Sweet Pork

My kids love it when I make this Sweet Pork.  They know it means they can make whatever they want with it; one had nachos, another a burrito, a couple had stuffed quesadillas and I made myself a big salad with it!  They love having a choice, and frankly, I just love the sweet pork!!  I've tried a lot of recipes for it and this recipe is what I've ended up with after mixing a whole bunch of recipe ideas together.


Sweet Pork

Ingredients:

4 lb. pork roast
2 tbsp. canola oil
32 oz. can Macayo's enchilada sauce
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup Coke

Directions:

Heat the oil in large skillet over medium heat.  Sear the roast on all sides until golden brown.

Combine the enchilada sauce, brown sugar and Coke in a slow cooker.  Add the pork, cover and cook on low for 7 hours (I've done it 4 hours on high too).

Remove the pork and shred.  Put back in the slow cooker and stir to combine with the sauce.

Serve on salads, burritos, nachos, quesadillas, tacos, whatever you can think up!!!

Three Cheese Beef and Ziti

I can't believe I haven't posted this recipe yet, I make it ALL THE TIME.  I found the recipe in a random cookbook my Grandpa gave me right after I got married, so, that was pretty much just a few years ago.  No?  Almost 20 years ago?  What the?  Anyway, I started calling it Fake Lasagna after awhile, because that usually got a more favorable response than the actual recipe name.  Please feel free to call it ANY NAME YOU WANT!!!  I was super nice to my kids with no taste (you know who you are!), and only put ricotta cheese on half of it.  You two are spoiled.

There is a reason why this is on my regular recipe rotation, this is fast and yummy!!


Three Cheese Beef and Ziti
Recipe from some old Reader's Digest Cookbook from five, twenty years ago.

Ingredients:

8 oz. ziti, macaroni, or other small pasta
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 medium yellow onion, chopped (of course I don't add this, are you kidding?)
1 jar spaghetti sauce
10 oz. frozen french style green beans, or whatever kind you like, partially thawed
1 cup part skim ricotta cheese
1 cup shredded low fat mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Boil the pasta according to package directions.

Meanwhile, saute the beef and onion(bleh) in a large skillet over moderate heat, stirring frequently to break up any clumps, until the beef is browned - about 5 minutes.  Drain off the excess fat.  Stir in the tomato sauce and bring to a simmer.  Add the green beans, reduce the heat to low, and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

*** Let me just take a second to confess that I don't ALWAYS add the green beans.  I would love for them to be in it, but I get a lot of complaints when I do, and sometimes, I just don't want to deal with that.

Stir in the cooked ziti, then place large spoonfuls of the ricotta on top but not touching.  Sprinkle the mozzarella in between.  Cover and cook just until the mozzarella melts and the ziti and beans are heated through - about 10 minutes.  Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese.

My youngest son recently had a birthday, and when I asked him what kind of cake he wanted me to make he replied, "a plain, white one".  I was surprised at how hard of a time I had finding a "plain, white cake" that I wanted to make!  I finally saw this recipe and was glad I did, I have wanted to make one of these for years and this was the perfect opportunity.  This makes a very sweet cake, but that is fine for special occasions I think.

White Texas Sheet Cake
Recipe from Allrecipes

Ingredients:

1 cup butter

1 cup water

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups white sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon almond extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup milk

4 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1 cup chopped walnuts, if desired

Directions:

In a large saucepan, bring 1 cup butter or margarine and water to a boil. Remove from heat, and stir in flour, sugar, eggs, sour cream, 1 teaspoon almond extract, salt, and baking soda until smooth. Pour batter into a greased 10 x 15 x 1 inch baking pan.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20 to 22 minutes, or until cake is golden brown and tests done. Cool for 20 minutes.

Combine 1/2 cup butter or margarine and milk in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Mix in sugar and 1/2 teaspoon almond extract. Stir in walnuts. Spread frosting over warm cake.

Baked Chicken Empanadas

I was looking on the Rhodes Rolls website because I wanted to use up the rest of the rolls I had left over from making this, when I saw the recipe for these chicken empanadas and was intrigued.  It sounded good, and easy, two priorities for me for a week night meal.  I had all the ingredients already, even, it was like it was meant to be!!!  Well, even my pickiest eaters loved it!  I made some quick Queso Dip to put on top of it, like the recipe suggested, but I wish I would have just left it alone.  That's just me though.


