Vampire Donuts

Ty, my four year old, wanted vampire donuts for his little birthday party. So after trying a few ideas, this is what we came up with. Not the greatest, but they turned out pretty cute!

We melted frosting and dipped candy corn in and then let them set in the fridge. Then after specially ordering donuts with no holes, which was too hard, so we switched to donuts with no filling, we created the face. And opted for a happy vampire, for a happy birthday!

Happy Birthday soon Ty. I love you and can't believe you are already turning five!!!

Perfect Pulled Pork

I've seen this recipe in just about every magazine I flip through. It looked good and easy, so we gave it a whirl. It was well worth it. This is one of the best new recipes I've tried in a long time!

The recipe was from the people that do the 'pork, the other white meat' ads. You know the ones. So I guess they really know what they're talking about. We topped ours with Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce, and it was perfect pulled pork.

Recipe:

5 lbs boneless pork butt shoulder (I did not buy this much and I used a picnic roast)

1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika

2 tsp black pepper

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 c water (I used less since I had a smaller roast)

soft sandwich buns

Combine all seasonings in a small bowl and rub evenly over roast. Place meat in 6 qt slow cooker. Add water. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hrs or high for 4-5 hrs until pork is very tender. Place pork on cutting board or platter and let rest for 10-15 minutes. Pull, slice or chop to serve. Serve on buns with BBQ sauce.

I probably would have just tossed all the meat with sauce, but I used the left over meat for quesadillas the next day and didn't want BBQ pork for those. Either way would work great!

Chicken with Mustard Cream Sauce

I tried this recipe out of a magazine and it turned out really good!

I made some changes of my own and they did not disappoint.

You start by cooking bacon. Not a bad way to start.

Cook your chicken in the bacon drippings.
(The original recipe calls for pork chops, but I had chicken, so that's what I used)

Make your mustard cream sauce and finish cooking your meat in all the good flavor.

Top your veggies (they wanted brussel sprouts, my kids eat beans) with the bacon and enjoy your chicken, or pork chops, with or without rice.

**When I make this again, and I will make it again, I will maybe double the sauce. We liked the chicken with rice, and the sauce adds good flavor over the rice.**

Recipe:

Cook 4 slices of bacon in a large skillet until crisp. Drain bacon on a paper towel and reserve drippings in pan.

Season 4 (3/4 inch thick) boneless pork chops (or use chicken, I used tenders) with pepper and kosher salt. Lightly dust with flour. Cook in bacon drippings over medium heat for about 7 minutes, turning once, or until nicely browned.

Remove meat to a plate; add 1 minced shallot (I diced green onions and added some minced garlic) and saute 30 seconds.

Deglaze skillet with 1/2 cup white wine (I used apple juice), then whisk in 2/3 cup heavy cream and 1 tsp Dijon mustard; let sauce reduce by half. Return meat into skillet and simmer until cooked through (about 3-5 min).

Serve with veggies topped with crisp bacon bits.

Fajita Tostadas

I realize I've posted about tostadas before, but this is a twist on the original. Delicious and easy, and that's my biggest goal in cooking, so why not?!

I actually got this from a friend's blog and she got it from her friend, that I don't know. I've made my own adjustments and have loved this meal every time I've made it.

You start by roasting the veggies and chicken with some corn and salsa.

Then melt some cheese and brown up your tostada shells

Then assemble with all the fixings.

It really is as good as it looks.
Not judging by the photography of course.

This time around I forgot that I didn't have any chicken and didn't have time to go to the store. So we skipped out on chicken and I just added beans to the veggies when I roasted them. I also tossed my onion and pepper in a marinade for an hour or so before hand. Both changes worked out beautifully!

Recipe:

1 med onion- sliced

1 bell pepper- sliced (we love red or yellow the best)

1 box of frozen corn or one can of corn, drained

about 1 cup prepared salsa- you can use jarred or bottled, but fresh, like pico de gallo, is best

olive oil

1-2 cups cooked and shredded chicken, depends on how meaty you like your meal, we like less so the veggies can shine

6 corn tortillas or tostada shells

1 c cheese, cheddar or pepper jack are good choices for this

Move rack to highest setting, under the broiler and preheat the oven to 450. Line a baking sheet with foil and put your onion, pepper, corn, and about 1/2 cup of salsa on the foil. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and toss together. Roast veggies, tossing occasionally until tender and lightly browned. That takes about 15-20 minutes. Add the chicken, toss and roast an additional five minutes. Transfer all that into a bowl and discard foil.

