Pork Stew with Irish Soda Bread

These two delicious recipes swirl together to form a perfect meal (and perfect leftovers) for cold winter nights. The stew takes longer than the bread, but they are both worth the time they take. 

(Thanks, Mark, for the mouth-watering Facebook photo that led to the asking for, and giving of, these recipes.) 

ENJOY!

SAVORY PORK STEW:

3 lb. boneless pork shoulder, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1-1/2- to 2-inch pieces.  (Note that sometimes this is really fatty.  I had a 4lb shoulder, and by the time I'd trimmed out most of the fat there was barely 3lbs left.)

2-3 oz. thick-cut bacon cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1 to 3 Tbs. coconut oil or olive oil; more as needed  (You can use vegetable oil, I just don't like to)

Kosher (preferred) salt and pepper

1 yellow onion, coarsely chopped (about 1 cup)

2 celery stalks, coarsely chopped (about 1/2 cup)

1 carrot, coarsely chopped (about 1/3 cup)

1-2 Tbs. minced chipotles in adobo (I'd make it 3, it wasn't spicy at all really)

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 Tbs. minced fresh oregano (or 1/2 to 1 tsp. dried)

1 cup beer (I used Black Butte Porter from Deschutes Brewery, but Edmund Fitzgerald Porter or Salvator double bock would be interesting too.  These have good flavors that aren't overpowering and they complement the stew well. You could also substitute a red wine, or just use water -- but I don't recommend that.  You're using it as a deglazing liquid and it gets boiled and then stewed for a long time so all of the alcohol should boil away - so you don't need to worry about your kids.)

2-1/2 cups chicken broth  (I prefer the swanson or central market brands if I'm not making my own)

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Core vegetables:

6 cups total of Shallots, Carrots, Potatoes, and red peppers.

I actually went over a bit.  I used 1 shallot (quartered), 2 3/4 cups potatoes, 2 3/4 cups of carrots, plus what was supposed to be 3 roasted red peppers, but turned out to be 1 because two had gone bad.  :-)

Position a rack in the bottom third of the oven and heat the oven to 325 degrees F. (You want it to be hot and ready, but I tend to delay this until the last couple batches of meat are done so I'm not wasting energy.)

Spread the pork on paper towels to dry for 10 to 20 minutes before browning. (You can use this time to chop the veggies and dice the chipotle peppers). If the meat is very wet, pat it dry first.

In a 6-quart Dutch oven or other heavy-duty pot, cook the bacon in 1 tbsp. of the oil over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until browned but not crisp, (6 to 8 minutes). Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate and set aside. Do not wipe out the pan!

 If your bacon was really lean - you might need to add some oil.  You want about 3tbsp worth in the bottom of the pan.  You'll want it good and hot. Season about one-fourth of the pork with salt and pepper and arrange it in a single layer in the pot (there should be at least 1/2 inch of space between the pieces).  (Personally - I find it takes smaller batches for my dutch oven - but yours might be larger.) Brown well on at least 4 sides, adjusting the heat as necessary; each batch should take about 10 minutes to brown. Transfer the pork to a bowl.  Repeat with the rest of the pork, seasoning with salt and pepper before browning. Once all of the pork is browned, remove the pot from the heat to let it cool for a few minutes.

Pour all but 2 Tbs. of the fat from the pot. (If there is not enough, add oil to equal 2 Tbs.) Return the pot to medium heat, then add the onion, celery, and (single) carrot. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper, and cook, stirring often and scraping the bottom of the pot with a wooden spatula, until the vegetables begin to soften, 5 to 6 minutes. Stir in the chipotles, garlic, cumin, and oregano and cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes.  Return the bacon to the pot.

Add the beer, stirring with the wooden spatula to dissolve any browned bits on the bottom of the pot. Raise the heat to medium high and boil to reduce by about half, 5 to 8 minutes.

Add the chicken broth and 1-1/2 cups water. Bring to a boil.

Return the pork to the pot along with any accumulated juice. Lower the heat to maintain a simmer.

