Shredded Pork Tacos

We were trying to make more things with pork, so I found this recipe at www.mealsmatter.org. It made quite a bit, but that was okay because it was delicious. Anthony even tried it as a sandwich, and it works that way too. All of the spices really come together for a fabulous taco filling.

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Shredded Pork Tacos

Pork Filling:
1 3 lb. Boneless pork prime rib roast
8 cloves Garlic, minced
2 teaspoons Ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons Dried oregano, crushed
1 teaspoon Onion powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon Ground red pepper
1 cup Beef broth

Tacos:
2 cups Shredded Savory Pork
8 Taco shells or eight 6- to 8-inch flour tortillas
3/4 cup salsa (if desired)
2 cups shredded lettuce
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese


Trim fat from meat.
In a small bowl combine garlic, coriander, cumin, oregano, onion powder, salt, black pepper, and red pepper; rub into the meat.

Place meat in a roasting pan that has a cover; add beef broth. Cover and roast in a 325 degree oven for 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until very tender. (Or put in crock pot--6 to 8 hours on low, 4 to 6 hours on high.)

Remove meat from liquid with a slotted spoon; discard excess fat from cooking liquid. Reserve the rest of the liquid.

When meat is cool enough to handle, shred it.

Stir in 1/4 cup of reserved cooking liquid to use as taco filling. Reheat in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently. Prepare tacos as normal.


You can also freeze the prepared meat and reheat later for an easy freezer meal.

Snickerdoodle Bread

I love cinnamon desserts during the winter, and this one did not disappoint. Absolutely amazing straight out of the oven, and still fabulous cold. This is one of my favorite new quick breads, and it got rave reviews at a meeting.

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Snickerdoodle Bread

 adapted from Key Ingredient

1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup sour cream
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 pkg Hershey's cinnamon chips

Topping:

3 Tbsp. sugar
3 tsp cinnamon


Preheat oven to 350.

Grease 2 loaf pans (or 4 mini loaf pans).

Cream butter, sugar, salt and cinnamon until fluffy.

Add eggs and mix well.

Add vanilla and sour cream and mix well.

Mix flour and baking powder in a separate bowl. Add to wet ingredients and mix until all combined.

Add cinnamon chips and stir by hand.

Spoon batter into loaf pans until about 2/3 full.

Mix 3 T. sugar and 3 t. cinnamon in a bowl and sprinkle over the batter in each loaf pan.

Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes (35-38 minutes for mini loaves).

Let cool before removing from pan.

Sweet Potato Casserole

With Thanksgiving coming up, I thought I'd share one of my favorite recipes that I've made for years. I've never been big on sweet potatoes with marshmallows, and this is a yummy, easy alternative. We don't usually put the pecans on (at my husband's request), but we love the sweet topping. Most of the time I do about 3 large sweet potatoes, which I know is over two pounds, but it still tastes fabulous without changing the other ingredients. We make it for both Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Printable Recipe

Sweet Potato Casserole

(from Better Homes and Gardens)

3 medium to large sweet potatoes
1/2 cup  sugar
1/4 cup  butter, melted
1/4 cup  milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon  vanilla

Topping:

1/2 cup  packed brown sugar
1/4 cup  all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon  butter, melted
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Wash and peel sweet potatoes. Cut off woody portions and ends. Cut into quarters.

In a large saucepan, cook potatoes, covered, in enough boiling salted water to cover for 25 to 30 minutes or until tender; drain.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 

Transfer potatoes to a large mixing bowl. Mash lightly. 

Stir in sugar, 1/4 cup melted butter, milk, egg, and vanilla. Transfer sweet potato mixture to a 2-quart casserole dish.

In a small mixing bowl, combine brown sugar, pecans, flour, and 1 tablespoon melted butter. Sprinkle over sweet potato mixture.

Bake, uncovered, in preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until hot and bubbly. 

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Crockpot Apple Butter

One of my favorite memories of growing up is taking a fall drive through Southern Indiana to Brown County. I don't know if there is anywhere else in the world that can rival the gorgeous colors of the trees when the leaves are changing.

And of course when you're there, you have to stop in Nashville and pick up some apple butter. Yum! If you don't know what apple butter is, it's an apple spread with lots of spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, etc). It's a super thick apple sauce consistency, and my favorite thing to put it on is homemade biscuits (this recipe pairs VERY well with these biscuits).

