Cranberry Pork Roast

This is great for the Holidays...makes your home smell like Christmas!

3-pound boneless rolled pork loin (or any other cut of your choice)
1/2 teaspoon= salt
1/4 teaspoon= pepper
1 can(16oz)= whole berry cranberry sauce (not the Jellied Cranberry sauce)
1/4 cup= Honey
1 teaspoon= fresh grated orange peel
1/8 teaspoon= ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon= ground nutmeg

Place roast in greased slow cooker.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Combine the remaining ingredients; pour over roast.
Cover and cook on low heat 6-8 hours, or until a meat thermometer reads 165 degrees.
For extra-tender meat, cook an additional 2 hours.
Let stand 10 minutes before slicing.

P.S. This year I tried a Beef Roast and did not like it...I prefer the Pork.

Yummy!

Sloppy Pasta

Ingredients:

1 lbs. ground beef
1 15.5 oz. can of sloppy joe sauce
1 14.5 oz. can of diced tomatoes
pasta (spaghetti or angel hair)
extra seasonings (your choice) Italian Seasoning
sliced mushrooms (optional)
sliced black olives (optional)

Preparation:

Brown ground beef - drain excess oil. Add sloppy joe sauce and diced tomatoes to ground beef - mix together, stirring occassionally over medium-high heat. Add your choice of seasonings (to taste), sliced mushrooms and black olives. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare your pasta as directed on package. Serve sloppy joe mixture over pasta.

CHICKEN LASAGNA

Sorry no picture but will try to get one next time I make it.

You will need:

Lasagna Noodles about 12+
2-3= cups of Chicken (cubed)
1= Cream of Mushroom soup
1= cream of Chicken soup
1= cup of Sour Cream
1=teaspoon of Garlic Powder
1/3 cup of Parmesan Cheese
1/2= Onion
Monterey Jack Cheese shredded

- Saute Onion & Chicken until cooked throughly
- Boil Lasagna nookles according to package.
- In a bowl, combine mushroom & chicken soups, sour cream, garlic powder & parmesan cheese.

Layer in a 9x13 pan:
(you can go in whatever order, its Lasagna)
*little sauce
noodles
mixture
cheese

*noodles
mixture
then sprinkle chicken
cheese


*noodles
cheese
sauce
and rest of chicken
top with more cheese.

Bake @ 375
for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Honey Lime Enchiladas

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas
from Brittany at The Sisters' Cafe
6 tablespoons honey
5 tablespoons lime juice (1 large lime)
1 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 pound chicken, cooked and shredded (I used 3 small chicken breasts)
8-10 flour tortillas
1 pound monterey jack cheese, shredded
16 ounces green enchilada sauce
1 cup heavy cream

Mix the first four ingredients and toss with shredded chicken. Let it marinate for at least 1/2 hour (I tossed mine together in a ziploc bag in the morning and let it sit in the refrigerator all day). Pour about 1/2 cup enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9X13 baking pan. Fill flour tortillas with chicken and shredded cheese, saving about 1 cup of cheese to sprinkle on top of enchiladas. Mix the remaining enchilada sauce with the cream and leftover marinade. Pour sauce on top of the enchiladas and sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until brown and crispy on top.
**A quick tip for fast and easy shredded chicken in place the chicken in the crockpot for about 4-6 hours and it easily shreds with two forks**

****I think next time because our family loves garlic and onions I am going to saute the chicken in garlic and onions.****

Sweet and Sour Chicken with Pineapple and Red Onion

It came together extremely fast (like all good stir-fry recipes) and the sweet and sour sauce was a perfect. All my boys loved and who am I to complain about that. Of course, I did have a few subsitiutions. I omitted the pineapple, but I am sure that would have been delicious. I also added more vegetables. My little boys love stir-fry so why not put as many veggies as I can because I know they will eat it with the yummy sauce. I add 2 carrots peeled and chopped and 1 cup of edamame.

Sweet and Sour Chicken with Pineapple and Red Onion
adapted from Cook’s Illustrated Complete Book of Poultry
¾ pound boneless, skinless, chicken breast, cut into uniform pieces
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 to 3 tablespoons vegetable oil(I used olive oil)
1 medium red onion, peeled and cut into thin strips
1 20-ounce can pineapple tidbits or 2 cups fresh pineapple cut into wedges
3 medium scallions, green parts cut into ¼-inch lengths and white parts minced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger(I only had the powdered ginger)
1 recipe sweet and sour stir-fry sauce (see below)

Toss the chicken with the soy sauce and vinegar in a medium bowl; set aside for 15 minutes, tossing once or twice.
Heat a 12- or 14-inch skillet over high heat for 3 to 4 minutes (the pan should be so hot you can hold an outstretched hand 1 inch over the pan for only 3 seconds.) Add 1 tablespoon oil and swirl it so the oil evenly coats the bottom of the pan. Heat the oil until it just starts to shimmer and smoke. Check the heat with your hand as before.
Drain the chicken and add it to the pan. Stir-fry until seared and about three-quarters cooked, 2 ½ to 3 minutes. Scrape the cooked chicken and all of the liquid into a bowl. Cover and keep warm.
Let the pan come back up to temperature, 1 to 2 minutes. When it is hot, drizzle in 2 teaspoons oil. When the oil just starts to smoke, add the onions and stir-fry until just tender-crisp, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the pineapple and cook 1 minute. Add the scallion greens and cook 15 to 30 seconds.
Clear the center of the pan and add the white parts of the scallions, garlic, and ginger. Drizzle with ½ teaspoon oil. Mash into the pan with the back of a spatula. Cook until fragrant but not colored, about 10 seconds. Remove the pan from heat and stir the scallions, garlic, and ginger into the vegetables for 20 seconds.
Return the pan to the heat and add the cooked chicken. Stir in the sauce and stir-fry until the ingredients are well coated with sauce and sizzling hot, about 1 minute. Serve immediately with rice.