Crumple a 12x16-inch piece of parchment paper, then flatten it out. (Crumpling makes it easier to manage.) Place the parchment directly on the surface of the stew, allowing the ends to come up the sides of the pot. Cover and put in the oven for 30 minutes.

During this time, chop the carrots, potatoes and shallot.  The carrots and potatoes should be in decent sized chunks.  The shallots can be added whole if they're small or quartered if large.  If you have more time, this is a good time to roast the red peppers.  (Unless you just bought them roasted.)  Just use an open flame (grill, gas stove, whatever) to char every inch of the surface.  When this is done, put the peppers into a bowl and cover it tightly with plastic wrap.  The longer it can sit like this and steam the better.  

After the 30 minutes are up, add the carrots, potatoes, and shallots to the pot. Cover with the parchment paper and lid, and return it to the oven for another 30 minutes. 

Towards the end of this time, take the peppers out of the bowl and with a pair of tongs (if they're still hot) and a knife scrape off the skin.  It should come off fairly easily.  Then slit the pepper from stem to base and cut around the stem - the stem and the seeds should come out easily.  Cut the rest of the way through, and wipe away any seeds and cut out what membrane you can.  Then chop.

When that second 30 mins is up, add the peppers. Cover with the parchment paper and lid, return the pot to the oven, and cook until the pork is fork-tender, about an hour more. 

Stir in the cilantro.  I also like to, degrease the stew by laying a clean paper towel over the surface of the stew and gently pushing it into all the bumps and dips, then quickly peeling it off - repeating as needed till you don't see the sheen of oil on the surface. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Now -- I find that the stew is always better the next day.  So I like to let it cool to room temperature, put it in the fridge, and then warm it up in the oven again the next day (usually ~300 degrees until hot).  Or at least - that's the idea.  I've not yet done it a day ahead as everyone wants to eat it.  I did manage to make it in time for lunch and let it sit at room temp all day and then heat it for dinner though -- definitely worth it. 

IRISH SODA BREAD RECIPE:

The bread is actually really easy to make. Preheat the oven to 450. Make sure you do this first! Once you finish mixing the dough you need to get it in the oven quickly, you can't let it sin while it preheats. Lightly flour a baking pan now too.

Sift together a pound of flour (3 & 1/3 c. sifted-- not packed-- flour), 3/4 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt in a largish bowl. Make a well in the center, and pour in about 1 1/2 cups of buttermilk. 

Using your hands mix it together. Spread your fingers out like a rake and mix it in a circle around the bowl. You want a light touch here, and don't overdo it. The baking soda interacts with the buttermilk to create air pockets in the dough and you don't want to break them. Just mix until it starts coming together well. You might need to add more buttermilk - just do it ~ a tbsp at a time or you risk getting it too moist.

Scrape the dough out onto a well floured surface and shape it into a round. A little over six inches across and about an inch and a half high in the center (no higher!). Then flip it over onto the pan so the floured side is up and make a shallow X cut from side to side about 1/4" deep. This cut isn't just in the top, it stems all the way from edge to edge.

Put it in the oven for about 15 mins, then lower the temperature to 400 and bake until it's brown and sounds hollow when you tap the bottom (20-30 mins). I prefer to rotate the bread when I drop the temp as well - it promotes more even baking/browning.

Let it cool completely before cutting. 

It's really fast to make, and doesn't require anything special. (If you didn't know, you can even make the buttermilk for this pretty easily because of the chemistry being used. Just measure out a cup and a half of milk and add a tbsp and a half of white vinegar to it and let it sit for ~20 mins.)

Pretty sure this is the easiest bread recipe I know, and it's definitely the quickest.

Crock Pot Pork Carnitas & Crock Pot Pinto Beans

Just wanted to share this recipe that has delighted my family twice in the last 10 days--  it's easy as pie & I've altered it to be completely done in the crock pot.

