Pulled pork sandwiches

I made this slow cooker pulled pork recipe for my company last weekend. I made it the weekend before through step 4, then froze. 2 hours before serving put the mostly thawed pulled pork back in the crock-pot combined with 1 cup bbq sauce. Todd LOVED this recipe and so did both boys. I know you are thinking, "you let Blake eat this?", but yes he LOVED it too! I am all about giving babies whatever the rest of the family is eating, but I really thought this was going to be too spicy for him because it does have a little bit of a kick. I was out running errands when Todd shredded the meat and gave some to Blake. He couldn't get enough! :) I found the recipe here.

Spice Rub:
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1-2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon dried oregano
4 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons table salt
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon ground white pepper

1 (6-8 pound) bone-in pork shoulder
½ teaspoon liquid smoke (optional)
1/4 cup water
1 cup barbecue sauce

1. Mix all spice rub ingredients in small bowl.
2. Massage spice rub into meat. Wrap tightly in double layer of plastic wrap; refrigerate for at least 3 hours. (For stronger flavor, the roast can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.)
3. Unwrap roast and place it in slow cooker liner. Add liquid smoke, if using, and ¼ cup water. Turn slow cooker to low and cook for 8-10 hours, until meat is fork-tender.
4. Transfer roast to cutting board; discard liquid in liner. “Pull” by tearing meat into thin shreds with two forks or your fingers. Discard fat.
5. Place shredded meat back in slow cooker liner; toss with 1 cup barbecue sauce, and heat on low for 30-60 minutes(longer if you froze the pork), until hot. Serve with additional barbecue sauce.

Chicken Chili

This is my fool proof Chicken Chili recipe and one of our winter staples.

Put the following ingredients in your crockpot:

1/2 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups of tomato sauce (I usually use 1/2 of an extra large jar of Prego spaghetti sauce from Costco)
2 cans beans, drained & rinsed (I usually like pinto and black beans)
1 chicken breast, uncooked
2-3 T chili powder
1 T cumin
Season to taste with: garlic powder, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper
1 cup frozen corn (I usually add this at the end of cooking)

Set crockpot on low and cook for 7-8 hours. Shred chicken and serve. Makes 6-8 servings.

Time saving tip: I often put 1-2 extra chicken breasts in the chili to cook for another use later in the week.

Yogurt French Toast

I have been looking for creative ways to use my homemade yogurt. I've been baking with it a lot. Typically, I can substitute my strained yogurt for sour cream and have also used unstrained yogurt for buttermilk. My results have been great! This recipe can be used with any kind of bread. I've made it with wheat and cinnamon bread. Both good.

My yogurt french toast idea came from this website. I doubled the original recipe because we are all about leftovers at our house. Enjoy!

Ingredients
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup of homemade yogurt
2 tbsp. honey
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp of cinnamon
8 slices of bread (fresh or slightly stale)

Combine the eggs, yogurt, honey, vanilla and cinnamon. Dip both sides of bread in yogurt mixture. Cook 2-3 minutes on each side. Serve with maple syrup!

Ashley's blueberry oat bars

Ashley made us these delicious bars after we brought Blake home from the hospital. They are great for breakfast or a snack. The original recipe is from Real Food magazine.

Ingredients:
2 cups old fashioned oats
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
6 T butter, chilled
3/4 cup milk
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup sugar
1 T cornstarch
2 cups frozen blueberries

Preheat oven to 350
1. Combine oats, flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and brown sugar. Cut butter into small pieces and add to flour/oat mixture using a pastry blender or 2 forks.
2. In a separate bowl combine milk, lemon juice and vanilla. Add to oat mixture until combined. Press 2/3 of the mixture into a 9 x 12 pan. Set aside remaining 1/3 oat mixture.
3. Combine sugar, cornstarch, lemon zest and 1 cup frozen blueberries in mini food processor. Add to remaining 1 cup blueberries and spread over oat mixture. Crumble remaining oat mixture on top of blueberries.
Bake for 50-55 minutes. These also freeze well if individually wrapped.

Spinach and Ricotta Calzones

These were really easy and good. I got the original recipe from here, but I changed/added a few spices from the original. Also, you could easily omit the meat from the recipe and make it vegetarian. I served mine with marinara on the side and roasted asparagus.
Ingredients
1 cup part-skim ricotta
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry
1/2 cup cut up cooked ham, sausage, chicken, or ground beef
6 oil-packed sun-dried tomato halves, drained and chopped
1 (13.8-ounce) can refrigerated pizza crust dough or homemade
Cooking spray
Preparation
Preheat oven to 400°.

Combine first 9 ingredients.

Divide dough evenly into 5 pieces; pat each dough piece into a 5-inch circle. Spoon about 1/2 cup spinach mixture onto half of each circle, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Fold dough over filling until edges almost meet. Bring bottom edge over top edge; crimp edges of dough with fingers to form a rim. Place calzones on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 14 minutes or until browned.

Sweet and Spicy Chicken

I found this recipe off another blog, but I altered it just a little. It was originally called Bourbon chicken, but it doesn't have any Bourbon in it, so I decided to rename it! :)

Ingredients
2 lbs boneless chicken breasts cut into bite-size pieces
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1-2 tablespoon olive oil
1 garlic clove crushed
1/4 teaspoon ginger
3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup orange/apple juice
1/4 cup agave nector or brown sugar
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup soy sauce


I usually prepare this the night before and let it marinade, but the recipe will work if you don't let it sit overnight. Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces and then mix all of the ingredients below the olive oil together and pour into a ziploc bag and add the chicken (you can make a double batch so you have one for later and put it in the freezer!) .

The next day remove chicken from marinade, but reserve the marinade. Cook chicken in olive oil until done. Remove chicken from pan and set aside. Add reserved marinade plus cornstarch to the same pan. Once this mixture comes to a simmer add the chicken back in. Bring to a hard boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Serve over rice. I also served this with steamed broccoli and carrots

Dark Chocolate and Oat Clusters

This is a recipe I found online from Health Magazine. Dark chocolate is rich in heart-healthy antioxidants, oats are filled with fiber, and peanut butter gives you a delicious dose of protein. I told Todd they were "no bake" cookies. He thought they were good, but he is not a big oatmeal kind of guy. He also informed me that his mom makes the BEST "no bake" cookies! I guess I must get that recipe! Regardless, this satisfied my urge to make cookies and eat lots of cookie dough/cookies so I was happy!

Ingredients
2 tablespoons peanut butter
2 tablespoons 1% low-fat milk
1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
Preparation

Place peanut butter, milk, and semisweet chocolate chips in a saucepan; cook over low heat until chips melt (about 3 minutes). Stir in oats; remove from heat. With a spoon or melon baller, drop 8 ball-shaped portions on a wax paper-lined baking sheet; let set in refrigerator 10 minutes before serving.

4 servings (2 clusters each)
CALORIES 160
FAT 8g (sat 3g, mono 3.5g, poly 1.5g)
PROTEIN 5g
CARBOHYDRATE 19g
FIBER 3g
CHOLESTEROL 0.0mg
IRON 0.0mg
SODIUM 40mg
CALCIUM 0.0mg