Apricot-Glazed Pork Roast

I love a good crock-pot meal on a Sunday.  After wrestling with the kiddos at church it's always nice to not have to worry about most of dinner.

We bought some pork roasts in a 4 pack at Costco last month and I've been itching to use one.  I found the perfect and EASY recipe to use it with.  It calls for a 3-3.5 pound roast, but mine was 2 pounds and with 2 adults and 2 little kiddos it was the perfect amount for us.  Also, I used peach jam that I canned myself (yes, pat on my back-my second time making jam!) a few months ago and used that instead of Apricot preserves.  Delish!

Apricot-Glazed Pork Roast
1 3-3.5 pound boneless pork shoulder roast
1 18-oz. jar apricot preserves
1 cup chopped onion (1 medium)
1/4 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons Dijon-style mustard

Serve with:
3-4 cups hot cooked rice

Trim fat from meat if necessary.  Place meat in slow cooker.

In a bowl, mix together preserves, onion, broth, and mustard; pour over meat.

Cover and cook on low-heat for 10-12 hours or on high-heat for 5-6 hours.  Since my roast was smaller I  cooked on low for about 5 hours and then on high for an additional 1 1/2 hours.  Transfer to a plate and let it rest.  If you are getting dry roasts this could be why.  You need to always let your meat rest before cutting into.  This way your meat can absorb the juices back into it.  If you cut into your meat right away you lose all that juice.

After slicing I spooned some of my juice over my meat and then poured the rest of the juice into a bowl to go over our brown rice.  The juice is a nice blend of sweet and somewhat sour.  We had rolls (blog soon) and grapes and dinner was complete.  Delish!  This is a keeper for sure.

Pumpkin Crunch Cake

Let me just say that I am not a huge fan of pumpkin pie or really many pumpkin food items.  I would rather eat pecan pie, lemon meringue or a chocolate pie at Thanksgiving.  This though is SO DELICIOUS!!!  I love it and I think it's one of my husband's favorite desserts, especially in the fall.   Just a note, it's way better the next day after it sits in the fridge overnight.  It's hard to resist for breakfast!

This is SUPER easy...

Pumpkin Crunch Cake
1 15-oz. can pumpkin puree
1 15-oz. can evaporated milk
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon salt
1 package yellow cake mix
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
1-1 1/2 cubes butter

Preheat oven to 350.  Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish.  In a large bowl, combine pumpkin, evaporated milk, eggs, sugar, spices and salt.  Mix well. and spread into the prepared pan.

Spread into the prepared pan.

Sprinkle cake mix over the top of the pumpkin mixture and pat down. 

Sprinkle chopped pecans evenly over the cake mix. 

Cut the butter super thin and layer all of the butter pieces neatly in lines over the whole cake.

Most of the recipes call for melted butter drizzled all over.  The problem is that some of the yellow cake mix gets missed and that's no good.  This way nothing gets missed and it's pure deliciousness.

Bake for 55-60 minutes or until done.

I probably overbaked just a tich because of craziness that was happening during dinnertime. 

Doesn't this look so good?  If you can resist, let it cool down and put it in the fridge overnight.













Pumpkin Crunch Cake Printable Recipe

Crockpot: Pesto Meatball Stew

I love that this recipe is 5 ingredients in your crockpot, set it on low and by dinner it's so delicious and warming.

I adore my crockpot!  I'm pretty sure I got it for my wedding 14.5 years ago.  I love that the ceramic inside can be taken out and washed.  If you don't have one, that's ok I'll show you how to make this recipe on the stove because that's what I did.  My crockpot was being used for dessert (that didn't turn out as well as expected so I'm going to tweak it and then I'll share here).

If you don't have one, but want one then wait until Black Friday.  There are ALWAYS steals and deals on crockpots on that Friday.  I love Black Friday because I always feel like I'm getting such great deals and yes I'm crazy and wake up super early.  Good thing we have guests again this year!  I can't do Black Friday alone.  I need my hubby to split up the list with me and hold our spot in line, especially at Kohl's.  Last year we were in and out of Kohl's in 15 min.

