Crock Pot Carnitas

How do you turn this

Into this?

Unless shredded pork is smothered in BBQ sauce, I usually don't want much to do with it. It's all about flavor for me. Needless to say, when I thought of making carnitas (and yes, I know, this is not your traditional carnitas), it took me a long time to find a recipe that sounded like it would be flavorful enough. Not to mention I came across about 10 paleo recipes for pork in the crock pot. I don't follow any of those (what I consider) crazy food fads, so it was on to the next recipe.

Finally, I found one that seemed flavorful enough and quick enough to throw together, not to mention I already had all ingredients except for the pork.

I strayed only slightly from the recipe. I used 2 smaller roasts instead of one larger one. I also just used 1 can of chicken broth rather than 2 full cups. I kept all seasonings the same. When reading the reviews, a lot of people doubled or tripled the seasoning, or omitted the cinnamon. I think if you doubled the seasoning it might be a little too strong. And, the cinnamon was fine, some people seemed to notice it more than the other flavors, but I didn't agree with that opinion.

Crock Pot Carnitas
from All Recipes

2 bay leaves
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp cinnamon
4 lbs pork shoulder or pork roast
1 can chicken broth

1. Place 2 bay leaves on the bottom of the crock pot.
2. Mix all seasoning together in a small bowl.
3. Place pork on top of bay leaves. Sprinkle seasonings all over pork.
4. Add the broth around the pork, trying not to rinse off any seasoning.
5. Cook on high for 4-5 hours or low on 10 hours.
6. Shred and serve however.

Beef and Bacon Pasta

I just spent 6 hours grading student work and planning vocabulary lessons. Somewhere in the middle I made dinner too...

This weather is really throwing me off. Usually I plan lots of comfort food and cold-day meals for November. Granted, I'll eat a baked pasta dish anytime, but it's a great meal for a cold night. Tonight was not a cold night. It was in the low 60s today...oh well.

I knew if I was going to make a pasta dish with red sauce (which Dan doesn't tend to prefer), that it needed to be packed with some meaty goodness. I sort of overlooked the recipe a bit and added more pasta, beef and bacon than called for. In this case, that wasn't a bad thing, it was a perfect thing. We also have plenty of leftovers, which is great since Dan has class tomorrow so I don't have to cook again! Though I will because I have something planned....

The sauce in this was great, but I would maybe do a tad bit less of the balsamic vinegar. I know, I know. I know that anyone who has followed this blog has read about my love for balsamic vinegar. I would drink it if I could. But it just really stood out in the sauce rather than blending in nicely with everything else. The sauce had a nice sweetness to it, which I enjoy in a red sauce, especially when paired with some salty bacon.

Beef and Bacon Pasta
ever so slightly adapted from Goodies a Volonte

1 box rotini
1 can crushed tomatoes
5 garlic cloves, minced or mashed
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp Italian seasoning
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp olive oil
pinch of salt
1 tbsp sugar
pinch of black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 medium yellow onion, diced
8 strips of bacon roughly chopped
1 lb. ground beef
2 cups mozzarella and cheddar cheese, shredded

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Cook pasta according to package for al dente. Drain and rinse with cold water.
3. Mix the tomatoes, vinegar, worcestershire, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, sugar, peppers and oil together in a medium mixing bowl.
4. Heat a deep skillet to medium-high heat. Add a little bit of oil and cook onions until slightly golden and soft. Remove onions and set aside.
5. Add bacon to pan and cook until slightly crispy. Add beef and cook until browned and juices are mostly evaporated.
6. Return onion to pan and add sauce. Mix everything together and cook for 2 minutes.
7. Add pasta and toss in the sauce.
8. Put pasta mix into a large baking dish. Top with cheese and bake for 20 minutes until cheese is good and melted.

Most of my casserole dishes are currently in use, so you will notice in the pictures I used a foil pan I had.

Easy Beef Noodles

I always wish I could focus my dinners into some sort of category. Weight Watchers friendly, Under 30 minutes, Budget Friendly....you know, some sort of theme. But, I'm all over the place when it comes to cooking. Quick meals and budget meals should be my focus however. I don't get a huge window of time when the dogs are calm enough for me to cook if Dan isn't home to entertain them, so quick meals are great. As for budget meals....we just bought a house, we're getting married next year, and it's the winter and we have oil heat. Enough said on that I think. I definitely need to focus on budget meals and better grocery shopping habits.

