Source
Ingredients
6 fluid ounces milk
1/2 cup hot cocoa mix
2 cups crushed ice cubes
whipped cream (optional)
Directions
1. Pour milk into blender.
2. Add hot cocoa and ice.
3. Blend first at low speed and then high speed until ice is finely crushed and slushy.
4. Pour into tall glass and top with whipped cream and a dusting of hot cocoa mix, if desired.
Notes
This is my new favorite summer treat! It's fast and simple to make, and easy to multiply for crowds. Love it! Feel free to tweak measurements to accommodate your preferences.
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
Peach BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches
Source
Ingredients
1-4 pound pork shoulder
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion
1 pound skinned and diced peaches (I used canned)
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp dijon mustard
2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ginger
3/4 cup ketchup
Directions
1. If desired, sear the pork shoulder and place in the bottom of a slow cooker.
2. In a saucepan, heat the olive oil. Add in the onion and cook until translucent. Add in the peaches, cider vinegar, dijon, worcestershire, brown sugar, pepper, garlic powder, ginger, and ketchup. Cook until the sauce has slightly thickened and the peaches have softened, about 10 minutes.
3. Transfer the sauce to a food processor or blender and process until smooth (working in batches, if needed)
4. Pour the BBQ sauce over the pork in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until the pork is cooked through and pulls apart easily.
5. When the pork is done, remove it to a cutting board. Transfer the BBQ sauce from the slow cooker into a saucepan. Bring the sauce to a boil and cook until reduced down and thickened, 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, shred the pork.
6. When the sauce has reduced and thickened, add back into the slow cooker along with the shredded pork. Stir to combine and serve on hamburger buns.
Notes
This is the pork that we made at the family reunion. It's one of my favorite crock pot dishes. The only changes that I make to the original recipe are to use canned peaches instead of fresh (just for the sake of convenience), and to double the sauce (the shredded pork soaks up all of the sauce, and I like to have extra for topping). I highly recommend serving this with coleslaw on top and/or grated apples!
Ingredients
1-4 pound pork shoulder
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion
1 pound skinned and diced peaches (I used canned)
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp dijon mustard
2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ginger
3/4 cup ketchup
Directions
1. If desired, sear the pork shoulder and place in the bottom of a slow cooker.
2. In a saucepan, heat the olive oil. Add in the onion and cook until translucent. Add in the peaches, cider vinegar, dijon, worcestershire, brown sugar, pepper, garlic powder, ginger, and ketchup. Cook until the sauce has slightly thickened and the peaches have softened, about 10 minutes.
3. Transfer the sauce to a food processor or blender and process until smooth (working in batches, if needed)
4. Pour the BBQ sauce over the pork in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until the pork is cooked through and pulls apart easily.
5. When the pork is done, remove it to a cutting board. Transfer the BBQ sauce from the slow cooker into a saucepan. Bring the sauce to a boil and cook until reduced down and thickened, 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, shred the pork.
6. When the sauce has reduced and thickened, add back into the slow cooker along with the shredded pork. Stir to combine and serve on hamburger buns.
Notes
This is the pork that we made at the family reunion. It's one of my favorite crock pot dishes. The only changes that I make to the original recipe are to use canned peaches instead of fresh (just for the sake of convenience), and to double the sauce (the shredded pork soaks up all of the sauce, and I like to have extra for topping). I highly recommend serving this with coleslaw on top and/or grated apples!
Monday, July 6, 2015
Pretty Dang Amazing Chocolate Chip Cookies
Source: Mel
Ingredients:
2 1/8 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 cup packed light brown sugar (7 ounces)
1/2 cup granulated sugar (3 1/2 ounces)
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet or milk chocolate chips (always semisweet)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make sure an oven rack is in the center of the oven.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
Either by hand or with an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugars together until well mixed. Add the egg, yolk, and vanilla. Mix well until the batter has lightened slightly in color, about 2 minutes.
Add the dry ingredients and chocolate chips at the same time. Mix until all the dry ingredients are incorporated.
Form dough into tablespoonful-sized balls and place on parchment or silpat-lined cookie sheets.
Frozen cookie dough can be stored for up to 2 months in the freezer.
Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes until the edges are set and just lightly browned (keeping in mind that ovens can vary in temperature so use your best judgment). Don't overbake or else the cookies will be tough and hard. If baking frozen cookie dough, add 1 to 2 minutes onto the baking time. Store the baked cookies in an airtight container (or baked cookies can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 2 months).
Notes:
One rainy day in May I found out that it was National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day. Now, I have plenty of chocolate chip cookie (and varieties) recipes in my arsenal, but I decided I wanted to try something new that day. So, of course, Mel came to the rescue with what she calls "the best" chocolate chip cookies. I don't know if I can say that yet, after only making them once. But I can say that they are the bomb. And I will probably be making them again - if it ever gets cool and rainy instead of hot, hot, hot again!
