Monday, December 22, 2008

Shredded Kalua Pork


Shredded Kalua Pork

3-4 pounds pork roast
1-2 tablespoons Hawaiian salt or Kosher salt
1/4 c. liquid smoke
1 c. cup water (you can also use beef or chicken broth)
4 washed ti leaves (if ti leaves aren't available or you don't know what they are, no worries-- it is still great without them. They just add a cool local Hawaiian element to the dish)

Line bottom of crockpot with 2 ti leaves (if you have them). Rub pork generously with salt, pour on liquid smoke then place on ti leaves (or in the crockpot). Add water. Fit remaining ti leaves (again, if you have them) around outer edge of crockpot. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours. Garnish with chopped cilantro. Serve with rice and coleslaw.

REVIEW:
First of all, sorry for the delay in posting... this time of year has caught up with me too! Now, with this recipe, I didn't have the ti leaves, but it still turned out fabulous!! We really enjoyed this recipe. I also spiced things up a bit by making Cafe Rio's cilantro lime rice and serving that instead of the plain white rice. I think that made such a great variation to the flavor! If you need that recipe for the rice, let me know!!

Monday, December 8, 2008

Caramel Rice Krispy Treats


Caramel Rice Krispy Treats

2 cups brown sugar
2 sticks butter
1 3/4 cup karo syrup
1 can sweetened condensed milk
18 oz. rice krispies

Boil brown sugar, butter, and karo syrup for 3 minutes and remove from heat. Add can of sweetened condensed milk. Boil 3 minutes. Pour over rice krispies and mix.

REVIEW:
This is the way to do rice krispy treats!! They are so yummy and perfect for holiday treats (great neighbor/friend gifts!). This recipe did make a lot... I got 2 9x13 pans from this... so if you are making it just for yourself, you'd better be hungry! Otherwise, perfect for parties or gifts!!

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Mexican Lasagna


Mexican Lasagna

1 lb. ground beef
1 jar spaghetti sauce 24-26 oz.
16 oz. Cottage cheese
1 egg
½ pound grated Mozzarella cheese
½ pound grated cheddar cheese
½ cup parmesan cheese
1 package flour tortilla shells

Brown hamburger in a pan and drain well. Combine with the spaghetti sauce. In large bowl combine beaten egg, and all the cheeses. Save a little of the Mozzarella and cheddar for the topping.
Put a layer of the tortilla shells in a 9x13 pan. Tear them to fill in all the spaces. Then add a layer of sauce and a layer of cheese. Repeat several times ending with the sauce and a topping of the grated cheese. Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Serve hot. On your individual plates top with lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream and chopped olives as desired.

REVIEW:
I didn't really know what to expect when I made this. At first I thought it was going to taste just like regular lasagna, but it was a great combo of Mexican and Italian! I didn't have the full amount of cheese (1/2 pound of each), but it was still plenty without that much. We really liked this recipe and will definitely make it again!

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies


Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 spice cake mixes
1 large can of pumpkin
1 bag of chocolate chips

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Makes approximately 4 dozen.

REVIEW:
The things you are always looking for in a recipe are right here! This is easy, yummy, quick, festive, and oh ya, EASY!!! This has to be the best recipe. Thanks to Brittney!

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Caramel Apple Cider


Caramel Apple Cider

8 oz. Tree Top Apple Juice
1 TBSP caramel
1/2 tsp. to 1 tsp. cinnamon
Whipped Cream

Combine and heat the apple juice, caramel, and cinnamon. Top with whipped cream. Sprinkle with cinnamon for added flavor and presentation. You could also use a cinnamon stick for presentation also.


Caramel Apple Cider

Stephens Cinnamon Apple Cider
1 TBSP caramel
Whipped Cream

Heat the cider according to directions. Mix the caramel in. Top with whipped cream and sprinkle with cinnamon. Use a cinnamon stick for presentation and flavor.

REVIEW:
So this week was a little different. I made up these recipes this week, so I thought it might be nice to try a taste test to see which direction to go. The biggest difference between the two was that the apple juice recipe had a very distinct apple flavor compared to the cinnamon apple cider recipe. After trying both drinks, the apple cider could have used a little more caramel... and a little more flavor to be honest. Jared and I both agreed that the apple juice recipe was the better of the two, hands down!

Friday, November 7, 2008

BBQ Chicken Pizza


BBQ Chicken Pizza

1 Pizza Crust - uncooked
1 cup pizza sauce
1 cup BBQ sauce
Handful of fresh cilantro
3 cups of mixed cheddar and mozzarella cheese
2 chicken breasts cut into small pieces and cooked in BBQ sauce
1 can pineapple tidbits - drained

Roll your pizza dough onto a pizza pan or pizza stone. Blend together the pizza and BBQ sauces, then add cilantro and mix together. Add sauce to the top of the pizza dough, the sauce should be thick. Then top with cheese, chicken, and pineapple. Bake in the oven at 400 degrees for 18 min.

REVIEW: This was a pretty tasty pizza. Taking from one of my favorite restaurants, I added some cooked bacon to the pizza. That gave a nice addition to the pizza. Also, you could probably get away with only using a 1/2 cup pizza sauce and 1/2 cup BBQ sauce. I had a ton left over, and I felt I used a good amount of sauce. And I had to bake the pizza longer than 18 minutes. I did about 25 minutes, and still could have used a little more time. Just keep an eye on it!

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake

Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake

16 ounces cream cheese -- softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 dash ground cloves
1 dash nutmeg
1 ready-to-use graham cracker crumb crust (6 ounces or 9 inches)

Mix cream cheese, sugar and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs; mix until blended. Remove 1 cup batter; stir in pumpkin and spices. Pour remaining plain batter into crust. Top with pumpkin batter. Bake at 350 F for 40 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool.
Refrigerate 3 hours or overnight. Garnish with thawed COOL WHIP.

REVIEW:
First of all, this was so easy to make! I followed the instructions and it turned out so yummy! I made this for a Halloween party, so all of my family were also critiquing the recipe for me. They all gave this 2 thumbs way up. I would agree!

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Cafe Rio Sweet Pork

SWEET PORK

2 lbs. pork roast
1 1/2 cup Coke
1 cup salsa
1 cup brown sugar

Put all ingredients in crockpot. Cook on low for 2 hours then turn on high for 3 more hours. Shred pork. Turn on low until ready to serve.

REVIEW:
OK, so I didn't have regular Coke, so I used Diet Coke and I didn't have brown sugar so I made my own... which is just 1 cup sugar/1 TBSP molasses. I think it turned out amazing!! Jared even said that he thought that this tasted better than Cafe Rio's! I don't know about that, but I do know that when I am wanting Cafe Rio pork, this will absolutely do the job!