Here's the link to the original:
Simple Carnitas Recipe

Here's how I've adjusted it:

CROCK POT CARNITAS
Turn your crock pot on high & put in these ingredients:

• 3-4 pounds pork shoulder, cut into 2-inch chunks
• 2 Oranges, peeled & quartered
• 1-2 Onions, peeled & quartered
• 1 whole head garlic, peeled & chopped
• 1/4 cup salt (kosher/sea salt would be better, but table salt works fine for us)
• 2 Tbsp oregano
• 1 Tbsp pepper
• 2 bay leaves

Add hot water until meat is just covered inside crock.  Cook on high for 4 hours, OR cook on high for 1 hour and then reduce to low & cook on low for 6-8 hours.  Use a slotted spoon to remove the pork; reserve juices in crock pot.  The meat is delightfully tender, so simply use 2 forks to shred the meat.

Use for carnitas tacos/burritos, garnishing with cheese, salsa, beans, lettuce, tomatoes; or use as a tender flavorful meat over mashed potatoes; or for BBQ pulled pork sandwiches.  

CROCK POT PINTO BEANS
A great part of doing it this way is that because you removed the pork from the juices, there is a flavorful broth in which to cook your pinto beans.  You can either start right away, or refrigerate the juice overnight and make it the next day.

• Leftover cooking broth from pork carnitas
• 1 pound pinto beans, with any bad beans sorted/removed

All you have to do is pour your 1 pound of beans into the reserved juices from the carnitas, then set your crock pot to high for 3-4 hours, and cook on low an additional 2 or more; OR you can cook on low for 7-8 hours.  The beans are amazingly flavorful; just be sure to use a slotted spoon to remove the orange quarters and large onion slices before serving the beans.

These could be used for bean & cheese nachos, as a side item for Mexican food, in chili, or whatever else you want to use them for.  They are so very tasty!

Pancakes & Syrup

Here are my go-to from scratch recipes for pancakes and maple syrup.

• Homemade pancakes
• Homemade maple syrup (yes, it's fake, but overseas, it's a great pinch-hitter)

Double-Crust Pie Dough

This crust is great for pies, and awesome for quiche. Crispy, with just a hint of sweetness... it's a great crust.

2 & 1/2 c. all-purpose flour, plus extra for counter

2 Tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. salt

8 Tbsp. shortening, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

12 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 inch pieces

6-8 Tbsp. ice water

Put 1/2 cup of water in the freezer to be used in a few minutes.

Combine flour, sugar, and salt in food processor. Sprinkle shortening over the top and proces until it looks like sand, about 10 seconds. Scatter butter and pulse 10 times. Mixture should resemble coarse crumbs. DON'T OVERPULSE. Better to need to mix more than to over mix.

Sprinkle 6 Tbsp of ice water over the mixture, and press the dough together with a rubber spatula. If the dough is still not coming together, add ice water, 1 Tbsp at a time, until it can be mixed.

Divide the dough into 2 portions, pressing each portion into a flat 4-inch disc. Cover each disc with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour. *** Remove dough & roll to fit into pie plate.

(*** At this point in the recipe, the dough can be frozen for future use, for up to 2 months***)

Lasagna Worth Making

This lasagna happens in several steps. Yes, it takes time to make lasagna... but I guarantee that this lasagna is worth making. Well, I think so anyway... and everyone I've ever served it to has said it's the best lasagna they've ever tasted. So give it a whirl, and tell me if you agree.

Lasagna Worth Making

Sauce Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef

1-2 yellow onions

olive oil

1 garlic head

5-8 large tomatoes (or 28 oz. in cans)

6 oz. tomato paste

2 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

pinch of red pepper flakes

1/4 tsp dried basil (or 1 Tbsp fresh, chopped basil)

1 bay leaf

2 cups water

1. Chop up your onions and garlic. Onions can be diced... garlic needs to be minced.
2. Sautee your onions in olive oil in the frying pan, just enough to coat the onions. Once softened, add in your beef and brown the meat.
3. While meat is browning, chop up your tomatoes.
4. Once meat is browned, add in everything else on the list above: (garlic, tomatoes, tomato paste, salt, red pepper flakes, sugar, basil, bay leaf, and water). Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to lowest setting. Simmer 45 minutes to 1 hour. Stir occasionally. Sauce will reduce and thicken.

