Sunday, May 31, 2009

Dry Rub Pork Tacos

** I try to give credit to the blogs I find some of the recipes on, but I can't remember where I found this one... but it was really yummy, so thank you whoever posted it and forgive me for not giving you credit! **

Dry Rub Pork Tacos

Ingredients:
Approximately 4 lbs. of your favorite pork roast (I buy whatever happens to be on sale.)
2 limes
Corn tortillas (we used flour tortillas cause I didn't have corn in the house)
2-3 Tbs. dry rub (recipe follows)
Optional: cheese, tomatoes, salsa, beans, guacamole, sour cream, etc.

Dry Rub
2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. cumin
2 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. onion powder
¾ tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
¾ tsp. cayenne
1 Tbs. chili powder

Mix spices together and store in an airtight container. This dry rub recipe will be enough for multiple uses.
In a skillet, brown pork roast in a little oil. (This step can be skipped, if you don’t have time). Cut one lime, squeeze juice, and rub on roast. Rub 2 Tbs. of dry rub over entire roast. Place roast in crock pot on high for 6 hours or on low all day. Remove roast from crock pot, reserving the juice in the crock pot. Shred the meat. Pour ¼ - ½ cup of leftover juice in crock pot over the shredded meat, just enough to moisten, not to make soggy. Add 1 – 3 tsp. dry rub to meat, depending on your taste. Heat corn tortillas over stove top or in the microwave. Cut lime into quarters. Place meat in tortilla, squeeze lime juice on top. Serve ‘as is’ or add favorite toppings.

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Kalua Pork

My husband has deemed this "the best pork he's ever had".   So tasty!

Kalua Pork
1/2 cup soy sauce
3 Tbsp. coarse salt (it was a little salty for me - not for my husband though - I might decrease the salt a little next time I make it)
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 small piece of fresh ginger root crushed, (or 1 tsp ground ginger)
1 clove garlic minced
5-6 pound boneless pork roast
1 tsp liquid wood smoke flavoring

In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, salt, Worcestershire sauce, ginger, and garlic.  Mix well.  Lay 3 sheet of aluminum foil out, one on top of the other.  Place roast in the center of the aluminum foil; rub with say sauce mixture and then sprinkle the liquid smoke over the top.  Fold all 3 sheets of aluminum foil over the top of the roast and secure tightly.  Place wrapped meat in a baking pan.  Roast at 375 for 5 hours.  Shred the pork before serving.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Chicken Tortilla Soup

4 boneless skinless chicken thighs (about 1 pound)
2 cans (15 ounces each) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (4 ounces) chopped mild green chilies, drained
1 yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 to 1 cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon cumin
Salt and black pepper, to taste
4 corn tortillas, sliced into 1/4-inch strips
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 avocado, seeded, peeled, diced and tossed with lime juice to prevent browning
Lime wedges

1. Place chicken in crock-pot slow cooker. Combine tomatoes with juice, chilies, onion, garlic, 1/2 cup chicken broth and cumin in small bowl. Pour mixture over chicken. cover; cook on HIGH 3 hours, or until chicken is tender.

2. Remove chicken from crock-pot slow cooker. Shred with 2 forks. Return to cooking liquid. Adjust seasonings, adding more broth if necessary.

3. Just before serving, add tortillas and cilantro to crock-pot. Stir to blend. Serve in soup bowls, topping each serving with cheese, avocado and a squeeze of lime juice.

Friday, May 15, 2009

Fruit Crisp

This one is really good, but what I love most about it is the variety. You choose the fruit and then you choose the topping. My favorite is strawberries and black berries with the caramelized brown sugar topping.... YUMMY!!!! Really good served warm with vanilla icecream.

Fruit Crisp

4 cups fruit
1/3 C sugar
1 T cornstarch
*Choice of Topping

Heat over to 375 F Spray an 8 inch square baking pan. In large bowl gently stir together fruit, sugar and cornstarch. Spoon fruit mixture into baking dish ; sprinkle with topping, squeezing some of it together with your hands to create some larger clumps.

Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until top is golden brown and fruit juice bubble heavily at edges and begin to bubble towards the center. Serve warm or at room temperature. It is yummy with ice cream!

Toppings

Chocolate Chip Topping

¾ C flour
½ C Oats
¼ t. salt
½ C unsalted butter, chilled
1 C semi-sweet chocolate chips

In large bowl stir together all ingredients except butter and chocolate chips. With pastry blender or 2 knives cut in butter until mixture is crumbly with some pieces the size of blueberries. Stir in chocolate chips

Caramelized Brown Sugar Topping
1 ¼ C flour
¾ C packed brown sugar
¼ t salt
1.2 C unsalted butter, chilled

In large bowl stir together all ingredients except butter. With pastry blender or 2 knives cut in butter until mixture is crumbly with some pieces the size of blueberries.

Oatmeal-Spice Topping
¾ C flour
½ C oats
1/3 C pasked brown sugar
1 t. ground cinnamon
¼ t. ground allspice
¼ t ground cloves
¼ t salt
½ C unsalted butter, chilled


In large bowl stir together all ingredients except butter. With pastry blender or 2 knives cut in butter until mixture is crumbly with some pieces the size of blueberrie

Monday, May 11, 2009

Creamy Chicken Taquitos and Taco Dip

Found this one on "Our Best Bites" Blog and it is REALLY GOOD!

Creamy Chicken Taquitos

1/3 C (3 oz) cream cheese
1/4 C green salsa
1T fresh lime juice
1/2 t cumin
1 t chili powder
1/2 t onion powder
1/4 t granulated garlic ( I used regular minced garlic, I don't even know what granulated garlic is)
3 T chopped cilantro ( I didn't have fresh cilantro so I just used about a teaspoon of dried)
2 T sliced green onions

2 C shredded cooked chicken
1 C grated pepperjack cheese
small corn tortillas
kosher salt
cooking spray


Heat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.

Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds so it's soft and easy to stir. Add green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder and granulated garlic. Stir to combine and then add cilantro and green onions. Add chicken and cheese and combine well.

You can prepare up to this step ahead of time. Just keep the mixture in the fridge.

Work with a few tortillas at a time and heat in the microwave until they are soft enough to roll without cracking. It helps to place them between damp paper towels. Usually 20-30 seconds will do it. If you find yours are cracking when you roll them or come unrolled right away, just try heating them longer and try the paper towel thing.

Place 2-3 T of chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges.

Then roll it up as tight as you can.

Place seam side down on the baking sheet. Lay all of the taquitos on the baking sheet and make sure they are not touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray or an oil mister and sprinkle some kosher salt on top.

Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown.

Dip 'em in salsa, sour cream, guacamole, or ranch.



Served it with this
Taco Dip

1 pkg 8 oz cream cheese
1 C cottage cheese (original recipe calls for 1 container (regular size) sour cream but we opted for cottage cheese to be more healthy and it was yummy)
1 packet taco seasoning
1 pkg. shredded cheddar cheese
1 small can sliced black olives
1 tomato, diced
shredded lettuce
tortilla chips

Combine cream cheese and sour cream until smooth. Add taco seasoning. Spread on 8x13in pan. Top with cheese, lettuce, tomato and black olives. Serve with tortilla chips.

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Yummy Parmesan Rolls

I found this recipe on the wire whisk recipe blog :) YUMMY!

Yummy Parmesan Rolls
18 rhodes white texas rolls
3/4 cube butter, melted
3/4 cup parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons parsley flakes.

Stir together parmesan cheese & parsley in small bowl. Dip each frozen roll in butter, then cheese mixture. Place 2-3 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Cover lightly with sprayed plastic wrap. Let rise & bake according to package directions. After baking, brush tops with melted butter.