BBQ Pulled Pork and Coleslaw Wonton Tacos

- 1/2 pound boneless pork sirloin

- 1 cup BBQ sauce 

- 2 cups prepared coleslaw 

- wonton wrappers 

Cook pork w BBQ sauce in crockpot on low for 8 hours.

Shred pork with fork. 

Preheat oven to 400.

Spray edges baking dish with non stick spray. 

Place wonton wrappers along edge of baking dish and bake for 3-4 minutes until golden brown.

Fill wonton tacos with pulled pork right when they come out of the oven while they're still pliable. 

Top tacos with coleslaw.

Spicy Italian Crescent Ring

This was a fun Saturday night dinner to make with the kids. It's easy enough to prepare, and pretty delicious as well. I served this with steamed broccoli and potato salad. It was the perfect combination of flavors and textures. 

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cans of refrigerated crescent rolls (8oz each)
• 1/2 cup roasted red peppers from the jar (well drained and sliced)
• 8 slices provolone cheese, halved 
• 1/3 pound sliced hot salami
• 1/4 pound sliced ham
• 1/4 pound sliced sweet capocolla 
• 1/2 cup banana pepper rings from jar (well drained)
• pepper
• sesame seeds (optional for garnish)

Unroll both cans of dough, and separate them into 8 rectangles. 

Arrange them so the bottoms slightly overlap making a sun shape.

Arrange the drained and sliced roasted red peppers around the ring.

Top the peppers with half of the cheese.

Layer the salami, ham and capocolla slices over the cheese.

Arrange the banana pepper rings on top of the meat.

Finally, add the rest of the cheese on top.

Fold each of the rectangle dough pieces up and over the ring, and tuck the dough underneath to secure it. Some of the filling may show. Sprinkle with pepper and sesame seeds.

Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes until golden brown on top.

We ended cutting into ours and putting it back in the oven, the underneath was a little doughy and undercooked from it all being bunched up under there. So you may need to bake a little longer, or slice then return to the oven like we did so the heat can get under and in-between each slice. Cheers!

Adapted from: Spicy Italian Crescent Ring

Corn Chowder with Ham and Bacon

Yesterday was Sunday- and football was on. It's starting to get cold up here in New Hampshire - so I wanted to do some warm, game day friendly comfort food. This is a really easy chowder- that is perfect for this time of year. I threw it together in 20 minutes then just let it simmer on low until we were ready to eat. Of course you can not use bacon or ham and have a super yummy vegetarian chowder too!

INGREDIENTS:

• 6 slices of bacon (uncooked - diced)
• 1 large onion finely diced
• 1 small ham steak (edges trimmed) chopped
• 1 can creamed corn
• 1 small bag frozen corn (about 2 cups)
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 can evaporated milk
• 1 1/2 cups half and half
• 4 large potatoes, peeled and diced into bite sized pieces
• salt and (white) pepper to taste
• fresh parsley for garnish

In a medium pot get your diced potatoes boiling in some water, cook until almost done- drain and set aside.

In a large pot over medium heat start cooking bacon until it starts to crisp- add in the onions and cook until softened. Add in the ham and cook with the onion 1-2 minutes. Add in the milk, half and half, chicken broth, cooked potatoes, creamed corn and frozen corn. Bring to a boil for 2 minutes, then reduce to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper (I used white pepper) to taste. Serve right away or keep warming on stove on low. 

I served the chowder with grilled cheeses, and salad. It was the best dinner on a cold November night. Next time I think I'm going to try my hand at clam chowder, yum! Cheers!

Enchiladas

So, every time I've ever claimed to make enchiladas apparently have been false. I usually use flour tortillas and especially make burritos and bake them with some sort of sauce on top. Then I found this recipe from The Pioneer Woman- and figured out I was doing it wrong. So I tried it this way and everyone seemed to dig it. A little time consuming. I did most of my prep work (chopping veggies) during the day and set it aside for later to make things a little easier.