Tonight's meal was quick and pretty cheap. Which was great, because Lana was off the wall all afternoon and we leave to go to the vet in about 10 minutes. And cheap? Do I need to explain why saving money is a good thing?

Easy Beef Noodles
adapted from Kitchme

1 lb. stir-fry steak
2 tsp. sesame oil, divided
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can cut mini corn
handful of snow pea pods
1/2 cup shredded carrots
3 packages beef ramen noodles, with seasoning packets
2 and 1/4 cup water
1 tbsp. soy sauce

1. Heat 1 tsp of oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add steak and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from pan and keep warm.
2. Heat remaining oil. Add garlic and veggies. Saute for 2-3 minutes. Remove from pan and keep warm.
3. Add water to the pan with the ramen seasoning packets. Bring to a boil.
4. Break noodles in half and add to the pain. Cook until most of the liquid is absorbed.
5. Add the beef and veggies back in. Stir in the soy sauce and cook until everything is heated through.

Off to the vet we go!

Buffalo Chicken Meatballs

Remember how we talked yesterday about my weekend filled up and plans changed? That happened today. For the better, but plans changed yet again. I decided to make these meatballs at some point this week. At first, it was going to be Monday, but we had the memorial service. Then, it was going to be last night, but mom invited me over for some homemade chicken pot pie, and I never turn down a pot pie. So I figured I'd make them tonight, even though Dan was scheduled to work, because they'd be fine as leftovers. Well, Dan isn't working tonight, so that's what worked out better. I had a dinner for him that he would like. A lot of times when he has class or is working, I cook something he won't like since it's just me eating.

These were really good. The original recipe poster had stated that they are a pretty wet meatball, so they bake up pretty moist, which is true. Ground chicken tends to be mushier when mixed up, so when you add the hot sauce and egg, and only a little bit of bread crumbs, it certainly stayed pretty moist. Forming them into some beautiful round meatballs wasn't going to happen, so I just mushed them up into a semi-round shape and baked them. They were going to be squished between some whole wheat buns anyways...

The flavor was great. Since I used my whole pound of ground chicken instead of just a half pound, I upped some of the other ingredients. The recipe below is my recipe that I used. It was just the perfect amount of heat. I like buffalo, but I'm a big wuss when it comes to heat (spice-wise and weather-wise). Most buffalo tenders leave me panting and trying to down as much liquid and eat as much bread after as possible, and the burn lingers on my tongue and lips for hours. I didn't quite double the hot sauce for this, because I knew I didn't want super-hot buffalo, I wanted to taste the hot sauce and also taste the ranch that's mixed in there. Topped with some Swiss cheese and blue cheese dressing, it was delicious!

Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
adapted from Chocolate Moosey

1 lb. ground chicken
1/3 cup hot sauce
2 tbsp. dried minced onion
2 tbsp. ranch dressing powder mix
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp. bread crumbs
1 egg

sub rolls

Optional:
cheese for subs
blue cheese dressing for subs

1. Preheat oven to 400. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil and coat with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients.
3. Roll into meatballs (I got about 15 out of this).
4. Bake for 20-25 minutes.
5. Serve how you like them. I served mine on whole wheat sub rolls. Topped with a couple of thin slices of Swiss cheese, I threw it under the broiler for two minutes and let the cheese melt and roll toast. Drizzled on some blue cheese dressing and ate it up!

Goopey meatballs

Cranberry White Chocolate Cream Cheese Cupcakes

I hope everyone had a great Veteran's day! I had planned on cooking/baking more over the weekend, but life being what it is, kept me pretty busy all weekend. Saturday, at the last minute, I decided to go to a comedy show fundraiser for the First Skin Foundation. Some people who I grew up with added a new member to their family a couple of years ago and he was born with a very rare skin disease. He is in full recovery, but they wanted to do something to support the First Skin Foundation, so there was a comedy show with a semi-local comedian, Bucky Lewis. It was an absolute riot, I was glad I decided to go.