Sweet and Sour Stir Fry Sauce
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons sugar
1 ½ tablespoons tomato sauce
1 ½ tablespoon pineapple or orange juice (I used orange due to Jens' allergy)
¼ teaspoon salt
Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

~This only took 20 minutes and it was so yummy. I only know this because I put the rice in the rice cooker and I was done before the rice was done. I think next time I will put mandarin oranges in, I just didn't have any on hand.

Shrimp Enchiladas with Cilantro-Lime Rice

I am very glad to be branching out because these shrimp enchiladas were incredible. I don't know where to begin to describe the deliciousness inside these enchiladas - suffice it to say, they are cheesy and creamy with a subtle kick and you will not be disappointed with the results.

1/2 cup sweet red pepper, chopped
1/2 cup onion, minced
1/2 cup green pepper, chopped
1/4 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 cup whipping cream
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
3 cups Monterey Jack cheese, divided (you can use half pepper-jack cheese for great results)
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 cup onion, chopped
2 cups ripe tomatoes, chopped
8 (9-inch) flour tortillas

Saute red pepper, onion and green pepper in 1/4 cup butter until crisp-tender. Add oregano, salt, garlic powder, pepper, cayenne pepper, cream and flour; blend well. Continue cooking for 3 minutes or until slightly thickened. Add 1 1/2 cups cheese; stir until melted. Add sour cream, stir to blend. Set aside.

In another skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Saute shrimp and 1/2 cup onion until shrimp are pink. Remove shrimp and chop; return to butter and onion. Add chopped tomatoes and 1/2 of the cheese sauce. Spoon 1/3 cup shrimp mixture into each tortilla. Sprinkle cheese on top of shrimp mixture. Roll up tightly. Arrange seam side down in a 9X13-inch glass baking dish. Spoon remaining cheese sauce over tortillas and sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes.



I served this with fresh salsa and chips and Cilantro-Lime rice, see recipe below

This rice is so easy and so yummy

1. 2 tablespoons butter
2. 1 1/4 cups rice
3. 2 1/4 cups chicken broth
4. 3/4 teaspoon salt
5. 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
6. juice and zest of 1 large lime
7. 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
8. 1/4 teaspoon cumin

In a skillet, melt butter and add rice. Let cook for 1-2 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and cook for 18-20 minutes. Fluff with fork and serve.

Slow-Cooked Pulled Pork Sandwhiches

1 T vegetable oil
3 1/2 to 4 lb boneless pork shoulder roast
1 can (10 1/2 oz) Campbells Condesed French Onion Soup
1 Cup Ketchup
1/4 Cup cider Vinegar
3 T packed brown sugar
12 round sandwhich rolls, spilt

Heat oil in medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add roast and cook until browned. Place roast in slow cooker.
Mix soup, ketchup, vinegar and brown sugar. Pour over roast.
Cover and cook on Low 8-10 hours/High 4-5 hours or until roast is fork tender.
Remove roast from cooker and let stand 10 minutes. Shred pork, using 2 forks. Return pork to cooker. Divide pork mixture and sauce among rolls.

This is great easy dish to serve to a big group. I have skipped the first step and put the roast straight in the slow cooker and it turned out great.

Sweet 'n' Tangy Shrimp

1/2 cup ketchup
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp cider vinegar
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 1/2 lbs uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 Tbsp minced fresh ginger
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 green onions
1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
Hot cooked rice

In a small bowl, combine the first six ingredients; set aside. In a large nonstick skillet, stir fry the shrimp, ginger, and garlic in oil until shrimp turn pink.
Add the ketchup mixture; cook and stir for 2-3 minutes or until heated through.
Sprinkle with onions and sesame seeds. Serve with rice.

Herb-Rubbed Chicken with Tropical Salsa

2 t oregano

1 t thyme

1 t sea salt

1/2 sugar

1/8 t allspice

1/8 t cayenne pepper

4 chicken breasts

Tropical Salsa

1 large Mango, peeled, pitted, and cut into 1/2 inch chunks

1 small banana, cut into 1/2 inch chunks

1 can of Mandarin oranges, drained

1 small red bell pepper, trimmed, seeded, and finely chopped

2 green onions, thinly sliced

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

2 T honey

In a small bowl stir together the oregano, thyme, salt, sugar, allspice, and cayenne. Rub the mixture into the chicken, cover, and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, stir together the mango, banana, oranges, red pepper, green onions, lime juice, and honey, Cover and refrigerate. Heat skillet, Grill chicken until cooked through, turning the chicken several times as it cooks, about 5 min per side. Transfer chicken to dinner plates and top with salsa. I substituted the mandarin oranges for pineapple, just in case you wanted to add pineapple.