INGREDIENTS:

For the sauce-

• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 28 oz can (mild) enchilada sauce
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

For the meat-

• 3/4 pound ground beef (lean)
• 1/4 pound ground pork (optional- if not use 1 pound beef)
• 2 small cans (4 oz) diced chilis
• 1 larger onion finely diced
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt

For tortillas-

• 10-14 corn tortillas
• 1/2 cup canola oil

To assemble-

• 2 cups shredded cheese (I used mozz but use cheddar if you have it)
• 1/2 cup chopped black olives
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions
• chopped cilantro to garnish

For the sauce- In a sauce pan over medium heat combine the oil and flour to make a roux. Cook for a minute, then pour in red sauce, chicken broth salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 30-45 min until it thickens. Remove from heat and set aside.

For the meat- Brown the meat with the onions in a skillet. Drain off the fat. Stir in the 2 cans of chilis and season with salt. Set aside.

For the tortillas- Heat the oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Fry the tortillas one at a time for about 30 seconds on each side. Until soft- not crispy. Set aside on a pepper towel lined plate. Repeat for the remaining tortillas. 

To assemble- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make sure your sauce has thickened up and is cooled off a little (I didn't do this and it was still super hot when I started rolling up the enchiladas). Dip each tortilla into the red sauce, then place on work surface. Put a little cheese, meat, olives and green onion in each tortilla- roll up- and place seam side down in a 9x13 baking dish. Repeat until all of the ingredients are used. Top with the remainder of the red sauce and shredded cheese.

Bake for 20 minutes or until bubbly.

Garnish with cilantro, olives, green onion.

This did take a little extra time and love- but it really was worth it. I served this with a chunky black bean salsa, sour cream and rice on the side. I'd love to try this recipe again someday with chicken. Cheers!

Adapted from:Simple Perfect Enchiladas

Spicy Sausage and Sweet Pepper Stuffed Shells

Stuffed shells are one of my favorite things to make. Lately I've been experimenting with different fillings for them, this is a batch I made the other day. So Yum!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 box jumbo shells
• 1 container part skim ricotta cheese
• 2 cups cooked spicy italian sausage (I took casings off the links of spicy italian sausage, sautéed in a skillet, drained grease and set aside)
• 1/2 cup diced sweet peppers
• 1 egg
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella 
• 2 cups marinara sauce

Cook the shells according to directions. Drain and run cold water over it until cooled to stop cooking process. Set aside.

Heat some olive oil in a small skillet and lightly sauté the sweet peppers. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl combine the ricotta, egg, cooked sausage, and peppers 1/2 cup of the mozz cheese salt and pepper to taste.

Spoon a little sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Fill each shell with spoonfuls of the ricotta mixture, and line them in the baking dish. Spoon a little sauce on top - and sprinkle the remainder of the mozz cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

As always, these stuffed shells were a hit. Just something about them - the spicy of the sausage and the sweet peppers, creamy ricotta and tangy sauce. Its FREAKING amazing! I also made some meatballs and a nice salad to go with this. Yummo Italiano! Cheers!

Split Pea and Ham Soup

This is one of my hubby's absolute favorite. Every time I make a ham I save the bone and a little of the extra ham, and whip this up a few days later. Really good and hearty soup, perfect for this cold weather coming in. I actually used the recipe off of the split pea bag but adjusted it a bit, still pretty straight forward.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 16 oz bag of split peas (2 cups)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped carrots
• 1/2 cup diced potatoes
• 1/2 cup chopped ham
• 1 ham bone
• 2 quarts of water
• 1/4 teaspoon thyme

Wash peas through a colander, and sort through any shells or bad looking ones. Add cleaned peas to a pot and add the water. Bring to a boil. Let simmer for 2 minutes, remove from heat and cover pot. Let sit for an hour.

Add ham bone, bay leaf, thyme and Veggies. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer covered for about 2-3 hours, until the peas are soft. Remove bone and cut the ham off (discard bone), add the bone ham and reserved ham (if any) back into soup. Season to taste with salt and pepper. 

We ate our soup with some yummy grilled cheese sandwiches. Perfect fall meal. Cheers!

Roast Pork and Sweet Potatoes

Bought the September issue of Food Network Magazine a few weeks back, and made a list of all the new yummy fall recipes I wanted to try. This one was the first one I tried. It came out awesome!! I just love sweet potatoes anyway, but with the roasted onions and little dash of cayenne it made them that much better.

