Oven BBQ Pulled Pork

We don't have a BBQ...yet.  This is something that disappoints both Brandon and I often - particularly during warm weather.  So we both end up craving BBQ and chicken covered in sauce just doesn't cut it.

One of Brandon's favorite remedy meals is pulled pork.  The problem with pulled pork is that it can be labor intensive and not always turn out that great.  Here is a great recipe for pulled pork done simply, in the oven and it has great results!  Pot with a lid - I use a dutch oven.

OVEN PULLED PORK:

2-3 lb pork shoulder
Salt and Pepper
2 Tbsp mustard (I use dijon)
4 tsp Liquid Smoke
Root Beer (or any cola - NOT diet)
Your choice of BBQ sauce (we use Stubbs Smokey Mesquite)

Preheat oven to 375.  Remove all excess fat from meat.  Generously salt and pepper all sides of pork.  Spread 2 tsp liquid smoke and 1 Tbsp mustard on one side of meat.  Place meat smeared side down into dutch oven.  Repeat with liquid smoke and mustard on top side.  Pour root beer into pot (covering about 1/3 of the meat or an inch of liquid).  Cover.  Cook for 3-4 hours or until meat falls off the bone.

Remove from oven and shred with 2 forks.  Add BBQ sauce of your choosing.  Enjoy!

We like to munch on the sandwiches with avocado and sharp cheddar cheese on whole wheat buns. Yum!

Dutch Babies

This recipe is from a friend's great grandmother.  It is the recipe that we used to foster and build our cooking independence, and repertoire when we were in elementary school.  I have not made these in years and actually had to do some scrounging to locate the recipe (one that I had memorized for the majority of my life).  But, I had a request from a dear friend for these and I couldn't turn it down.

Dutch Babies:

Heat oven to 425.  Place 1/4 cup butter in dutch oven and place into oven.  

Blend 3 eggs, 3/4 cup milk and 3/4 flour in blender.

Pour batter into preheated pot.  Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Devour.  

These require toppings.  Some of my favorites include: fresh fruit (strawberries, peaches, berries), applesauce, powder sugar and lemon juice, maple syrup, jams, or whatever else you can think of!  

Enjoy!

The Tenderloin of the Pork

One of our favorite dinners is Pork Tenderloin.  The meat is tender, delicious and a welcome break from Beef.  We buy bulk tenderloins on sale from Costco and stick them in the freezer.  This recipe is great because its simple and quick enough for a weekday dinner, but can be dressed up and taken out to pizazz the town (or just your buddies).  

Pork Tenderloin with Green Salad and Asparagus - Wonderful Spring Dinner!

Pork Tenderloin:

Serves 4 (or 2 with leftovers)

Preheat oven to 350.  Place heavy dutch oven with 1 tbsp olive oil on medium heat on stovetop.

Cut off any fat on the tenderloin.  Mix together:

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp cumin (Brandon doesn't like cumin much, I prefer the recipe with 1/2 tsp cumin)

1/2 tsp chile powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Rub all over tenderloin.  Place tenderloin into hot dutch oven.  Cook for 1 minute and flip tenderloin.  Repeat for a total of about 4 minutes to brown the meat.  

Browning the Meat

Meanwhile mix:

1/3 cup brown sugar

4-5 cloves crushed garlic

2 tsp tobasco 

Place on top of meat - it's ok if it runs off a little, this will create a nice glaze at the bottom of the pan you can scoop up later.  Insert thermometer into center of the cut.  

Adding the to-be Glaze and Thermometer

Place into preheated oven.  Roast until internal temp reaches 140 degrees.  Remove from oven and let sit until internal temp reaches 155 degrees.  

Serve with salad, veggies, couscous, quinoa, or whatever your tummy is craving!  Enjoy!

Hanging onto the Carb Overload

Tonight for dinner I pulled a classic "Marissa Move" - major carb overload!  I decided to make Pork Tenderloin, with sweet potatoes, twice baked potatoes and bread pudding for dessert.  I tried to rectify my mistake by adding a healthy spinach salad into the menu, but Brandon or our bellies have not been fooled.  Tight would be an understatement in description of the skin across my abdomen at this point in time.  

The events of the evening started all together innocently.  A need to cook some yams, and an attempt for redemption.  The potatoes suddenly sounded good when I saw them under the sink and they called out to me - in my excitement of hearing the pleas of the potatoes, I forgot about the sweet potatoes already cooking on the stove.  ADD much?  

Redemption needed to come in the form of my failure to my people.  I cannot figure out how to make the perfect challah.  Everytime I make the bread it turns out too eggy or too dry, this time it's simply too dense.  Again, epic fail on the part of bread making.  

Challah of Denseness

So, I attempted to make better what I had destroyed: Bread Pudding

Easiest Bread Pudding Ever:

Old Bread you need to get rid of - cut into cubes to fill casserole dish, DO NOT stuff bread into casserole dish, this will not end well despite how much bread you hope to get rid of.

Whisk together:
4 eggs
2 cups milk (anything works, I use skim)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
dash salt 

Pour over top of bread.  Dot top with 1 Tbsp butter cut into pieces.

Ready for the Oven

Bake 350 for 50-55 minutes.

Beauty of this recipe - add dried fruit, apples, raisins, chocolate, booze, whatever flavor you so desire and it works great!  Also great for breakfast the next morning.

Crispy on Top, Custardy Goodness inside!