Ingredients:
2 1/8 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 cup packed light brown sugar (7 ounces)
1/2 cup granulated sugar (3 1/2 ounces)
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet or milk chocolate chips (always semisweet)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make sure an oven rack is in the center of the oven.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
Either by hand or with an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugars together until well mixed. Add the egg, yolk, and vanilla. Mix well until the batter has lightened slightly in color, about 2 minutes.
Add the dry ingredients and chocolate chips at the same time. Mix until all the dry ingredients are incorporated.
Form dough into tablespoonful-sized balls and place on parchment or silpat-lined cookie sheets.
Frozen cookie dough can be stored for up to 2 months in the freezer.
Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes until the edges are set and just lightly browned (keeping in mind that ovens can vary in temperature so use your best judgment). Don't overbake or else the cookies will be tough and hard. If baking frozen cookie dough, add 1 to 2 minutes onto the baking time. Store the baked cookies in an airtight container (or baked cookies can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 2 months).
Notes:
One rainy day in May I found out that it was National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day. Now, I have plenty of chocolate chip cookie (and varieties) recipes in my arsenal, but I decided I wanted to try something new that day. So, of course, Mel came to the rescue with what she calls "the best" chocolate chip cookies. I don't know if I can say that yet, after only making them once. But I can say that they are the bomb. And I will probably be making them again - if it ever gets cool and rainy instead of hot, hot, hot again!
Cajun Chicken Stroganoff
Source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe
Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons olive oil
12 ounces chicken sausage (like the Aidell's brand), sliced 1/2-inch thick (I just used some turkey sausage that was on sale)
12 ounces white button mushrooms, sliced
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon garlic powder
4 Tablespoons flour
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 cup sour cream
Chopped green onions or fresh parsley for garnish, optional
Hot, cooked egg noodles or rice or quinoa for serving (we always go for egg noodles with stroganoff)
Directions:
In a medium bowl, toss the chicken with the paprika, pepper, salt, basil, thyme and oregano. Let sit while cooking the sausage and mushrooms.
In a large, 12-inch nonstick skillet (I always use a large saucepan because I don't have a skillet big enough for these sorts of things), heat 1 teaspoon of the oil over medium heat. Add the sausage and mushrooms and sauté until golden brown, 5-7 minutes. Remove to a plate.
Heat the remaining 1 teaspoon oil in the same skillet over medium-high heat and add the chicken/seasonings mixture in a single layer. Let the chicken brown nicely on all sides (don't let it cook through). Push the chicken to the edges of the skillet and add the tomato paste and garlic powder to the center. Cook while mashing and pressing the tomato paste and garlic mixture into the hot skillet for 30 seconds or so before stirring it into the chicken.
In a liquid measure cup (or in a blender) combine the flour and chicken broth until smooth.
Slowly pour in 1/2 cup of the broth, stirring quickly and thoroughly. After the mixture thickens a bit, continue adding the broth slowly, stirring or whisking quickly to incorporate the broth throughout the chicken. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce and bring the mixture to a simmer. Cook for 5-6 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce is bubbly and thickened. Add the mushrooms and sausage back to the skillet and heat through. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Off the heat, stir in the sour cream. Serve over hot, cooked egg noodles, rice or quinoa. Garnish with fresh parsley or green onions, if desired
Notes:
This makes a ton of sauce - usually I mix my noodles and sauce together and just serve it from one pot, but this time I didn't cook nearly enough noodles to do that, so we kept them separate for leftovers and I used some leftover rice from other meals for lunches the next few days. Also, the sauce was runnier than I was expecting. So maybe next time I'll add an extra tablespoon or so of flour to help it thicken up a bit more. It was good though. Different than our usual stroganoff (which we all love around here), but a fun change. I really like the sausage addition.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons olive oil
12 ounces chicken sausage (like the Aidell's brand), sliced 1/2-inch thick (I just used some turkey sausage that was on sale)
12 ounces white button mushrooms, sliced
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon garlic powder
4 Tablespoons flour
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 cup sour cream
Chopped green onions or fresh parsley for garnish, optional
Hot, cooked egg noodles or rice or quinoa for serving (we always go for egg noodles with stroganoff)
Directions:
In a medium bowl, toss the chicken with the paprika, pepper, salt, basil, thyme and oregano. Let sit while cooking the sausage and mushrooms.
In a large, 12-inch nonstick skillet (I always use a large saucepan because I don't have a skillet big enough for these sorts of things), heat 1 teaspoon of the oil over medium heat. Add the sausage and mushrooms and sauté until golden brown, 5-7 minutes. Remove to a plate.
