Beer Braised Pork

Another snow day! I am afraid we will be going to school all summer. On this cold, snowy day I am (once again) dragging out my crock pot. I found this recipe on a website and my husband loves it. Below is the actual recipe, but I have altered it a bit and my alterations are at the bottom. Enjoy the pork.


ingredients
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 pinch dried marjoram
1 pinch dried basil
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 (5 pound) boneless pork loin roast
2 onions, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 cups light beer

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees. Combine salt, marjoram, basil, pepper, and garlic powder in a small bowl. Rub spice mixture all over the pork roast. Place roast in roasting pan, and surround with onions. Pour beer into pan, and cover. Roast pork for 30 minutes in preheated oven. Uncover, and turn meat over. Continue to roast, checking for doneness every 30 minutes; add additional liquid if pan runs dry. Roast until internal temperature reaches 180 degrees, approximately 2 hours.

I used a Boston butt in place of the loin roast because it was what I had in the freezer. If you don't have marjoram, you can substitute Italian seasoning for the marjoram and basil. I also didn't use nearly as many onions, just a slice or two. No one here is going to eat them and you get plenty of flavor from just a little. I put everything in the crock pot, set it on low and in 8-10 hours it will be done. Serve with mashed potatoes and a green veggie. Happy snow day!

WOW!

As I have prepared finger foods for the afternoon's football games, the kids have run in and out of the kitchen yelling "Mom, I'm hungry." One child fussed because I didn't have anything cheesy to eat. After telling him he was the cheesiest thing I could think of, I searched through my cookbooks and found a recipe for cheese puffs.

In a saucepan, bring 1 c water and 1/2 c butter to a boil. Add 1 c flour and stir till smooth. Move to a large bowl, Stir in 1 cup shredded cheese. Add 4 eggs, 1 at a time, mixing well after each egg. Drop on a greased cookie sheet in small amounts, about a teaspoon each. Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes. YUM!

The kids tried them and said "Mom, you are the awesomest!" Is there anything better than the praise of your children?

blah!

For those of you who look for this regularly, I didn't post anything yesterday because the grilled chicken and baked potatoes didn't really excite me. Today it is rainy and yucky outside and the possibilities of supper again seem rather boring.

I am thinking, though, about a big pot of vegetable soup. Most nights I try to save my leftovers in a gallon baggie in the freezer, potatoes, peas, green beans, a bit of roast, a pork chop, whatever. Today I will dump the leftovers into a soup pot, add a can of beef broth and a quart of tomato juice and simmer till everything is thawed. Once that happens, you can stir it around and see what else you need. If you need more meat, add a pound of ground beef, browned and drained. If you need more veggies, add your own, or a can of veg-all works too.

This soup is great with cornbread, but my kids love grilled cheese sandwiches with it. I love it because it is quick, easy, cheap and delicious. Have a happy rainy day!

Game Time Party!

Here we are again, another playoff Saturday. Have I mentioned I love football? Along with some of my standard finger foods, tonight I am making mini quiches to go with the game. I know people think quiche is not "guy" food, but my guys love these.

I start by finely chopping 1/2 c of ham, add the same amount of shredded cheese and drop by teaspoon fulls into a mini muffin pan (or mini philo shells). Beat 3 eggs with 1/4 c evaporated milk, 1/2 t pepper and 1 t Italian seasoning and pour over ham and cheese. Bake at 375 until lightly browned and a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let cool and remove from pan. These can be serve warm or cold, and can be made in a bigger muffin tin if you wish.

Enjoy the game!

Warmer?

It is supposed to be warmer today that it has been in a while. Maybe it is time to break out my grill again.

Hamburgers, loaded baked potatoes, maybe a little of last summer's okra on the grill, YUM! For the burgers, I will mix a pound of ground beef, 1/2 pound of sausage, a teaspoon (more or less) of rosemary and thyme, bread crumbs, and egg, combine well and patty out. Freeze for a bit before they go on the grill, it helps them hold together.

These are good with your basic burger toppings, bacon, cheese, lettuce, tomato, whatever you like. We can close out eyes and pretend it's summertime! Enjoy.

White Chili

It is supposed to be the warmest day of the year, 37 degrees! I am still using up the turkey I cooked Sunday and thought a batch of white chili would be a good way to finish it off.

I found a white chili seasoning mix at the grocery, made by a company whose regular chili mix I like, so I am trying that today. I added a pound of great northern beans, and the rest of the turkey, chopped (about 2 cups). Pour in about 6 cups of water and 2 chicken bullion cubes and turn the crock pot on low. In 8-10 hours I will have supper. This is very good garnished with cheese and sour cream.

I think Mexican cornbread will go with this well, so I will mix 2 cups of self rising corn meal, 1/2 cup self rising flour, 1/2 cup sugar, 2 T oil, 1/2 c sour cream, 1 egg, a can of creamed corn, 2 jalapeno peppers, finely chopped, and enough milk to make a thick batter. Preheat the oven to 425, oil a cast iron skillet and let it preheat in the oven. When the oven is hot, pour 1/2 the batter into the pan, sprinkle 1 cup shredded cheese on the batter, then top with the remaining batter. Bake for about 25 minutes, until very brown. Enjoy.

Hot Brown!

I cooked a turkey Sunday and it was yummy Sunday night. Tonight I am making hot browns with the leftover turkey. I have some crusty Italian bread that will stand up to the turkey and gravy to use as a base.

Shred the turkey and heat in a pan with a jar of turkey gravy. Spoon over toast, top with crisp bacon and shredded cheese. My family likes these served with mashed potatoes.

If you are in a hurry, these can be made with sliced turkey from your deli. They are still great. Happy Tuesday!

