Barbacoa Pork Taco Salad

There is a restaurant near our house that makes the most amazing Pork Barbacoa and I just happened to luck into the recipe to make all the components to make the most amazing tacos, salads and burritos. Use these ingredients to make an amazing salad with lettuce, cheese, tomatoes and tortilla strips, or wrap in a tortilla to make the best burrito ever!

Pork Barbacoa:

3 lb Pork Roast
16 oz Salsa
12 oz Coke (DON’T use diet soda)
2 Cups Brown Sugar
1 packet Taco Seasoning
1 can Diced Green Chiles

Trim visible fat from roast and put in the slow cooker on high; cover half way with water. Cover and cook on high for 5 hours. Remove pork and drain water. Cut pork roast into three or four sections and place back in slow cooker. In a food processor, puree remaining ingredients and pour over roast and continue cooking on high for an additional 3 hours. Shred pork and simmer in sauce until ready to serve.


Black Beans:

2 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Garlic Cloves
1 tsp Cumin
1 cans Black Beans, drained and rinsed
1 can Tomato Paste
1 Cup Water
½ tsp Salt
2 Tbsp Fresh Cilantro

Combine all ingredients and cook in a saucepan until beans are soft.

Lime Cilantro Rice:

2 Cups Chicken Broth
1 Cup Water
¼ Cup Lime Juice
4 tsp minced Garlic
1/3 Cup fresh Cilantro
1 can Diced Green Chiles
¾ tsp Salt
1 Tbsp Butter
½ Onion, chopped
3 Cups Jasmine Rice, rinsed

Place all ingredients in a rice cooker and heat until fluffy.
If you don’t have a rice cooker, use a pot with a tight fitting lid. Put all ingredients, except rice in the pot, cover and bring to a rolling boil. Add rice, cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for about 30 minutes, until rice is fluffy.


Tomatillo Ranch Dressing:

1 dry Ranch Dressing Packet
½ Cup Milk
1 Cup Mayonnaise or Sour Cream
2 Tomatillos
½ Cup fresh Cilantro
1 or 2 Garlic Cloves
1 Tbsp Lime Juice
1 jalapeño

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and puree until smooth; refrigerate until thick.

Ohukaisia or Finish Crepes

Many of you are familiar with French crepes, these are a little different, similar, but not quite the same thing. Finish crepes are thicker, sweeter, smaller and have a little different texture and, of course they are filled with different kinds of things. The beauty of any kind of crepe is the versatility, you can fill them with sweet or savory items and they will taste fantastic!
This recipe is a family tradition from my childhood. When my dad was younger, he spent some time in Finland and, as he tells it, they ate crepes almost every day- they are quite popular all over the Scandinavian countries. He and his friends would make up a batch in the morning and eat their fill, then wrap them up and put them in their knapsacks for lunch and eat them cold at midday. They are fairly easy to make and very yummy! Anyone who knows my family has had these, my dad is famous for them!

Ohukaisia (Finish Crepes):

3 large Eggs
1 Quart Milk
2/3 Cup Sugar
2 Cups Flour
½ teaspoon Salt
3-4 Tablespoons melted Butter

My dad taught me to melt the butter first on the griddle then dump it into the batter, that way you’re greasing it as well as melting the butter for the recipe. Heat your griddle ot medium heat. Combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix until the batter is smooth (add a few more Tbsp of flour if needed). Pour batter onto griddle in small circles, let them cook for about 3 minutes until edges just start to turn golden, but not brown, then flip and cook the other side for about 2 more minutes. Serve with melted butter and sugar, rolled up. You can fill or top them any way you like, but butter and sugar or berries are the traditional way in most of Scandinavia, according to my dad taught us.

Chicken Curry in a Hurry

I have to be honest, I have not eaten much curry in my life, but each time I have it has been great. Mike, however, LOVES CURRY. He has never met one he didn’t like. So, the other night he was craving curry, so we went to work to find a good, make at home version of one of his favorite dishes. After some searching, we found this one, I highly recommend it! One of my favorite things is that its so easy to control the heat, if you like your food more spicy (which we do) then add more cayenne pepper.

Chicken Curry in a Hurry

2 Tablespoons Flour
1 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
½ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper (we add at least 1 teaspoon to ours)
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast
2 Tablespoons Oil
1 Tablespoon Curry Powder
1 Onion,sliced
2 Cloves Garlic, Minced
1 Cup Chicken Stock
1/3 Cup Golden Raisins
1 ½ Tablespoons Tomato Paste
¼ Cup Chopped Fresh Cilantro
¼ Cup Plain Yogurt

Cube the chicken into bite sized pieces. In a large reseal able bag, combine flour, slat and cayenne. Drop the chicken into the flour mixture and shake until the chicken is well coated. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium high heat and add chicken. Sprinkle curry powder over chicken in the skillet, then cook chicken until it is browned. Remove chicken and add onions and garlic to skillet. Sauté for about 3 minutes, until the onions are limp. Add chicken stock, tomato paste, raisins and cooked chicken. Simmer for 8-10 minutes, until sauce thickens. Serve over rice topped with cilantro and yogurt.

