Pork Carnitas

            I know that I have already mentioned this week how much I appreciate friends sharing their recipes and ideas with me.  What I haven’t had a chance to mention is that I am SO grateful when people clue me in to ways that they do their meal planning and find recipes.  A couple of weeks ago, my friend Jeannine shared some of her Food Network Magazines with me and this weekend, my friend Elizabeth shared the cutest little stack of Food Everyday magazines with me also!

            I was so thrilled about all of the potential possibilities, and got myself a bit on sensory overload trying to decide what recipes to select this week.  So, I enlisted Chris’s help and the two of us settled on a delicious recipe from Elizabeth’s magazine for pork carnitas.  This recipe looked simple enough, and we always like an excuse to have margaritas at the McQuillan household!

            If you are the kind of guy or gal who looks for the quick and easy recipe, this one might not be the one for you.  Now, it wasn’t difficult, but it did take a lot more time than I typically spend on our weeknight meals.  The end result was certainly well worth the wait!  While I would definitely try this one again, I might suggest adding more fixin’s (pico de gallo, sour cream, rice, etc.) for a more flavorful experience.  Chris also requested that the next time we have these to try flour tortillas instead of the corn, which I think I may like better as well.  Please let me know if you give these a try and make any yummy additions to the recipe!

Slainte!

Recipe:

-2 lbs boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1-inch pieces

-4 garlic cloves, minced

-Coarse salt and ground pepper

-1 tablespoon olive oil

-1/2 cup fresh orange juice

-1/2 cup milk

-12 corn tortillas, warmed

-fresh cilantro leaves, thinly sliced onion, diced avocado, and lime wedges, for serving

Preparation:

-In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot, combine pork, garlic, and 8 cups water and season with salt and pepper.  Cover and bring to a boil.  Reduce to simmer and cook, covered, until pork is tender, 40 to 45 minutes.  Drain well.

-In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat.  Add pork, orange juice, and milk and cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid has evaporated and pork is browned, 8 to 12 minutes.  Serve carnitas in tortillas, with cilantro, onion, avocado, and lime wedges.

Enjoy!

He likes it!

I love cooking THIS much!

            A few weeks ago, I mentioned how much I love when friends share their recipes with me.  I was thinking a lot about that while I was gone last week, and decided to make it a priority to try more of the recipes that have been sent to me.  This first one I will start with is for a delicious penne pasta and was sent to me by Chris’s cousin Missy.  She sent it to me because it is my two favorite things 1) easy and 2) delicious! 

            If you are skeptical after reading the preparation instructions how something so simple and with so few ingredients could be this delicious, I would just encourage you to give it a try!  It has even been delicious as leftovers, which is basically a quadruple bonus! 

            I also want to add a little side note here to say that I understand that the majority of what I share on my blog posts are recipes for pasta dishes.  I will not apologize for that here as pasta is a primary source of joy in my life and when I pasta dishes just always seem to jump off of the page and scream “try me, Heather!” 

            Also, many nights when I am cooking, Chris will hi-jack my camera and start taking unflattering photos of me that I pretty much delete right after he takes them.  So, after preparing this dish I decided to catch him off guard and do my best “I love cooking” jump!  I think it turned out pretty good…

Slainte!

Recipe:

-Penne pasta

-1 onion

-2 cans diced tomatoes

-2 tbsp Pesto (I used some from a jar for this one)

-Mozzarella cheese

Preparation:

-Dice the onion and sautee it in a pan with olive oil.

-Add the two cans of diced tomatoes (juice and all)

-Simmer while cooking the pasta according to package directions

-Add pesto to the onion/tomato mix and pour over the pasta

-Sprinkle with mozzarella and serve

Enjoy!

Corn Beef Casserole

            By now, I hope that you have come to know that I aspire to be a good Irish lass.  Being married to a wonderful Irish lad has caused me to embrace my new Irish roots (by marriage of course), and have a newfound love for St. Patrick’s Day.  So, when March 17^th rolled around this year, I scoured my cookbooks for a good corn beef recipe.  Of course, I found something that looked worth trying in an old church cookbook from home.  I purchased the ingredients and got all ready for the day.  I even secretly contemplated buying some green glitter and staging a scene similar to Christmas morning, telling Chris a leprechaun had been to our Irish home in the night. 