Baked Chicken Empanadas
Recipe from Rhodes Rolls

Ingredients:

12 Rhodes™ Dinner Rolls, thawed to room temperature
2 cups cooked diced chicken
1 1/2 cups grated pepper jack cheese
3 ounces cream cheese
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped (I left this out so my children wouldn't have fits)
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Queso Dip:
1 pound Mexican Velveeta
10 ounce can diced tomatoes with green chiles
4 ounce can diced green chiles

Instructions:

Flatten each roll into a 6 to 7-inch circle. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest while making filling. Combine remaining ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Remove plastic wrap from rolls. Place about 1/4 cup filling onto each circle being careful not to let it touch the edges. Wet the edges of each circle with water. Fold dough in half over filling and press the edges together with a fork to seal. Bake at 350°F 15-20 minutes or until nicely browned.

Queso Dip:

Cut cheese into pieces and place in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave one minute at a time until melted. Add tomatoes and green chiles and stir until well combined.

Sour Cream Noodle Bake

I saw this recipe on Pioneer Woman's blog a while back and put it on my 'To Try' list.  I am SO glad I did, I loved this.  I made one little change, because of my issues with cottage cheese, and I've also seen modifications where people have added corn and other things.  This is a keeper.


Sour Cream Noodle Bake
Recipe from The Pioneer Woman Cooks

Ingredients:

1 ¼ pound ground beef
1 can 15 oz. tomato sauce
½ teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
8 oz., weight egg noodles
½ cup sour cream
1 ¼ cup small curd cottage cheese (I used a 15 oz. container of ricotta cheese)
½ cups sliced green onions (less To Taste)(I didn't add these because I forgot to buy them)
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Brown ground beef in a large skillet. Drain fat, then add tomato sauce. 1/2 teaspoon salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Stir, then simmer while you prepare the other ingredients.
Cook egg noodles until al dente. Drain and set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine sour cream and cottage cheese (ricotta cheese for me). Add plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Add to noodles and stir. Add green onions and stir.
To assemble, add half of the noodles to a baking dish. Top with half the meat mixture, then sprinkle on half the grated cheddar. Repeat with noodles, meat, then a final layer of cheese. Bake for 20 minutes, or until all cheese is melted.

Cheeseburger Rolls

I am all about making easy, fast meals - as if you couldn't tell.  If I wasn't in a hurry, there is a really good chance I would have made homemade dough for this recipe (really!), but I was having a busy day, so I left out some Rhodes rolls to thaw and they worked out perfectly.  These were great, I will definitely make them again.

Cheeseburger Rolls
Recipe made up by me after seeing similar things here and there

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef
Salt, pepper, and garlic to taste
2 tsp. Worcester sauce
12 Rhodes rolls, thawed out
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Directions:

(I'm sorry about these directions, for some reason I had a hard time putting in writing what I did!!)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Brown ground beef in a pan.  Add salt, pepper and minced garlic to your taste.  Add 2 tsp. Worcester sauce.  Stir everything together and set aside.
Take a roll and press it out.  Put a few tablespoons of the ground beef mixture onto the roll, then put a little bit of cheddar cheese on top.  Close the roll by bringing the sides up and pressing them tightly together.  Repeat with all the rolls.
Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes.

Caramel Cake

I'm kind of on a caramel kick right now so when I saw this recipe I knew I had to make it.  It is really good, but super sweet.  You can't eat a lot of it at a time, which is a good thing I suppose.


Caramel Cake
Recipe from Allrecipes

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups packed brown sugar

1 cup heavy whipping cream

3 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup chopped pecans (I didn't add these, I didn't want my kids heads to explode)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease one 9x13 inch baking pan.

Sift the flour before measuring then resift with the 1 cup of the packed brown sugar.

Add the butter or margarine, eggs, milk, salt, baking powder and 1 teaspoon of the vanilla to the flour mixture and beat on medium high speed of an electric mixer for 2 to 3 minutes. (Use the whisk attachment for best results.) Spread batter into the prepared pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Remove cake from oven and place on a wire rack for 10 minutes then remove pan and place cake on a serving dish. Once cake is cooled completely frost with Caramel Icing.

To Make Caramel Icing: In a saucepan over medium heat stir the 2 remaining cups of brown sugar, and the cream until the sugar is dissolved. Cover and cook for 3 minutes. Uncover and cook without stirring till a candy thermometer reads 238 to 240 degrees. Stir in the remaining butter with a wooden spoon. Remove the icing from the heat and let cool to 110 degrees. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat the icing until it is thick and creamy. If it becomes heavy, thin it out with cream until the right consistency appears. Spread over the top of the cooled cake and top with chopped pecans.