*Mike and I really enjoyed this dish, however, I doubled the chicken coated with flour mixture and only added half of it back in, the rest I saved to feed as “nuggets” to my picky boys and they really liked it with rice. My kid friendly tip!

The Best Steak Marinade

I love steak! Hopefully I don't offend anyone by admiting that I also love ketchup on my steak (I know, it's a cullinary sin)- even great steaks need ketchup as far as I'm concerned. Well, I used this marinade with no ketchup, so you know it is amazing and soooo flavorful! At our house, we love garlic and balsamic vinegar, so honestly, I usually add more that I'm listing here, but it may be too overpowering for some of you out there.

Steak Marinade:

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 1/2 Tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar
2 Cloves of Garlic, minced or crushed
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
1 Teaspoon Soy Sauce
1 Teaspoon prepared Mustard
salt and pepper to taste

Throw all your ingredients in a big freezer bag (they seal better so there's less chance of leakage), mix them around until they're combined then add your steak- any cut will do, this great flavor is wonderful for using cheaper steaks that may be tougher or less flavorful naturally, but feel free to use any steak you find in your grocery cart or freezer. Seal the bag and let it marinade in the fridge for at least 6 hours, but overnight is best. When the grill is ready, pull the steaks out of the bag and throw them on the heat. Mmmmmmmmmm, good!

The Deepest Dish Pizza

In anticipation of father's day, here is one of my husband's favorite recipes- besides, what dad doesn't love pizza? We use a 9X13 inch cake pan because its so deep, and we eat it with a knife and fork but, it is absolutley to die for! You can adjust the toppings to fit your taste, these just happen to be Mike's favorites.

The Deepest Dish Pizza:
Crust
1 1/2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Cup warm milk
1 packet active dry yeast
1 Tablespoon Sugar
2 3/4 Cups Flour
1 ounce Parmesan Cheese
1 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Use olive oil to greas a 9X13 cake pan and set aside. I use a 2 cup glass measuring cup, but you can use a mixing bowl if you prefer; in this vessle, heat milk, if it's too hot it will kill the yeast, if its not warm enough then the yeast will not activate, you want it about the temperature of your baby's bath (I know, that's probably an inappropriate referance, but its the way I determine temperature). Add the yeast and the sugar to your milk. Mix it up until it is all dissolved, then set it aside for a few minutes to let it proof for 2-5 minutes. In a separate mixing bowl, combine flour, cheese and salt and mix to combine. Add milk mixture to dry ingredinets and mix until a dough forms. Knead for about 5 minutes then cover and let it raise in a warm place for about 5 to 10 minutes. Press dough into oiled cake pan- make sure there is dough in the bottom but also up the sides as well. Pre-cook in to oven for 7 minutes then pull it out and set the dough aside. The dough will not be all the way cooked, we just need to get it started before we cover it with loads of toppings! While dough is cooking, get started on your filling...

Filling
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 lb Italian Sausage
1 clove Garlic
1 small Onion
1/2 lb Mushrooms
4 oz Pepperoni
1 can Black Olives
14-16 oz Marinara Sauce
1 lb mozarella cheese
4 oz Parmesan Cheese

This pizza is much too thick for the toppings to cook on their own while the pizza is in the oven, so, to help things along: in a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Begin browning crumbled sausage- when its about half way done (about 5-7 minutes), add chopped onions and garlic to saute for about 3-5 more minutes. Continue cooking over medium heat and add peperoni and mushrooms- they can be sliced, but I prefer quartered, I can taste them more that way. Cook toppings until vegetables are softer and peperoni is starting to get crisp. Remove from heat and prepare to top pizza.

In the precooked dough, begin layering with sauce on the bottom, then a few scoops of toppings then mozzarella and parmesan on top; I usually layer 2 or 3 times, but make sure cheese ends up on top. When you've used up all your toppings, sauce and cheese, cover the pizza with aluminum foil and bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Remove the foil at this point and continue cooking for about 10 more minutes.

Once you've had this pizza, you'll never go back to delivery! Happy Father's Day!

Creamy Chicken

I discovered this recipe a few months ago and since then, it has been a staple in our menu- we eat this at least once a week. It is super simple and even my picky boys like it.

Creamy Chicken:

1 1/2 to 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast
1/2 Cup butter

1 teaspoon Kosher Salt

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder

1 Cup heavy cream

In a large skillet, melt 1/4 cup of butter on medium high heat. Place chicken in melted butter and sprinkle with spices. Brown chicken- the spices make a nice thin crust and permeate the entire dish. Add the cream and remaining butter. Simmer, stirring frequently, until cream thickens, it usually takes 5 to 10 minutes. Serve with noodles or mashed potatoes. The chicken has a wonderulf flavor and the sauce makes a delicious gravy for the pasta or potatoes.

If you prefer things with a little kick, like we do at our house, add a teaspoon or so of cayanne pepper to the chicken while cooking.