Sweet and Spicy Pork

13 Friday Feb 2015

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Dr. Pepper Pork, Pork, pork tacos, sweet and spicy pork

This recipe is an entertaining staple. I make it for family get togethers, work parties, or anytime you need to bring a main dish without breaking the bank. I have used pork butt and pork loin roasts. I just buy whatever is on sale. Make sure to adjust the chipotle to suit your families taste and be sure to try the grilled pineapple. It really puts it over the top. Forgive the photo as we lost the one with tortillas and had to take a quick one with a roll.

Sweet and Spicy Pork

1 4-5 lb pork roast
Salt and Pepper
1 Onion – peeled, roughly chopped
25 oz. Dr. Pepper
½ can of Chipotle Peppers in Adoba (or to taste, they are hot!)
½ C. Brown Sugar

Peel and chop onion, add to large dutch oven, salt and pepper your roast all over, put in pot fat side up, add Dr. Pepper, chipotles, and brown sugar. Cover and bake at 325 degrees for 3-4 hours.

When very tender, shred meat with forks and mix in with the sauce. I serve this many ways; my favorite is with corn tortillas, a sliced grilled pineapple and taco fixings. Another way is to serve as sliders on Hawaiian rolls.

Enjoy!

Super Bowl Meatballs

27 Tuesday Jan 2015

Posted by Bonjour in Uncategorized

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Football Recipes, Meatballs, Puppy Bowl, Super Bowl, Super Bowl Recipes

This Sunday is the Super Bowl/Puppy Bowl. If you have never watched the Puppy Bowl you are in for a real treat. To go along with a fun day of television make this interesting appetizer. The meatballs are sweet and spicy. You won’t be disappointed.

One 14-oz can whole cranberry sauce
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
1 T. balsamic vinegar
2 T. orange juice
2 T. brown sugar
1 T. Dijon mustard
salt and pepper
Frozen Meatballs (Rosina Italian style meatballs ½ oz size)

Puree the cranberry sauce and chipotle pepper in a food processor; pour it into a large saucepan. Add the vinegar, orange juice, brown sugar, mustard, salt, and some freshly ground black pepper. Heat the mixture, stirring, until it thickens a bit. Add the meatballs and heat through, stirring to glaze them in the sauce (takes about 25 minutes).

Enjoy!

If your into puppies and the Puppy Bowl like our family, here is a picture of our little girl Ziva. She just turned 1 in November and of course we had a little party for her. Ziva is a rescue dog from Tuscarawas County Humane Society and we were told she is part greyhound and part cattle dog.

Veal Stew

21 Wednesday Jan 2015

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stew, veal, veal stew

This weekend we celebrated a family birthday and that calls for a special dish. Veal Stew is special but it is also easy. I got this recipe from a euchre friend years ago, Thanks Kathy! I make it often. We enjoyed the rich stew with a nice green salad and fresh bakery rolls.

Veal Stew

4 Tbs. Butter
1 ½ lbs. Veal (already cut for stew)
3 tbs. Flour
¼ tsp. Nutmeg
1 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Pepper
2 cups sliced Carrots
2 cups chopped Onion
1 ¼ tbs. Dried Dill
1 ½ cups Chicken Broth
½ cup heavy cream

Melt butter and add Veal, turn frequently without browning. This is a great time to use your dutch oven so that you do not have to change pans.

In a small bowl – mix 3 tbs. Flour, nutmeg, salt, pepper and dill.

Sprinkle over veal, cook on low (do not brown veal). Add carrots, onions, chicken broth and bring to a boil.

Transfer into oven dish now ( if you didn’t use a dutch oven) and bake covered for 1 ½ hours at 350.

Thicken, (to thicken you make a slurry, a teaspoon of corn starch mixed with about ¼ C. cold water, then add to pan) if necessary and add cream at end and let heat through for 5 minutes.

I serve this over Jasmine rice and it is divine.

Enjoy!

Hazans Tomato Onion Sauce

15 Thursday Jan 2015

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I have a confession…I am a cookbook addict. I LOVE cookbooks. I was researching cookbooks one day online and saw that Marcella Hazan had passed away. I didn’t have her cookbook so I ordered immediately. I have been perusing it since and decided that the first recipe I would make looked to be the easiest, Tomato, Onion, Butter sauce. In fact in looked so simple that I had doubts about the end product. Well, I shouldn’t have, it was delicious. I confess I did add a few ingredients and cooked a bit longer but you could leave out my additions and it would still be delish.

