some of the ingredients sound like a strange mix, but we loved them. Let me know what you think.

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup taco seasoning
2 tablespoons smoked paprika
1 rack pork spareribs, fat trimmed
3/4 cup Dr. Pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tablespoon prepared brown mustard
bbq sauce

Preheat the oven to 250.
Mix the sugar, taco seasoning, paprika in a bowl. Rub both sides of the spare ribs with the mixture. Use a large baking sheet and cover with foil.

                                  


In a seperate bowl combine the Dr. Pepper, garlic, honey, worcestershire, and mustard. Stir well.
Place the ribs on top, then take another sheet of foil (or 2) and wrap the foil tightly around the ribs, but leave an opening in the center. Pour the liquid mixture on top of the ribs.
Place in the oven for about 3 1/2-4 hours.
Remove the foil from the ribs and brush just a little bit of bbq sauce on top. Place under the broiler in your oven to carmelize.
Enjoy!

Quick Cassoulet

This is not your traditional Cassoulet, but full of flavor and very quick.

1 onion, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

1-2 cloves minced garlic

2 tbs olive oil

2-3 turkey sausages (fully cooked)

2 cups cooked tebo beans (or canned-any white bean works)

1 can diced tomatoes

1 bay leaf

1 tsp thyme (or use 1-2 sprigs fresh)

salt and pepper

Topping:  

fresh bread crumbs

olive oil

salt and pepper

Saute' the onion, carrots, celery and garlic in the olive oil for a few minutes.  Add sliced sausage and cook for a few more minutes, then add the beans, tomatoes, bay leaf, thyme, salt and pepper.  Cover and simmer until everything is warmed through and the vegetables are tender.

While the cassoulet is cooking, prepare topping.  Toss the breadcrumbs with some olive oil, salt and pepper and toast until golden.  Serve on top of the cassoulet.

Cassoulet  is a rich, slow-cooked bean stew or casserole originating in the south of France, containing meat (typically pork sausages, pork, goose, duck and sometimes mutton), pork skin (couennes) and white haricot beans.

Christmas Eve Open House 2010

Our Christmas Eve Open House was another success.  Thanks to all those who joined us!!  It was truly a blessing to celebrate and fellowship with one another.  Here's a few pics from our menu:

I shared my menu with you last week, and this week I've got all the recipe's up on the blog.  I thought I'd put all the recipe's together in one post as well, just to make it easy.  So, here you go...


Texas Brisket
Bacon wrapped apricots
bacon wrapped jalepenos
Hummus
Sweet Potato Pasties
Cranberry & Pistachio cheese roll
Fruit Jellies
Chocolate Crunch Brownies

Baby Back Ribs

I have never made baby back ribs before, but today I did!  Thanks to my neighbor and friend Joy for passing along her tips, since she's done it a million times and is a fabulous cook!!

Season all Salt (or lawry's or something like it)
Mustard
BBQ sauce  (use your favorite whether home made or store bought)

Generously season both sides of the ribs with the season all salt and rub it in well.  Then add a squirt or 2 of mustard the same way and rub it in.  Mustard will help to tenderize the meat plus add some tang to it.

Place on a jelly roll pan, or 9x13.  There will be liquid, so make sure your pan has a good lip on it.  Cover it well with foil and place in the oven until it is tender, at least a few hours. 

When the ribs are done, remove them from the oven, and remove the foil.  Get rid of the excess liquid, and place them back on the pan.  Turn on your broiler.  Spread the bbq sauce over the ribs and place under the broiler to carmelize it.  It will get nice and gooey and stick to your meat better.

Enjoy!  I like serving mine with rice and sweet potatoes.

pork chops with pinapple

4 pork chops

1 pineapple, peeled, cored and cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1 small can of chopped green chilis, drained 

1 1/2 tbs soy sauce

3/4 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves, for serving

Salt and pepper porch chops to taste.  Preheat grill and oil grates.  Grill pork chops until cooked through, about 7 minutes per side.

Meanwhile, heat a tsp of olive oil in a skillet to medium.  Add pineapple and green chilis.  Cook, stirring, until pineapple is tender, about 2 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in soy sauce. 

Top Pork with pineapple mixture.  Serve on a bed of rice. 

Shishkebabs

I love kebabs!  There are so many ways to make them and it's all about preference.  Here's what we had tonight.

2 lbs stew meat 
red, yellow, orange bell peppers, cut up
1 vidalia onion, cut up
1 can pineapple chunks or fresh pineapple chunks
1 cup Teriyaki Marinade

Marinade the meat for 1 hour up to overnight.  The longer, the more flavorful.  Place the meat and vegetables and in this case fruit on the kebabs and grill.  I like to preheat my grill and spray the grates with a little vegetable oil to keep the meat from sticking.  Turn occasionally until your desired doneness.  Is that a word?  "done-ness"?  Oh well, you get it.  I like mine medium rare.  Yum!  Serve on a bed of rice.

I just thought the watermelon looked pretty...

Stir-fried Turkey in Lettuce Wraps

January... people tend to go healthy and light.  This is a great recipe for that!  This is from my Everyday Food magazine.  This is my most favorite magazine and I make tons of recipes from it.  I love it because it is so seasonal, and I love to cook that way. 

1/4 cup soy sauce

4 tsp fish sauce (I didn't add this, because I didn't have any and it was still great)

4 tsp sugar

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 large shallot finely chopped (you can always substitue onion)

2 tbs peeled fresh minced ginger

2 garlic cloves minced

1 small jalepeno or serrano chili finely chopped

1 lb ground turkey  (or substitute ground beef or ground chicken)

2 large heads bibb, boston, or iceberg lettuce, leaves seperated

1.  In a small bowl combine first 3 ingredients, wisk until sugar is melted, set aside.

2.  Heat a large skillet or wok over high heat until hot, add vegetable oil and swirl to coat.  Add shallot, ginger, garlic and chili and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Add turkey and cook, breatking up meat with a wooden spoon, until almost cooked through, about 5 minutes.  Add half the sauce to skillet and stir until meat is cooked through, about 2 minutes.  Serve in lettuce leaves with remaining sauce.

                                                                     

                                                                       

Baked Chimichanga's

This is a 'healthy' version of a chimi.  Not fried, baked.  And it turns out nice and crispy.  I got this recipe from "Apples of Gold", a bible study that my church did a couple of years ago.  These freeze well too.  I flash freeze them, then if I can grab just one serving, or several.

6 seven or eight inch tortilla shells
1/2 tsp salt
1 # ground chicken  (I put cooked chicken in a food processor to get a fine texture)
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/4 cup chopped green chilies
1/4 cup salsa (hot, med. or mild)
1/4 cup refried beans
1/4 cup sour cream
1 cup cheese
melted butter

Mix all ingredients well.
Soften tortilla shells in microwave for 10 seconds.
Put 1/3 cup filling in center of tortilla shell.  Roll one turn then turn sides in and continue to roll until chimi is formed.  Place each chimi seam side down, in a lightly greased baking pan.  Brush top and bottom of each chimi lightly with the melted butter.  Bake at 425 for 20 minutes.

This can also be made with beef or pork.