Tasty Pulled Pork

This week we decided to slow cook a pork shoulder and make 3 meals out of it. This is our base recipe. and would be tasty with added sauce for barbecue sandwiches or tacos.

3 lb pork shoulder
Salt to taste
Liquid smoke to taste

Rub the shoulder with salt and liquid smoke. Cook for 10 hours on high in a slow cooker. Shred pork, making sure to remove the excess fat. Toss shredded meat with some of the cooking juices.

Sausage-Cauliflower Spaghetti

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Ingredients

• Kosher salt
• 12 ounces spaghetti
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 12 ounces sweet Italian turkey sausage, casings removed
• 6 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 small head cauliflower, broken into small florets
• 1 bunch scallions, chopped
• 1 cup grated pecorino romano or Parmesan cheese

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook as the label directs. Reserve 2 cups cooking water, then drain.
Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Crumble the sausage into the skillet and cook, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, until lightly browned and no longer pink, 4 to 5 minutes. Clear a space in the pan, add the garlic and cook until just golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the cauliflower and cook until the edges are browned, about 2 minutes. Add 1 cup of the reserved cooking water, cover and reduce the heat to medium. Cook until the cauliflower is tender, about 8 more minutes. Uncover and boil over high heat until the liquid is almost evaporated, about 2 more minutes.
Add the spaghetti to the skillet along with the scallions. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt. Toss for a minute or two to wilt the scallions and coat the pasta with the sauce, adding up to 1 cup cooking water, if needed, to loosen. Remove from the heat, sprinkle with the cheese and toss. Divide among shallow bowls and drizzle with more olive oil, if desired.

**From the Food Network Magazine

Blackened Chicken Quesadillas

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4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (5-6 oz. each)
2 T Cajun spice blend
4 flour tortillas (10")
2 cups fontina cheese, shredded, divided
Guacamole Salsa, recipe follows

Coat chicken with Cajun spice blend. Saute in oil in a large saute pan over medium heat until blackened, 4-5 minutes per side. Remove from pan, rest 5 minutes, then thinly slice across the grain.
Assemble quesadillas: First, coat a nonstick pan with cooking spray and heat over medium. Place tortilla in pan and sprinkle 1 side with 1/4 cup cheese, sliced chicken, and another 1/4 cup cheese. Fold empty side of tortilla over and cook until golden on each side, 2-4 minutes. Repeat process with remaining tortillas. Slice into wedges and serve with salsa.

Guacamole salsa Makes 2 cups

2 avocados, pitted, peeled, cut in chunks
2 Roma tomatoes, seeded, cut in chunks
1/4 cup red onion, diced
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
2 T chopped fres cilantro
Salt and pepper to taste

Toss all ingredients (except the avocado) together gently; set aside. Add the avocado just before serving so it won't get mushy.

Makes 4 quesadillas

Chicken with mango and ginger

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1 large mango, peeled, pitted, and cut into 1/4 inch wedges
8 chicken cutlets (about 1 3/4 pounds total)
1 piece fresh ginger (1 inch), peeled and cut into matchsticks
1/3 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1 medium jalapeno, thinly sliced (this can be omitted if you want--it makes it pretty hot!)
coarse salt and ground pepper
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
lime wedges for serving

Preheat oven to 400. Place mango wedges in center of four 18-inch-long pieces of parchment (NOT wax paper). Top with chicken, ginger, cilantro, and jalapeno. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle each with 2 teaspoons oil. Fold parchment into a "twist" or "envelope" (or whatever works for you as long as it's closed). Place packets on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until packets are puffed up and chicken is cooked through, 18-20 minutes. Serve with lime wedges.

Sherried Green Beans and Mushrooms

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Foodie friend Michael made these for us along with Hilary's cranberry chicken and they were amazing! Mmmm, mushrooms...

1 1/2 pounds haricots verts (green beans), trimmed

4 1/2 tablespoons butter, divided
1/3 cup thinly sliced shallots
3/4 pound exotic mushroom blend, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup dry sherry
3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. Steam haricots verts 5 minutes or until crisp-tender; remove from heat.
2. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots to pan; sauté 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add mushrooms; sauté 5 minutes or until liquid evaporates. Stir in sherry; bring to a boil. Cook until liquid almost evaporates (about 2 minutes). Add remaining 1 tablespoon butter and haricots verts; cook 30 seconds or until thoroughly heated, tossing to coat. Remove from heat. Add parsley, thyme, salt, and pepper; toss to combine.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: about 1 cup)

Chicken which did not give it's name

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Our friend Hilary brought this over for dinner for us, and made a very fast, very delicious meal. You can serve it over fresh spinach leaves, as she did, and the hot sauce wilts them nicely, or over pasta or rice. I'm not sure what the parchment's purpose is, but I won't force an experimental recipe change on your dishes. The sauce turns out to be a very delicious sweet and tangy glaze, with nice chewy reconstituted dried cranberry's in it. We think a little salt (1/2 t. ?) would help as well.