Marcella Hazan’s Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter

(slightly altered)

1 28 oz can Italian tomatoes
1 whole onion- peeled
5 T. butter
Salt
Pepper
Fresh Basil
Crushed Red Pepper Flakes

Put tomatoes, onion and butter in a saucepan. Bring to boil, reduce heat and then simmer uncovered over low heat for 1 hour. Mash the tomatoes against the side of the pan and stir every once in a while. Remove the onion. Add the basil and red pepper, serve over pasta. I used rigatoni.

Enjoy!

Low Fat Potato Soup

06 Tuesday Jan 2015

Posted by Bonjour in Uncategorized

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Healthy Eating, Low Fat, Low Fat Recipes, Potato Soup, Potatoes, Soup

Happy New Year!

The New Year usually brings resolutions to eat healthy, exercise and take care of oneself better than the previous year. I no longer make resolutions but I try to be mindful of better choices. I make this potato soup as a comfort food but it is actually a healthy alternative.

Potato Soup

2 C. Chicken broth (more or less just needed to cover potatoes)
2 stalks of celery diced
1 onion diced
2 ½ to 3 lbs. of peeled diced potatoes
2 T. butter
2 T. flour
2 C. fat free milk
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. celery salt
Fresh ground pepper

Put potatoes, onion, and celery in a large saucepan or soup pot. Cover with chicken broth, add salt, celery salt and pepper. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to simmer. Simmer for approximately 10 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender but not falling apart.

While the potatoes are cooking make your easy white sauce in the microwave.

Melt the butter, add the flour and salt and pepper to taste, mix well with whisk. Microwave the flour “roux” for 2 minutes. Whisk again. Now add the milk and whisk again. Microwave for 5 minutes stopping once to whisk. You should have a slightly thickened white sauce. Add this to cooked potatoes and mix well, taking care not to mash the potatoes. You now have a delicious low calorie but filling soup. Perfect for the arctic cold headed our way.

Enjoy!

Duck, Duck, Yum

16 Tuesday Dec 2014

Posted by Hola in Uncategorized

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duck, duck breast, duck recipe, fresh duck breast, Recipe

Hi everyone, it’s Becca here or you can call me “Hola” if you prefer. I am not a master chef unlike my sister and mom but I saw such a great deal on Duck at my local grocery store that I had to try it. A brand new Giant Eagle Market District has just opened up near my house and I am almost embarrassed to admit that I have visited 3 times in the past 3 days.

My Giant Eagle is absolutely amazing! Everyone is super nice and the best part is, they have live cooking shows inside the store. The chefs are friendly, knowledgeable and super talented. They were making Duck since it was on sale, so I decided to watch their little show and then give it a go for myself.

Ingredients:

3 Fresh Duck Breasts (which I bought for $4.99 a pound)
Salt (Freshly Ground)
Pepper (Freshly Ground)
Seasoned Salt
2 T. Bacon Fat or Canola Oil

First, take the duck out of the package and blot them on a paper towel. I don’t know if this is 100% necessary, but all that blood grosses me out. Once they are blotted on both sides, you are going to want to score the fatty side. Take a super sharp knife and cut diagonal strips into the fatty side of the duck. Make sure you cut all the way into the fat.

Next, sprinkle some salt, seasoned salt and pepper onto the fatty side of the duck while it is still on the paper towel. Keeping it on the paper towel will prevent a mess of salt and pepper all over your counter, that is, unless you are actually skilled at salting and peppering meat, unlike myself. I waited to season the other side of the duck until I put it in the pan.

Now, toss some bacon grease into a cast iron pan and put it on about medium heat. I used a ramekin full of bacon grease, so I guess that equates to about a two tablespoons. You could also use canola oil or butter. Once your pan is hot, you are going to want to put the duck, fat side down, in your greased up pan. You should hear a very slight sizzle.

Season the non-fatty side of your duck with the same salt, seasoned salt and pepper. Keep the duck on the fatty side for about 6 minutes, I suggest setting a timer. Once the 6 minutes is up, flip it on the other side and cook for another 6 minutes. Then you are going to want to put your pan in a 350 degree preheated oven for about 12 minutes.

Once you take the pan out of the oven, let the meat sit for 5 minutes before cutting into it. If it seems too rare, be patient because it will cook more in the pan. Duck breast is not meant to be eaten well-done, so if this is the only way you like to eat meat, then get off our page because well-done meat eaters are not allowed here! (just kidding, but really why are you here?)

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions about this post, please feel free to let us know in the comment section below. Thanks for reading our blog and be sure to browse all of our recipes on our blog. If you have any recommendations about what you would like us to make next, just let us know!