Heat the remaining 1 teaspoon oil in the same skillet over medium-high heat and add the chicken/seasonings mixture in a single layer. Let the chicken brown nicely on all sides (don't let it cook through). Push the chicken to the edges of the skillet and add the tomato paste and garlic powder to the center. Cook while mashing and pressing the tomato paste and garlic mixture into the hot skillet for 30 seconds or so before stirring it into the chicken.
In a liquid measure cup (or in a blender) combine the flour and chicken broth until smooth.
Slowly pour in 1/2 cup of the broth, stirring quickly and thoroughly. After the mixture thickens a bit, continue adding the broth slowly, stirring or whisking quickly to incorporate the broth throughout the chicken. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce and bring the mixture to a simmer. Cook for 5-6 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce is bubbly and thickened. Add the mushrooms and sausage back to the skillet and heat through. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Off the heat, stir in the sour cream. Serve over hot, cooked egg noodles, rice or quinoa. Garnish with fresh parsley or green onions, if desired
Notes:
This makes a ton of sauce - usually I mix my noodles and sauce together and just serve it from one pot, but this time I didn't cook nearly enough noodles to do that, so we kept them separate for leftovers and I used some leftover rice from other meals for lunches the next few days. Also, the sauce was runnier than I was expecting. So maybe next time I'll add an extra tablespoon or so of flour to help it thicken up a bit more. It was good though. Different than our usual stroganoff (which we all love around here), but a fun change. I really like the sausage addition.
Strawberry Shortcake Bars
Source: Mel, the champion
Ingredients:
for the crust:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup quick oatmeal
1/2 cup lightly packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
14 Tablespoons (2 Tablespoons shy of 2 sticks) cold butter, cut into cubes
for the filling:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
8 Tablespoons butter, melted
1 large egg
for the strawberry topping:
2 pounds diced fresh strawberries
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9X13-inch pan with foil and lightly grease (the foil makes for easier cleanup but you can leave it out and just grease the pan - which is exactly what I'll do next time since I kept cutting the foil and it made sort of a mess).
For the crust, in a large bowl combine the flour, oatmeal, brown sugar, salt and nutmeg. Toss in the cubed butter and cut it into the dry mixture using a pastry blender or two knives or just your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Measure out 1 cup of the mixture and set it aside for later.
Press the rest of the crust into the bottom of the prepared pan and bake for 8 minutes.
While the crust bakes, make the filling by whisking together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar (you can use the same bowl as the crust without washing it out if you want to save a dish). Make a well in the center and pour in the butter and egg. Stir with a rubber spatula until smooth and combined - it will be pretty thick.
Crumble this mixture over the warm crust and pat into a relatively even layer (doesn't have to be perfect).
In a medium bowl, toss the strawberries with the sugar, cornstarch, nutmeg and vanilla. Spread evenly over the filling and sprinkle the reserved streusel/crust mixture over the top.
Bake the bars for 40-45 minutes until they are just lightly golden around the edges and the center is no longer soft/jiggly.
Cool completely in the pan. Cut into bars and serve. Store the bars in the refrigerator if not serving within an hour or two (I like to let them sit at room temperature out of the fridge for 20-30 minutes to take the chill off).
Notes:
I saw this posted the week of the Fourth of July and thought it looked so patriotic and delicious that I knew it would be just the thing to take to my parents' big fireworks shindig the night before. They were pretty quick to whip up and smelled amazing as they cooled in the car on our drive to Logan. They were really delicious to eat, as well! Gregg and I liked that you could really taste the strawberries - they weren't overly sweet or rich (even with nearly 3 sticks of butter!) - just fruity and wonderful. I would love to experiment with other fruits (I read in the comments on Mel's blog people were going to try blueberries and plums). I bet any berries or a mixture would be fabulous!
Ingredients:
for the crust:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup quick oatmeal
1/2 cup lightly packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
14 Tablespoons (2 Tablespoons shy of 2 sticks) cold butter, cut into cubes
for the filling:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
8 Tablespoons butter, melted
1 large egg
for the strawberry topping:
2 pounds diced fresh strawberries
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9X13-inch pan with foil and lightly grease (the foil makes for easier cleanup but you can leave it out and just grease the pan - which is exactly what I'll do next time since I kept cutting the foil and it made sort of a mess).
For the crust, in a large bowl combine the flour, oatmeal, brown sugar, salt and nutmeg. Toss in the cubed butter and cut it into the dry mixture using a pastry blender or two knives or just your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Measure out 1 cup of the mixture and set it aside for later.
Press the rest of the crust into the bottom of the prepared pan and bake for 8 minutes.
While the crust bakes, make the filling by whisking together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar (you can use the same bowl as the crust without washing it out if you want to save a dish). Make a well in the center and pour in the butter and egg. Stir with a rubber spatula until smooth and combined - it will be pretty thick.
