Pulled Pork

 We never ate much pork. Managing ranches and raising cattle, meant we always had deep freezes full of beef so in lieu of pulled pork, we'd shred brisket or roast and add barbecue sauce, but the last few years we've mixed in more pork and chicken. Fish was always available because our dirt tanks were full of fish and we liked to fish.

But last week, I picked up a pork butt and made pulled pork. I served it over baked potatoes. When I visited our girl a few weeks ago, she served it this way and I loved it.

I made a rub, coated the pork, wrapped it in plastic wrap, and left it in the fridge overnight.

Then I just put it in a baking pan and cooked it on 300 for 7 hours...it pulled so easily.

I used THIS recipe. The boys and little E loved it so I've added it to my tried and true recipe book because it'll be on the menu as a summer repeat from now on.

Pulled Pork Rub

1/4 C brown sugar

1 Tbsp chili powder

1 Tbsp paprika

2 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp freshly ground pepper

1 tsp cayenne

1 bone-in pork butt

3-4 onions, halved

1 bottle good barbecue sauce

*Mix up all the spices in a small bowl and rub all over pork butt. Wrap in plastic wrap. Refigerate overnight. Place halved onions in bottom of baking pan. Place pork butt on top. Cover with foil. Bake 6-7 hours at 300. 

I've tried the pulled pork with the Dr. Pepper in the past, but we liked this better and I never have Dr. Pepper in the house anyway.

Despite the cayenne in the rub, this isn't spicy at all, so knowing my bunch, they all added pickled jalapenos or pico. 🤗

Zucchini Bread

 Those of you who have gardens are probably swimming in zucchini about now. It's such a prolific producer and an over-acheiver. I just have 1 plant and I almost can't pick it fast enough. 

Last Friday, I made zucchini bread using this recipe. Zucchini Bread

Zucchini bread recipes are almost as prolific as zucchini this time of the year, but I've never really settled on a favorite. I think this may be it.

I baked it for an hour and checked it with a toothpick before taking it out of the oven, but I still think it could have used a little more time, but otherwise, this was the best zucchini bread

I sprinkled turbino sugar on top and it made the best crispy top. DH likes his with butter, but I like mine plain.

Next up will be chocolate chip zucchini bread. I think our granddaughter and my in-laws will enjoy those. May as well spread the zucchini love around. 😉

Orange Pineapple Fluff

 I've been making Cherry Salad for close to 40 years and seeing as it is always requested, I have made it A LOT.

Then, not too long ago, I ran across a similar recipe for this Orange Pineapple Fluff and I thought it looked promising.

I will link to it HERE, but there were so many ads that I had a hard time reading through the post and it was awfully frustrating.

I made this as a side dish for Easter and we really liked it although I should have made it the night before because it set up much better the next day.

Orange Pineapple Fluff

3 oz instant vanilla pudding

1 C milk

15 oz can mandarin oranges, drained

20 oz can crushed pineapple, drained

* 1 can fruit cocktail, drained (my addition)

3 oz box of orange jello

1 8 oz Cool Whip

*Drain oranges, pineapple & fruit cocktail. Set aside several orange slices for garnish. In a large mixing bowl, mix milk and pudding mix. Fold in Cool Whip and jello powder. Fold in well- drained fruit. Place reserved orange slices on top. Cover. Chill overnight.

DH left the day after Easter and I finished up the leftovers. I thought it was better the next day and I stirred in some well-drained fruit cocktail which made it even yummier and more like Cherry Salad.

Cherry salad will never be replaced, but Orange Pineapple Fluff is a welcome new addition to my side-dish collection.

Fudgsicles

 I would make these when the kids were little and last week, I decided to introduce the tradition to the next generation.

Made me miss the carefree summer days when ours were small.

Fudgsicles

1 small box instant chocolate pudding

1/2 C sugar

1/2 C cream

2 C whole milk

Just combine and mix well until slightly thickened and pour into popsicle molds. Freeze and enjoy!

I'm grateful for good help in the kitchen

80 degrees, deck time, and the perfect taste tester...doesn't get any better than that.