Turkey Week

A few weeks ago my husband won a turkey at a turkey shoot. I thought today would be a good day to cook it, then have leftovers throughout the week. My original plan was to cook the turkey in the crock pot, but it was too big, and I couldn't get the top on so I had to change plans.

I made a rub of finely chopped oregano, basil, rosemary, garlic and season salt and rubbed this under the skin of the turkey. After an hour or 2 in the oven, I will add some honey and melted butter, also under the skin. Bake it at 325 for 3 1/2 hours or so, turning or covering if it gets too brown.

Tonight I will serve it with green beans and mashed potatoes, as the week progresses I may have to get more creative. Happy Sunday

Italian Beef Sanwiches

It is once again a cold gloomy day. It is snowing again. This dreary day does have redeeming qualities, though, it is wild-card Saturday, which means football playoff season has begun. I am excited because it means the Super Bowl is right around the corner. The rest of my family is excited because it means the football season is almost over. I have a round steak simmering in my crock pot for sandwiches and I have homemade bread dough thawing on my counter for rolls.

When the dough thaws, I will pull off egg sized pieces, roll and let rise again, brush with an egg wash and bake at 350 till golden brown. These will be the basis for my sandwiches.

The beef has been seasoned with a packet of Italian salad dressing mix, a cup of fat free Italian salad dressing, 1/2 cup of sliced pepperoncini peppers (and juice), and a can of beef broth and will simmer on high for 6 - 8 hours. Remove the meat and shred it, strain the solids from the broth and return the meat to the crock pot with enough broth to just keep moist.

Slice your rolls, (store bought hoagie rolls work well, too, I just don't have any) top with beef, mayo, cheese (I like provolone or mozzarella), pepperoncini slices, whatever sound good and enjoy. I will serve these as an entree, with finger foods to enjoy during the games.

Happy Saturday!

Hash!

It is another snowday, bitterly cold and gloomy. I have music playing loudly in the background and the kids helping me with the housework.

Yesterday I cooked a corned beef brisket in the crock pot. I served it with boil potatoes and cabbage. Tonight I am making hash with the leftovers. Slice the potatoes and fry them in oil with a slice of onion. Shred the beef and stir in with the fried potatoes.

Top with sauted mushrooms and onions, a little shredded cheese and serve with fried eggs and biscuits. You have an easy meal and you have done away with a few leftovers.

Happy Friday!

Corned Beef

Today I am making one of those things that we eat here and no one else eats. This is a favorite of my kids (and me) with cabbage that has been cooked in the juice from the beef. YUM! My poor husband tolerates this because he loves us, but he would prefer a ham sandwich.

This is easy! I bought a packaged, pre-seasoned corned beef brisket. Drop it in the crock pot, cover with water and let it cook. Longer is better. 8-10 hours on low. I like potatoes cooked in the juice with it, but again, this isn't my hubby's favorite so I won't do that today. Serve this with mashed potatoes and cabbage, or slice it and make sandwiches, or eat it with your fingers straight from the crock pot. It is comfort food to me, and it smells so good cooking!

Happy Snow Day, everyone!

What Fun!

Today I am working on one of those joyful chores that don't have to be done often (thankfully), but from time to time MUST be done. I am painting my kitchen/dining room, ceiling and all.

Because of this, I am planning a supper the kids can fix because I will be exhausted by time to fix supper. I have already browned a pound of ground beef and a 1/2 pound of italian sausage. When the kids are ready, they can mix the meat in with a couple jars of spaghetti sauce, boil some angel hair pasta and bake a loaf of frozen garlic bread. Easy supper for a tired mom. (and leftovers for lunch for that snow day they are predicting.)

Maybe by tomorrow night I will be done painting!

Hoppin' John

Last weekend, Mom made Hoppin' John soup to ring in the new year. That one bowl just wasn't enough, so today I am making more.

Here is an interesting tidbit for those of you who are trivia minded (like me). Basically the name hoppin’ john originated in the south. The creole french in Louisiana called black eyed peas pois pigeon, which they would cook up and serve to the slaves. the slaves would hear them called pois pigeon (pronounced pwahpeeJON) and it just evolved through the dialect to Hoppin’ John. There is your lesson in useless knowledge for the day, here is my recipe for Hoppin' John.

1 pound of sausage, browned and drained, a pound (or 2 cans) black eyed peas, I like the frozen, but the canned are fine if you rinse them well, 1 - 1 1/2 cup rice, 3 cans chicken broth, 1 teaspoon thyme, 2 bay leaves, 1/2 teaspoon red pepper, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder. Just mix everything in a big pot, bring to a boil and let simmer for an hour or 2, all day in the crock pot works well, too.

We like this with cornbread, but crackers or rolls are fine. It can be made vegetarian easily by doubling the spices and leaving out the sausage. The leftovers also freeze well for another meal another night. Enjoy (and stay warm).

BRRRRR!

It is bitterly cold outside. We are planning on staying inside all day. Except of course for my dear husband who will be outside in the shop. He is one of those people who just can't sit still at all. For him, I am making a pot of chili to take the chill off when he comes in for the night.

In a heavy pan, brown a pound of ground beef, drain and rinse. To the ground beef, in a large pot, (I am using a 5 quart dutch oven) add chili beans (as many as your family likes, I use 4 cans), a large can of tomato juice or a quart of homemade juice, a can of tomato paste, 4 T chili powder, 2 1/2 t coriander, 2 1/2 t cumin, 1 1/2 t garlic powder, 1 t oregano, and cayenne to taste. Mix well and simmer for about an hour, adding water (or beer) if extra liquid is needed. About 20 minutes before serving, add about 4 ounces of pasta (I use spaghetti, broken up small, but whatever shape you like is fine). Sprinkle with cheese and serve with cornbread or crackers.

Happy New year to you all.