Let me just say that the hubs, my daughter - 2.5, my son - 5, and myself loved this and ate almost all of it in one sitting.  We have one little serving left.  My daughter ate it all right up and wanted more. My son doesn't always love what I cook because he has texture issues.  He hates beans, mashed potatoes, really anything that is squishy.  After picking out the beans and convincing him that he had eaten the different parts before just not together he finally ate it and really liked it (not that he ever wants to admit he likes something new).  I think the meatballs will sell any kid on this recipe.

Ok, onto this fabulously EASY stew.

Pesto Meatball Stew
2 14.5-oz. cans Italian-style stewed tomatoes, undrained
1 16-oz. package frozen cooked Italian-style meatballs (32), thawed OR make your own using my recipe
1 15-19-oz. can canellini (white kidney) beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup basil pesto

For finishing after:
1/2 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese (2 oz.)

Add the tomatoes, beans, water and pesto to your crockpot.  Mix thoroughly together.

Add in your thawed meatballs.  Mix together.  Set your crockpot on low-heat setting for 5-7 hours or on high-heat for 2 1/2-3 1/2 hours.

Sprinkle each serving with cheese and serve.

Alternatively if you don't have a crockpot: Add all your ingredients together in a stockpot.  Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer and simmer for 2 1/2-3 hours.  We did it this way and it was so delicious!






Pesto Meatball Stew Printable Recipe

What to do with your pesto if you bought it especially for this recipe and have some leftover after this recipe?
Use it here or here

Taco Soup

It is getting cold and rainy here in Oregon.  What I do love about the weather getting chillier is it's the perfect weather for soups, stews and crock pot cooking.  I also love that crock pot cooking takes easy ingredients and turns them into something scrumptious.

This recipe is one I've had forever.  I'm pretty sure I got it from my mom.  I've been making it since college.  It's perfect for long, busy days, makes the house smell so yummy and the hardest part it browning the meat.

Just a quick side story.  My son who is so picky took one look at this soup and didn't want any part of it.  He does love meat and corn, but the tomatoes were psyching him out.  We explained that the tomatoes taste different when they are cooked then when they are fresh, but he didn't believe us.  After 2 fits of crying and us telling him it's the soup or nothing for dinner, he finally tried it AND LOVED IT!!!!  He doesn't like squishy textures and hated the kidney bean, but everything else was yummy!  Afterwards I asked him if throwing a big fit was worth it since he liked the soup and he admitted it wasn't.  Silly kid!

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef or ground turkey
1/2 onion, chopped or 2 T. dried onion
1 16-oz. can kidney beans
1 16-oz. can whole kernel corn
1 15-oz. can tomatoes
2-3 teaspoons chili powder
1 envelope taco seasoning or 4 T. of taco seasoning
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
2 8-oz. cans tomato sauce
3 cups water

First up, brown the meat with the onions.  I didn't have an onion on hand so I added in some dried later on.  Do not add your dried onion here if using.  Either way works.  I usually make it with ground beef, but had turkey instead so made it that way.  Add it to the crock pot.

Now to add all the other ingredients.

Add the kidney beans, corn, tomatoes, chili powder, taco seasoning, and garlic salt.  If you only have dried onions on hand, then add it here.  I mixed it up afterwards just to distribute the flavors and to get a pretty pictures, but really you don't need to do that.

I didn't want this too spicy for the kids, so I only did 2 tsp. of chili powder and 3/4 pkg (or 3 T) of the taco seasoning mix.  It added enough flavor and wasn't spicy at all.

Add the tomato sauce and water.  Turn on low and cook for 2-6 hours.

Top with sour cream and cheese.  You don't have to, but yummy melted cheese is so delish in this.

Alternatively, if you don’t have a crock pot, cook in a stockpot over the stove.  Brown the meat and onions and then mix the rest of the ingredients together and bring to a boil.  Lower to a simmer and simmer for 2 hours.

Taco Soup Printable Recipe

Best Mac and Cheese ever!

