A Delicious Surprise!

Bigger news than my crockpot meal for the night is the 3 packages I arrived home to on my front porch! A couple weeks ago I started a conversation with my Uncle about bread....and lo and behold, supplies started arriving at my door!!

In addition to the pizza stone and peel (look at me learning the terms so quickly!), I received SAF Red Instant Yeast (something I've eyed on other blogs!), 2 bread books, some sourdough starter, large containers to store dough in, and a yeast canister and measure! I am fully stocked and ready to begin a new journey through breads!!!

I started by making the basic dough recipe from the book "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day."  Ive been waiting and waiting for it to rise so I can enjoy it with my dinner tonight!!

So, on to the dinner! Tonights crockpot dinner was Ravioli Casserole from MomsWhoThink.com. While I made several substitutions in the recipe, I immediately knew that I could make something much fresher tasting than what this recipe amounted to. So, the recipe that follows is the same concept (pasta sauce, pasta, meat, ricotta, spinach), but how I will make it in the future....and I WILL make it in the future!!

Crockpot Ravioli Casserole

Ingredients

6 containers grape tomatoes, rinsed

2 heads garlic, seperated and peeled

10 basil leaves, coarsly chopped

4 tbs olive oil

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 lb ground turkey (you can use chicken or beef as well), browned

1 15oz container ricotta cheese

1 10oz frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed of all moisture

4 handfuls dry pasta (any shape)

Directions

1. Combine the first 5 ingredients in a slow cooker

2. Cook on low for 6 hours, or until tomatoes start to burst and garlic becomes soft

3. Using a blender or imersion blender, puree the sauce. Return to Crockpot

4. Boil the pasta to al dente

5. Add the pasta, meat, spinach and ricotta to the sauce. Stir

6. Simmer another 20 minutes on low in the crockpot.

This is some of the best bread I've ever had, and can't wait to make variations of the basic dough!! The kit that I received came with some vietnamese cinnamon that smells better than any holiday I've experienced. I want to try cinnamon sugar pretzels sometime in the next week!

Against the Slaw!

(Yes, Im being cute in the title. I really dont like coleslaw, but had to try this recipe!)

As I entered a delicious smelling house this afternoon, I found myself wondering “Is it cruel to my dog to make him smell awesome meat slowly cooking all day?” I hope not, besides, I will let him try some!

I had a little grocery trouble today. Went to 2 stores and couldn’t find instant polenta or thyme at either!!! I ended up using the premade polenta and grilled the slices in an grill pan with some olive oil, garlic salt, and dried minced onion. SO -tonight’s meal is Pork Carnitas (courtesy crockpot365.blogspot.com), gorgonzola coleslaw, crispy polenta, and roasted vegetables. I wanted to get away from traditional rice and beans with a tortilla dish, so this is the result of my creativity.

Served in a tortilla with the pork, the coleslaw was an incredible combination! The roasted vegetables were a great hit! My Mother in Law made something similar for Thanksgiving 2009, and I loved them.

Pork Carnitas (Adapted from crockpot 365.blogspot.com)
5 pts (not including tortilla, based on 6 servings)
Ingredients
2 pounds pork shoulder (I used a1.7 lb center cut pork loin)
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (about 1 large orange)
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (about 1 large lime…I used 2 small)
7 cloves garlic (whole intact)
1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon cumin
1 cup beef broth
flour or corn tortillas
Directions
1. Remove the skin from the garlic cloves. Set aside
2. Using a hand juicer, juice the lime and the orange. Set aside
3. Open and measure your beef broth, set aside
4. Add about a tablespoon of olive oil to your slow cooker and swirl to cover the bottom.
5. In a small bowl, combine the salt and cumin. Rub mixture all over the pork, then add to the slow cooker.
6. Add whole garlic cloves.
7. Pour the citrus over the pork
8. Pour about ½ cup of the beef broth over the pork, and the rest around it evenly.
9. Cook on low for 8-10 hours, or until the pork shreds quite easily with a fork
10. Shred meat fully and mash in the garlic cloves.
11. Serve on warmed tortillas with desired toppings.
*I moved her directions around a bit so there was so pork slime on my hands, knife, fruit, etc!*