INGREDIENTS:

• large pork tenderloin (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon dried sage
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• salt and pepper
• 3 sweet potatoes cut into wedges
• 1 red onion cut into wedges
• olive oil
• cayenne pepper (a pinch to taste)

Toss the potato and onion wedges with a little olive oil, and cayenne pepper. Place on a baking sheet and roast at 450 for about 20 minutes, tossing once. Roast until the potatoes are tender.

Combine the brown sugar, sage, garlic and a little salt and pepper. Poke the pork all over with a fork then rub the spice mixture all over the pork. Heat a few teaspoons of olive oil in a cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add the pork in once its hot, and sear the pork on all sides until golden brown. 

Transfer to baking sheet and roast for about 25 minutes, until cooked all the way through.

This was so good! The perfect meal to kick off the crispness of fall. Cheers!

Adapted from: Roast Pork and Sweet Potatoes

Crispy Pork Cutlet Salad with Sautéed Veggies and Cous Cous

This was dinner last night, and it was fantastic. I really just threw it together with what I had in the fridge and pantry, but it was a winning combo. I tried to go with a bunch of different textures and flavors- and I think I really pulled it off.

INGREDIENTS:

For Pork Cutlets

• package of thin center cut pork chops
• flour
• italian bread crumbs
• 3 eggs beaten with a little milk
• salt, pepper 
• veggie oil

For Sautéed Veggies

• 1 orange bell pepper
• 1/2 large white onion
• 1 large zucchini cubed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• salt, pepper

For salad

• Mixed greens 
• sliced cucumber
• cherry tomatoes
• craisens
• croutons 
• cooked cous cous 
• italian dressing 

Heat up a pan with the olive oil, once its hot sauté the veggies for about 5 minutes until cooked through, season with salt and pepper. Remove from pan and set aside.

Set up a breading station. In a shallow bowl place some flour, salt and pepper. The next bowl the beaten eggs, and the third is the bread crumbs. 

Heat up 1/2 inch of veggie oil in a large skillet over med high heat. Dredge each pork chop in flour, then egg, then bread crumbs. Once the oil is hot place 2-3 chops in the pan at a time and fry for 2-3 minutes on each side- depending on the thickness. 

Cook until golden brown. Remove pork chops and place on a plate with a paper towel to soak up extra oil. Repeat for the remaining chops. 

I whipped up a quick box of 5 minute cous cous (this stuff is awesome).

To assemble the salad, I put the greens, cucumbers and tomatoes on the plate first. Sprinkled some craisens. Sliced pork cutlets on top then some cous cous and croutons after.  The pictures don't show the cous cous or croutons on top, because I wanted to show the vibrant colors of all those yummy veggies! Top with your choice of dressing, but the Italian was awesome.

This was seriously an awesome dinner salad! It was filling and delicious. Everything that I could possibly want in a salad. Cheers! 

Pulled Pork Pizza with Red Onion and Cilantro

                               

So last night I made my super easy BBQ pulled pork. Tonight I used the leftover pork to make this really simple delicious pizza. Even simpler that I used a pre-made "personal" sized crust.

INGREDIENTS:

• BBQ pulled pork
• Thin sliced red onion
• Baby portabello mushrooms
• Shredded Cheddar cheese 
• Fresh cilantro for garnish

Your choice of pizza crust (I used pre-made thin crust personal sized)

Assemble pizza with pulled pork on the bottom, then onion, mushrooms and cheese. The crust I used only needed to be baked at 425 for about 8 minutes. Time will vary depending on the crust you use. 

I love using leftovers to make pizzas. It makes for great combinations you wouldn't normally think of... And an easy dinner night on top of it! Cheers!

2 Ingredient Pulled Pork

Hey foodie friends! I'm back from vacation and ready to cook up some yummy summer meals this week! First up is this super easy pulled pork recipe, exactly how my mom taught me. 2 ingredients in the slow cooker for 8 hours and you're done!

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 small boneless pork loins
• 1 small bottle of sweet baby ray's BBQ sauce

Place 1/4 of the bottle of sauce in the bottom of the slow cooker, then place the pork in. Pour the rest of the BBQ sauce over the pork. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

When the pork is cooked, shred apart with two forks and allow the shredded meat to soak in the sauce. 