Monterey Chicken Spaghetti

 I had this pinned on a Pinterest board and made it yesterday

Monterey Chicken Spaghetti

I printed out the recipe because I strongly dislike cooking from recipes on my phone and warning...I almost didn't try this because the pop up ads were ridiculous. It gave me a headache just trying to read the recipe.

This was a big hit though. Even little E loved it and 4-yr olds can be very leary of new foods.

It's hard to go wrong with peppers, onion, mushrooms and bacon

I used freshly grated Sharp Cheddar, and switched out Monterey for Pepper-Jack because that was what I had on hand. I also used a garlic clove instead of garlic powder. DH suggested using fettucini next time so I made a note to try that. I'm also not a fan of cream of chicken soup in a can, but I used it this time. I need to make a batch of the dried Cream of Anything mix again. And...if you know us, I would love to add fresh roasted green chile to this. 😉

I forgot to add the fresh parsley once it was plated, but shook on a good amount of red pepper flakes. 😉

This was definitely a keeper.

Monterey Chicken Spaghetti

2 C roasted or browned chicken (I probably used 4 C)

3 Tbsp butter

1 diced green pepper

1/2 of 1 large onion, diced

1/2 C sliced mushrooms

1 garlic clove, minced

5 cooked bacon slices, chopped

8 oz spaghetti, cooked and drained

1 can cream of chicken soup (or homemade equivilant)

1 C sour cream

1/2 C milk

1 C sharp cheddar cheese, grated

1 1/2 C Pepper Jack cheese, grated

Pepper - salt - red pepper flakes

Fresh parsley

* I cooked my bacon, removed it from the pan and then seasoned and cooked my chicken tenders in the bacon drippings with a little added butter. Remove when browned and cooked through and cut into bite-sized pieces. Add onion, green pepper, and mushrooms. Saute for 6 or 7 minutes. Stir in minced garlic clove and bacon. Add soup, sour cream, milk, seasonings, and 3/4 of the cheese. Combine everything and add the chicken and drained pasta. Pour into a greased 9 x 13 pan and top with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Plate and top with red pepper flakes and fresh parsley.

Bon Apetite!

Judy's Chicken & Rice

This recipe came from Judy at Patchwork Times quite a few years ago. I've tried to link to the original post, but her blog is no longer available. I didn't want to post the recipe without her permission and wasn't sure how to contact her, but I had an old email address and thankfully, it worked! I really enjoyed getting back in touch with her.

She was very gracious and gave me permission to share her recipe. 

I'm so glad I wrote this down when I did, because I would hate to lose it. I just made it the other day and thought of her. This is another family favorite.

Judy's Chicken & Rice - One Pot!

10 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

Oil for browning

2 Tbsp butter

1 diced onion

1 diced jalapeno

Mushrooms (I probably use about 7 or 8 diced up)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 C rice

3 C chicken broth ( homemade or low sodium)

1 can peas, drained

*Season chicken (I use salt, pepper, granulated garlic, and paprika). Brown thighs in oil and butter in large saute pan. Remove from pan. Add a tad more butter if need be and add onion, jalapeno, mushrooms. Sautee for 5 or 6 minutes. Stir in garlic the last few minutes. Add rice and combine with sauteed vegetables, stirring together until rice browns a bit as it absorbs all that flavor. Stir in chicken broth, peas, and add chicken thighs back on top. Cover and simmer until broth has been absorbed, rice is tender, and chicken is cooked through.

I wish she still had her blog. She is an avid gardener and I could certainly use her wisdom as I begin my gardening journey here.

Edited to add that she shared the link to her new blog here Diary of Judy L

Thank you, Judy!

Healthy Granola

 We're not big cereal eaters here, but once in a while we like a change from steel cut oats or the 6 different ways I'll fix eggs. When we DO get a hankering for cereal, I like Special K with craisins or Honey Bunches of Oats with a sliced banana and DH likes granola. I ran across this recipe a while back and and finally got around to making it last week.

