Honey Parmesan Pork

I finally found a winner. I've made a couple of crock pot meat meals so far this winter and a couple of them were even pretty good. I made one other pork one that was almost great. But this one. I finally learned the secret to making a really good slow cooked meat. You see, I love the idea of slow cooked, fall off the bone, super tender meat. But I also like crispy edges. Or if not crispy edges I just don't like mushy skin, like when meat has been boiled or slow cooked from the very beginning without being crisped up first and the skin just is chewy and kind of mushy even when it's fully cooked? Yeah, I am probably not describing this well but for people who agree with me they will get what I'm saying. Anyway, I found the answer to this, and it is searing the outside of the meat first before you put it in the crock pot. Yes, it's a bit more work and almost defeats the point of just throwing something in the crock and calling it a day, but it really only takes a few more minutes and it is so worth it. It's also a great chance to add a ton more flavor by seasoning the meat at that stage and getting to cook in all those flavors before you even really begin cooking the meat. Try it. 

This recipe was perfect for us because the Mr loves meat with a hint of sweet, which is where the honey comes into play, and for me anything with cheese makes my belly happy. The next day after polishing off the leftovers (which he didn't even feel the need to put the sauce on) I heard a 'Now that was some good pork' muttered into the trashcan as the Mr threw away the bone. You can't get better than that!

This one has definitely made it's way into the rotation for those cozy winter days when we want the smell of cooking to fill the house without having to do much. Especially when pork is on sale and the picnic roast is about $6.

{combine}
2 teaspoons steak seasoning
1 Tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon paprika

rub into 3 pound pork roast, coating all sides evenly. 

Turn a pan on high, add enough olive oil to coat the bottom, and sear the meat on all sides. Use tongs to grip the meat and hold different sides against the pan because only the top and bottom will easily rest in the pan but you still want to get the sides seared as well. This will all take a couple of minutes. Just hold it on each side until it's a bit browned and the seasonings are getting cooked on. 

Place the meat in the crock pot with the skin side facing up.
{add}
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup honey
3 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp dried basil
4 cloves fresh minced garlic
1 Tablespoon olive oil
Pour it over the meat, and turn the crock pot on on to high and set it for 6 hours. 

When the time is up and the meat is soft, take it out and put it on a plate (or cutting board). Pour the juices into a small saucepan and if you can skim the extra fat off the top do so and discard. 
Turn to high heat and bring to a boil. 

{combine}
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water
and then add them to the juice. Let thicken while still stirring. When it's at the desired thickness, pour over sliced meat and eat immediately. 

Classic White Sandwich Bread

I have always enjoyed baking homemade bread. For one thing, nothing beats the smell of freshly bakes bread. It's perfect for cold winter days or lazy Sundays when you have hours to spend around the house and can tend to it every hour or so for five minutes and then have a delicious treat at the end of the day. I also just love the idea of making such a basic staple, not having to worry when you run out of bread- you can just whip some up and it's even better than store bought. I have experimented with many different kinds of bread over the years and I love how many varieties you can make and the endless options. While I have liked some of the breads I have made, I often feel they haven't come out quite right and with a couple tweaks would be better, but then I end up opting to try another recipe next time instead and never perfect the previous ones. The Mr would agree- he says I may bake bread a lot but can hardly be considered very good at it! (I was slightly offended but had to agree it could be true). So I have decided to try to really focus on a couple great recipes and settle on some go-to recipes that I would be able to make perfectly every time. I'm starting with a super basic plain white sandwich bread, because after all it seems that something so basic should be easiest and most likely to come out and then I can build from there. Also we happened to be out of sliced bread so it seemed perfect to make some sandwich bread I could use for the next day. It came out pretty good. It rose perfectly and is light and fluffy yet still substantial enough for sandwiches. I may still make a couple tweaks (it's not super flavorful for example) and I will update this recipe as I do, but for now this is my version to go by.

{combine}

2 1/4 teaspoons dry active yeast

1/3 cup warm water

Let sit for about 5 minutes or until the yeast is dissolved and bubbly.

{add}

2 Tablespoons sugar

1/2 Tablespoon salt

1 1/2 Tablespoons cubed butter

1 1/3 cup warm water

{stir in}

4 1/2 cups flour slowly

Knead for 10 minutes once it is all combined. Then place in a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap to sit and rise for one hour. Punch it down and take out of the bowl and place in a greased bread pan. Cover loosely and let rise again for another hour. While it rises for this second time, preheat the oven to 425 degrees. 

