Carnitas

Ingredients:
1 bone-in pork shoulder, 4lb or more
salt
pepper
3 tbsp tomato paste (I have subbed this with chopped tomatoes, and it was fine)
5 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 bay leaves
1.5 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp black pepper
2.5 tsp salt
1 yellow onion, cut into 1-2 inch pieces
3 peppers (chopped) and 3 tbsp of adobo from a can of chiles in adobo sauce
tsp-tbsp of chicken stock concentrate
enough water to cover the shoulder

Season the pork shoulder with salt and pepper, then place in hot pan to sear each side.

While searing, combine tomato paste, garlic, bay leaves, cumin, oregano, black pepper, salt, onion, adobo, and chiles in the crock pot.  Place shoulder in and add chicken stock + water, enough to just cover.  If a small portion of the shoulder sticks out, that's ok; towards the last few hours of cooking, just flip the shoulder.

Cook on high for about 6 hours (until the meat is super tender and falling off the bone).  Take out, and loosely shred/chop.  Line a baking pan with foil and brush with oil or bacon fat.  Transfer the chopped shoulder to the baking dish, and broil/cook on your highest oven setting until the meat on top starts to brown/crisp.

YUM!

No-Bake Coconut Cheesecake

graham cracker crust
1 (8oz) package cream cheese at room temperature
1 cup/can of cream of coconut
1 package cheesecake flavored instant pudding
1 1/2 unsweetened shredded/powdered coconut
1 (8oz) tub of whipped topping

Mix together cream cheese and cream of coconut.  Add pudding mix and shredded coconut and incorporate. Fold in the whipped topping.  Spoon mixture into crust and refrigerate.  You may toast part of the shredded coconut and use as a topping.

Fluffy Amazing Pancakes

Makes 14-15 delicious, fluffy pancakes.

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tbs white sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
2 cups buttermilk
2 eggs
4 tbs melted butter

Whisk together dry ingredients and wet ingredients in separate bowls.

Heat up a couple of pans (or a griddle) at about 3 (out of 10).

Combine the wet and dry ingredients, but don't overmix.

Scoop 1/3 cupfuls of batter into hot pans.  Flip when golden brown.

Veggie Dip

1/2 cup mayo

3/4 cup sour cream

dried parsley flakes

garlic powder

onion powder

ground black pepper

salt

Mix it up and let it sit for a few hours.

Peanut Butter Cheesecake

Another no-bake variation of cheesecake, this time with peanut butter.

Ingredients for crust:

20 Oreo cookies, crushed into crumbs using a food processor

5 tbs melted, unsalted butter

Directions for crust:

Mix the Oreo crumbs and melted butter in the pie dish until the crumbs seem uniformly damp. Then, press down to form a crust.

Ingredients for filling:

1 brick softened cream cheese (I used store-brand, because Philadelphia always seems to salty to me for desserts.)

2/3 cup peanut butter

1 14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk

1/4 cup confectioners sugar (powdered sugar)

a few tablespoons of water (only if the mixture is too dry)

1 tub frozen whipped topping, thawed

Directions for filling:

Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat together softened cream cheese, peanut butter, sweetened condensed milk, and confectioners sugar until smooth and well-combined. If the mixture resembles cookie dough, it is too dry. Add a tablespoon or two of water and mix until smooth. Then, using a spatula, fold in the whipped topping until the mixture is uniform. Spoon the filling into the crust and smooth out the top.

Refrigerate for a couple of hours and serve.

Nutella Cheesecake

Adapted from this delicious recipe. I changed it a bit, because I didn't want to fuss with individual servings. This cheesecake is made in a glass pie dish and has about 12 servings. Most importantly, it comes together FAST and doesn't use the oven.

Ingredients for crust:

20 Oreo cookies, crushed into crumbs using a food processor

5 tbs melted, unsalted butter

Directions for crust:

Mix the Oreo crumbs and melted butter in the pie dish until the crumbs seem uniformly damp. Then, press down to form a crust.

