Um, yeah...

So, I really planned to be a better moderator of this here blog, you know introducing new people and having fun things for you all to do, but I have been neglectful.  I apologize.  Thankfully there's no better time than the present to change my ways!

Thank you to everyone who has posted recipes!  It has made dinner time at my home much more interesting!  Hopefully you are all trying new things out, too!  

So here's your first fun-ish thing:  We had my husband's favorite meal tonight for dinner and I thought it would be fun if you all shared your husbands' favorites.  Um, except for you, Kelly... unless you secretly got married over the weekend...  You can share YOUR favorite.  :)  I think everyone else is married, right?  Okay.  So, hop to it.

And, finally, we commandeered Kelly's crock pot cookbook a couple weeks ago and have been wearing our slow cooker out trying a ton of recipes.  I've posted two of the recipes we have really liked so far.  They were really easy.  Hope you like BBQ!

Happy cooking!

BBQ Pulled Pork

This is also from Incredibly Easy Recipes from Rival Crockpot.

1 pork shoulder roast (about 2.5lbs)

1 bottle (14 oz) barbecue sauce

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon packed brown sugar

1 medium onion, chopped

1. Place roast in slow cooker.  Cover; cook on low 10-12 hours or on high 5-6 hours.

2. Remove roast from slow cooker; discard cooking liquid.  Shred pork using 2 forks.  Return port to slow cooker.  Add barbecue sauce, lemon juice, brown sugar and onion.  COver; cook on low 2 hours or on high 1 hour.  Serve shredded pork on hamburger buns or hard rolls.

*On a tip from my sister, we only used about half of a medium/smallish onion.  It was really good.  I had it on a bun and my husband ate it like taco with lettuce, cheese, sour cream and tomatoes.  It was good both ways.  It makes a lot and we ended up sticking most of it in the freezer.  Hopefully it freezes well!

Cheesy BBQ Chicken

This recipe comes from Incredibly Easy Recipes from Rival Crockpot.

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1.5 lbs)
1 bottle (26 oz) barbecue sauce
6 slices bacon
6 slices Swiss cheese

1. Place chicken in slow cooker. Cover with barbecue sauce.  Cover; cook on low 8 to 9 hours.

2. Before serving, cut bacon slices in half.  Cook bacon in microwave or on stove top, keeping bacon flat.  Place 2 pieces cooked bacon on each chicken breast in slow cooker.  Top with cheese.  Cover; cook on high until cheese melts.

*When we made this we shredded the chicken, omitted the bacon, and served it on bread with the Swiss cheese on top.  It was really good and really good for left-overs.  

Egg Drop Soup

5 cups chicken stock/broth
1 teaspoon low-sodium soy sauce
1 2-inch piece ginger root, peeled
1 garlic clove
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 green onion, thinly sliced
sesame oil

In a large pot, combine stock and soy sauce. Grate in ginger and garlic, stir. Bring to a boil. Let boil 4 or 5 minutes, then reduce to a simmer. Stirring soup in a circular motion, slowly pour eggs into soup in a continuous stream. Let simmer undisturbed until egg is cooked (approx. 1 minute). Pour into serving bowls, top with green onion and a small drizzle of sesame oil.

Goes Well With: Chinese food, obviously.
Tips: If you can't foresee using the rest of your ginger root anytime soon, put it in a ziploc bag and pop it in the freezer. It'll keep forever(ish).

Black Bottom Cupcakes

Black Bottom Cupcakes
1 (8 ounce) package of cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1/3 c. sugar
1/8 teaspoon of salt
1 c. mini chocolate chips
1 1/2 c. all purpose flour
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
1/3 c. veggie/canola oil
1 tablespoon of cider vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tins with liners of lightly spray with nonstick spray.
In medium bowl, beat cream cheese, egg 1/3 c. sugar and 1/8 teaspoon of salt until light and fluffy. Stir in the chocolate chips. Set aside. In a large bowl mix together the flour, 1 c. sugar, cocoa, baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Slowly add, water, oil, vinegar and vanilla. Mix until well blended. Fill muffin tins 1/3 full with the batter and top with a dollop of the cream cheese mixture. Bake in oven for 20-25 min.

Strawberry and Mandarin Orange Salad

This salad is so fabulous, I can hardly wait for strawberries to get back in season for this salad. I think the dressing is what really makes the salad!

Salad

Spinach

Strawberries

can mandarin Oranges (drained)

*bacon crumbles

*shredded montery jack cheese

*candied pecans

*optional


Dressing

1/2 c. veggie/canola oil

1/3 c. sugar

1/4 c. red wine vinegar

1 clove garlic finely minced

1/4 teaspoon of salt

1/4 teaspoon of paprika

dash of white pepper

Just combine all ingredients in the salad, and keep refrigerated until ready to serve. Combine dressing ingredients and mix well. Add to salad before serving or serve it on the side. Enjoy!

Dixie Christensen's Cold Water Pie Crust

My mother was a champion pie crust maker. I observed her making many pies while growing up, but only started making pie crusts from scratch a few months ago. Here's my mother's recipe, with some clarifications from me, since her original recipe has just the very basics:

1 1/2 C flour
1/3 tsp salt
1/2 C shortening

Sift flour and salt together in bowl. Add shortening to flour mixture using a pastry cutter until mixture becomes somewhat granular. Add cold water a little at a time (probably not more than a few tablespoons), and work into dough. This is best done with your hands. The dough should be a little stiff. Roll out on well floured surface to size needed. Rub flour over the rolling pin as well. Bake as directed in the recipe you are using.

Makes enough for a 9" two crust pie.

Comments from Connie: Roll dough very thin for a 9" crust. You would probably want a thicker crust for a quiche.To pick up crust from the floured surface, peel it back slowly over the rolling pin that has been placed across the crust. Use rolling pin to lift crust to pie plate. Don't overwork the dough, as pie crust becomes tough the more it is handled. With my limited experience, I've found that the process is "trial and error".

quiche lorraine

the reason why this makes such a good dinner is because of the bacon. bacon is easy to cook, easy to thaw (easy to freeze, but really, what isn't?) and a pie crust is easy to buy or easy to make. ryan and ava love quiche!

1 partially baked pie crust
8 ounces (8 slices) bacon, cut in to 1/2 inch pieces
2 large eggs, plus 2 large egg yolks
1 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
pinch nutmeg
4 ounces gruyere cheese, grated (about 1 cup)

to cook the bacon:
preheat oven to 400 degrees. line baking pan (with sides) with bacon. cook for 6 minutes. rotate pan and put back in for another 6 minutes.

whisk all ingredients save the cheese and the bacon in a bowl. spread bacon and cheese evenly over the bottom of the shell and pour quiche mix in until it reaches about 1/2 inch below crust rim. cover the edges of the crust with foil, or they'll burn. bake until lightly golden brown, a knife blade inserted about one inch comes out clean, 32 to 35 minutes. transfer quiche to rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.


i'm not quite sure how this will work out with a store bought pie crust, since i've never used one of those before.
happy eating!