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Sunday, March 30, 2014

Tangy Slow Cooker Pork Roast

1 large onion, sliced
2 1/2 lb boneless pork loin roast
1/2 c. sugar
6 T. balsamic vinegar
4 T. soy sauce
2 T. ketchup
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp onion powder
3-5 dashes of hot sauce

     Arrange onion slices on bottom of slow cooker and place roast over onions. In a bowl, mix remaining ingredients and pour over roast. Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours or on high 3-4 hours.

Spinach Artichoke Dip

2 c. artichoke hearts, chopped
2 c. spinach, sauteed and chopped
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1 c. monterey jack cheese, shredded
1 c. parmesan cheese
1 c. sour cream
garlic powder
pepper
red pepper flakes

     Combine and bake in greased dish at 350 degrees until golden and heated through.

Homemade Alfredo Sauce

1/4 c. butter
1 c. heavy cream
1 1/2 c. parmesan cheese
1 clove garlic, minced
 (1/4 c. parsley)

      Melt butter over medium-low heat until melted. Add cream. Whisking occasionally, let simmer/bubble for 5 minutes. Whisk in parmesan and garlic the remove from heat. Serve over pasta and top with parsley.

Zucchini Cake

3/4 c. oil
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 c. grated zucchini
2 c. sugar
2 1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. cocoa
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
2 1/2 tsp baking powder

     Combine all ingredients. Bake in a greased and floured bundt pan at 375 degrees for one hour.

Green Bean Bundles

1 lb peppered bacon
4 cans whole green beans (can use frozen or fresh)
1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. butter, melted
garlic salt

     Cut bacon strips in half. Roll 6-7 green beans in 1/2 strip bacon. Place seam side down in a 9x13 pan. Cover with sugar/butter mixture. Sprinkle with garlic salt. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes.

Pork Chop Marinade

2 cloves garlic, minced
2 T. brown sugar
3 T. honey
3 T. soy sauce
3 T. Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp. ketchup
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
2-4 pork chops

     Combine all ingredients and pour over pork chops in a large ziploc bag. Refrigerate 4-8 hours. Grill pork chops about 10 minutes per side.

Zuccini Lasagna

2 medium zucchini, sliced 1/4" thick
1 lb. ground beef
1/4 c. onion, chopped
2 small tomatoes, cut up
1 can tomato paste
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp basil
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 c. water
1/8 tsp pepper
1 egg
3/4 cottage cheese
1/2 c. mozzarella
1 tsp flour

     Cook zucchini until tender. Drain and set aside. Fry meat and onions, drain fat. Add next 8 ingredients and bring to a boil.
     Reduce heat; simmer uncovered 10 minutes.
     In a bowl, beat egg. Add cottage cheese, half or shredded cheese and flour.
     In a dish (casserole pan) arrange layers of meat mixture, zucchini, cottage cheese. End with remaining mozzarella cheese.
     Bake 375 degrees uncovered for 30 minutes. Sprinkle on remaining cheese and bake 10 minutes longer. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Honey Oat Bread

3 c. flour
3/4 c. oats
2 1/4 tsp. yeast
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. milk
1/4 c. warm water
2 T. butter
1/4 c. honey
2 T. honey
2 T. oats

Warm milk until warm but not boiling. Add butter, stirring until melted, then stir in water and honey. Pour milk mixture into the rest of the ingredients (flour, oats, salt, and yeast), mixing with dough hook until it forms a dough Knead with hook 10 minutes until smooth and elastic, adding flour or water if necessary. Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and allow to rise until doubled, about 1 - 1 1/2 hours. Once doubled, roll out into 2 loaves. Place in parchment lined loaf pans and let raise 1 - 1 1/2 hours. Brush top with additional honey and sprinkle oats over all. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place an extra loaf pan with 2 c. boiling water on the bottom rack of the oven. Bake 40-50 minutes or until golden brown and loaves sound hollow when tapped Cool completely.

Sausage, Potato, and Kale Soup

2 bunches kale, picked over, cleaned and torn into bite-sized pieces
12 whole red potatoes, sliced thin
1 whole onion, chopped
1 1/2 lb Italian sausage
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
2 c. chicken broth
2 c. milk
 4 c. half & half
Splash of heavy cream
Fresh or dried oregano
Black pepper to taste

Cook and drain potatoes, set aside. In a soup pot, crumble and brown the sausage. Drain the fat. Stir in the red pepper, oregano, broth, milk, half & half. Simmer for 30 minutes. Add the potatoes, cream, and kale. Simmer an additional 10-15 minutes and serve.

Andes Mint Chocolate Cake

2 c. sugar
1 3/4 c. flour
3/4 c. cocoa powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 c. buttermilk*
1/2 c. oil
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. chopped Andes mints
1 c. boiling water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line bottom of three 8" cake pans with waxed paper and spray sides with cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add eggs, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla. Beat with mixer until combines. Add boiling water and carefully stir until mixed in. Beat for 1 1/2 minutes with mixer. Shake chopped Andes in a bag with one tablespoon of flour until lightly coated. Fold the mints into the batter and pour into prepared pans.
Bake for 20-23 minutes. Frosting: 2 sticks butter, softened 6 c. powdered sugar 1 tsp. vanilla 1 tsp. mint extract Green food coloring Milk (as needed) Beat butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and mint extract until smooth. Add food coloring and enough milk to make frosting spreadable. Once cakes are cool, stack cakes with a thin layer of frosting between each. Then frost sides and top of cake.

Ganache: 1 c. chocolate chips 1 c. heavy cream 1 tsp. vanilla Pour the chocolate chips into a metal bowl. Heat cream and remove from heat as soon as it starts to boil. Pour over chocolate chips. Let the mixture stand 1-2 minutes. Slowly stir until smooth, then add vanilla. Allow to cool and thicken slightly before pouring over the top of the cake, allowing ganache to run down the sides.

 *can use 1 c. milk mixed with 1 T. lemon juice in place of buttermillk.

Streusel-Topped Blueberry Muffins

3/4 c. milk
1/4 c. oil
1 egg
2 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. blueberries (I always use frozen, but canned works too)  
Topping: 1/4 c. flour 1/4 c. brown sugar 1/4 tsp. cinnamon 2 T. butter

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Line muffin tin with papers. In a large bowl, beat milk, oil, and egg until blended. Add flour sugar, baking powder, and salt all at once stir just until four is moistened. Batter will be lumpy. Gently stir in blueberries. Divide batter among muffin cups and top with 1 T. streusel each.
For streusel topping: Mix flour, sugar and cinnamon, then cut in butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Bake muffins 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately remove from pan to wire rack.

Homemade Chocolate Pudding

1/2 c. sugar
1/3 c. cocoa powder
2 T. cornstarch
1/8 tsp. salt
1 3/4 c. milk (whole milk works best)
2 egg yolks, slightly beaten
2 tsp. vanilla

 Combine dry ingredients in an 8-cup microwave safe bowl. Gradually stir in milk. Whisk until combined. Microwave on high 4-6 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes, until thickened and boiling. Stir at least half the hot/milk mixture gradually into the egg yolks. Stir back into the hot/milk mixture in measure. (This prevents the eggs from clumping) Microwave on medium-high 1-3 minutes, stirring every minute, until thickened. Stir in vanilla. Pour into dishes and chill at least 2 hours.