What's new....

                 

     

Doug and I got a new grill for Mother/Father's Day. So far, we love it. It's the "somewhat new" infrared technology and is definitely different than a traditional gas grill. The idea is that is gets very hot quickly and maintains an even cooking temperature over the entire gill surface. It is easier to get a good sear on the meat to lock in the juices.  Also, due to the design, there are almost no flare-ups. Two nights ago I grilled burgers and last night some round steak cut in strips with grilled peppers and onions. Both were de-lish, especially the burgers! I think chicken is in the near future....



                   

Sweet and Salty Pretzel Bites

Small Pretzels
Hershey Kisses
M & M's (plain)

Preheat oven to 200*.

Lay out an single layer of pretzels on a foil lined pan.

Place one Hershey kiss on top of each pretzel.

Place pan in oven until kisses are softened. 3 to 5 minutes is all you need.

When chocolate is softened, remove pan from oven and top each kiss with a plain M & M. Press down slightly to embed the M & M into the kiss. 

Let cool completely, then store in an airtight container.

This is Jonah's specialty. He makes them every year for Thanksgiving, using orange, yellow and brown M&Ms (sometimes we use Reese's Pieces), then for Christmas using red and green M&Ms. We decided to make them for Easter this year and used every color in the bag. Jonah pointed out that the Easter colored M&Ms were more expensive and we didn't need that big of a bag! And right he was! You can mix these up with different kisses as well. We like the Hugs because of the stripes! 
He has been making them for several years so it's good for little hands as well.

She gets her own show!

I love all cookbooks, but this one is special!

The Pioneer Woman apparently has a show on Food Network beginning in August. I have followed her for quite a while now and think she is a hoot....a real talent in many areas....one of which is of course COOKING! So last night I made one of her recipes, Sour Cream Noodle Bake. It is really good and if today wasn't a Friday during Lent, I might have eaten some for breakfast this morning!
Some may wonder how I got my husband to eat cottage cheese since he has a serious aversion to the stuff. He really just can't stand the sight of it. (If you're reading this Honey forgive me, please!)I just whipped it with my hand blender for a couple minutes and it came out like ricotta cheese. You could use a regular blender or a Magic Bullet, whatever you have to make it work for you.  Here is her recipe, copied and pasted:

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 pound Ground Chuck (I only used 1 lb)
• 1 can 15-ounces Tomato Sauce
• ½ teaspoons Salt
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• 8 ounces, weight Egg Noodles
• ½ cups Sour Cream
• 1-¼ cup Small Curd Cottage Cheese
• ½ cups Sliced Green Onions (less To Taste)
• 1 cup Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Brown ground chuck in a large skillet. Drain fat, then add tomato sauce. 1/2 teaspoon salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Stir, then simmer while you prepare the other ingredients.
Cook egg noodles until al dente. Drain and set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine sour cream and cottage cheese. Add plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Add to noodles and stir. Add green onions and stir.
To assemble, add half of the noodles to a baking dish. Top with half the meat mixture, then sprinkle on half the grated cheddar. Repeat with noodles, meat, then a final layer of cheese. Bake for 20 minutes, or until all cheese is melted.

Click here to see her original recipe post.

Pulled Pork

  bumped this to the top since I now have a pic!

2 lbs. pork roast
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 cups ketchup
1 cup water
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce

Place pork in slow cooker.

In a bowl combine all other ingredients. Stir well and pour over roast.

Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours, until meat falls apart.

Remove pork from crock pot and allow to cool slightly. Remove and discard any bones. Pull meat into shreds using 2 forks, or if cool enough, your hands.

At this point you can either return the meat to the sauce in the crock pot, or serve plain and let each person add their own choice of sauce. If serving plain, I do use a little of the sauce it was cooked in to help keep the meat moist. Serve on a buns or hoagie rolls.

We use KC Masterpiece bbq or plain ketchup for Jonah.

Spring is finally SpRinGiNg!

Labeling them means I can send someone else out to grab a few leaves!

I love fresh herbs when I am cooking. However, they can be expensive and if I do buy them, I often don't use the whole bunch before it goes bad, so it can be a waste of money. Last summer I tried my hand at growing a couple things in pots on my deck. Guess what?!? Turns out it is pretty easy to do and I had fresh herbs all summer! So when I walked into Wally-World the other day and saw some, I grabbed a couple. We have already enjoyed some fresh cilantro in Pico de Gallo last night for dinner. I painted up a couple of terracotta pots and now they look super cute sitting outside getting some sun and I can just step out there and grab a few leaves whenever I need to! I think I may add a couple more so it will be like my own little mini herb garden.
They only cost a couple bucks, are easy to grow, and smell fantastic....a good deal all around!

Oven Roasted Asparugus

...and it's good for you!

One bunch fresh asparagus

Olive oil

Seasoned Salt, I use Lowery's

Wash and asparagus and trim off tough ends, a couple inches is good

Dry asparagus well

On a shallow baking pan, place asparagus and drizzle with a little olive oil. I have never measured this, probably 1-2 teaspoons, it really goes a long way

Sprinkle everything with seasoned salt, you could use salt and pepper instead.

Using your hands, gently toss the asparagus until it is coated with the oil and salt is evenly distributed.

Roast in a 500* oven for 10-12 minutes. The thicker the asparagus, the longer it will take in the oven. We like young, thin stalks.

We really like this...okay so Drew doesn't, but he's away at school and he hates almost all veggies...even the Veggie Tales! Doug's not big on anything green but this is an exception! During grilling season, I roast it right on the grill and it is awesome!