While sauce is cooking, make the following:

Ricotta cheese filling:

8-10 ounces ricotta cheese (leave undrained)

2 large eggs, beaten

whole milk (maybe)

parsley (if you have it)

• Combine ricotta cheese with 2 beaten eggs. If thick, add a Tbsp or so of milk until it is a smooshable consistency. That's right, I said smooshable.
• If you have parsley, add in about 1 tsp of parsley. Fresh is even better. If not, don't sweat it!

Also, you'll need 1 box lasagna noodles (specifically, you'll need 12 noodles), 1 cup of water and roughly 1 pound shredded mozzerella or meltable white cheese (for those here in Turkey with me, I like the white cheese found at Bim... it comes in 1 kilo blocks, and has a mountain scene on the package. It's the best cheese I've found for general use like this).

Once the sauce is ready, you'll want to have all your ingredients around your 9 x 13 baking dish. To make your lasagna, do the following:

• First, take a serving spoon-ful of the liquidy sauce at the top of the sauce pan, and use it to coat the bottom of the baking dish. This will serve as your greasing of the pan.
• Then, you'll want to proceed in the following order, repeating yourself 4 times (so for each layer, you'll want to use approximately 1/4th of whatever ingredient you're pulling from.):

1. Lasagna noodles-- 3 across
2. Ricotta cheese-- use approximately one heaping forkful on each noodle. Then use your fork to smash down and spread across the noodles. It won't cover it, and that's fine, just get it to where it's evened out throughout the pan, across the noodles.
3. Sauce-- A few serving-spoon-fuls across the cheese mixture. Try to spread it out, but remember to just use about 1/4th of the sauce for each layer. It should almost cover the layer below. (This is where you get to be Madam Chef. If things look a bit dry, use some of that 1 cup of water to just pour over this layer. We want the noodles to fully cook, and so you can just add a splash of water here or there as needed in this layer. Have confidence in yourself... it won't likely mess up either way!)
4. Shredded cheese. Use slightly less than 1/4th of the cheese for each layer, so that you can completely cover the dish on the top layer.

That's it.

Then stick it in a 375 degree oven for 45 minutes, or until the top is nice and browned, and the sauce is no longer liquidy. This is one of my prized recipes, for company, and just for enjoyment by our family as well. I hope you enjoy it too.

P.S. - this meal is easily doubled and you can serve one to your family, and take another to a friend who just had a baby, just had surgery, etc. Lasagna is a classic meal for those circumstances, but homemade is even more of a treat!

Cream Biscuits

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. (For our family, I multiply this recipe by 3.)

In large bowl, combine:

2 c. flour

2 tsp. sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp salt.

With wooden spoon, stir in:

1 & 1/2 c. heavy cream

Stir just until mostly mixed, then turn out onto lightly floured countertop & knead until smooth. Press dough flat until 3/4 inch thick.

***I used to then cut biscuits out, with biscuit cutters, but recently started just cutting squares. It uses the whole dough and then you don't have the re-mixed more tough biscuits from the 2nd kneading/pressing.*** But if you like nice circle biscuits, feel free. I also like doing little "biscuitlets" (smaller biscuits to go along with soups, or for large groups) with smaller cookie cutouts.

Place onto parchment-lined baking sheet & bake until golden, approx. 15 minutes. Quick and tasty!

Dill Potato Salad

Oh yummy. This is my favorite summer dish, thanks to my friend Kelly. YUM, yum, yum!


Dill Potato Salad

• 5 pounds smallish new-potato style potatoes
• 4-8 ounces cream cheese (this is optional, if you don't want it, add a bit more mayo and sour cream to make up for it)
• 3/4 cup mayo
• 1/2 cup of sour cream or plain yogurt
• 5-6 green onions, chopped (both whites & greens chopped finely)
• roughly 1/2 cup of fresh chopped dill (I just chop up one bunch-- but not stems)
• 1/4- 1/2 cup of fresh chopped parsley
• Garlic, garlic salt, & salt to taste

1. Get potatoes that have only a very thin edible skin(cause the skin stays on for these). Clean em. Cut them into roughly 1 inch chunks (it can be slightly less or more... this is not an exact science). Cover them with water & boil for 15-20 minutes, until a fork can go through the potato, but NOT until they are fall-apart soft. Then remove from heat, drain in a pasta strainer, and let cool.