14 oz. Chicken Breasts, cut into 1-2 inch pieces
2 T Orange Marmalade
2 T Hot Pepper Jelly
2 T Orange Juice Concentrate
1 T Balsamic Vinegar
1/2 Cup Dried Cranberry's (Craisins)
1/4 t Dried Pepper Flakes

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line 8"  baking pan with parchment cut to fit on bottom, and wet parchment slightly. Lay chicken pieces in to fit tightly in a single layer. Mix remaining ingredients and pour over chicken. Cook until chicken reaches 165 degrees, approximately 20 minutes. Pour sauce from chicken into a frying pan; cover chicken to keep warm. Reduce sauce for 5 minutes. Place chicken on raw spinach, rice or pasta and pour sauce over the top.

Yukon Gold Cinnamon Rolls

I made these for Easter this year. The potatoes make the dough amazingly moist and tender!

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Yield: 12 rolls
Ingredients:
Dough:
1 lb Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, cut into small pieces
1 Tablespoon salt
1/2 Cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
3 large eggs
4 1/2 Cups (or more) unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 Cup warm water (105-115 degrees F)
2 1/4-ounce envelopes active dry yeast (scant 2 tablespoons)
2 Tablespoons sugar

Filling:
1 1/3 Cups packed golden brown sugar
2 1/2 Tablespoons ground cinnamon
3 Tablespoons unbleached all purpose flour
9 Tablespoons (1 stick plus 1 tablespoon) unsalted butter, softened

Glaze:
2 Cups powdered sugar
1/4 Cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
2 Tablespoons (or more) whole milk
1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 Teaspoon salt

Preparation: Dough: Combine potatoes, 2 cups water, and 1 tablespoon salt in a large saucepan. Boil (uncovered) until potatoes are very tender and some of the water has evaporated, 15-18 minutes. Mash potatoes with water in pan (do not drain water). Add butter and mash until butter is melted. Whisk in eggs, then 1 cup flour; mash until very smooth. Let potatoes stand until barely lukewarm, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, pour 1/2 cup warm water into large bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment; stir in yeast and sugar. Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. Add potato mixture to yeast mixture; mix on low speed until well blended, 2 minutes. Mix in 3 cups flour, 1 cup at a time, beating well. Beat until sticky dough forms.

Spread 1/2 cup flour on work surface. Scrape dough out onto floured work surface. Knead until dough is smooth and elastic, adding more flour by tablespooonfuls if dough is very sticky, about 8 minutes.

Coat large bowl with butter. Transfer dough to bowl and turn to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, then kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Filling: While dough is rising, mix brown sugar, cinnamon, and flour in medium bowl. Using fork, cut in butter.

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 425F. Line large rimmed baking sheet with parchment. Turn dough out onto well-floured work surface. Roll out dough to 24x16-inch rectangle. Sprinkle filling evenly over dough. Starting at 1 long side, roll up dough jelly-roll style, enclosing filling. Using large knife dipped in flour, cut roll crosswise into 12 pieces. Transfer rolls to baking sheet, spacing rolls about 3/4 inch apart. Cover baking sheet loosely with plastic wrap. Let rise in warm draft-free area until almost doubled in volume, about 20 minutes (rolls will be very puffy).

Bake cinnamon rolls until golden, about 15-20 minutes. Cool rolls 10 minutes on baking sheet.

Glaze: While rolls are baking, whisk powdered sugar, melted butter, 2 tablespoons milk, vanilla, and salt in small bowl. If glaze is too thick to spread, add more milk by 1/2 teaspoonfuls as needed. Spread glaze over warm rolls.

Mmmmm....
Adapted from:
Greg Atkinson
Bon Appetit, March 2009

[vegan] split pea soup

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I still haven't gotten around to posting this on my blog, but wanted to post it here...  I don't care for celery so I usually leave it out of this recipe.  I LOVE the texture the barley gives to this soup.

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 cups dry split peas
• 1/2 cup barley or brown rice
• 7 – 9 cups of water
• 4 carrots, chopped
• 4 stalks of celery, chopped
• 3 white potatoes, diced
• 1/2 cup chopped parsley or 3 tablespoons dried
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot over medium heat, add oil, onion, garlic and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes or until tender but not burnt. Add 7 cups of water with split peas and barley/rice. Salt and pepper, stir and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for an hour and a half, stirring and adding water if needed.
Add carrots, celery, potato and herbs. Simmer for another 30-60 minutes or until veggies are tender and soup has thickened. Check taste to see if it needs more salt or pepper.
Serve with crusty bread.
Serves 6-8 people.
Source: The Clean Eating Mama