Gorgonzola Coleslaw (adapted from http://www.kalamazoogourmet.com/recipe06-2.php?recipe=108)
2 pts (makes 10, 1/2cup servings)
Ingredients
½ red onion, sliced thin
1 bag shredded cabbage (for coleslaw)
1 cup shredded carrots
1/8 cup golden balsamic vinegar
1/8 cup turbinado sugar
2 teaspoons fine sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tablespoons whole grain prepared mustard
4 ounces crumbled gorgonzola cheese
Directions
1. Using a grill pan over medium heat, grill the onion slices in a little olive oil until caramelized and softened
3. Combine the onions, cabbage, and carrots in a large glass bowl.
4. Combine the vinegar, sugar and salt, and stir until dissolved.
5. Stir the vinegar mixture into the cabbage mixture.
6. Cover and refrigerate for 15 to 20 minutes..
7. Stir together the mayonnaise, sour cream, mustard and cheese.
8. Mix into the slaw.
9. Cover and refrigerate for 45 minutes to 4 hours before serving.
*Just before I served the coleslaw, I dumped it in a strained because it was really runny, which I didn’t like seeing! It still tasted great!

Roasted Vegetables (foodnetwork.com)

2 pts (based on 8 servings)

Ingredients

1 pound carrots

1 pound parsnips

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons honey

Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper 6 sprigs fresh thyme (I used tarragon)

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2.Peel the carrots and parsnips and cut them in half lengthwise, larger ones can be quartered. Place them on a large rimmed baking sheet.

3. Drizzle the carrots and parsnips with the olive oil and honey.
4. Season with salt and pepper and toss to coat.

5. Scatter the thyme sprigs on top.

6. Place them in the preheated oven.

7. After 10 minutes, give the veggies a toss and put back in the oven for another 10 minutes until the vegetables are soft and slightly caramelized.

8. Serve warm.

*I only did half of this recipe and it still ended up being enough to feed 4!

Crispy Polenta Stars (adapted from several recipes on the internet!)

1 pt a piece (based on 12 “stars”)

Ingredients

1 chicken bullion cube

½ cup water

1 tbs butter

1 clove garlic, minced

2 handfuls polenta

1 cup shredded parmesan cheese

pinch of salt

Directions

1. Dissolve chicken stock in the water over medium heat

2. Add the butter and garlic and bring to a boil

3. Once it begins to boil, sprinkle the polenta into the stock, stirring constantly

4. Continue stirring until it thickens

5. Add in parmesan cheese and salt

6. Line a small pan with saran wrap (you can use any size to change up the thickness)

7. Pour the polenta into the pan and refrigerate until firm (I just left it in the fridge until I was ready to ‘fry’ it)

8. Remove the polenta and cut shapes of your choice out

9. Heat a little olive oil in a pan and ‘fry’ the polenta until golden and crispy.

This just in....

And I thought I should share.

I recently purchased Jello Mousse Temptations in the Creme Caramel flavor. Definately worth trying. I've had the Dark Chocolate and its just as awesome! I'll be trying out some desserts/parfaits with these for sure!

A little crockpot comfort . . .

I sped home today because I didn't have all the ingredients I needed to make my "Rio Grande" Meatloaf. After a quick stop at the store, I was well prepared and ready to quickly get it in the crockpot to cook for a couple of hours on high. It's now smelling awesome, and I tried a new trick that I got the idea from a fellow blogger @ crockpot365.blogspot.com. She layers meat and veggies seperated by foil for a full dinner in the crockpot!!!

I haven't tried it before, so I thought this would be a great night! First I assembled all the ingredients for the meatloaf and pressed it into the bottom of my greased crockpot. Then, i put a layer of foil. Next I took some baby red potatoes, olive oil, and 5 whole garlic cloves and wrapped them in a foil packet, placed it on top of the meatloaf. After those cooked on high for 2.5 hours, I added a foil packet of fresh green beans (mixed with olive oil, garlic salt, and crushed almonds) for 1 hour on low.

All in all it turned out well!! Served the meatloaf with some salsa and sour cream (turned out a little dry), mashed the potatoes and garlic with a couple laughing cow cheese wedges and a splash of unsweetened almond milk, and served the green beans as they were (foil packet steamed them).

Rio Grande Meatloaf
½ 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
½ cup chopped onion
½ cup chopped green pepper
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
pinch of salt
2 tsp cumin
pinch of pepper
2 handfuls tortilla chips, crushed fine
2 large egg whites
3 large garlic cloves, minced
2 lbs lean ground beef
Directions
1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well (using your hands if needed)
2. Grease your crockpot
3. Using one long strp of foil, cut it in half lengthwise, and fold each strip into a 1-2 inch wide long strip
4. Cross the strips in the bottom of the crockpot and let hang off the sides (will use as handles to remove the meatloaf)
5. Shape the meatloaf in your crockpot and cover
6. Cook on high 2.5 hours, low 1 hour (could probably do 4-5 hours on low)
7. Serve with sour cream, salsa, guacamole, etc.

