Pork Roast in the Crockpot

I guess by now you realize that I am back to the food blog and with a vengeance. My goal is to post at least 2 times a week. More if I have something really good to add.

I have been really busy and that is my excuse. Most of the meals I was making are the thrown together family faves that I never really think about blogging but I started to realize that most of us are probably in the same boat right now. Money is tight because of rising fuel costs and I don't know about you but my grocery bill is out of this world (busy looking for ways to keep it down...), and we're all busy...trying to keep it all together. Sometimes more gracefully than others LOL!

Today's recipe falls in the fast and easy and relatively inexpensive if you buy right. I was able to find pork sirloin tip roast at Costco for $1.69 a pound and they come packaged in about 2 lb packs. Which is perfect for us. One meal and leftovers for Tony's lunch the next day. So add some mashed potatoes and a quick salad to it and you have a perfect weeknight meal that will make everyone happy!

Pork Roast in the Crockpot

Ingredients

• 1 (2 pound) pork roast or tenderloin
• 1 medium sized onion cut in half and sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon (or cube) of bouillon dissolved in the following cup of water
• 1 cup water
• 3/4 cup red wine
• 3 tablespoons minced garlic
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Place pork roast in a slow cooker (I use the smallest one possible to hold all the liquid) with the onions.
2. Sprinkle with garlic powder and salt.
3. Pour water, wine, and soy sauce over the top, turning the pork to coat.
4. Carefully spread garlic over the pork, leaving as much on top of the roast during cooking as possible.
5. Sprinkle with pepper, cover, and cook on low setting for 4 hours.
6. Serve with cooking liquid on the side as au jus or thicken for a delicious gravy

Bacon and Egg Breakfast Cups

I am ALWAYS on the lookout for a quick, healthy and easy breakfast to feed the girls.  Our mornings are sometimes a little (lol!) hectic and having some thing made ahead or that is fast makes it oh so much better.  Usually they get these really tasty breakfast sandwiches but when I saw these on Kristen’s blog (Dine and Dish) I knew I would have to try them.

They were a real hit.  I ended up changing it and using bacon that I cooked up the night before because I didn’t have any ham.  The kiddo’s loved them.  Lauren will eat 2 of these at a sitting.  Easy to make a dozen and heat them up over the next couple of days…

Bacon and Egg Breakfast Cups (Dine and Dish)
Ingredients:

• 12 eggs
• 1 cup chopped cooked bacon
• 2 ounces shredded cheddar cheese
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°
2. Spray a muffin pan generously with Pam cooking spray
3. Crack one egg into each hole of the muffin pan, using a fork to gently break the yolk.
4. Sprinkle each egg with bacon, salt, cracked black pepper and cheese.
5. Bake for 20 minutes.
6. Pop out of muffin tins and serve.

Beef Stew with Beer…

Enough said right?  How can beef stew simmered for hours in a nice hearty beer be bad?  In my books it can’t so when I was searching for a stew recipe and came across this one from Ree of The Pioneer Woman I knew I’d found what I was looking for.

This soup was rich and delicious and made for a perfect weeknight meal for a busy family!
Beef Stew with Beer and Paprika (The Pioneer Woman)
Ingredients:

• 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 Tablespoon Butter
• 2 pounds Stew Meat (I dredged the meat in seasoned flour  (salt, pepper and garlic powder) before browning it)
• 1 whole Medium Onion, Diced
• 3 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 1 can Beer, 12 Ounce Can
• 4 cups Beef Stock (or 4 Cups Water + 4 Beef Bouillon Cubes)
• 2 cups Water (additional, If Needed)
• 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
• 2 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
• 1/2 teaspoon Paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• 1-1/2 teaspoon Sugar
• 4 whole Carrots, Washed, Unpeeled, And Roughly Sliced
• 4 whole New Potatoes, Quartered
• Minced Parsley (optional)