            Of course, I don’t have that much energy and Chris wouldn’t appreciate it as much as, say, a 5-year-old child, so I didn’t do it.  I did, however, have all of the fixings to prepare this yummy corn beef meal.  This plan too was thwarted, when we were invited at the last minute to attend the Lady Gaga concert that night.  While I was sad to not enjoy an Irish meal to commemorate my first St. Patrick’s Day as an official Irish person, I suppose attending a concert was significantly more fun than enjoying Guiness at home by ourselves, while discussing for the umpteenth time what Irish name we can give our puppy.  (We are also accepting suggestions!)

            So, I finally made our St. Patrick’s Day dish (more than a week later) and it was really good!  It wasn’t too corned beef-y which I really appreciated and was super easy to prepare.  Chris and I actually talked that it tasted a bit like a tuna bake.  I would definitely recommend getting your green on, and giving this one a try soon! 

Slainte!

Recipe:

-1 can corn beef

-1 small package large noodles

-1 can mushroom soup

-1 can cream of chicken or cream of celery soup

-Potato chips

Preparation:

Cook noodles and drain.  Place in casserole dish.  Mix corn beef and add soup.  Put crushed potato chips on top and bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Ready for the concert!

Waiting for the concert to begin!

Linguine with clam sauce

            Hi everyone!! So, after a much-needed week away, I return to you with some yummy meal ideas.  This first recipe for linguine with clam sauce, I had been wanting to try for some time now, and thought that Lent was as good of a reason as any to try a new “fishy” pasta dish.  This recipe was taken from the Pioneer Woman’s cookbook, making me even more eager to give it a try.

            Now, as I mentioned, I initially was planning to make this one on a Friday during Lent, but ended up making it on a weeknight instead.  Frankly, I am a little glad that it worked out that way, because I would have felt guilty had we eaten it on Friday, as it would not have been a sacrifice at all to eat something so delicious!  Seriously, it would have been like the people who eat a lobster feast on Friday’s thinking they are really sacrificing…ya right!

            If I haven’t yet enticed you enough to give this recipe a try, let me close by sharing two more fantastic details with you.  First, this recipe is SO easy, and took very little effort to prepare.  Second, this recipe makes your kitchen smell like seafood heaven!  I am not joking!  Our home smelled sooooo good that I felt obligated to send Chris a text to prepare him for the amount of delicious aroma that was ready to greet him when he walked through the door. 

            If you, like me, enjoy the combination of pasta and seafood, please try this one for yourselves soon!  Trust me, you will not be disappointed!

Slainte!

Recipe:

-1 pound linguine

-1 tablespoon olive oil

-2 tablespoons butter

-3 garlic cloves

-Two 10-oz. cans chopped clams, juice drained

-3/4 cup white wine

-Juice of ½ lemon

-2 tablespoons flat leafed parsley

-3/4 cup heavy cream

-Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

-Grated Parmesan cheese, for garnish

Preparation:

-Cook the linguine according to package directions

-In a large skillet, over medium high heat, add the olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter.

-Add the garlic and clams and stir together.  Cook for 3 minutes.

-Pour in the white wine, scraping the bottom of the pan with the spoon.  Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until the sauce is reduced and less watery.  Add in 1 more tablespoon butter and stir to melt.

-Reduce the heat, and squeeze in the lemon juice.

-Sprinkle in the parsley and pour in the cream

-Add salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Stir well and taste for seasonings, adding a splash of clam juice if the sauce needs thinning.

-Pour the pasta in a bowl and pour on the sauce straight from the skillet, including all the juice!

-Toss it to combine, and top with the Parmesan.

Enjoy!

Cola Roast

            This next recipe is the epitome of crock-pot simple!  Seriously, I am going to have to be careful or I might just get addicted to the crock-pot and its simplicity!  Yesterday, while I was getting ready, I defrosted the meat.  When I was about to walk out the door, I dumped all of the ingredients together, set the crock-pot to low, and left for the day.  When I returned, the house smelled like a yummy roast!

            Now, when I saw this recipe, I was very intrigued.  Having never thought about cooking roast in two cans of Coke, I didn’t know what the end product would be like.  My fear was that it would leave the meat tasting too sweet.  I will say that this fear was very much un-realized.  We had Ethan over for dinner, and he and Chris agreed that the meat tasted really good, especially when I admitted how little I had done to prepare it.