                                                                     Healthy Granola

We both really liked it and will probably even just grab a handful every now and then for a quick snack. It didn't clump up as much as we would like, but I'll keep trying because it was delicious.

I've collected a good variety of recipes through the years that have become family favorites, but I still love finding and trying new ones and adding them to my permanent recipe book. This one earned a spot right away. I was laughing when I took this shot. Who takes a glamour shot of granola? 

Maybe I need to get out more, but the granola looked so pretty when the sun came through the windows.

Italian Lemon Ricotta Cookies

I make a lot of cookies so I want to know where these have been all my life.

 This is one of the things our girl made and brought at Christmas. They are SO good, and very lemon-y, but she wasn't happy with the result as they spread a lot and the video showed them looking like little balls. So she mixed up another batch on one side of the kitchen

While I made chicken quesadillas on the other

This batch was better, but still pretty flat, although I really like them just like this. The only thing we can think of is that this recipe calls for baking soda instead of baking powder and it makes sense that baking powder would make them puffier. I'll report back after future experimentation. 😉

And yes, Ricotta is a strange cookie ingredient, but we just loved these. They are soft and very lemon-y with the glaze and we are typically not a soft cookie family.

She found this on tik-tok and I don't do tik-tok so I wrote down the recipe as per my old-school tendencies. ☺️

Italian Lemon Ricotta Cookies

1 C unsalted butter, softened

2 C sugar

15 oz whole milk Ricotta (we drained ours through cheesecloth)

Rind of 2 lemons, zested

2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

3 C flour

1 tsp baking soda? Note: Try substituting with baking powder or perhaps add both.

1 tsp salt

*Cream butter and sugar. Add Ricotta, rind of 2 lemons, & 2 Tbsp lemon juice.

In separate bowl, combine 3 C flour, 1 tsp baking soda, & 1 tsp salt.

Add to wet mixture. Refrigerate 2 hours. Roll into balls. Bake for 10 minutes, at 350. Cool on wire rack. Glaze when cool.

Glaze:

1 C powdered sugar

2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

lemon zest

This was a nice, refreshing addition to all the chocolate offerings and I'm pretty sure they will be making repeat appearances throughout the year.

In the Kitchen

  When everyone's here, celebrating time together, we're outside a lot and it seems I'm always trying to get back to the house so we'll have something to eat. I fix as much as I can ahead of time, but kitchen time is still required in the midst of the visiting. I mixed up a batch of cinnamon rolls one evening

And quesadillas one day for dinner

Taco Soup is always a quick-to-make-ahead-of-time favorite

But our girl had been on a roll in her kitchen before Christmas as well

She brought us beautiful and delicious sourdough loaves (one is dark chocolate and cranberry and the other disappeared before I thought to get a picture. And Apple Cider Caramels, along with Lemon Ricotta Cookies (recipe coming soon!) and dipped pretzels

AND she dehydrated oranges for days in order to make mulled spice packages and jam and candles! 😂🥰 

And eggnog to accompany the Sour Cream Cranberry Pound Cake that I always make (resurrecting an old photo from a few years ago)

Plus, she has a career and a toddler. And no, she doesn't get that from me. She gets all the credit and I hope she was able to relax and kick back a little while she was here, because she deserves some downtime.

I think both of our kitchens should be closed for a few days. LOL

What's Cookin'?

 I've been somewhat of a lazy cook since Thanksgiving, but we've kind of been on the go. On Monday, DH had an appointment in one town and drove another 2 hours to another town to look at some pipe.

I was in town on Tuesday to meet a friend for lunch and a long visit and to run a couple of quick errands. DH worked on some plumbing at the barn.

Wednesday, DH was gone again to pick up the load of pipe for fence and the orchard

Thursday, DH drove to Canyon (4 hours one way), to pick up our horse trailer that we had taken in for a new floor. Well that was the plan until it snowed so we spent the morning burning and tending to brush piles.

So Friday we made the 8 hour round trip to get the trailer. 