Directions:
Heat oil and butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Brown (floured and seasoned) meat in two batches, setting aside on a plate when brown. Cut pieces in half.
Add diced onions to the pot. Stir and cook for two or three minutes until softened, then add garlic for another minute. Pour in beer and beef stock, then add Worcestershire, tomato paste, paprika, salt, pepper, and sugar. Add beef back into the pot. Stir to combine. Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
*UPDATE: The liquid should cook down to a thicker state. If it gets too thick/reduces too much, add additional water as needed.
Add carrots and potatoes, then cover and cook for an additional 30 minutes. (If stew gets dry, just add a cup of hot water at a time to replenish the liquid.) Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
***We loved this recipe and the only change I made was dredging the meat in seasoned flour (salt, pepper and a bit of garlic powder).  Will be making this again as soon as it’s cool enough…

Homemade Marshmallows

To start with I want to wish you Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year! I'm a little behind on this but I wanted you to know the sentiment was there.

Now onto a regular blog post...

With the cold weather finally settling in all over the country our thoughts are turning to hot chocolate. Now what goes perfect with some hot chocolate? Marshmallows!!!

I first tried making these a couple of years ago and the kids never forgot them and had been asking and asking for them ever since.

This year we had already decided that there was going to be a huge paring back. We already have SO MUCH STUFF. None of us NEEDED anything this year. Pretty lucky huh? Sure there are a lot of wants but I think we've been coming to terms that there is a huge difference between WANTS and NEEDS. One of the things I decided to do was to make everyone some gifts. Tony got the homemade hot sauce and the girls got the homemade marshmallows. Worked out perfectly and they opened them for their one gift they get to open on Christmas Eve. Perfect for the traditional cup of hot chocolate.

Homemade Marshmallows (Smitten Kitchen-Springy, Fluffy Marshmallows)
Makes about 96 1-inch cubed marshmallows
Ingredients:
About 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
3 1/2 envelopes (2 tablespoons plus 2 1/2 teaspoons) unflavored gelatin
1 cup cold water, divided
2 cups granulated sugar (cane sugar worked just fine)
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large egg whites or reconstituted powdered egg whites
1 tablespoon vanilla (alternately: 1/2 of a scraped vanilla bean, 2 teaspoons almond or mint extract or maybe even some food coloring for tinting)
Directions:

1. Oil bottom and sides of a 13- by 9- by 2-inch rectangular metal baking pan and dust bottom and sides with some confectioners’ sugar.
2. In bowl of a standing electric mixer or in a large bowl sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup cold cold water, and let stand to soften.
3. In a 3-quart heavy saucepan cook granulated sugar, corn syrup, second 1/2 cup of cold water, and salt over low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until sugar is dissolved. Increase heat to moderate and boil mixture, without stirring, until a candy or digital thermometer registers 240°F, about 12 minutes. Remove pan from heat and pour sugar mixture over gelatin mixture, stirring until gelatin is dissolved.
4. With standing or a hand-held electric mixer beat mixture on high speed until white, thick, and nearly tripled in volume, about six minutes if using standing mixer or about 10 minutes if using hand-held mixer. (Some reviewers felt this took even longer with a hand mixer, but still eventually whipped up nicely.)
5. In separate medium bowl with cleaned beaters beat egg whites (or reconstituted powdered whites) until they just hold stiff peaks. Beat whites and vanilla (or your choice of flavoring) into sugar mixture until just combined. Pour mixture into baking pan and don’t fret if you don’t get it all out (learning from my mess of a first round). Sift 1/4 cup confectioners sugar evenly over top. Chill marshmallow, uncovered, until firm, at least three hours, and up to one day.
6. Run a thin knife around edges of pan and invert pan onto a large cutting board. Lifting up one corner of inverted pan, with fingers loosen marshmallow and ease onto cutting board. With a large knife trim edges of marshmallow and cut marshmallow into roughly one-inch cubes. (An oiled pizza cutter works well here too.) Sift remaining confectioners’ sugar back into your now-empty baking pan, and roll the marshmallows through it, on all six sides, before shaking off the excess and packing them away.

Do ahead: Marshmallows keep in an airtight container at cool room temperature 1 week.
***I followed this recipe to a tee. Both times I have made them and they've turned out perfectly both times. Love this one. Next time I may try and add some peppermint extract to half of the batch to shake it up a bit!