            If I could change one thing about this roast, it would be to have spent more time considering what I was going to serve for side dishes.  Having given this no thought, I realized at the last minute that I didn’t have so much as a vegetable or head of lettuce to serve along with it.  Now, being a quick thinker, I realized that I had a bruschetta packet my mom had given me that could quickly be thrown together pending I make a quick run to the store for diced tomatoes and a French baguette.  This turned out awesome, and even “I hate tomatoes Ethan” loved it!  Have I ever mentioned my heartfelt thanks to being located so close to two very nice grocery stores??  Well, if not, let’s just say it is awesome on nights like last night when I find myself in a bit of a pinch.

            Try this roast out for yourself soon and be sure to share your thoughts as well as what you come up with to serve as a side!

Slainte!

Recipe:

-3-lb. beef pot roast

-1.35 oz. pkg. onion soup mix

-2 12 oz. cans cola

Preparation:

Place roast in a slow cooker; sprinkle with the onion soup mix.  Pour cola over top.  Cover and cook on low setting for 7 to 8 hours.

Chicken Pot Pie

            In keeping with the theme of following friend’s advice to try their recipes, I finally tried a recipe my friend Jeannine gave to me in graduate school (aka a LONG time ago).  In school, I would eat a lean cuisine or smart one every day.  My friends Jeannine and Katie were different though, as they would often bring leftovers of meals they created themselves the evening before.  Needless to say, I admired these two a ton during that period of my life (as I still do today!)

            So, I do not remember the specifics, but somehow I ended up with a couple of printouts of Jeannine’s favorite go to recipes, which I have miraculously held on to for all of this time.  I stumbled across it this past weekend and decided to finally pick something to try.  I settled on chicken pot pie as it looked very yummy and I knew Chris would love it. 

            The amazing thing about this recipe is that it took little to no time to prepare, and Chris literally asked me “Was this one tough?”  If I wasn’t striving to be a good person, I might consider lying to him.  It just isn’t as impressive to tell him everyday, “Nope, super easy, all I did was…”  This really isn’t such a bad problem to have.  I mean, if I can have a meal that tastes like I slaved over it when I really didn’t, why not go for that?  It makes me think of the words of my college professor who taught my favorite class ‘Wines, Vines, and You.’  He said, “If you buy a $100 bottle of wine that you enjoy best, and I enjoy a $5 bottle of wine best, well then you can drink your bottle, and I will still have 19 left!”  I’d toast to that!

Slainte!

Recipe:

-Shredded chicken or turkey (I always boil mine for 20 mins and shred it myself)

-Frozen mixed veggies

-1 can cream of mushroom soup

-Salt

-Pepper

-1 tube of crescent rolls

Preparation:

-Mix all ingredients together and microwave until hot.

-Put in baking dish and cover with crescent rolls.

*Now, Jeannine doesn’t do this but I spread the crescent rolls out like a crust, and baked the who dish at 375 degrees for about 15-20 mins until the crescent rolls were a golden brown and it turned out good.  She bakes them separately, and places them on top of the casserole.

Mexican Manicotti

            Alright everyone, if you aren’t accustomed to receiving compliments on your cuisine from your significant other, take a day or two to prepare yourself mentally, and then prepare this next one as I can almost guarantee it will leave those special someone’s in your life singing your praises until bedtime.  I.am.not.joking!

            A few week’s ago, I was at my friend Michelle’s birthday party when she told me she had a recipe I just had to try.  Now, more and more people stop me to tell me that they have a recipe that I have to try.  Author’s note: ALWAYS try their recipes when you can work them in, as people would not take the time to share them with you if they weren’t fabulous.  So, it took awhile, but I finally remembered to send Michelle a message asking for the recipe.  I purchased the ingredients and waited for the perfect opportunity to give it a try.

            Now, let me just say that this recipe was super easy, so long as you don’t get intimidated about stuffing the manicotti noodles.  Some of the noodles were narrower than others making it a bit difficult, but overall the preparation was a cinch.  Now, what I did and was a little nervous about was I prepared the dish, covered it with foil, and left the baking instructions for Chris so that he could stick it in when he got home so that it would be ready by the time I got home from teaching my cheer class.  I was worried that things could be negatively affected by sitting there waiting to be baked for that extra 30 minutes or so, but it turned our absolutely delicious!

            The other instruction I would add after always trying recipes your friends recommend, would be to add a little sour cream to this dish as it made it extra yummy.  Please give this one a try soon, your husband and your stomach will thank you!

Recipe:

-1lb hamburger

-1pkg. taco seasoning,

-1 can refried beans

-Manicotti noodles

-Large jar of taco sauce

-3 cups water

-Cheddar cheese.

