Pork Carnitas

After making all of those BBQ Pork Ribs we had a lot of extra meat! What to do with it? To put a twist on simply eating leftovers, we shredded the pork ribs and made pork carnitas! Yum! It ended up being a great way to use up lots of odds and ends we had in the fridge. I didn't buy a single thing for this meal - always a plus!

After putting the shredded pork on tortillas, we topped it with Chipotle Ranch dressing (which we have also used when re-making one of our favorite salads, the Santa Fe Beef salad), salsa, cheese, chopped tomatoes, corn.... and as easy as that, we had some great carnitas for dinner.

Maryland Crab Soup

Testing the soup out before taking it to Chris :)

Like I mentioned in an earlier post, MD crab soup doesn't seem to be a "standard" recipe - I found many variations, some of which had basically no vegetables, while other had so many veggies I wondered how in the world you would taste the crab! One called for cabbage, and another wanted me to chase live crabs around my kitchen. So, after combining many recipes and ideas, this is the recipe I finally landed on - and it was AWESOME! It makes a ton of soup.... but we did not mind eating it for multiple days!!

Ingredients

2 quarts of water (+1-2 more cups at the end, depending on how "soupy" you like your soup)

1 can chicken broth

2+ tbps Old Bay

1/8 cup Worcestershire sauce

2 bay leaves

1 tbps sugar

2 cups diced tomatoes
1 tsp hot pepper sauce (we use Frank's)
1 cup sliced carrots
1 cup sliced celery
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1 cup diced onion
2 cups cubed red potato
1 okra, chopped
1 lb lump crab meat
salt and pepper
chopped parsley (for garnish)

Directions

1. Bring water to boil, add chicken broth, Old Bay, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaves, sugar. Stir until mixed well.

2. Add tomatoes and hot sauce.

3. Add carrots, celery, corn, onion, potatoes, okra. Bring to low boil. Turn heat down to medium and simmer for 10 minutes.

4. Add a little salt and pepper. Taste broth and add more water, hot sauce, or seasonings depending on how spicy/ soupy/ etc you like it!

5. Add crabmeat and mix well. Bring back to boil.

6. Cover and simmer for an additional 10-15 minutes. Enjoy!

Steamed Shrimp

Frozen, pre-cooked shrimp is for wimps ;)

Ingredients

1 cup vinegar

1.5 cups water

8+ tbsp Old Bay

2 pounds shrimp

Directions

Combine vinegar, water and Old Bay and bring to boil.

Add shrimp, stirring gently.

Cover and steam until tender (btw 5-10 mins).

Drain and serve.

:)

Birthday Celebrations & More Focaccia Bread!

Happy Birthday, Chris!

Last week was Chris's birthday :) For dinner he requested that I make Maryland Crab Soup. Another new recipe to try out! I was a little nervous but I've done a fair amount of homemade soups in the past several months that I wasn't too nervous. I got some advice from my dad and checked out many different recipes, because apparently, MD crab soup is NOT really a "standard" recipe.

In addition to the soup, I decided to do true MD-style steamed shrimp with Old Bay and another batch of homemade bread.

I decided to change the recipe a little from the last time I made focaccia bread. Instead of using lots of Italian seasonings, I stuck with oregano, basil, and garlic powder. Then I sprinkled shredded cheddar cheese on top, instead of Parmesan cheese. It was a great pairing for the rest of the meal!

I'm gonna end with the bread for now, and I'll post the recipes I ended up using for the soup and shrimp a little later. Happy birthday to my best friend and my favorite cooking partner! :)

BBQ Pork Ribs

Last week, we got out the crock pot to make some ribs! We put 4lbs of country-style pork ribs on top of 1 sliced onion and 2 diced jalepenos. For the sauce we used about 20 ounces of Bone Suckin' Sauce and a little bit of hot sauce, too! After 8 hours in the crock pot (on low) the meat was so good - fell right off the bone! We ate it with boiled corn on the cob and homemade mashed potatoes w/ sour cream and chives.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

This chicken tortilla soup recipe was shared with us by my SIL, Sabrina :)

What you'll need....

29 oz diced canned tomatoes (1 lg can or 2 small)
3 c chicken broth
1.5 lbs chicken
2 t chili powder
1 package red beans and rice
shredded montery jack cheese
jalepenos
tortilla chips

What you'll do....
Cook chicken in over & then season w/ chili powder.
Combine tomatoes and chicken broth in large sauce pan, bring to boil.
Add chicken & reduce heat to simmer, cook 7 mins.
While simmering, cook red beans & rice.
Add red beans & rice to soup. (At this point, we also added some extra chili powder & diced jalepenos.)
Top w/ cheese, jalepenos and crushed tortilla chips!