Spinach Artichoke Pasta - Yep PASTA!!!

I hope you weren't looking for a holiday recipe? I'm so deep in denial about the approaching festivities that I haven't even started baking...and I really need to post more.

I was so excited when I saw this recipe. I LOVE Spinach Artichoke dip and try to talk Tony and the kids into it anytime I see it on a menu when we are out. Yep, made it at home several times too. One of the problems though when I make it at home is that I eat way too much of it! So this way was perfect It was served with pasta and that meant I could have it as a main course and eat as much as I liked...:-)

And did I mention that this dish is fast to prepare? Yep, really, really fast. Like about as long as it takes to cook the pasta fast.


Spinach Artichoke Pasta (found on Pinterest by Budget Bytes)

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp Olive oil
4 cloves garlic
4 oz. cream cheese or neufchatel cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup white wine
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1 can (14 oz.) quartered artichoke hearts
1 package (10 oz.) chopped spinach, thawed
1 Tbsp hot sauce
1 tsp red pepper flake
salt and pepper to taste
1 package of pasta (any shape)

Directions:

1. Put a large pot of water on to boil with a lid. When it comes to a boil, cook the pasta according to package directions (boil for about 10 minutes or until al dente). Drain the pasta in a colander.
2. While you are cooking the pasta, start making the sauce. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Mince the garlic and cook it in the oil until it is slightly tender (1-2 minutes).
3. Add the cream cheese, sour cream and white wine. Stir until everything is evenly incorporated. Reduce the heat to medium/low.
4. Add the milk and Parmesan cheese. Stir it in until the Parmesan has melted in and is evenly incorporated. Stir in the hot sauce and thawed/drained spinach.
5. Drain the can of artichoke hearts. Roughly chop them and add to the sauce. Taste the sauce and season with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes if desired.
6. Add the cooked and drained pasta and stir to coat. Serve warm.

This is a wonderfully satisfying dinner that goes perfectly with a good glass of white wine!

Sweet and Sticky Oven Baked Chicken Thighs

I was searching the internet the other day looking for something new to try with chicken thighs.  Seems that more and more of my weeknight meals revolve around them and the family is getting a little tired of my normal baked thigh recipes.  Luckily this recipe caught my eye and it is definitely a keeper!!! 
Kristen from Dine and Dish makes these using chicken wings but thighs are what I had.

Sweet and Sticky Oven Baked Chicken Thighs (from Dine and Dish)
Ingredients:
1 cup honey
1/4 cup molasses
1/3 cup ketchup
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Spanish paprika
1 Tablespoon seasoned salt
1/8 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper 
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt 
1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 Tablespoon mustard
1 ½ cups brown sugar
8 chicken thighs
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together all ingredients except the chicken thighs
2. Line metal baking sheet with aluminum foil and place a rack to elevate the chicken.
3. Pour the barbecue sauce over chicken thighs in a large re-sealable plastic bag. Seal tightly and shake until sauce is well distributed.
4. Arrange chicken thighs on the rack over the aluminum foil lined baking sheet.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour or until crisp and cooked through.

It’s Fall…Pumpkin Dump Cake

I have been eyeing this recipe popping up all over the place in the past weeks or so.  Problem with me right now is that when I have the time to make something it seems that I never have all of the ingredients! 
Well today the clouds parted and all the stars aligned and I made it!!  And it’s good.  Really, really good!!!

Pumpkin Dump Cake (from Cookies & Cups)
Ingredients:

• 1 15 oz can Pumpkin Puree
• 1 10 oz can Evaporated Milk
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 3 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 box yellow cake mix
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter melted
• 1 cup coarsely crushed graham crackers or pecans
• 1/2 cup toffee bits (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Spray a 9×13 baking pan lightly with cooking/baking spray
3. In a large bowl combine the pumpkin, evaporated milk, sugar, eggs and pumpkin pie spice. Stir to combine.
4. Pour into your prepared pan.
5. Sprinkle your entire box of cake mix on top, followed by your nuts or graham crackers and toffee chips.
6. Pour your melted butter evenly on top.
7. Bake for 45-50 minutes until center is set and edges are lightly browned.