Crumble this mixture over the warm crust and pat into a relatively even layer (doesn't have to be perfect).
In a medium bowl, toss the strawberries with the sugar, cornstarch, nutmeg and vanilla. Spread evenly over the filling and sprinkle the reserved streusel/crust mixture over the top.
Bake the bars for 40-45 minutes until they are just lightly golden around the edges and the center is no longer soft/jiggly.
Cool completely in the pan. Cut into bars and serve. Store the bars in the refrigerator if not serving within an hour or two (I like to let them sit at room temperature out of the fridge for 20-30 minutes to take the chill off).
Notes:
I saw this posted the week of the Fourth of July and thought it looked so patriotic and delicious that I knew it would be just the thing to take to my parents' big fireworks shindig the night before. They were pretty quick to whip up and smelled amazing as they cooled in the car on our drive to Logan. They were really delicious to eat, as well! Gregg and I liked that you could really taste the strawberries - they weren't overly sweet or rich (even with nearly 3 sticks of butter!) - just fruity and wonderful. I would love to experiment with other fruits (I read in the comments on Mel's blog people were going to try blueberries and plums). I bet any berries or a mixture would be fabulous!
Thursday, July 2, 2015
Not-Too-Sweet Baked Beans
Source: a mixture of Our Best Bites and the Essential Mormon Celebrations Cookbook (pg 96)
Ingredients:
7 slices bacon (~6 oz), cut in 2 inch pieces
1 small-med onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped (green is good, too)
2 cans Mexican-style stewed tomatoes (you could use diced tomatoes and skip the potato masher step, I'm sure, but this is what I had in the cupboard)
2 cans pork and beans, undrained
1 can dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained (I made these a second time and used pinto instead and I think I like that way better)
1 can great northern beans, rinsed and drained
⅓ cup molasses (I had slightly less, so I added a titch more brown sugar to make up for it)
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 Tablespoons prepared mustard
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon hot sauce (I used Cholula)
Directions:
Fry bacon in a large skillet until cooked but not crisp. Add onion and pepper and cook for about 3 minutes. Drain off bacon grease and discard or save for another use. Place all beans in a large baking dish or crock pot. Pulse the tomatoes in a blender or food processor about 5-6 times or until they are breaking down but not smooth. (I just dumped the tomatoes in the empty crock pot and mashed them a bit with a potato masher, then added the beans to it.) Pour over beans. Add molasses, brown sugar, mustard, salt and hot sauce and mix well. Stir in bacon, onion, and pepper mixture. Cover and bake at 325 degrees for about 1 hour or 4 hours on low/2 hours on high in crock pot (I've made it twice in the crockpot and it's a cinch at either temp!). Makes 12 servings.
Ingredients:
7 slices bacon (~6 oz), cut in 2 inch pieces
1 small-med onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped (green is good, too)
2 cans Mexican-style stewed tomatoes (you could use diced tomatoes and skip the potato masher step, I'm sure, but this is what I had in the cupboard)
2 cans pork and beans, undrained
1 can dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained (I made these a second time and used pinto instead and I think I like that way better)
1 can great northern beans, rinsed and drained
⅓ cup molasses (I had slightly less, so I added a titch more brown sugar to make up for it)
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 Tablespoons prepared mustard
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon hot sauce (I used Cholula)
Directions:
Fry bacon in a large skillet until cooked but not crisp. Add onion and pepper and cook for about 3 minutes. Drain off bacon grease and discard or save for another use. Place all beans in a large baking dish or crock pot. Pulse the tomatoes in a blender or food processor about 5-6 times or until they are breaking down but not smooth. (I just dumped the tomatoes in the empty crock pot and mashed them a bit with a potato masher, then added the beans to it.) Pour over beans. Add molasses, brown sugar, mustard, salt and hot sauce and mix well. Stir in bacon, onion, and pepper mixture. Cover and bake at 325 degrees for about 1 hour or 4 hours on low/2 hours on high in crock pot (I've made it twice in the crockpot and it's a cinch at either temp!). Makes 12 servings.
Notes:
I really was craving baked beans this month, and luckily I had two opportunities to make (and eat) some (a lot). I first whipped up a batch for our big birthday bowling/hot dog roast extravaganza and I got good reviews there, so when I was asked to bring something to another family bbq, and one of the options was beans, I jumped at the chance to make them again. Super yum both times. And really as easy as can be to throw together. I especially love the variety of beans and the fact that it's not too sweet (there's still some sweetness, obviously with molasses and brown sugar, but it's not overpoweringly sweet). You get all kinds of good smoky, beany, peppery flavors going on and I think they're just delish. Long live beans!
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