Dill Chicken Strips

We forgot to take a picture of dinner last night, so I'm "borrowing" the picture from http://www.realsimple.com/ :) We had cucumbers and mashed potatoes as our sides.

You will need...

3 chicken breasts, cut into strips

Salt

Pepper

1 Egg, beaten

1 cup bread crumbs

1/8 cup dill

Olive oil

To make it...

*Season chicken with salt and pepper.

*Dip chicken pieces in egg, then into mixture of bread crumbs & dill.

*Cook strips in oil over medium heat until golden.

I liked this dish because it is a quick alternative to just baking chicken with the normal spices. It's nothing extraordinary, but a nice change from the regular "I'm feeling tired tonight" chicken! :)

(Side note: We originally tried to have Kashi 7-whole-grain Pilaf instead of mashed potatoes. We ate a small amount. It was gross. It had zero flavor. I guess you can't expect much more from a package that claims "over 95% of your daily whole grains".. Even we aren't ready for that much health in one side! Any ideas for making this pilaf more interesting are welcome!)

Corn on the Grill!

Chris and I spent the 4th of July at the beach with some friends and grilled out for dinner. Chris was in charge of the meats, and I was in charge of the corn on the cob.... which I have only ever boiled, not grilled! Not that I anticipated it being difficult, I just wasn't sure what to do so I did a quick google search and decided on this method, which was really yummy! I mixed together olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder on a big plate with an edge, then rolled the ears of corn in the mix, wrapped them up in foil and threw them on the grill for about 15 minutes. A little healthier option than using butter! :)

Spinach, Shrimp & Avocado Salad

A yummy lunch I recently made, idea courtesy of Real Simple - the salad included spinach, chopped avocado, chopped plum tomatoes, sauteed shrimp, and a homemade dressing.

I made the dressing by whisking together 2 tbsp lemon juice, 2 tbsp olive oil, 1/2 tsp honey, and a little salt and pepper.

Homemade Focaccia Bread!

Last week brought another first - my first time making homemade bread! It was a lot easier than I anticipated, but I did pick an easy recipe to try, and my dad pitched in a couple pointers since he makes yummy bread all the time :)

Ingredients: Dough

3/4 cup warm water
1 tbsp olive oil
1.5 tsp salt
1.5-2 cups+ flour
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp yeast
Oregano
Basil

Ingredients: Topping
Olive oil
Oregano
Basil
Thyme
Garlic powder
Salt
Pepper
Shredded Parmesan cheese


1) Put yeast and sugar in water, stir to dissolve.
2) Mix in salt, oil, flour, until forms a ball. Continue to add more flour as necessary.
3) Put dough on a floured board and knead well
4) Put dough in an oiled bowl and set aside to rise. After about 30 minutes, punch down and knead again. Let continue to rise for about another 30 minutes.
5) Dust pizza sheet with cornmeal. Place dough in center and spread in a circle about 1/2 inch thick and dimple with fingertips.
6) Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with herbs, salt & pepper, and cheese.
7) Bake until golden brown at 400 degrees, about 15-20 minutes.

Mediterranean Stuffed Eggplant

My first time cooking with eggplant made me nervous - but this dish turned out well! It is similar to stuffed peppers.

Ingredients

4 small Italian eggplants

Nonstick spray

8 oz ground chicken

1 green pepper, chopped

1 onion, chopped

2 tsp minced garlic

1 tomato, diced

1/2+ cup water

1/4 cup pearl barley

Basil + other Italian seasonings

Grated Romano cheese

Shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions

-Line a baking sheet with foil. Halve eggplants lengthwise, then scoop out flesh with spoon, leaving shell thick enough that it won't fall apart! Coat eggplant shells with nonstick spray, invert on baking sheet. Chop scooped eggplant.

-Coat a large skillet with nonstick spray. Over medium-high heat, cook chicken, pepper, onion, chopped eggplant, and garlic for about 4-5 minutes. Add tomatoes, water, and barley. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 25 minutes or until barley is tender. About halfway through the chicken mix's cooktime I added the cheeses, basil, and a variety of other seasonings.... Italian seasoning mix, garlic powder, etc. I just kept adding until I felt it tasted right!

-Meanwhile, broil eggplant shells for about 12 minutes, turning halfway through.

-Scoop chicken mix into eggplant shells and sprinkle cheese on top to serve. Yum!

Eggplant shells ready to go in the oven!

Chicken mix, ready to go in the eggplant shells!

Ready to eat!!