Ingredients for filling:

1 brick softened cream cheese (I used store-brand, because Philadelphia always seems to salty to me for desserts.)

2/3 cup Nutella

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tub frozen whipped topping, thawed

Directions for filling:

Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat together softened cream cheese, Nutella, and vanilla until smooth and well-combined. Then, using a spatula, fold in the whipped topping until the mixture is uniform. Spoon the filling into the crust and smooth out the top.

Refrigerate for a couple of ours and serve.

Beef in Wine Gravy

I put a bit of extra work at the start of slow cooker recipes. Worth it in my book.

This recipe was adapted from

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb of beef stew meat, 1 inch cubes

1 cup coarsely chopped onion

2 beef bouillon cubes or 1 package onion soup mix

3 tbsp cornstarch

salt

ground black pepper

1 1/2 cups dry red wine

2 potatoes (0ptional)

hot cooked egg noodles

1) Brown/sear the beef chunks in a hot skillet. While meat is searing, roughly chop onions. Throw the beef and onions in the crock pot.

2) Add bouillon cubes/onion soup mix, cornstarch, salt, and black pepper to the crock pot.

3) Deglaze the skillet with the red wine, then add to crock pot.

Cook on low heat for 10-12 hours or high heat for 5-6 hours. Halfway through cooking, add cubed potatoes, if using. Serve over noodles.

Breaded Chicken

This recipe serves two, and has a lot of wiggle room in spices and pieces of chicken used. I happened to come across really inexpensive tenders, but will probably use breasts in the future. Keep in mind that if you change the cut of meat, the cook time will change also. Tenders cook very quickly.

Ingredients:

8 chicken tenders

1 egg

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 tbsp onion powder

1 tbsp paprika

1/2 tbsp garlic powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground black pepper

cooking spray

1) Prepare the bowls. Whisk the egg in a small bowl that will accommodate the chicken pieces. Mix flour and seasonings in another bowl. In a third bowl, add bread crumbs (or panko, or crushed crackers, or crushed cereal, etc.)

2) Rinse the chicken and pat dry.

3) Spray a baking pan with cooking spray.

4) Dip the chicken into egg. Let the excess drip off, then roll it in flour mixture. Spray the piece with cooking spray, then press into bread crumbs.

5) Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or so. Check for doneness.

Other ideas to try:

• Add dried parsley to the flour mixture or eggs, and grated parmesan to the crumbs
• Use a mixture of dijon mustard and mayo instead of eggs
• Use panko or crushed cereal instead of bread crumbs

Broccoli Carbonara

Ingredients:

Coarse salt

Ground black pepper

7 slices of bacon

1 crown of broccoli, cut into small pieces

2 cloves of garlic, squeezed and sauteed in butter or bacon fat

1 box of short pasta (16 oz.)

2 large eggs

1/4 cup grated parmesan, +more to taste

chopped parsley for serving, optional

1) Place bacon slices onto baking pan. Place in cold oven and turn oven to 400 degrees F. It will take about 15-20 minutes for the bacon to get crispy. Once it is crispy, place on paper towels.

2) While bacon is cooking, blanch the broccoli in boiling water for 2 minutes or so, until desired tenderness. Drain in a sieve.

3) In the bottom of a large bowl, whisk together eggs, parmesan, garlic, salt, and pepper.

4) Boil pasta. While boiling, use 1/4 cup of pasta water to temper the eggs: pour it in slowly while whisking constantly.

5) Drain pasta and immediately add to the large bowl containing the egg mixture. Add broccoli and crumbled bacon. Stir to combine. Add any additional salt, pepper, or parmesan.

Naanish

I'll start by lamenting the fact that I do not have a tandoor oven. Thus, my naans were lacking that special something. In the summer, I am going to try grilling them.