We served our pulled pork tonight over rice with broccoli, cole slaw and potato salad on the side. A nice BBQ themed dinner for a hot summer night. When the last thing I want to do is turn in the stove, anything made in the slow cooker is perfect! Cheers!

Bangers and Mash with a Guinness Onion Gravy

I'm always asking my husband to give me ideas of new thing to try for dinner. I love when I can take his suggestion, find a great recipe and then nail it. This truly came out amazing. The gravy was just awesome- and all of the components together, perfect. I felt like I was eating out at an authentic pub. I wish that I could have found some traditional banger sausage, but the bratwurst was a great substitute. 

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pound of bratwurst sausage (or banger sausage if you can find it)
• 1/4 cup guinness beer
• olive oil
• 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter
• 1 small onion, sliced
• 1/2 cup of Guinness beer
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can of beef broth
• 1 tablespoon of Worstershire sauce
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of cornstarch
• 1/4 cup of water
• Mashed potatoes
• 1 package of birds eye steamers frozen peas
• green onion for garnish

Place sausage in a large skillet and over medium heat add in the 1/4 cup of beer and a drizzle of olive oil. Cover and leave lid off a little- cook until beer is evaporated. Cook each side until it starts to brown- slowly cooking sausage until it's no longer pink in the middle. When the sausage is almost cooked, add in 1/2 of the onions and start to brown them with the sausage. 

While the sausage is browning you can prepare your mashed potatoes- here is one of my favorites - Cheddar Chive Mashed Potatoes.

Once sausage is completely cooked, remove from the pan. Add in the remainder of the onions and butter into the pan over medium high heat and cook until the onions are softened. Add in the 1/2 cup of beer and scrape all of the browned bits off of the bottom of the pan. Let simmer and reduce for about a minute, and then add in the beef broth and worcestershire sauce. Mix the cornstarch and water together, then whisk into the gravy. Cook over medium high heat and reduce until desired thickness. 

Serve sausage over the potatoes with gravy and peas. Green onion to garnish- optional.

This is a serious dish. I highly recommend making it the next time you get a hankering for some pub fare. Do it yourself and you won't disappoint! Cheers!

Adapted from: Bangers and Mash with Guinness Onion Gravy

Sesame Ginger Teriyaki Meatballs

Found this recipe a few months ago and I was dying to try it. Finally got to make it last week- and trust me. It did not disappoint. It was actually pretty easy to do. I served these guys with simple "boil in the bag" jasmine rice- and lightly sautéed broccoli and mushrooms. All in all- a pretty amazing dinner combo. 

INGREDIENTS:

For Meatballs:

• 1 pound of ground pork
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons fresh grated ginger (make sure you peel the skin off the ginger before grating!)
• 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
• 2 whole green onions- sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

For Teriyaki Glaze:

• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon grated ginger
• 2 tablespoons corn starch
• 1 teaspoon sesame seeds

For the side:

• 1 boil in bag serving Jasmine rice
• Veggies of choice

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with foil.In a large bowl combine all of the ingredients for the meatballs. Roll into small balls, about 1 tablespoon of mixture, Place on baking sheet. Bake until golden brown, about 30-35 minutes.

While the meatballs are in the oven, boil your rice and prepare the veggies to your liking.

Also, you want to prepare your glaze. Combine the water, soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, and ginger in a medium pot. Heat over a low heat, until the brown sugar is dissolved. 

In a small bowl- dissolve the cornstarch in just enough water to make it pourable. Pour into the pot with the rest of the glaze mixture. Turn heat up to medium high and stir the ingredients and cook until it starts to thicken. 

When the meatballs are done, transfer to a plate with paper towels to drain the excess grease. 

Then place in the pot with the glaze, and gently toss to coat all of the meatballs. Transfer the meatballs and glaze into a serving bowl and sprinkle with the sesame seeds.

Serve meatballs and glaze over rice- and with veggies. Garnish with some more green onion if you'd like too.

I really couldn't wait to type out this recipe and share this with you guys. This was so interesting and fun to make. The freshly grated ginger really gives it such an awesome kick. Try this out for yourself sometime, when the mood strikes you for some fake out take out! Cheers!

Adapted from: Teriyaki Meatball Bowls