Carnitas

1 1/2 pound pork roast

1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp cumin
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup chicken stock

I got this recipe from one of the many cook books I check out of the library. This one was low cost slow cooker meals. It worked out great for a Sunday meal.

Carnitas is slowly roasted pork that is then cooked in dry heat until crisp. Serve with heated flour tortillas, chopped vegetables, and let everyone make their own.

1. Sprinkle roast with salt, pepper, and cumin, and place in a 3-quart slow cooker. Surround with onions and garlic and pour chicken stock over all. Cover and cook on low for 8-9 hours until pork is very tender.

2. Preheat oven to 400°. Remove pork from slow cooker and place in a large baking pan. Using 2 forks, shred meat. Take 1 cup of pan juices from the slow cooker and mix into pork.

3. Bake at 400° for 15-20 minutes or until pork is crisp on top. Stir pork mixture and thoroughly and bake for 15-20 minutes longer or until the pork is crisp again on top. Serve with crisp tacos, flour or corn tortillas, and lots of salsa.

Cooking Mama

We made some yummy treats and meals for Mother's Day- light and healthy meals! The desserts however were not too light of healthy, but it was a special occasion. Saturday I made Cobb Salad. It has your classic components, but really I just did what I wanted that day. I used mixed salad greens including spinach and butter lettuce, carrots, cucumber, grape tomatoes, cheese cubes, boiled eggs, crispy bacon pieces, and turkey. I lined it all up and let everyone put on what they wanted. Easy!

The girls made some yummy blueberry muffins for breakfast Sunday morning. Then for dinner I did fish tacos. These were not the classic either, just what I could do at home to resemble those California style tacos. I used Swai, which I had never cooked before. I think it is my new favorite fish. It kind of reminded me of a sweet lighter catfish. I just cooked it in my electric skillet with a little olive oil and butter, for color. I dusted the filets with Montreal chicken seasoning, which has a nice flavor. I also grilled on filet on the George Foreman grill, just to see how it did. I flaked the fish into chunks, put them in warmed corn tortillas and all the other traditional taco toppings. I loved this meal, served with fresh fruit.

Over the weekend, the girls made two pies. One was a kind of a cobbler in a pie pan called "Died and Gone to Heaven Peach Pie" - it was good. Like having cobbler and ice cream all in one. The other was the three layer chocolate pie that I usually only make at Thanksgiving, but it came out this weekend for an encore performance. I am glad to be a "cooking mama" and am raising cooking girls. They did all the clean up- so that was the best. Thanks, girls!

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies

I found this recipe on Two Peas and Their Pod. It really does taste like those famous girl scout cookies- only better. The cookies would be great on their own, but sandwiched together with a creamy peanut butter filling takes it to the next level. And then you have to eat two cookies, oh darn.
 

Yield: 18 sandwich cookies

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 10-12 minutes

Soft and chewy peanut butter cookies with a creamy peanut butter filling.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup quick-cooking oats
For the Filling
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
3 tablespoons heavy cream

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat and set aside.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, peanut butter and both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla extract. Mix until combined. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients, mixing just until combined. Finally, add the oats and mix until just combined.
3. Take about 1 tablespoon of dough and roll into a cookie ball. Place on prepared baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches between the cookies. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the cookies are slightly golden and the edges are set. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
4. While the cookies are cooling, make the filling. Combine the butter, peanut butter and powdered sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat until smooth. Add the heavy cream and beat until light and fluffy. Using a knife, spread peanut butter filling onto the flat side of a cookie. Find a cookie the same size and sandwich the cookies together, pressing the filling to the edges.

Recipe from Allrecipes

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This delicious recipe brought to you by Two Peas & Their Pod
http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/peanut-butter-oatmeal-sandwich-cookies/

The Best Frosting I've Ever Had

I forgot to put this recipe up that I found a few weeks ago. I have to admit the title of the recipe really set the bar high. Probably too high. It was not the best frosting I've ever had, but it was different than I usually use. It is very weird how you put flour in it. This recipe has been circulating around the internet as something "new" but I think it is actually a very old recipe. Think "whipped" icing and you get a good idea of what it is like. It actually tasted a lot better to me when it had chilled- I put it on a chocolate sheet cake.

Ingredients

• 5 Tablespoons Flour
• 1 cup Milk
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• 1 cup Butter
• 1 cup Granulated Sugar (not Powdered Sugar!)

Preparation Instructions

Bake your favorite chocolate cake and let it cool.
In a small saucepan, whisk flour into milk and heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens. You want it to be very thick, thicker than cake mix, more like a brownie mix is. Remove from heat and let it cool to room temperature. (If I’m in a hurry, I place the saucepan over ice in the sink for about 10 minutes or so until the mixture cools.) It must be completely cool before you use it in the next step. Stir in vanilla.
While the mixture is cooling, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. You don’t want any sugar graininess left. Then add the completely cooled milk/flour/vanilla mixture and beat the living daylights out of it. If it looks separated, you haven’t beaten it enough! Beat it until it all combines and resembles whipped cream.
Spread on cooled cake.