Bake for 30 minutes, covering the loaf with aluminum foil about halfway through or when it is as brown as you want, so that it doesn't get too dark. 

Cool & enjoy.

Thanksgiving Menu Planning

This is the first year ever that I am hosting Thanksgiving at my own house. Yes, it's going to be a small Thanksgiving, since the whole extended family is going to be in Minnesota but my immediate family didn't want to go. And yes even my own sister won't be here because she is spending the holiday with her fiance's family. But still. It will be a wonderful, intimate family Thanksgiving with my parents! And who knows, maybe we'll find a few other guests to join us. We'll obviously invite The Mr's mother, even though since their not American they don't generally really celebrate Thanksgiving so I don't know if she'll even care to come. Small details! This year the first night of Hanukkah also falls on the same day which is exciting. It means that the next day, instead of detoxing from all the Thanksgiving food, we'll have to have latkes!

Anyway, I need to begin thinking about the menu so I can be sure what I want to make and what I should buy beforehand etc. I also need to not go too crazy, since as I said, there won't be the usual tons of people for the meal like I'm used to.

Main: I think we may just do a whole chicken, since let's face it- chicken is way better than turkey anyway. Since there aren't too many of us a chicken should be large enough to feed us all and we can make it more delicious. I am not going to get too into how exactly to prepare the chicken, since I happen to live with a pro whole chicken cooker and I think this will be his course to prepare.

Apps: I found this great looking recipe for how to make your own fresh buttermilk cheese. It looks pretty easy, although I can't see how this could be the case. Either way, it looks delicious and amazing and I think I'm going to try it one day this week or next to practice and see if it works and if so, make it as an appetizer for the big day. This would go over well with my cheese loving family. Serve with fresh french bread and olives.

Sides: I used to make this great carrot side, with a balsamic glaze. I totally forgot about it until very recently, but it was so good and so easy. It made people who didn't like carrots (especially cooked) like them. These carrots are a must.

I think some kind of scalloped potatoes or potato gratin would be a great alternative to the traditional mashed. As much as everyone loves mashed potatoes, especially with a little cheese and garlic and a lot of cream, I love scalloped potatoes. But I've never made them.

I made these amazing cheese stuffed dinner rolls last winter. Those are a must. I've been meaning to make them ever since and this would be a great time. Bonus if I can make them with a gluten free flour so grandma can have some. Wait, is that too much bread and cheese with this meal?

I feel as though we have to have butternut squash in here somewhere. My mother makes a pureed-like squash that is delicious and is The Mr's favorite.

For a salad, I think I may go with this Jicama salad that my aunt gave me the recipe for. It's so fresh and crisp and has so much in it that there's flavor that everyone loves. It would go well with a heavy meal and also makes a lot and is great the next day for leftovers! I'll have to dig that recipe up. Otherwise I would probably go for a quinoa salad with tomatoes and avocado etc.

And of course you need the cranberry sauce, which honestly I don't really care much about, but my dad makes a famous one so he'll be in charge of that.

Dessert: My parents will definitely bring the pies. My dad also has a famous pecan pie which I'm sure they will do. Maybe I'll make some kind of cookie too. Will need to research that more.

Ok I'm liking this so far. Let's see it all in simpler terms:

MENU

Roast Chicken

Homemade Cheese with Bread

Balsamic Glazed Carrots

Scalloped Potatoes

Butternut Squash

Jicama Salad

Cranberry Sauce

Pecan Pie & Etc.

My Mother's Famous Pesto

Growing up my mother always had a big vegetable garden in our backyard. There was a separate herb garden closer to the house as well. We were spoiled in that we always had fresh veggies for salads and herbs for cooking. I didn't even realize how cool it was, it just was normal to me. In the summer my mother always made tons of pesto because we would always have tons of basil. It was a given, no matter what. She makes the best pesto and it's such a perfect summer meal. Healthy and delicious and a great way to eat some greens without hardly noticing.

Lately, in my own brand new garden, I have quite the large basil plant as well. I also have kale and swiss chard, as well as lots of lettuce and all. I've been figuring out ways to prepare and eat so many greens without getting boring or repetitive. Then I realized I hadn't yet made pesto. So I called up my mother and got her famous recipe. I have since made another variation as well, using more of the other greens as well, which I will share later.

Pesto is great to make ahead in large batches and freeze for later. It also is great to just keep a batch in the fridge for the week and scoop out a spoonful as needed for single servings of pasta or on top of meat or fish. It's so easy and delicious there is no reason not to make some right now while summer is still sort of here.