So there was my Saturday night, which I usually spend at home with the pups cooking up something.

Then, Sunday, I went to visit Dan for lunch and went to look for some holiday decorations at Michael's. When did Michael's become so expensive? I feel like a lot of their home decor seemed very pricey. I ended up leaving with a new frosting gun (woo woo!) and a bunch of cupcake liners that were on sale. Not bad I suppose. Then, Dan ended up home early instead of going to hockey. So we got some quality time in on a Sunday, which almost never happens.

That leaves us to yesterday, Veteran's Day, which I had off. I had planned on baking these cupcakes and bringing the leftovers to work. Well I forgot that Dan and I had a memorial to go to for someone he knew who recently passed away. So, I got my errands in during the day and then we went to the memorial. I should also mention I had a headache from Friday until Sunday morning, which then returned yesterday. So by the time we got home, after decided to go buy a clicker control collar for Lana, I was all but in the mood to bake. I figured I could bake them tonight, which I finally did.

As great as it was to be busy over the weekend, I always hate when I have extra time to cook and never use it. Oh well, some of it got done today.

These cupcakes are incredibly flavorful. The cupcakes are soft, but dense, and you can really taste the cream cheese in the batter. It gives it a cheesecake type flavor, which is dotted by some white chocolate chips, and then you have the tart cranberries bursting through everywhere. The frosting was very, very smooth. If left out or if you are serving these somewhere warm or in warm weather, I'm not sure this frosting would be so great. You would have to add more powdered sugar to thicken it up. I stored these in the fridge after frosting them so they would keep better due to the cream cheese. When I go to serve them, I will let them sit out for about a half hour to come to room temp. The original recipe had a white chocolate mousse filling. For some reason, I thought I still had my bar of baker's white chocolate, but I forgot that I had used it recently. So, to improvise since I didn't have the good quality chocolate for the mousse, I threw in some white chocolate chips I had in the pantry to the batter.

Cranberry White Chocolate Cream Cheese Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
adapted from Krissy's Creations

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp
1 block (8 oz) cream cheese, room temp
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1/4 tsp almond extract
1 and 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 and 1/2 cups cake flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup milk (I used 2%)
2 cups of cranberries, tossed in 1 tbsp flour
1 cup white chocolate chips

1 stick unsalted butter, room temp
2 blocks (16 oz) cream cheese, room temp
2 and 3/4 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
4 tbsp. pure maple syrup

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line 2 muffin pans with liners.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and cream cheese, until fluffy, about 3 minutes.
3. Add the sugar and beat to combine.
4. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing each until combined. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula and mix everything in.
5. Add in almond and vanilla extract.
6. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the cake flour, salt and baking powder.
7. Add the flour mix to the batter, alternating with the milk. (Flour mix, milk, flour mix, milk, flour mix)
8. Fold in cranberries and white chocolate chips.
9. Use a cookie scoop to scoop the batter evenly into the liners. Bake for 25-35 minutes.
10. Remove from oven and cool completely.
11. To make the frosting, cream the butter and cream cheese together in the bowl of a stand mixer.
12. With the mixer on low, add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, mixing until fully combined. Add the vanilla and maple syrup and mix well.
13. Frost cupcakes. Garnish with cranberries if desired. Eat!

Southwest Spaghetti Squash

Okay. I'm working on getting back into healthier recipes. Tuesday nights are great, because Dan has class, so I can make more vegetarian dishes, or at least dishes with more veggies in them. One of the veggies that I love that Dan will never, ever, eat (not even a taste), is spaghetti squash. Well, all squash really. Dan can't take the mushy texture of them, so never mind the stringy spaghetti squash. Overall, I find spaghetti squash bland, so whatever I pair it with needs plenty of flavor. I've used it in place of regular spaghetti with some red sauce; I've paired it with spinach and cheese. I'm always game for some Mexican food (flavors Dan never wants to eat), so this recipe is great when I'm cooking for myself.

