Cooking enough for an army.

Maybe it's the time of year, or maybe it's just me being pregnant and knowing that in a few months I'm not going to want to do much cooking....but I have started putting together some freezer meals that can just be pulled out and cooked, or reheated.  I'm also making some to take up to a neighbor that has recently had her first child.  Pinterest is full of yummy recipes, and I am starting to re-organize my "food stuffs" board into categories like Poultry, Beef, Pork and Venison.  Today I am making Slow Cooker Kalua Pig which when done will give me several servings to eat, and to freeze!  This recipe is also from the Paleo diet if that matters to anyone.

It's 'da bomb!

I have been wanting to do a bacon bomb for quite a while now.  Just never took the time to do one.  Until now!  This is a fairly simple process, and you can put whatever you want in one.  I have a pound of hamburger thawed, and about 2/3 of a pound of ground pork that is begging for something spectacular....So I decided to do a Smoky Applewood bomb with cheese!

What to do with Blueberries

We picked Blueberries today, as something fun to do, and to fulfill our photo challenge for today "fresh fruit." We ended up with almost 4 pounds of blueberries, and after giving some to the neighbors, and my mother I had plenty to try a recipe I saw for Blueberry-Balsamic Barbecue Sauce. I have a love of Balsamic vinegar so this seemed right up my alley.  Mot to mention I'm gonna make a pork loin for dinner tonight that I can use this on!!!  But you gotta start somewhere so we are starting today with the barbecue sauce.

Blueberries, and Balsamic Vinegar

Sugar, Salt, and minced garlic instead of powdered garlic like the recipe calls for...I never follow a recipe exactly.

and Ketchup, which I hope to be able to make myself in the future.

I also added Molasses, butter, and chili powder.  I was working so fast I didn't get a shot of blending the sauce in the blender after cooking it for 15 minutes.  Nor did I get a shot of putting it into a canning jar...oh well...on to making the pork lion!!!!

This recipe is for cooking a pork loin on a BBQ grill. You get the grill nice and hot and get some good color on the outside...

Then turn the grill down and cook it for an hour using indirect heat.  Internal temperature should reach 160 to make it safe to eat.

Once it almost reaches temperature brush the outside with the Blueberry BBQ sauce and let it continue to cook and caramelize.  The loin needs to rest 15 minutes before slicing it so the juices don't run out.  Serve with potatoes and veggies and enjoy!

Honestly I will make the pork loin again and again, watching it better next time...however, I'm not 100% sold on the blueberry BBQ sauce...not that it was bad, just not what I am used to.

A NEW, New Year's Tradition

There is a recipe in my family, from my dad's side of the family. Ham Bone Soup. I can't think of a time I didn't just absolutely love this milk based soup...so after Christmas, with the leftover spiral ham, I have decided to start the tradition of having Ham Bone Soup to welcome in the new year.  Of course this year it's a few days after the actual new year, but it's all good.  It's cold outside, and this is a perfect day for this simple and delicious soup!

Summer Savory is the only spice in this soup.  

I keep it on hand strictly for this recipe. 

No other uses for me, yet...  

It was a bit difficult to find a few years ago, but I found it with the help of my parents. The cost is on the higher side as far as seasonings go, but it is well worth it as nothing compares, or can be substituted.

When I use the word recipe for this particular meal, it really is more of a list of stuff, with no real measurements.  But that's all good, it makes this an easy recipe to follow exactly.  Which I'm not gonna do because the only recipe I follow exactly is when baking, and I'm not baking.

To start this soup you need a ham bone, with meat on it of course.

The flavors from the ham and bone will be the flavors of the soup.  My ham is of course from Christmas, and I did a copycat recipe for Honeybaked ham.  Turned out goooooood. So carefully cut the chunks of meat away from the bone, and chunk them up, put them in your soup pot with the hambone.

Then cover the ham pieces and hambone with water, and this is when you get a spice bag or fill your own teabag and put the summer savory in the bag.

Toss that on top and bring it to a boil.  This is going to simmer for a good length of time.  Because you want to make sure all of the marrow, and other goodness found in the ham bone has had a chance to seep out and into the water and ham pieces.

While the yumminess is boiling (don't leave it on high, just let it simmer) it's time to dice up the rest of the soup ingredients!  So two can's of Green beans (I'm a cheater I know, but fresh is sooo hard to find this time of year) some carrots and some potatoes. 

A few weeks ago my MIL made a potato soup that had bacon and browned onions.  So I'm gonna add some bacon browned onions to this soup, at least this time around.

Peel and cube the potatoes, and the carrots.  Plop them in a bowl of cold water because you won't add these until a half hour before you are ready to eat.

Then cut up the bacon fat, and render that out in a skillet, remove the chunks of fat and then add the onions.

A half hour before you are ready to eat, fish out the bone and finish removing whatever meat was stuck to it.  Put the bones back in the water then toss the potatoes and carrots in.  These will take about 20 minutes to cook.

Then drain off about half of the water, and remove the savory bag.

Add the onions, and green beans (drained), then add milk to give the liquid volume you desire.  This needs to sit on low heat until warmed up.  Trust me you don't want to boil the milk. Yuck!