2. Return to pot or a large serving bowl. Dump in all other ingredients and stir. Be sure to add enough salt... the taste of this potato salad has to have enough salt to really be appreciated.

OH me oh my, this potato salad is the only kind I've ever liked- and I don't just like it; I love it! Hopefully you will too.

A Unique & Tasty Pasta Sauce

Pioneer Woman's Pasta with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce really is delish.

I've made it twice so far, and I have one alteration to suggest:

*** After sauteing the onions and garlic in the olive oil, throw them in the blender along with the pureed roasted red peppers.

Get it all nice and itty bitty. THEN put it back in the saucepan, add the cream, and pour over pasta. YUM. We roast the red peppers on a metal grate right over our gas burners and follow the rest of her instructions, and it works smashingly. This is delicious enough to just enjoy as a main dish, or you can add in chicken along with it; either way.

ENJOY!

Quick Meal Ideas

These are the things I make when time is of the essence and I just need to get some food in front of my family, quick!

* Rice w/ cream of chicken sauce. Easy. Put the rice on to cook, and then make the sauce in the last 5 minutes of the rice's cook time.
* Chicken Fajitas. Slice up onions, red bell peppers, and put the chicken to cook in the frying pan. Add in some cheese, tortillas, ranch dressing, tomatoes, and it makes an easy meal.
* Breakfast Burritos. Scrambled eggs, and then everything listed above. Notice a pattern? :)
* Dutch Puff. Put the ingredients in the blender, pour it in the pan, and let it bake. Add syrup.
* Maple Granola. This one takes about 30 minutes... but it's filling and tasty!
* Pasta w/ homemade white sauce. Similar to the rice & sauce above-- put the pasta to boil, and then make the sauce in the last couple minutes. Hot, tasty, and easy.
* Fun Lunch!
* Pancakes w/ syrup- easy and delicious!


What are your favorite quick meal ideas?

A (fairly new) Family Favorite: Stuffed Chicken Breasts

As Kelly Kapoor would say, these are "a-MAZ-ing!" This is one of our favorite meals... it seems very gourmet and combines some different-than-normal (for us at least) flavors, and gives us some variety while still using fairly basic and easy-to-find ingredients.

STUFFED CHICKEN BREASTS

1. Pound out and flatten chicken breasts.
2. Combine the following: 4 oz. goat cheese (or other flavorful soft white cheese), 4 oz. cream cheese, chopped garlic cloves (as many as you like-- it calls for one but I usually do 2 or 3 fat cloves), 1-2 Tbsp Rosemary or Thyme (depending on how much you like those flavors), and salt and pepper (about 1/4 tsp. each).
3. Roll into log rolls and roll the chicken breasts around the rolls, and place in greased dish, seam down.
4. In same bowl as remaining filling, add and mix in the following: 3/4 c. mayo, 2-3 Tbsp honey mustard or dijon mustard, and 1 Tbsp. lemon juice. Spoon this mixture over the chicken breasts.
5. If desired, top with breadcrumbs. (My recipe calls for this, but we rarely do it. It's good either way).

Bake @ 425 for 30 minutes.

It's delicious over rice.

I also like putting baked potatoes in, setting the timer for one hour, and getting started making these. About the time the timer is at 30-35 minutes, I have the whole dish ready to go in (that's with little ones interrupting), and can add it in on a rack above of the already-hot baked potatoes, and it all bakes up beautifully.

The sauce is extra delicious as another flavor with baked potatoes or rice. This tastes like a really fancy meal, but is very easy to do. We have it about once a month now. Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Maple Granola

After trying this recipe for the first time a few days ago, this is already a big hit around here, and I'm making it again. We'll store it in an airtight cookie jar and make it probably a few times a month to sub in for expensive cold cereals for breakfast. It's DELICIOUS!!! Enjoy~~~


Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Dump into a big bowl, and stir until the oats are evenly coated:

• 10 cups rolled oats
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/4 cup real maple syrup (you can use the fake stuff... we did and it was tasty!)
  