I changed it very slightly, but only by omitting the cilantro and using yellow pepper instead of red pepper. Cilantro always comes in gigantic bunches at the store, and I will never use the amount I get. Every time I've ever bought it, I waste about 3/4 of it. I also used Mexican cheese on top because that's what I had in the fridge. I found another way to serve this dish as well. A way that adds a little more sustenance and really makes it a Mexican style dish. The dish is plenty filling as is, so don't think that because I found another way to serve it that needs any improvements. It's great the way the recipe intends it to be. I also had enough filling to fill 2 whole squashes, so you'll have some leftover filling to enjoy later!

Southwest Spaghetti Squash

adapted from The Comfort of Cooking

1 small to medium spaghetti squash

1 tbsp. olive oil

1/2 red onion, chopped

1 bell pepper (any variety) chopped

1 jalapeno, minced

2 garlic cloves, minced (I sliced mine)

1/2 tbsp. ground cumin

1/2 tbsp. oregano

1/2 tbsp. chili powder (I used a little less, I didn't want too much heat)

1 (15 oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 cup frozen corn, thawed

1 squeeze of lime juice

1 cup grated cheddar cheese (or any variety)

1. Roast the squash. Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Drizzle with some oil, salt and pepper and roast at 375 for 45-60 minutes. Let cool and scoop out the flesh "spaghetti". Set aside and save the shells.

2. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, pepper, jalapeno and garlic, saute for 2 minutes.

3. Add the spices and stir to coat. Cook for 1 minute.

4. Add the beans, corn and lime juice. Add the squash and cook until everything is heat through. Spoon filling into the squash shells and top each with half the cheese.

5. Broil for 2-3 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Oh and were you wondering what the other way to serve it is?

As I was looking at how much leftover filling I had (and the other half of the squash I have for lunch tomorrow), something just dawned on me. This might be good inside of a tortilla, like a taco. I decided to test it out.

I took some filling and put it on a tortilla. I topped with some cheese and nuked it in the microwave for 30 seconds. I topped with a dollop or two of sour cream and rolled it all up.

It was delicious! I love finding different style of tacos and fajitas, and I'm pretty obsessed with Mission's Carb Balance Tortillas. They're healthier than others and the softest things on the planet. Seriously, it's like eating a taco or fajita that's been wrapped in a cloud. I think I kind of preferred it taco-style rather than just plain, but I'm a carb-a-holic, so if there's a way to add more carbs, I'll probably always prefer that. I guess I need greater will power...

Turkey and Stuffing Rollups

It's November.

That means the holidays are upon as in a matter of days. Thanksgiving is coming. I am welcoming of Thanksgiving. I absolutely love to browse Thanksgiving recipes, but the thought of hosting Thanksgiving at my home scares me. I love to cook, but not under pressure. And making a turkey? I have such a fear that it will dry as a bone. Luckily, Dan and I go to both our families for Thanksgiving, so I get limited to side dishes and desserts to make. I'm good with that.

This meal kicks off my November dinners, and what better to meal to make than a sort of Thanksgiving supper? It has the flavors of Thanksgiving with the ease of a weeknight meal on your table with minimal work. I used some nice thick-cut deli turkey, boxed stuffing and boxed mash potatoes. I was in the kitchen for maybe 10 minutes. Of course, you can always make your own stuffing and some homemade sides, which would always be better, but for a Monday night, 10 minutes in the kitchen is okay with me. I chose an oven roasted style deli turkey, but you could spice things up with some flavored turkey, like honey maple turkey, which I buy for my sandwiches. I bet that with some cornbread stuffing would be divine. A little sweeter hint to it than the traditional. I found that getting 1 pound of the turkey meat sliced thick was exactly the perfect amount. I had two big spoonfuls of stuffing leftover, which I promptly ate...

Oh, and don't forget the gravy. I used a jarred turkey gravy, but you can always make your own. Homemade is always better if you want to put in the time.

Turkey and Stuffing Rollups
from Mommy's Kitchen

1 lb. thick-sliced deli turkey
1 box stuffing mix, prepared according to box directions
1 jar turkey gravy

1. Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9x13 baking dish.
2. Place a large spoonful of stuffing onto a slice of turkey and roll up. Place in the baking dish seam side down. Repeat with remaining turkey slices and stuffing.
3. Cover with gravy.
4. Cover dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes until bubbly.

Serve with sides of your choice.