So let's just clarify here, I am NOT a mac and cheese connoisseur.  I could almost call my husband that really.  He had a grown-up truffle oil mac and cheese at this fancy restaurant when we celebrated our anniversary (I had a taste and it WAS good!).  Me...meh!  I've always felt like I could take it or leave Mac and Cheese.  I didn't grow up with amazing mac and cheese (sorry mom!, but it's true) and have never really loved it.  The blue box with the powdered cheese - just the smell makes me gag and yes I'm nice enough to indulge my children in the boxed variety.

My daughter (2) will eat ANY mac and cheese and my son (5) who is a little more picky doesn't like Trader Joe's and recently declared the blue box kind gross when we ran out of the Costco brand I usually make and had made some of the blue box kind.

I've been watching The Chew a new talk show on ABC that is all about food.  Clinton Kelly is on it from What Not to Wear, and Carla Hall from Top Chef (love her!), Michael Symon who is now an Iron Chef, Mario Batali (one of the great Italian chefs) and Daphne Oz (yes, the daughter of Dr. Oz).  Anyways, a great line-up of co-hosts and they all bring something different to the table - literally.  Carla is from the South and made a Mac and Cheese the other day that looked divine.  I decided to indulge my children and make some from scratch, which gasp I've never done.  I know seriously...I've been depriving them of homemade and now feel so guilty because it was SO easy and tasted REALLY good!

I'm sure I'll still make the boxed kind sometimes because it's fast, but I've found a great recipe that even Matthew will eat so I'm sure I'll be making it more often now.  The key ingredient is BACON!  We love bacon at our house.  If you don't like bacon just leave it out and use a bit more butter to compensate.  The bacon just brings the whole thing to a new level.   My husband was off to a concert tonight (he just texted me that he's so close, he can read the set list) so I'm sure he's way excited to try tomorrow for his lunch.  I can't wait to hear his review.

There are some additional steps to the mac and cheese that I didn't include in my steps, but are listed in the recipe.  I left out the breadcrumb topping and caramelized onions as both of my kids would NOT have liked either of those in or on their dinner.  In particular they've had bread crumb toppings before on their Mac and Cheese at restaurants and didn't really care for it.

AND one more thing...it isn't low-fat, but it is delicious.  You CAN indulge in comfort food just make yourself a smaller portion and eat with some salad.

Here are a few LITTLE ways to lighten it up and make it a wee bit healthier, and some additional tips for a good macaroni and cheese.

1-Use whole wheat macaroni.  I did and my kids didn't even notice.
2-Use whole wheat flour in the rue.  Once again, couldn't tell.
3-You can use skim milk for the milk part.
4-I would NOT suggest using lower fat cheeses, ugghhh...it will affect the taste.  Use a little less cheese if you want to save some calories.
5-Use light cream cheese, we couldn't tell.  I wouldn't use fat free here.  I think it would affect the creaminess of the dish and really fat free cream cheese kinda gives me the heebie jeebies.  It's very weird.
6-DO NOT USE pre-shredded cheese.  It has a little bit of wax in it to prevent it from sticking together.  Use the block cheese that you need to shred.  It will make your dish creamier AND do you really want wax in your meal?
7-I do love that my kids aren't eating all sorts of preservatives.

Ok, on to the recipe....

Carla Hall's Mac and Cheese:

1 lb Elbow Macaroni

6 strips Bacon (cooked and crumbled) - reserve the drippings

2 tbsp Butter

3 tbsp Flour

1 1/2 cups Milk (can be skim)

1 cup Caramelized Onions (optional)

1 cup Pepper Jack Cheese grated (or regular cheddar)

1 cup White Cheddar grated

4 oz Cream Cheese (can be light)

Optional Toppings

2 cups Breadcrumbs

2 cloves Garlic minced

1 tbsp Butter

Salt and Pepper to taste

-In a skillet over medium heat, combine all ingredients for breadcrumbs. Allow to toast. 

1/2 cup Chopped Parsley to garnish

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil; add the pasta and cook until al dente, about 7 minutes.  Drain.