As with the other granolas I posted about, spread it all out on a large cookie sheet and bake for 30 minutes, taking it out every five minutes to stir it around, and keep it in an airtight container shortly after taking it out of the oven, so it stays very crunchy.

If you're reading this and thinking "that sounds too sweet for cereal", well, think of it as a snack then -- it's very crispy and when you're crunching it up in your mouth it really does taste like you're eating some kind of fancy maple cookie.

Planning & Preparation-- my thoughts-- please add yours!

I have shared on Making Home how having a four-week rotating meal plan helps me so much. Crystal's online course "Supermarket Savings" (which it appears is no longer available) helped me SO much in this area. Other things I do to save time/money include:

* making double or triple batches of things and freezing things so that I can use them to reduce cook time later.

* bending my "plan" to fit reality (for example, if we are having people over Tuesday night, but Tuesday's "planned" meal is something boring, I'll switch it out with something else planned that week so that I'll for sure have all the ingredients but have something more savory to serve to guests)

* cooking from scratch a lot (while still buying store-bought in some areas to keep things simple)


What ideas do you have for saving money/time, particularly on the planning/preparation end of things in the kitchen?

Lunch Ideas for Busy Moms

Here are some ideas for lunches:

PB & J sandwiches
Tuna sandwiches
Lunchmeat/cheese sandwiches
Grilled cheeses
~Any and all of these can be served with fruit, pretzels, chips, or yogurt~


Other ideas:

Cheese Quesidillas
Oatmeal w/ cinnamon and sugar swirled in
Homemade breaded chicken strips/nuggets/thighs, warmed up from the freezer
Baked potatoes (w/ cheese, ranch dressing, butter, salt, etc.)
Maple Granola
Fried eggs with french bread (bakeries here are just a quick walk away)
Salad (yes, my kids eat salad- it's seen as big people's food and we do cover it in ranch, so it's coveted.)
Tortillas or bagels with cream cheese
Pasta w/ homemade white sauce
Omelets (egg & cheese with some tomatoes if desired)
Rice w/ warmed up cream of chicken soup (it's delicious, I'm telling you!)
Applesauce
Plain rice (eaten the world over)
Rice with grated cheese on top (don't knock it till you try it)
Carrot slices ~Boiled, with butter and molasses stirred in. yum!
Broccoli florets ~Steamed with garlic
Green beans {Seriously, what's so wrong with serving a whole meal out of vegetables? Try it... after you do this a handful of times, it will be "normal" and they won't know that you're asking them to do something abnormal.}
Pancakes- I use the classic Better Homes & Gardens pancake recipe- easy and quick (and best of all, tasty)!
Dutch Puff
Ikea meatballs with rice or french fries (a good variation is covered in BBQ sauce)


LEFTOVERS (the great secret!)-
~ extra pancakes, lasagne, spaghetti, tacos, egg rolls, whatever from the night before! This is a BIGGIE in our home. It's easy-peasy to make extra of whatever you're making the night before, and then you can just heat it up the next day for lunch~


AND THE EVER-WONDERFUL "FUN LUNCH"
Take all your leftovers, the half-eaten bag of pretzels, the muffins that will go bad in a couple days if no one eats them, whatever fruit is in your fruit basket, etc... and put them on the counter. Give everyone one small portion of everything, make it look pretty, and serve it in a splashy way.
They'll think it's neat, *AND* you get a clean fridge and pantry. NICE!

These are just the ideas that work for our family. Please feel free to share anything that I didn't mention that you like to do for lunches... and I hope this helps!

Authentic Chinese Spring Rolls

A Chinese friend of mine taught me how to make these, and they are SOOOOO yummy and very easy to make. (I should've taken pictures and I didn't... forgive me.)

Ingredients:
3-4 zucchini, diced small
2 medium-sized purple onions, slivered
1.5-2 pounds chicken thighs, cut into small chunks/pieces/slivers
soy sauce
salt
phyllo dough (cut roughly into 5 x 8 inch rectangles or triangles of that same basic size--it'll work out great either way)

Directions:
Marinate chicken pieces in 1-2 Tbsp (or more, if desired) of soy sauce. Sprinkle with salt.