Saturday was the 1st day of a 5 day elk hunt for my father-in-law. So we were up at 3:30 and drove to their home. I stayed with my mother-in-law and put out some Christmas decorations for her, did a little cleaning, and cooked for them. My MIL was upset because she was certain someone had stolen her little Christmas tree. I spent quite a bit of time hunting in the attic and was successful in finding the tree and lights. I ordered the missing star and it should arrive tomorrow.

While searching for the missing tree, I discovered a huge bin of Christmas fabrics and I would LOVE to make Christmas quilts for the kids from this bin. They are all from the 70's and 80's.  I think they would be extra special to both kids. My MIL no longer sews, but she's not quite ready to let things go just yet and I want to respect her wishes, but I felt like I had opened a treasure chest. 🥰

That evening, I had another event I attended that I'll post about on Wednesday.

So I titled this post What's Cookin' so you're probably thinking so what DID she cook?

The day I was in town, I just made some Taco meat and grated some cheese so DH could have a Taco Salad or Tacos (an old photo)

I made Pumpkin Pie Spice Snickerdoodles

Then I made 4 batches of Whiskey Praline Pecans

I made a big batch of Sloppy Joes, coleslaw and fried potatoes on Saturday at my in-laws.

Then I made these Sugar Crack Cookies for the first time

Yesterday we were back at my in-laws'. I fixed Cornpone Pie, corn, and a salad

Cinnamon Apple Twists with ice cream for dessert

And in an attempt to keep my MIL engaged I asked her to help me with some baking. She used to do so much, but no longer does any and I knew they would enjoy some familiar Christmas favorites...we started with Pecan-Rolo-Pretzals

And then moved to Peanut Clusters (recycling an old photo)

I got a smile out of her so I'm calling that a win

Today, as this posts we will be making fudge.

Banana Nut Bread

 I'm betting everyone has a recipe for Banana Nut Bread. It's a favorite around here and this recipe was given to me by a very dear friend of 38+ years. Most often I make it in heart shaped muffins because I have a pans for that

But yesterday I just made a regular loaf.

 DH loaded up 12 days ago to gather, move, process, and brand our cows and calves in Texas.

It was a long 12 days for both of us, but he returned yesterday

And since I hadn't cooked, and pretty much lived on avocado toast with turkey while he was away, we both really appreciated something baked from scratch.

Jacque's Banana Nut Bread

1 C sugar

1/2 C shortening

3 mashed bananas

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 C flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 C chopped pecans

*In a large bowl, mix sugar and shortening well. Mix in bananas, eggs and vanilla until well combined. Add in flour, soda and salt. Stir in pecans. Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes. Test with a toothpick. When I make the heart muffins they only take about 20-25 minutes to bake. 

When I made this last time, I sent a photo to our girl and she said it conjured up warm, nostalgic memories of her childhood and that's exactly what the best recipes are supposed to do! 🥰

Chocolate Brownie Cookies

 Yes, I'm repeating myself, but my little baking elf calls them this so that's what we are calling them. One of the first things she always asks is, "What are we baking today, Gram"? Today we are baking up fun, sweet girl.

I found this recipe HERE and E and I mixed up a batch on Sunday

It didn't make very many cookies so I doubled everything when I wrote it below

Chocolate Brownie Cookies

2 C  chocolate chips, melted

2 C flour

Scant 2/3 C baking cocoa

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp sea salt

1 C softened unsalted butter

2 C light brown sugar

4 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla

*In medium sized bowl, mix flour, cocoa, baking powder, soda, salt. Set aside. In large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar. Mix in eggs, melted chocolate and vanilla. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Using cookie scoop, place on parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 10-11 minutes. (Thank you to the reader that pointed out that I had neglected to add the oven temperature) I really AM still recuperating. 😉

They were the perfect side to a scoop of ice cream (with sprinkles of course!) and we all know that everything tastes better out on the deck

And I just thought of something...these would be perfect for adding a thin layer of Peanut Butter or Nutella, or Marshmallow Creme on a cookie and topping it with a second cookie. Next time everyone's here, we'll definitely test those combinations out, but these will absolutely be added to the regular cookie rotation to satisfy those chocolate cravings.