Pork carnitas

Recipe is from Cooks Illustrated. 

It might look like a lot of work but it couldn't be easier. It is so delicious!! So moist and tender. Heaven! 

4 pound boneless pork butt, fat trimmed and cut into 2 inch cubes

1 1/2 tsp salt

3/4 tsp pepper

1 tsp ground cumin

1 onion, peeled and halved

2 bay leaves

1 tsp dried oregano

2 Tb fresh lime juice

2 C water

1 medium orange, juiced and keep the spent halves

1.  Adjust oven rack to lower middle position and heat to 300 degrees.  Combine all the ingredients in a large Dutch oven, including the spent orange halves and juice.  Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-high heat, uncovered.  Once it simmers, cover pot and transfer it to the oven.  Cook until the meat falls apart when prodded with a fork, about 2 hours.

2.  Remove the pot from the oven and turn on the broiler.  Use a slotted spoon to remove the meat from the pan and place it on a large foil-lined jelly roll pan.  Remove and discard everything from the pot except for the cooking liquid.  Place pot over high heat on the stove and boil until thick and syrupy, about 20 minutes.  You should have about 1 C of liquid remaining when it is finished.

3.  While the liquid is reducing, use two forks to pull each cube of pork into three equal sized pieces.  Once the liquid has become a syrup, gently fold in the pieces of pork into the pot.  Try not to break up the pork any further.  Taste and add additional salt and pepper. 

4.  Spread the pork back onto the foil lined pan and evenly spread the meat around so there is a single layer of meat.  Place the jelly roll pan on the lower middle rack of the oven and broil until the top of the meat is well browned and edges are slightly crisp, about 5 to 8 minutes.  Using a wide metal spatula, flip the pieces of meat and broil the other side until well browned and edges are slightly crisp, 5 to 8 minutes.  Serve immediately in a tortilla with all your favorite toppings.

Barbecue sauce

1. Recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe.com 

This is the best! We fell in love. Won't buy bottled sauce ever again. 

1. 
   
2. 2 cups ketchup
3. 2 cups tomato sauce
4. 1 1/4 cups brown sugar
5. 1 1/4 cups red wine vinegar
6. 1/2 cup unsulphured molasses
7. 2 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
8. 4 teaspoons hickory flavored liquid smoke
9. 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
10. 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
11. 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
12. 1 teaspoon paprika
13. 1/2 teaspoon celery seed
14. 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
15. 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
16. 1 teaspoon salt
17. 1 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
18. 
    
19. In a large saucepan, over medium heat, mix together all the wet ingredients and then add the seasonings. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to low and simmer for at least 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. The sauce will thicken as it simmers (and then as it cools). I try to plan ahead and simmer for at least an hour. Use the sauce to brush onto meats the last ten minutes of grilling or for any other recipe where barbecue sauce is used. Once cooled, the sauce can be frozen. Thaw in the refrigerator and use as needed.

Wingers copycat

1/2 c brown sugar 

1/4 c FRANKS original hot sauce

1 t cider vinegar

1 T corn syrup

Bring to a boil. Cook 2-5 minutes The longer you boil it the thicker it gets. 

P.s. too long and it makes toffee.  So keep an eye on it 😉I know from experience. 

This only serves 3. 

If your serving it for kids that don't like spicy cut back on the franks a bit. 

We like it with Tyson's chicken tenders. And steak fries. 

You can wrap it up in a tortilla with lettuce tomato cheese and ranch to make a sticky wrap. Wingers uses chipotle tortillas but I've never seen that flavor in stores. 

I like to mix it with ranch and make a creamy dressing for salads. 

Herb rubbed Pork

Katrina found this recipe on pinterest somewhere. She sent it to me. Best tenderloin ever!! 1 lb pork loin or tenderloin 1/4 c brown sugar 1 T thyme 1 t garlic powder 1 t pepper 1 t salt 1 t sage 1 t rosemary Combine and rub onto the pork until completely coated. Place on a parchment cookie sheet. Bake at 500 for 10 min and then lower to 350 until the center reaches 145. I cooked 1 tenderloin at 400 for about 20 minutes and it came out perfect!

Chicken Teriyaki bowls

Teriyaki sauce

1/2 c soy sauce

1/2 c sugar

1/4 c cider vinegar 

1/2 t ginger 

1/4 t black pepper 

1/2 t garlic pwd

1 T corn starch 

2 T water 

Boil the all ingredients except corn starch and water. Mix the starch and water together and add to boiling soy sauce mixture. 

Pour teriyaki sauce in the crock pot. Add chicken thighs. Cook on low for 4-6 hrs. Until the chicken is moist and easily shredded. 

Serve over rice. We like to add frozen mixed veggies too. 

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

for aunt diane:

2 sticks soft butter
2 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
zest from 2 lemons
juice from 1 lemon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
3 cups flour

powdered sugar

cream butter and sugar. mix in vanilla, eggs, zest and lemon juice.
add drys mix til just combined. i like to refrigerate the dough at this point, though technically you don't have to. roll cookies into tablespoon-size and roll in powdered sugar. place on cookie sheets and bake about 9-11 minutes at 350. the should not be brown, so don't overbake :).

Skillet lasagna

I didn't have the ingredients for the sauce but it looks delicious. I just made my usual go to marinara. Tomato sauce with Italian seasoning and brown sugar. It was delicious!! We love lasagna but I hate layering it and making a huge pan for just the 3 of us. This was a great alt.

Recipe from Mel's kitchen Cafe

INGREDIENTS:
3 (14.5 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, minced
Salt
3 medium garlic cloves, finely minced
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes (these do not add spice – just flavor!)
1 tablespoon dried basil
1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
1/2 pound ground pork
1/2 pound ground beef (I used 80% lean)
12 curly-edged lasagna noodles, broken into 1 inch lengths
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 cup ricotta cheese (do not use fat-free)

Pulse the tomatoes with their juice in a blender or food processor until they are coarsely ground and no large pieces remain (in a food processor, that is about 12 pulses0.

Heat the oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring often, until the onion is softened and translucent, about 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the ground meat and cook, breaking apart the meat, until it is lightly browned and no longer pink, 5 to 6 minutes.

Scatter the broken lasagna noodles over the meat and then pour in the ground tomatoes and tomato sauce over the pasta. Stir in the basil and oregano. Cover, increase the heat to medium-high, and cook, stirring often and adjusting the heat to maintain a vigorous simmer, until the pasta is tender, about 20 minutes.

Off the heat, stir in half the mozzarella and half of the parmesan. Dot heaping tablespoons of the ricotta over the noodles, then sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella and parmesan. Cover and let stand off the heat until the cheese melts, 2 to 4 minutes. Serve.