Mix marinated chicken, zucchini, and onions until well-mixed in bowl. Then use 1-2 heaping Tbsp. of mix per eggroll wrapper/phyllo dough piece.

Place mix at base of wrapper/dough and roll twice. Then fold sides in and keep wrapping to the end of the dough.

Fill corn oil to about 2-3 inches deep in a small sauce pan and heat. Once ready, quickly (and carefully!) place eggrolls side by side in the oil so that they press up against each other to help keep them wrapped. Use tongs or chopsticks to keep the dough from unrolling as needed. Fry in oil until the dough is a nice golden color, then turn over if needed to brown the top.

Place on paper-towel lined plate to cool and serve hot, warm, or room temperature-- it's delicious no matter how it's served! ENJOY!!!

Chicken Pocket Sandwiches

Let me just preface this by saying that this is one of the first recipes I've ever made where the ingredients are native to a place other than America. I *THINK* it's easily adaptable, but you'll have to try it and let me know.

Here's how I make it here in Turkey:

CHICKEN POCKET SANDWICHES
(Thanks to my friend Kelly for this tasty recipe!)

* Milfoy (Frozen pastry dough squares)
* 1.5-2 pounds of chicken, cooked and shredded
* 8 ounces cream cheese
* 1 tsp garlic salt
* one red bell pepper, finely chopped (optional)
* 5 green onions (5 onions, not 5 bunches), finely chopped (optional)

1- Cook & shred chicken, chop bell pepper and green onions.
2- Mix chicken & veggies with cream cheese and garlic salt.
3- Put one heaping Tbsp of mixture in each pastry square and tightly seal.
4- Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.


*** So, I think a good substitution for this would be to use something like Pillsbury crescent rolls (*but not break them up into the individual triangles, and instead use 2 of them at a time*) and make oblong pockets, filled with more than just the 1 Tbsp I mentioned above. You'd still seal them up carefully and possibly baked for 10-15 minutes, perhaps a little longer depending on how they cook on bottom. You want them to be crisp, but not burned. ***

These tasty sandwiches are absolutely delicious, and the recipe makes a good amount of them (great for having some left over for kids' lunches, etc.). Eat & enjoy!


(FYI-- I also adapt this same recipe by using taco-seasoned beef mixed with cheddar cheese for the filling, to make taco pockets.)

A Few Christmas Recipes

I figured I'd consolidate some of the recipes I'm using this Christmas into one post, so I'd have them for future reference.




FOR CHRISTMAS MORNING:

• CINNAMON ROLLS 101- these seriously sound like they will cause all who consume them to instantly commence with the "Mmmmm"s. I can't wait to try them.
• (And for some other morning, because they look so amazingly delicious: ) Cinnamon Sugar French Breakfast Puffs- Buttery, sugary, cinnamony moist breakfast muffins. They look positively sinful.
  

FOR CHRISTMAS DINNER:
This year, we're going to do a Texas-themed Christmas, seeing as how it's technically our first Christmas outside of America. So, we're doing chicken & cheese enchiladas, classic beef tacos, enough guacamole to feed a small army, some salsa, and I'm going to try to make refried beans from scratch without pinto beans. :) I honestly have no idea if or how that will work. Here are some recipes I'm going to pick from:

• Molly's Refried Beans - These require bacon, which we can't get here. So I might need to get a fatty piece of turkey or something to make them.
• Refried Beans with all the facts- This site gives GREAT information about when and why to make beans from scratch, and her recipe sounds great too.
• Delicious-sounding refried beans- These sound really good, and she gives the step-by-step basic instructions for those of us who get scared about making things like beans from scratch. (Which sounds so silly, because most of the world makes beans from scratch, but we Texans with our delicious canned refried beans are spoiled!) ;)
  

Farm-style Oatmeal Cookies

These are, bar none, my favorite cookies, and the dough, bar none, is my favorite cookie dough to eat raw! Try it and you'll see why.