Now you can use tostada shells and sprinkle with grated cheese and toast. Or you can use tortillas. Brush them with olive oil. Bake until lightly toasted, then sprinkle with cheese and continue baking until the cheese melts.

Then top the tostadas with the chicken and veggies and then top like you would a fajita. Lettuce, tomatoes, guacamole, sour cream, and your remaining salsa. So good!

Turkey Tacos

Don't let the turkey scare you away. It cooks up just like ground beef and tastes great! My friend from work that suggested them, his wife doesn't eat red meat, so this is a great alternative. I'd never used ground turkey before, but I really liked it and may start throwing it some of my other dishes.

This was a nice toss up to the traditional taco seasoning taco. It was a little sweet but still a lot of good flavor. I didn't add the dried cranberries, I was going to, but it was the last thing on my list and they weren't where I thought they were at the store and my kids were done with the shopping thing. Maybe next time. If you like that sort of thing, I'm sure it would add another level of flavor, and good color.

Turkey Tacos:
1 lb ground turkey
1 pkg taco seasoning
3/4 c water
3/4 c green onions
1 T sugar
1 T apple cider vinegar
1/2 c dried cranberries
4 tsp chopped cilantro

Cook turkey until browned. Drain off fat. Stir in all the other ingredients except cilantro and cranberries. Cover and cook over med-low heat, simmering for two minutes. Uncover and stir in cilantro and cranberries. Simmer five more minutes. Serve on a tortillas with sour cream, cheese, guacomole, lettuce, tomatoes, etc.

Spicy Black Bean Enchiladas

This is a pretty quick and easy enchilada recipe. I've tweaked a few things to make it a little more our style.
Recipe:
8 flour tortillas *I highly recommend the uncooked tortillas*
2 15 oz cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 pkg enchilada seasoning
2/3 c water (this wasn't quite enough, I think I'd go closer to 3/4)
1 10 oz can enchilada seasoning- we like medium, if you can handle the heat!
1 c sour cream
shredded cheese- the pepper jack I used turned out really good, but use whatever you have or like

In skillet, mix water and seasoning packet, then stir in the beans. Let that simmer til the sauce thickens and beans are tender. Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup of sour cream.
Assemble the enchiladas by spreading 2 T enchilada sauce on the tortilla, 1/4 c bean mixture and sprinkle with cheese. Roll and put in greased 9x13, seam side down. Repeat with the remaining 7 tortillas. Pour remaining enchilada sauce over the top of rolled tortillas.
Cover and bake for 15 minutes at 375. Uncover and sprinkle the top with cheese, bake an additional 5 minutes. Serve with remaining sour cream.

**This is a great dish to make ahead and then refrigerate until you are ready to eat. Just add an additional 10 minutes of baking time to warm through!

Teriyaki Pulled Pork Sandwiches

This is an easy crock pot dinner that only requires a few ingredients. I think I got it from some magazine, but I don't really remember. It's been too long.

Start with a pork roast. Top it with some diced onions, teriyaki sauce and pineapple juice.

After it has cooked all day, pull the roast out and shred it.

Top it with some pineapple slices, served on buns and served with garden fresh veggies.

Perfect summer meal.

Recipe:

3 lbs pork shoulder roast (or whatever is on sale)

1 c finely diced onion

1 c teriyaki sauce, divided (if you can find low sodium, use it)

1/2 c unsweetend pineapple juice (I use the juice from the can of slices, and just save the slices)

3 T flour

sliced pineapple

Place the roast in the crock pot with onions. Pour over 1/2 c teriyaki sauce and pineapple juice. Cook on low for 7-8 hours. About 45 minutes before you are ready to eat, pull the roast out onto a plate. Mix the remaining 1/2 c sauce with the flour and whisk it into the crock pot. Cover and cook that on high for 30-40 minutes allowing the juices to thicken. Shred the meat and return to the crock pot to warm it through. Serve on buns, topped with pineapple slices.