I adapted my recipe from this one (I prefer some of the ingredients, and I wanted to do it in the crock pot since slow cooking is important in making apple butter) and from the Utah State University Extension--the latter is my go-to when I'm canning because I know I can trust them to give me a safe recipe that has all of the correct directions. ***Sidenote, whenever you find a canning recipe online, it would be wise to check it with a trusted source. I've seen so many that don't mention the amount of headspace needed or leave out key ingredients (spaghetti sauce and green beans, for example, have to be done a certain way or with certain ingredients, or you're putting yourself and anyone who eats it in serious danger of some major food poisoning.) Just because your grandma did it that way, or you've never gotten sick, it doesn't mean it's safe. One of the most important things to check is processing times. If the recipe gives you an exact time for processing (i.e. 15 mins in a water bath canner), check with another source. Processing depends on the size of your jar (pint vs. qt), whether you're doing hot pack or cold pack, and the altitude of your location. Fifteen minutes might be correct for the blogger, but it doesn't mean it's right for you.***

If you'd rather not can it, just put it in jars and place in the fridge (or freeze it). I'm not sure of the shelf life. Usually jam is a couple weeks, but many people say it keeps longer, so use your best judgement. That is another reason I use pint jars, so I don't have an open jar for too long.

Printable Recipe

Crockpot Apple Butter

Use Jonathan, Winesap, Stayman, Golden Delicious, MacIntosh, or other tasty apple varieties for good results.

8 lbs apples

2 cups apple cider

2-1/4 cups white sugar

2-1/4 cups packed brown sugar

2 tbsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp nutmeg

Yield: About 8 to 9 pints (I ended up with 6 pints)

Procedure:   

Wash, remove stems, quarter, and core fruit. (I used an apple corer, peeler, slicer and that made the process a lot faster.)

Place all ingredients in crock pot and stir so all apples are coated. Cook on HIGH for 1 hour. Reduce to LOW for 8 to 10 hours; stir occasionally.

Once the apples are a rich brown color and mash easily, drain off excess liquid. 

Use either a blender, hand-blender or food processor, and blend just for a few seconds to get a good, thick consistency (it should look like a thick, slightly chunky applesauce).

Fill hot into sterile half-pint or pint jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Quart jars need not be presterilized but should be clean and kept hot until filling. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace if needed. Wipe rims of jars with a dampened clean paper towel. Adjust lids and process.

Recommended process time for Apple Butter in a boiling-water canner

(from the USU Extension)

Process Time at Altitudes of

Style                      Jar                         0–                           1,001–                           Above

of Pack                 Size                        1,000 ft                 6,000 ft                        6,000 ft

Hot                         Half-pints                5 min                        10                                      15

or Pints

Quarts                      10                              15                                     20

S'Mores Pie

If you know me well enough, you know my deep and abiding love for S'mores. They are the only reason I tolerate camping, and it always makes me a little sad at the end of summer. No longer--I can make this pie any time and have S'mores all throughout the year. I don't know if that's such a good thing, which is probably why I let this recipe sit for awhile before I made it. But it was so amazing when I did. Very easy and satisfying.

Printable Recipe

S'mores Pie

from Life as a Lofthouse

1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 (7 ounce) jar Marshmallow Creme (do NOT use regular marshmallows)

4 Regular sized Hersheys Bars, broken into pieces

wax or parchment paper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 inch glass pie pan with baking spray.

Beat butter and sugar together until fluffy and combined.

Add egg and vanilla until incorporated.

On low speed add in flour, graham cracker crumbs and baking powder. Divide the dough in half.

Press half of the dough in the bottom and sides of the prepared pie pan.

Evenly spread the Marshmallow Creme over the bottom of crust.

Spread the broken chocolate pieces on top of the Marshmallow Creme.

Form the remaining dough into a ball and place it on a piece of wax or parchment paper.

Top with another piece of wax or parchment paper and flatten into a 9 inch circle with a rolling pin.

Carefully peel off the top piece of wax paper.

Flip the crust onto the top of pie and peel off the other piece of paper.

Pinch the dough together to form the crust.

Bake for 20 minutes or until lightly browned.

Cool until just slightly warm and then slice and serve.