Ingredients:
2 cups packed brown sugar (living where we do, I can't get brown sugar, so I substitute with 2 cups regular sugar and 2-3 Tbsp of molasses)
1 cup lard or shortening
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
4 cups quick-cooking oats
1 & 3/4 cups all-purpose* or whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt


* If using self-rising flour, omit baking soda & salt.

• Heat oven to 375 F (approx. 190 C).
  
• Mix brown sugar, lard/shortening, buttermilk, and vanilla.
  
• Stir in remaining ingredients.
  
• Shape dough into 1-inch balls.
  
• Place about 3 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet (I line mine with parchment paper).
  
• Flatten with the bottom of a glass that has been dipped in water.
• Bake until golden brown, 8-10 minutes.
  
• Immediately remove from cookie sheet and let cool on a rack.
  

MAKES ABOUT 7 DOZEN cookies, which will all be promptly eaten. :)

Thanks to Betty Crocker for the recipe- these are totally yummy!

Gooey Bar

Last night I ate one of the best desserts I've ever had... called, simply, "The Gooey Bar". Here's the recipe:

1 box yellow cake mix
1 stick butter -melted
1 egg

Mix these ingredients and spread into pan, pressing into corners. Then combine the following in a separate bowl:

1 pkg cream cheese
1 stick butter
2 eggs
1 box (2 cups) powdered sugar
1 t. vanilla

Mix these ingredients, spreading over bottom layer. Bake 30-40 minutes @ 350 degrees. (Top will be soft set.) Trust me, this is delicious!

Dutch Puff (GREAT for big families)

Here's a great recipe for families of any size. Called a dutch puff, it's kind of like a puffy eggy creation. Similar in taste to french toast, but totally its own entity, we like it with syrup.

The original recipe is as follows:
Melt 1/3 cup of butter in a glass dish in a 425 degree oven.

Meanwhile, blend/mix the following:
4 eggs
1 cup flour (bread flour works even better, but whatever you can find should work- trust me... I've made this in China when I didn't even know the word for flour, much less bread flour! :) )
1 cup milk
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp + cinnamon (if you like more, use more)
(SERVES FOUR-- for larger families, look below)

Once blended, pull the dish out of the oven (once all the butter has melted), and pour the liquid mixture into the dish. It's OK if butter mixes in a bit, stays around the edges, or gets on top.

Put the dish back in the oven for 20-25 minutes... until it puffs up and the tops of the peaks are brown. That's right... I said "puffs" and "peaks". It will puff up into what might look like a mountain range, with each corner reaching up toward the top of the oven, or with random peaks throughout the pan.

Serve hot, cut up into squares and it will thrill your family. Not only does it taste good, but it's inexpensive & easy to make, AND-- because it's got the eggs in it-- it's full of protein and so it sticks. They're not hungry 20 minutes later like sometimes happens with cereal.


FOR SIX:
1 & 1/2 cups milk
1 & 1/2 cups flour
6 eggs
3 tsp vanilla
1 & 1/2 tsp + of cinnamon


FOR EIGHT:
2 cups milk
2 cups flour
8 eggs
4 tsp vanilla
2 tsp + of cinnamon,

ETC...

Hope you and your family enjoy this delicious recipe!

Mountain Dew Dumplings

Lemme give a little shout out to my sister, Jill (OK, I only have a brother- but she's his wife!), and her mom Donna! They're the ones from whom this most excellent recipe was borrowed! This is like a scrum-diddly-umptious version of apple pie.


2 cans of Crescent Rolls
2 or 3 peeled and sliced apples(6-8 slices per apple)
2 sticks of butter (not Marg.)
1 tsp of cinnamon
1 1/2 cup of sugar
12 oz can of Mountain Dew

Preheat oven to 350. Peel and slice apple. Roll up one apple slice into each of the crescent rolls. Place them in an nongreased pan. In a small saucepan combine the butter, cinnamon, and sugar. Once the butter is melted and the mixture is nice and smooth, spoon over the top of each of the crescent rolls. Pour entire Mountain Dew can in the cracks. (Be sure not to wash off the sugar/cinnamon from the tops of the crescents when pouring the Mountain Dew. This makes for a prettier presentation when baked) Bake for 45 min. Serve while hot with ice cream or whipped cream!