Ingredients:

1 package active dry yeast (I used quick rise which cut down on blooming and resting times)

1.5 teaspoons sugar

3/4 cup warm water

2 cups (plus more if needed) bread flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup ghee

3 tablespoons plain yogurt

stick of butter for brushing (you will NOT use the whole stick. It is just easier to grab onto)

1. In the stand mixer bowl, dissolve the sugar in warm water and bloom yeast. If you are using quick rise, this should only take a few minutes.

2. Add salt, flour, yogurt, and ghee to the bowl and mix until combined. Add flour by the spoonful until the dough completely pulls away from the bowl while the dough hook is working on it. Kneed on "2" for 10 minutes.

3. Form the dough into a ball (may need to dust your hands with flour) and coat it with oil. Return to the bowl, cover, and set in a warm place for 30 minutes to an hour.

4. Once the dough has doubled in size, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Divid dough into 12 pieces and roll out into circles. Place the circles on a cookie sheet or pizza stone.

5. Bake for about 8 minutes. If the tops are not done, turn the naan over and bake for one minute more.

6. Remove from the oven and rub each naan with the stick of butter.

Same-day Quick Pizza Crust

These things are usually terrible, but we really enjoyed this crust. I haven't tried recipes that call for an overnight fridge stint or high gluten flour yet, and I'm sure those will be better. However, for sudden cravings or emergency dinner plans sans takeout, this is the best crust I've made.

2 1/2 - 3 cups flour

2 tablespoons sugar

2 1/4 tsp fast rising yeast, (or one envelope)

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup warm water (120 to 130 degrees)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1. In my stand mixer bowl, I combined 1 cup flour, sugar, undissolved yeast, and salt. I whisked the ingredients together.

2. I gradually added water and oil, mixing it with a spoon until well combined. Then, as per directions, I mixed on medium speed for 2 minutes.

3. At this point, you are supposed to add 1 1/2 to 2 cups of flour until the dough pulls away from the sides. It took a little over 2 cups for me, but that depends on the flour you use. Also, after initially blending in additional flour with my spoon, I changed to the dough hook and used the mixer to add flour.

4. Use the mixer to knead the dough for 8 minutes.

5. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise in a warm place for 15 minutes.

6. Divide dough into two pieces for two 12 inch pizzas. Do not use a bigger pan, because the crust will be too thin (I like chewy thick crust) and will cook too fast for the toppings. Stretch the dough onto the pans. I first covered mine with corn meal, which helped getting the pizzas off in the end.

7. Prick the crusts with a fork and let rise again in a warm place for 15 minutes.

8. Brush crusts with oil (I used regular cooking oil) and prebake in a 450 degree oven for 5 minutes.

9. Put on the toppings and bake at 400 degrees for about ten minutes. The top of the pizza on the top rack cooked too fast while the bottom did not, so I covered the browning crusts with foil and returned the pizza for another 6 minutes. It came out perfect.

Read more: http://www.food.com/recipe/almost-like-papa-johns-pizza-dough-177072#ixzz1j9kbLzG

Sloppy Joes more Super than Rachel Ray's

Here is my improvement upon the slightly bland Rachel Ray recipe. It is a great way to stretch ground beef.

Ingredients:

1 tbs extra virgin olive oil for the pan (or butter)

1 1/4 pounds of ground beef

3 cloves of squeezed garlic

1 tbs brown sugar (or to taste)

2 tsp - 1 tbs steak seasoning (Montreal Steak Seasoning)

1 medium onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 tbs red wine vinegar

1 tbs Worcestershire sauce

2 cups canned crushed tomatoes

2 tbs tomato paste

splash of red wine

toasted and buttered rolls/buns

Heat and oil/butter a large skillet over medium high heat. Add meat to the pan. Once the meat is broken up, add crushed garlic, brown sugar, and steak seasoning. When the meat has browned, add the onion, green bell pepper, red wine vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce. Cook on reduced heat for 5 minutes. Add tomato sauce and paste. Reduce to simmer and cook for another 5 minutes (or longer).