{combine in food processor}
3 large garlic cloves
1/2 cup walnuts
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup olive oil

{add in and combine}
3 cups basil, packed
1/4 milk (add more if needed for consistency)

Super easy and delicious. Serve immediately over pasta, or store in the fridge or freezer in airtight container for later use. It's perfect to just scoop out a big spoonful over pasta (or meat, or fish) throughout the week, heating only what you need, as an instand meal starter- or finisher!

Blueberry Mojito Mocktail

Summertime calls for guzzling refreshing drinks all day long. And there are tons of options out there, tons of delicious, fruity, yummy summery drinks. But so many of them are alcoholic. Which is fine for a bbq or an afterwork refresher, but what if you want something in the middle of the day when you still have work to and and need to keep a sharp mind? Or what about if you're just trying to cut back on the alcohol intake? There's definitely nothing wrong with that. And there are delicious options for mocktails that make you feel like you're having a cocktail but without the booze. A mojito is my favorite summertime drink, and adding a few fresh berries like blueberries or raspberries only make it better. Check out my take on an alcohol free version. Feel free to play around with the amounts, depending on if you like it sweeter, a bit sour, or extra minty!

Brown Sugar Chili Chicken Legs

Last week the mister and his friend painted the house. The whole interior. In about two days flat. It was crazy. They were there all day long working so hard. I new I needed to make them something delicious, easy to eat, and satisfying to bring by for lunch. It was really the least I could do. Seriously, I did not help a single other iota. Didn't touch a paintbrush the whole time. 

These brown sugar chili chicken legs seemed like the perfect thing. I had been meaning to make them (I found a similar recipe on pinterest along with a roasted red pepper dipping sauce, which was obviously not gonna fly with these guys, although I may try it next time I make these!) and I knew the kick of chili along with the sweetness of brown sugar would make these boys happy. The mister is all for some sweetness in his meals, whereas I am usually more into savory. This dish is definitely a happy medium. They went so fast I hardly had a chance to take a picture, so I'll have to do them again soon.

{combine}

10 chicken legs

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/3 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoosn garlic powder

2 tablespoons chili powder

1 tablespoon paprika

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

{bake}

on baking sheet at 425 degrees for about 30 minutes (flipping halfway through) or until brown, crispy and cooked through.

red lentil coconut soup

Soo.. About that starting to blog about my food more thing. Apparently it lasted that one day. As usual :( But no, maybe I haven't been doing well with writing it down, but I have been sticking to my meal plans pretty well and it has been helping! I made a couple delicious meals lately and I do want to write them here so I can find them later. So let's get started with the best and most important one lately: the Red Lentil Coconut Soup.

Just the name itself sounds so delicious and comforting. Red lentils sound so hearty and soulful.  And coconut- don't get me started. One look at my pinterest and it is clear that I cannot pass up any recipe that has the word coconut in the title. It just makes it sound so good to me! Creamy but tropical and exotic and yummy. I have about five different coconut soups and I really am going to try them all. 

This recipe though. It was actually one of my favorite meals. And its just soup! I've never been that big of a fan of soup and I never expected one to change my world. But this one has. It's substantial enough to be filling. It's healthy enough to feel good about. It's so flavorful anyone would love it. And it doesn't even have meat in it. And even the mister liked it. With no meat. I know. This is definitely going to be a go to soup recipe for me. I see myself bringing it over to neighbors when they're sick, potlucks, and making it for my family all the time. I found the recipe here, but it was actually vegan so I played around with it a bit to fit my tastes more.

{rinse}

2 cups red lentils as you would with rice and set aside

Use a large pot!

{heat}

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 yellow onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 red bell pepper, diced

 ½ jalepeno pepper

until soft

{add}

2 tablespoon curry powder

2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 teaspoons salt

1/3 cup tomato paste

2 teaspoons sriracha chili sauce

7 cups chicken stock

1 can coconut milk

1/3 cup mascarpone cheese

2 cups lentils (that you just rinsed)

1 can chickpeas

Cook uncovered for about 20 minutes. Add the lime juice at the end, along with any more of any of the spices to taste. Serve :) It's even better after being reheated a few times. I actually made it earlier in the day and reheated it for dinner, which was good for it I think. It was even better the next day after being reheated again. Add a bit more stock, or some water or milk in reheating to thin it back down as it thickens when cooled!