In a saucepan cook bacon until crispy. Remove bacon.  Chop and crumble.

Reserve drippings in saucepan. Add and melt 2 tablespoons butter in same saucepan over medium heat.

Stir in the flour with a wooden spoon (or a whisk if you have a metal pan) until smooth.

Whisk in the milk, and stir until thick, about 2 minutes.  This is called a rue - just a fancy term for fats, flour, and milk whisked together.  See Mac and Cheese IS fancy!

Whisk in the cheddar and pepper jack cheeses (or both cheddars). 

My kids can't handle spice yet, so I opted for 2 different cheddars.  Did you know they don't sell orange cheddar in England?  I remember trying to find some orange cheddar my first time in the grocery store when we lived there and was SHOCKED there was no orange.  I got used to it though and find it is superior in flavor than regular orange cheddar.  I wonder why we started coloring it orange in the U.S. in the first place?  Hmm.....anyhoo...

Whisk in the cream cheese until smooth. The cream cheese keeps the pasta moist.

Stir in caramelized onions (optional), 3/4 of the bacon and pasta.   When serving, top with the remaining bacon, breadcrumb mixture and parsley.

So like I said I am not a Mac and Cheese lover per se, but do LOVE me some bacon.  I loved, loved, loved this Mac and Cheese and I think the addition of the bacon added a whole new flavor.  It was so deslish! (I just had a small bowl full).  My son (also a bacon lover) had two bowl fulls and I'm sure he'll be asking for some more tomorrow for lunch.  I would worry about my kids getting chunky if I fed this to them every day, but my son eats like a bird mostly and my daughter would only eat fruit if I let her (I always say between them they eat a full meal).  Indulging once in awhile is good for the soul!

Carla Hall's Mac and Cheese Printable Link - You can officially find it here, but I think their recipes are kind of a mess and hard to print/use.  My version is cleaned up AND on one page.

Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Cake

I don't make dessert very often at my house for just my family because what ends up happening is there is a ton leftover and I can't handle the temptation and eat it all myself.  We went to a party recently and I offered to bring dessert.  There were going to be 6 families there and I had found a couple of recipes I wanted to try out so I thought it was the perfect time to bake.  They were so good, but now I'm in trouble because no one could resist temptation and kept eating my desserts. :)  I've been told I'm banned from bringing desserts, but I'm not listening (plug my ears, lah, lah, lah).

I made a Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Cake (I found in my latest Penzey's spice catalog) that was sooo good and samoa bark that I didn't photograph, but will link to below.  IT'S TO DIE FOR, super easy AND no bake!!!!  I'm definitely using it at Christmas as part of my cookie plates.

I do not get paid anything from Penzey's to endorse them FYI, but love, love love, LOVE this spice company.  I have mentioned it here before, but my cooking is 1000% better since converting to their spices in 2006.  Almost all of my spices are exclusively from there.  They don't cost much more than spices from regular stores and are so much better.  Penzey's source all of their own spices and make their own spice blends so they are cutting out the middle man to bring you superior spices.  If you have a Penzey's near you, please GO!  If you need me to go with you and are local to me I WILL GO WITH YOU!!! :)  I promise you, you won't regret it.  If you order online through them (because you can't get to a store), they always throw in a free little spice bottle so you get to try new ones for free.  Sign up for their free catalog either in the store or online.  You get coupons for free spices and it's always chock full of recipes from real people, and you can use the coupons when you order online. (Ok, I am off my soapbox and you can resume back to the recipe).  You can find them online here and they list all of their locations on their website.

Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Cake
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract (Penzey's is by far the BEST vanilla EVER!  Hands down THE best!!!! - and I've used a lot)
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

For layering:
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon (Penzey's also has THE BEST cinnamon ever!!!!!)
1  12 oz. bag chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.

In a mixing bowl, combine the butter, 1 cup of sugar and the eggs.  Beat until light and fluffy.  BTW-if you are like me and never get the butter out in time and have a stand mixer, just throw in the butter and turn the mixer on high.  It will beat it to smithereens and it will be nice and smooth in no time.  Hold onto your mixer! :)

Add the sour cream and vanilla; blend thoroughly on low. 