Serve warm and enjoy!

Old bread? Make a casserole!

There once was a girl, and this girl loved a good sale.  So one day she found a great bargain for bread, and knowing that the price was just right decided to buy two loaves.  Even though she and her DH didn't eat that much bread.  Bread keeps in the freezer!  She had seen her mother do it time and time again.  So once the first loaf was eaten she got the second loaf out of the freezer and put it in the fridge...unfortunately that loaf ended up stale and partially hard...oh well...

I kept that loaf in the fridge for a month...yes month old bread...yummy...I was planning on making it into croutons, or bread crumbs...instead I got a craving for a make ahead breakfast casserole!   Most of the time I make breakfast casserole with potatoes, tater-tots, potatoes o'brian, you get the idea.  But I have a recipe for overnight casserole that needs bread...of course I don't usually follow recipes, even ones that I created.

Start with roll pork breakfast sausage, brown it then add onion

Then clean and slice some mushrooms

While that is cooking slice the bread, of course you don't have to use old bread, any bread will work

Combine the sausage and the bread, then dump it into a large pan, that you greased...and press it down.

In that same bowl combine a cup of milk, 8oz  sour cream, and 8 eggs, I used my stick blender just because I can, and whipped it up.  Then added powdered mustard, smoked bacon chipotle sea salt, and black pepper, then whipped it up again before pouring it over the sausage bread mixture.

Top with cheese

Cover it with foil and stick it in the fridge.  The next morning bake at 325 for 60 minutes or so.

Enjoy!

Almost the last meal of the year

The weather is officially cold, and most of the time the house is too.  At least I think it is!  Today I decided to make gumbo.  I used to make this all the time, when I used a box mix...tee hee.  Several years ago a friend gave me an authentic New Orleans recipe.  So now I only make this once or twice a year, it takes a long time to prep, and make.  Seriously, prepare to stand in the kitchen chopping for half an hour, and over the stove stirring for an hour, and then you are still not done...I didn't follow the recipe exactly, I never do!  And I realize that I have blogged this before, but it is so fun!

Prep the chicken, season and stick in the refrigerator

Then prep the vegetables and sausage, topping with the seasonings that belong with each step, garlic with the onions, and salt and peppers with the sausage and bay.

Then it's time to start the roux, this takes the longest!

Oil and flour in a pot

stir

when it's brown like chocolate (20-30 minutes later) 

add the vegetables! (watch for the steam!!!!)

Cook for 4 minutes

Then....add the sausage, salt, seasonings and bay leaf

Another 3 minutes

then time to add the water and whisk like crazy to get the roux dissolved!

Bring to a boil then reduce to medium low for 1 hour, stirring occasionally!

Once the hour is up, you can add the chicken, and cook for another 2 hours then skim off any fat that has come to the surface.  Remove the bay leaf.  In the meantime, chop the green onion and parsley.

Remove from heat and stir in the file, parsley, green onion and okra (if you are using this, and oh yes I am!)

You also add the shrimp right now...otherwise it can overcook...Cover, and in 7 minutes this is ready to serve over rice! You can also add some hot sauce if it doesn't already have enough kick!

Enjoy!

Can't go wrong with Pork!

The heat has invaded again, well temporarily anyway.  Tomorrow is supposed to cool down again.  In the meantime I’m ready to mix up some magic in the kitchen!  Today’s offering is BrownSugar & Balsamic Glazed Pork Loin. It is luckily for me done in the crock pot!  So minimal house heating!

Put your spices in a small bowl to mix

Open your pork loin and rinse it

Rub with the spices

Put it in the crock pot with 1/2 cup of water

Cook 6-8 hours!

About an hour before the time is up combine the remaining ingredients in a sauce pan and stir and heat until thick. It will have a syrupy consistency.

Brush the loin 2-3 times during the last hour with the glaze.

I’m serving with fresh cast iron rolls, mashed potatoes, and leftover sauce as the gravy!

ENJOY! 

It's an all day thing

Pork was on sale yesterday, so I got a nice big roast, and  I remembered making a delicious BBQ roast years ago so I dug out the recipe.  Low and Slow BBQ Pork Roast is a delicious alternative to a crock pot meal, although it does use the oven...today I don't care.

Preheat the oven to 250

Gather the spices and the roast

Get the rub measured out, and the mixed together, set it aside and deal with the meat

I rinsed my pork roast and patted it dry before putting it on foil and covering it with the rub

Wrap it tightly with foil, adding as much as needed to make it tight and "leak proof" you want the juices to stay inside.

This next step takes hours, so set a timer for 4 or 5 hours and walk away to do something else...

Once the timer has gone off, you are ready for the next step towards dinner! Remove the roast from the oven and make a slit in the top so you can drain the liquid.

Bump up the temperature to 350.

Get out your favorite BBQ sauce

And spread it on top of the roast!

Put it back in the oven and continue cooking for another hour and a half, checking to make sure the top isn't getting too dark (if this happens, put foil over the opening.)

Let it rest a bit while you are pulling the rest of dinner together!  We are having scalloped potatoes and green beans with ours!

Enjoy!