Deep Dish Fruit Pizza

I made this last week for a Relief Society meeting where the theme was "Remember Your Roots". Everyone brought a traditional family recipe. I always remember Grandma Engel having a copy of Southern Living magazine around and baking delicious things from that magazine. Elephant Ears was one of them. I don't know for sure, but fruit pizza may have been one of them too. I had never had fruit pizza before she made it and I loved it. It is so nice in the spring and summer with all of the colorful fruits. I had not made it in a while, so I thought I would for this event. This recipe is from Pioneer Woman. I chose it because it makes a large rectangular pizza in a sheet pan and serves a lot! I used strawberries, mandarin oranges, nectarines, kiwi, and blueberries. You could also certainly use your own favorite sugar cookie dough recipe.

Ingredients

• 1-1/3 cup Shortening (may Substitute Butter)
• 1-1/2 cup Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Orange Zest
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• 2 whole Eggs
• 8 teaspoons Whole Milk
• 4 cups All-purpose Flour
• 3 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 2 jars (13 Ounces Each) Marshmallow Creme
• 2 packages (8 Ounces Each) Cream Cheese
• Peaches
• Kiwi Fruit
• Blueberries
• Pears
• Raspberries
• Other Fruit Optional

Preparation Instructions

Cream shortening (or butter), sugar, orange peel, and vanilla thoroughly. Add in eggs and beat until light and fluffy. Add in the milk and mix.
Sift dry ingredients together, then blend into cream mixture. Slightly flatten between two sheets of waxed paper, then refrigerate for one hour (or freeze for 20 minutes).
Press dough into a sheet cake pan OR divide the dough in half and roll each half into a large round, then transfer to pizza pans.
Bake for 12-15 minutes until cookie dough is cooked and golden brown, but not overly crisp. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.
Using a mixer with a whisk attachment, whip together marshmallow creme and cream cheese until light. Spread onto cooled "pizza" crust, then decorate the top generously with sliced fruit. Slice into squares or wedges and serve.

Guiltless Alfredo Sauce

I was really pleased to find this recipe for alfredo sauce on the blog Or Best Bites. It has only 100 calories for 1/4 cup sauce. They suggest many uses for this sauce - on plain on pasta, a dip for bread sticks, mix with pesto for a creamy basil sauce, or use as a white pizza sauce. It was easy to throw together while pasta was cooking. I also added 2 chicken breasts, cubed into bite sized pieces and sauteed on top of the stove. Don't buy a jar of alfredo sauce ever again!

Ingredients:
2 C low-fat milk
1/3 C (3 oz) low fat cream cheese
2-3 T flour
1 t salt
1 T butter
3 garlic cloves
1 C grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions:
Place milk, cream cheese, flour, and salt in a blender and blend until smooth.  In a non-stick sauce pan, melt butter on med-high heat and add garlic. Let the garlic saute for about 30 seconds, you don’t want to burn it.

Then add milk mixture to the pan. Stir constantly for about 3 or 4 minutes or until it just comes to a simmer. Keep stirring and let it cook for a few minutes more. It should be much thicker now.

When it’s nice and thickened remove the pan from the heat. Add the cheese, stir it up and then cover immediately. Let stand for at least 10 minutes before using. It will continue to thicken upon standing. Also, if you have leftovers in the fridge, the sauce will thicken almost into a solid. Just re-heat and add a little milk and it will be back to normal again.

KFC Grilled Chicken

This is a copy-cat recipe of the popular grilled chicken they serve now at KFC. Jared really likes it and the brine makes a flavorful juicy chicken, just as it does turkey at Thanksgiving. We found it on the top secret recipes website. Their recipe bakes the chicken in the oven, but we just grill it outside. I also take off the skin for even lower calorie count.

Marinade 8 cups water 1/4 cup salt 2 teaspoons MSG (see Tidbits)   1 small whole chicken, cut up (8 pieces)   Brush with 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1/4 teaspoon liquid smoke 1/4 teaspoon soy sauce   Seasoning 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour 1/4 teaspoon salt 3/4 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder (Knorr brand is best) 1/4 teaspoon beef bouillon powder (Knorr brand is best) 1/4 teaspoon coarse grind black pepper 1/4 teaspoon crushed dried rosemary 1/4 teaspoon dried basil 1/8 teaspoon dried oregano 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
	1. Dissolve the salt and MSG in the water to make the marinade (brine). Add the chicken, cover and chill for exactly 2 hours. 2. When the chicken has marinated, rinse each piece of chicken with water and blot dry. Whisk together the oil, liquid smoke, and soy sauce in a small bowl. Brush oil over one side of each piece of chicken. 3. Combine all of the ingredients for the seasoning in a small bowl. Sprinkle the seasoning over the oiled side of each piece of chicken, then flip each piece, brush with oil again and sprinkle on more seasoning. 4. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F, or 325 degrees F if you have a convection oven. Brush some of the leftover oil solution onto an oven-safe grill pan or grill plate. Set the pan over medium heat, and when the oil begins to smoke, place the chicken skin-side-down on the pan. Cook the chicken for 2 to 3 minutes or until the skin begins to brown and grill marks form on the chicken, then flip the chicken and cook it for another 1 to 2 minutes. Pop the grill pan into the oven for 20 minutes, then flip each piece of chicken and bake for another 20 minutes, or until the surface of the chicken is golden brown, and the chicken is cooked through. Serves 4. Tidbits: MSG is monosodium glutamate, a natural amino salt. It can usually be found where herbs and spices are stocked in your market. Accent Flavor Enhancer is one popular brand.       If you can't find the chicken and beef bouillon powder for this recipe, you can use bouillon cubes. Just crush the cubes into fine powder before measuring.