Paprikash

25 Tuesday Nov 2014

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chicken, chicken legs, chicken paprikash, egg noodles, paprikash

Paprikash reminds me of Sunday afternoons in the winter. It is so hearty and delicious that if you eat a little earlier than usual you will still go to bed full. My recipe is on the spicy side so feel free to reduce the hot paprika or replace with all regular.

I would recommend that you be sure to use Hungarian Paprika as the flavor is intense and delicious. Also, you could save time by using only chicken tenders and skipping the legs. I did enjoy the flavor of both white and dark meat and the sauce was rich from browning all the chicken.

The recipe below served 6 hearty portions. I added a loaf of asiago cheese bread from our local bakery to the table and we were delighted.

Chicken Paprikash

3 lbs of chicken ( I used legs and boneless skinless breasts)
1 can of chicken broth
1 large onion sliced thin
1 T. minced garlic (from the jar)
2 T. Hungarian Paprika
2 T. Hot Hungarian Paprika
2 T. vegetable oil
4 T. butter (divided)
1 C sour cream
1 T. flour
Salt and Pepper
Large bag of egg noodles, prepared according to package directions, tossed with butter.

Cut the chicken breasts into strips. About 4 per breast. Salt and pepper chicken on all sides.

In a large sauté pan with sides over medium heat add oil and 2 T. butter. Brown chicken legs and continue to cook and turn until almost done, this will take about 30 minutes. Remove to plate and add remaining butter to sauté pan, then the chicken breast strips.

Brown the chicken until almost done about 10 minutes. Add onion, garlic, and all the paprika. Stir together. Add the chicken legs back to pan. Add chicken broth, bring to low simmer and cook for 10 minutes.

In the meantime mix the flour and sour cream together. Begin to temper the sour cream mixture by adding hot broth from pan to sour cream about 2 T. at a time mixing well. Continue to temper until sour cream mixture is slightly warm.

Reduce heat on chicken to low and add sour cream. Mix well and stir together until sauce thickens. (If you skip the tempering step, you run the risk of the sour cream breaking.) Serve over egg noodles.

Enjoy!

Pat’s Bailey’s Irish Cream Cake

21 Friday Nov 2014

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Bailey's, Bailey's Irish Cream, Cake, Cream, Dessert, Irish Cake, Irish Cream Cake

My good friend Pat made this cake to share with her coworkers. She loved to cook and bake for family and friends. This is a delicious and quite lovely dessert to prepare for your loved ones over the holidays. Pat is no longer here but I think of her often, especially when cooking for my family and friends. Be thankful for those you still have and remember those who have gone.

1C Chopped Pecans
1 Pkg. Chocolate Cake Mix
1 Box jello instant pudding (vanilla or chocolate)
4 eggs
½ C cold water
½ C vegetable oil
½ C Bailey’s Irish Cream

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a bundt cake pan. Sprinkle nuts in bottom of pan. Combine all other ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Pour into pan over nuts and bake for 1 hour. Cool cake and then flip out of pan. Poke holes in cake and pour glaze over top.

Glaze

4T. of butter
2 T. water
½ C sugar
¼ C Bailey’s Irish Cream or Godiva Chocolate Liquor (I ran out of irish cream J)

Melt butter in small saucepan, stir in water and sugar. Boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add Liquor. Pour over cake.

Meatloaf Is Calling My Name

17 Monday Nov 2014

Posted by Bonjour in Uncategorized

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comfort food, ground beef, meatloaf

Sometimes comfort food is calling my name and meatloaf often shows up to nourish the body and comfort the soul. This is a very easy meal to get on the table for a cold winter evening. I like to serve with smashed potatoes or green beans with a lemon butter sauce.

Enjoy!

Meatloaf

2 lbs. of ground beef
1 chopped onion
2 chopped hot peppers
1 clove chopped garlic
1 egg
¾ cup of rice (minute rice)
1/4 C of BBQ sauce
¼ C of Ketchup
Salt Pepper
Worcestershire sauce (2 shakes)
*topping (below)

Sauté onions and pepper in a little olive oil until tender (make sure to season vegetables with salt and pepper) add garlic for 30 seconds. Remove from heat and add to bowl with beef, egg, rice, bbq sauce, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Form into loaf. Spray glass cake pan with Pam, put loaf in. Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 min.

*Now mix ¼ C. mustard, ¼ c ketchup, ¼ c of brown sugar together. Spread on top of meatloaf and bake for 10 more minutes. Let it rest for at least 5 min. after you remove from oven.