The sweet potatoes also turned out well.   I love this recipe because it creates a light texture to the potatoes and isn't too sweet.  I like the potatoes to speak for themselves.  I add walnuts to the top for a little extra sweetness and crunch - totally optional!

Cover 3 cubed sweet potatoes with water and boil until tender.

Puree with:
1 egg
2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp butter
pinch salt
4 Tbsp milk (I use skim)
1/4 tsp vanilla

Place into casserole dish. 

You can create a sweet topping with:
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
1/4 cup brown sugar

Bake in oven at 350 for 25 minutes

Will you be my Sweet Potato?

There you have it - a sure fire way to carb overload your loved ones.  Tomorrow we'll move beyond the carb load, I promise!!

The Pancake House

Brandon woke up this morning particularly hungry.  But, despite his hunger, he allowed me to make pancakes!  Pancakes are one of my favorite things to make for breakfast.  I particularly love a little pancake, smothered in Vermont maple syrup with a fried egg on top.  One of my all-time favorite bites.  

Brandon didn't allow me to make pancakes for the first year of our marriage.  He would avoid pancakes, requesting instead french toast, a breakfast sandwich or the worst....cereal.  Finally, when I asked him why he never wanted pancakes.  His reply was simple, "I don't like pancakes."  Well this statement was on par with saying high fructose corn based Fake syrup would be allowed on our breakfast table....simply not ok.  

Well, Brandon had never had my pancakes - which thankfully, he does like.  A lot.   Here is the recipe to the best homemade pancakes.

Cooking up Fluffy!

Pan-y-popes:
1 Tbsp melted butter
1 egg
1 cup Buttermilk*
2 Tbsp Milk
*Whisk together

Stir together:
1 cup flour
1 Tbsp Sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Just before cooking, add wet ingredients to dry and whisk until smooth.  This is so you get the fluffiest cakes possible.  The batter should have an airy texture to it.

Stiff/Airy texture for the fluffiest of cakes!

Makes enough for a little wife and a hungry bear....or enough for 3 Goldie-locks.

Starting Simple and Sweet

My favorite meal of all time is breakfast.  I would eat breakfast 3 meals a day if my husband would allow it.  He'd prefer the simplicity of Frosted Mini Wheats and a glass of juice.  Usually because he is much like a hungry bear coming out of a state of hibernation in the morning, breakfast is quick and to the point.  I find this such a pity.  Such a missed opportunity to ingest large quantities of fabulous carbohydrates.

There is something wonderful about carbohydrates.  Carbs are soothing to the soul, warming the cockles of our nostalgia.  There is also something magical about how quickly they assimilate themselves to the seemingly ever-growing muffin top.  It is this literal addition to ourselves, that adds significant pressure to the baking of goodies - they need to be worth it.   What's often worth it are cinnamon rolls.  But, cinnamon rolls can be hard to make, and some recipes are tediously long.  This is a great cinnamon roll recipe that I've tweaked on for years.  It is quick (an hour from start to rolls), refridgeratable, freezable, and absolutely delicious.  

Cinnamon Rolls/Sticky Buns:
adapted from a recipe from Strange Manor B&B in LaGrande, OR

Dough:
3 1/2 - 4 cups flour
3 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
5 tsp (2 pkgs) yeast
1 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup butter
1/2 tsp vanilla

Start by nuking together the milk, water, and butter until sticking your finger in it hurts, but doesn't burn.  We want to activate the yeasty friends, but not kill them.  Add vanilla to hot mix.  While nuking, put 1 1/2 cups flour and other dry ingredients into a mixing bowl (Kitchenaid is the best).  Add hot mix to the ingredients beating slowly.  Add 1/2 cup of flour at a time until the dough is a solid mass, and is no longer sticking to the sides.  Knead until dough is elastic (this is my favorite part, the dough is warm and wonderful to knead!)  Place back in mixing bowl, cover with a towel and allow to rise for 15 minutes.

While the dough is rising, its time to make caramel sauce.  Caramel sauce is awesome stuff to make a big batch of and stick in your freezer.  It's scrumptious on poached pears, apple tarts, ice cream, etc.  This recipe makes about 3 times as much as you need for sticky buns, but its worth making extra to save for later - or half it if you want less!

Caramel Sauce:
1 1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup whipping cream (I've also made with half and half and it turns ok well)

Whisk sugar and butter together until butter fully melts.  Add cream and whisk until sugar fully dissolves and reaches consistency you want.  Make sure to keep heat on med/low as you don't want to burn the sauce!

Place a thin layer of the sauce into a 9x13 pan.  Sprinkle the top with 1/2 cup chopped nuts (I use walnuts).  *I often use 2 smaller 8x8 pans and freeze one. The rolls freeze really well.*

 Now take the dough and roll in out into a big rectangle about 1/2 inch thick.

Filling:
2 Tbsp melter butter
1/2 cup sugar
3 tsp cinnamon

Mix cinnamon and sugar together. Spread butter on top of dough, then sprinkle sugar mixture on top of butter.  Roll dough tightly into a long tube.  Cut dough log into 1 inch thick buns.  Place buns into prepared pan, snuggled together, sides touching.  You can stick them in the fridge at this point as well if you want to save time in the morning!

Rolled up Buns Ready for the Oven

Bake at 375 for 25 minutes.  Flip the pan while buns are still warm.  ENJOY!!!!

Baking Away!