Preparation:

-Brown hamburger, drain. Add taco seasoning, 1 can refried beans, 1 cup water. Simmer for 10 mins. Stuff manicotti. Put Manicotti into greased 9x13 pan. Separately,

-Mix together large jar of taco sauce and 2 cups water. Then pour over manicotti.

-Cover tightly with foil. Bake 45 mins at 350. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese on top and bake for 15 minutes more uncovered. (If you buy extra noodles, I could have made two pans worth with the amount of meat mixture I ended up with!)

Enjoy!!

Shrimp Scampi

            This next recipe brings to mind a bit of nostalgia for me.  I think that the first cookbook I purchased for myself in college was the Betty Crocker’s Cooking Basics cookbook.  I am unsure if I have touched on this before, but this is a really great non-threatening place to start for the home cook.  It gives a variety of recipes, some of which are intense enough to really build a gals confidence.

            So, after Chris and I hadn’t been dating very long at all I decided to make dinner for him.  I knew that he enjoyed seafood (as of course, do I) so that paired with my affinity for pasta, helped me decide that this recipe for shrimp scampi was just the ticket.  Now, the real shocker is of course 1) that at that point in life Chris agreed to eat anything prepared by me given my track record and 2) that it actually turned out!

            Because of this, when I was doing my meal planning, I decided to make this one again when I happed to stumble across it.  Lucky for me, just like the first time it was SO yummy!  Chris enjoyed it also, and it was a double yummy as it still tasted great the next day as leftovers!  Try this one for yourself soon, as always it is super easy!

Slainte!

Recipe:

-3/4 pound uncooked peeled and cleaned medium shrimp

-1 medium green onion with top

-1 clove garlic

-4 ounces uncooked fettuccine

-1 tablespoon olive oil

-2 teaspoons chopped fresh or ½ teaspoon dried basil leaves

-2 teaspoons chopped fresh or ¾ teaspoon parsley flakes

-1 tablespoon lemon juice

-1/8 teaspoon salt

-Grated parmesan cheese, if desired

Preparation:

-Cook the pasta according to package directions

-Rinse the shrimp and pat dry with a paper towel.  Remove the tails if the shrimp still have them.  Peel the green onion, and cut into ¼ inch slices.  Peel and finely chop the garlic.

-When the fettuccine has been cooking for 5 minutes, heat the oil in the skillet over medium heat 1 to 2 minutes.  Cook the shrimp, onion, garlic, basil, parsley, lemon juice and salt in the oil 2 to 3 minutes, stirring frequently, until shrimp are pink and firm.

-Drain the fettuccine and toss with the shrimp mixture in the skillet.  Serve and sprinkle with cheese!

Enjoy!

Pork Chops and Scalloped Potatoes

            This next recipe for pork chops and scalloped potatoes is yet another tasty addition to my arsenal of go to slow cooker recipes.  To me, a pork chop is a different kind of slow cooker fare, but that goes to show just how little I previously thought could be prepared in a slow cooker.  Growing up, I would say I thought slow cookers were for beef only, boy was I wrong!

            Now, while I would definitely add this recipe to my list of go to’s, I would not select it if I were pressed for time or had a lot going on in the morning.  This is because I am still not the speediest at peeling and slicing potatoes, so this recipe was quite the undertaking as I rushed around my kitchen trying to get out of the door.

            Also, I made a mistake in the preparation as I did not use cheese spread, but sliced up a block of cheese.  This resulted in chunky cheese (maybe this could be a new restaurant, like a spin off of Chuck E Cheese?)  which was not as appealing as it could have been if it had melted evenly covering the potatoes and pork.  While it did look a little funny, the taste really didn’t seem to be affected and it was still really yummy.  Just a good reminder to slow down and read recipes more carefully!  Try this one for yourselves soon, especially if you have ninja-like chopping skills!

Slainte!

Recipe:

-1 onion, sliced, separated into rings and divided

-8 potatoes, peeled, sliced and divided

-16 oz. pkg. pasteurized process cheese spread, sliced and divided

-6 boneless pork chops

-salt and pepper to taste

-10 ¾ oz. can cream of chicken soup

Preparation:

Spread a layer of onion rings in a slow cooker.  Place a layer or potatoes over onion rings, then a layer of cheese.  Continue to layer until slow cooker is two-thirds full.  Sprinkle pork chops with salt and pepper; place on top.  Spread soup over top.  Cover and cook for 6 to 8 hours on low setting, or 3 to 4 hours on high setting.

Enjoy!