In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and baking soda.  Add gradually to the beaten mixture.  It was pretty sticky and didn't seem like enough to go around, but stick (har, har) with it!

Pour half of the batter into a greased and floured 9x13 pan.  In a small bowl, combine the remaining sugar and cinnamon.  Sprinkle half of it over the batter and top with half of the chocolate chips.  Pour the remaining batter into the pan and sprinkle with the reamining cinnamon-sugar mixture and the rest of the chocolate chips.  See how flat the whole cake is?  It will seems like not enough, but look below at how much it cooks up!

I forgot to take pictures mid-way through the layering process because I got distracted by the stickiness of the batter.  Look at the yumminess of the cinnamon-sugar and chocolate chips.

Bake at 350 for 30 min.  Cool in the pan on a rack.

No close-up today of a single slice as I was off to the party and didn't get a pic, but it was sure yummy and hard to resist!  Like I said above, I'm fired from treats because mine were too irresistable, but I'm not going to listen and WILL continue to bring even yummier ones (if possible)!

Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Cake Printable Recipe
Samoa Bark Link

Pepperoni Pizza Puffs

I found a link to this page on Pinterest the other day about replacing packaged snacks for school lunches.  I saw this recipe about Pizza puffs (really muffins) that I thought I would try for the kids for dinner last night.  The blog it was posted on originally got the recipe from Rachael Ray and then added a few things.  I took it and revised for my own family.

Now my kids can't handle anything spicy so instead of pepperoni I substituted Canadian Bacon and really I think you could do without all the cheese.  If you have picky children and know that when you try new food it's always a throw up if they are going to like it and when they do it's the best feeling.  I make my own pizza sauce and it's a tich spicy so I was worried that my son (super picky) wasn't going to like it.  Oh my, that kid LOVED dinner last night.  He ate 6 pizza puffs and then this morning had 3 more for breakfast.  I'm going to make a double batch and put them in the freezer to pull out for quick lunches/dinners.

They would be perfect for school lunches, lunches or dinners on the go and they are really good and way better for your kids than those pizza rolls you can buy.  I even made mine with whole wheat pastry flour (works like white, but is made from whole wheat flour).  You can make with pepperoni, Canadian Bacon, turkey pepperoni, and really add any pizza ingredients you want.  Next time I might add some sauteed small pieces of red and green peppers or some cooked up mushrooms.

You know they are good when you're pickiest kid can't stop raving about them at dinner, thanks you in bed during bedtime and wants them for breakfast the next day.  Super easy to make and they ARE good!

Pepperoni Pizza Puffs
3/4 cup flour (I used whole wheat pastry flour)
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 T. Italian seasoning
pinch of salt
3/4 cup whole milk (I used 2%, but skim would work too)
1 egg, lightly beaten (I dumped mine in my mixer without beating)
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (I'm going to try 1/2 cup next time)
1 cup cubed pepperoni (substitute Canadian Bacon or turkey pepperoni to make it lighter)
Pizza sauce (I make mine using Penzey's pizza sauce spice and tomato sauce - divine!)

Preheat the oven to 375.  Grease a 24-cup mini-muffin pan.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and Italian seasoning.

Whisk in the milk and egg.  Stir in the mozzarella, and pepperoni.  Let stand for 10 min.

Stir the batter and divide among the mini-muffin pans. 

Bake until puffed and golden, 20-25 min.  (20 min. was plenty for mine and they were golden).  Heat the sauce and serve with the mini-muffins.

Don't these seriously look delicious?

Here is the link to pinterest that had a lot of good school lunch ideas.