*Just a note, you don't have to measure out all the veggies, about a small handful of the onion, green pepper, and cilantro will work. Also, the original recipe called for a full can of black beans, but I thought it was too much (the meatloaf tasted more like black beans.)

All Crockpot, all the Time (or for a week!)

Well, its been awhile, but Im sure all 2 of you expected that! I had the wonderful honor of helping cook the food for my brother engagement party and truly enjoyed it. The items that I contributed:

Tea Smoked Lettuce Cups
Spinach and Artichoke stuffed Mushrooms
Jalapeno-Cream Cheese Wontons
Mini Mac and Cheese cups
Petit Fours
Bourbon Balls
Butterscotch Dip with fresh fruit

To ease back into my cooking after a fabulous engagement party, Ive decided to go all crockpot this week! Starting Monday I will test out recipes from some fellow bloggers (whom I do not know, but would love to be as faithful to blogging as they are!) I will try to post what websites I got each recipe from (as well as a critique), but here are the few I frequent: Momswhothink.com, Crockpot365.blogspot.com, StolenMomentsCooking.com, AllRecipes.com, and Recipezaar.com.

Not that this one is healty, but heres what I made Friday night to end my no cooking spree!

Cheesy Ravioli Casserole
Ingredients:
2 lbs pre-packaged 4-cheese ravioli, cooked and drained
2 cups broccoli florets
1 ½ cups diced chicken, cooked
1 jar alfredo sauce
2 cloves minced garlic
1 cup mozzarella cheese, divided
1/3 cup parm cheese
1 tbs butter

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.
2. Coat the bottom of a 9×13 glass baking dish with a thin layer of alfredo sauce.
3. In a medium bowl, mix the ravioli, broccoli, chicken, garlic, alfredo sauce, 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese until combined. (Be careful not to mix too hard that you tear the ravioli.)
4. Place mixture into baking dish and top with 1/2 cup mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
5. Cut the butter into small pieces and scatter on top of the cheese. 6. Bake for 20 minutes or until cheese is hot and bubbly.
6. Set to broil for additional 5 minutes if you want it more toasty!

For your Viewing Pleasure

My bosses birthday cake: white cake, blackberry filling, buttercream frosting.






- Posted from my iPhone

Beef stir Fry

Man I am not keeping up with my new years resolution to blog….but Im kinda sick of the computer by the time I get home from work! I’ll do better, I promise!

I realize that I have many visions for this blog--- eat healthy, create new recipes, post new finds, etc. I will apologize in advance for it taking a new direction each time I post! I have recently re-discovered my love for cooking and baking, and want to cook all day long…. Problem is I have to work, and if I didn’t work, I wouldn’t be able to support my kitchen obsession. So my time with the kitchen is confined to a couple hours in the evenings, and whatever time I can put together on the weekends.

As I was debating what to make for dinner last night, I was dreading cooking. I wanted to BAKE! After giving the husband a choice of chicken, beef, or shrimp (of course, he chose beef) I began to think through what I would do with the frozen .8 lb of flank steak. I had some fresh snap peas and mushrooms, so I decided to make a pseudo-stir fry.

Once I had the steak defrosted, cubed, and browning in a pan, I stared at it…in love. The new Train song “Hey Soul Sister” was playing, and I was in heaven. Clean kitchen to cook in, music on the radio, and cooking.

I opted not to bake last night, since I had just finished a cake the night before…. Ill post about that later. For now, here’s what I did with dinner

Beef Psuedo-Stir Fry (created by whatever you have on hand!)
~ 1 lb stew meat, flank steak, or any other steak you can cube
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 tbs minced garlic
½ cup sliced baby bella mushrooms
1 cup sugar snap peas
2 tbs low sodium soy sauce
Salt an pepper

Directions
1. Heat vegetable oil in a large pot or wok and brown meat. Season with salt and pepper
2. Remove meat from pot, and place on a paper towel lined plate
3. Pour out grease from pot and wipe any excess out with a paper towel
4. Return pot to stove and on medium/low heat, add in sesame oil and garlic
5. Brown garlic, stirring often, for about 4 minutes
6. Add in the vegetables, and stir occasionally, for about 6 minutes
7. Add in the soy sauce and turn the vegetables to coat
8. Add the beef back in a heat thoroughly.
9. Serve over brown rice.








- Posted from my iPhone