Pepperoni Pizza Puffs printable recipe

Zucchini two ways

If you have zucchini plants I'm sure you have zucchini growing out of your ears.  If you are lucky you might find a neighbor wanting to unload some on you.  Take them up on their offer and use it!  I had a neighbor that recently sent an email around asking if anyone wanted some of their zucchini.  I jumped on that as quick as I could and was rewarded with 2 big green zucchini and 1 big yellow zucchini (or summer squash).  I fried up half of one of the green zucchini's for lunch with a friend, grated the rest for zucchini bread and cut up the yellow one to grill with.  I'm going to be sharing the bread and grilled recipes with you today.


First up: Marinated Zucchini and Summer Squash
My sister-in-law made these this summer while I was in town.  Delicious, easy and I'll admit I'm not a HUGE fan of cooked zucchini (read boiled-blech!) but this grilled stuff was soooo good and GOOD for you!


Ingredients:
Zucchini
Summer Squash
Italian dressing (can be light)
Season salt
A hard cheese like Romano or Parmigana

First slice your zucchini's into rounds and add to a bowl.



Do the same with a yellow zucchini or summer squash if you
are using.  I did a smaller green zucchini I had already
purchased from the store, a two yellow summer
squash/yellow zucchini's.



Add some Italian dressing and let the zucchini sit for about
1/2 hour.  You don't want it to over marinade or it will
overpower the zucchini.

Grill on both sides.  I brushed the first side with some more
dressing and sprinkled some season salt before flipping
over.  After flipping over I brushed with additional dressing
and some more season salt.

Be careful of over seasoning.  The first time we made these
they were way over seasoned for me so I scaled back the
next  time and they were perfect.  You can always add more
seasoning later if it's underseasoned, but it's hard to take
the saltiness away.






After they are done, grate a little romano or parmigiana
cheese.  It adds the right finishing touch.

Second Up: Chocolate Zucchini Bread

One of my neighbors last summer had a bountiful supply of
zucchini's (thanks Briana!) and was so nice to share with me. 
I made at least 4 batches of this bread and tweaked this
recipe several times until now it is JUST perfect!  I can only
make this once a year as I can't stop myself from eating it,
but it helps that Jordan and the kids love it too so we're all
sharing in the goodness!

Ingredients:

3 eggs

2 cups white sugar

½ cup vegetable oil

½ cup applesauce

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 pkg mini semi-sweet chocolate chips or 2 cups

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup pecans, toasted then chopped (optional)

2 cups grated zucchini

Preheat your oven to 350.  Grease TWO-2 loaf pans.

Sift together flour, salt, cinnamon, baking powder and soda.

In a large bowl, beat eggs until lemon colored; beat in sugar,

oil, and applesauce.

I actually made a batch of zucchini bread before this one
and grated all the zucchini at once in my food processor. 
This kept in my fridge covered for at least 5 days.  I usually
cut my zucchini in half lengthwise before shredding and if
the seeds are really big, I'll cut those out too, as sometimes
I've gotten a big seed in my bread and it isn't good.

Add the vanilla and zucchini to the sugar mixture.

Mix dry ingredients into zucchini mixture.  Stir in chopped
pecans and mini chocolate chips.

Pour into prepared pans.  I use the grease and flour spray
so the loaves come out super easy.  You can pick it up at
the store or at Williams and Sonoma (that's where mine
came from).  I also picked up the pan on the left there and
it was a splurge, but all my loaves come out perfectly
browned from that pan.  Bake for 1 hour.  I would

check it at 55 min. as some ovens need a little less and
some need a little more.

Doesn't this look so yum-o?  I asked my son who is 5 if he
wanted zucchini bread and he said "Eww...No", and wrinkled
his nose.  I told him I had another loaf of chocolate chip
bread and did he want to try that?  He said he did, but that he
thought I was just trying to trick him (of course I was).  I told
him I wasn't and gave him a slice and he thought it was so
good, but said that he still thought I was tricking him.  I didn't
respond to that comment and gave him some more.  
Yesterday when the new loaves were cool he wanted a piece
and came back for 3 more slices so I guess we'll be referring
to it in our household for awhile as chocolate chip bread.

btw-my 2 year old daughter told me she loves "zoocheenee"
bread.  She's definitely not as picky as my son.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread Printable Recipe