One-Pan Sausage, Shrimp & Veggies

Ironically, leading up to the release of my cookbook, I haven't been cooking!  Is that actual irony?  I never really know, Alanis has me all confused.  Whatever it is, I do find it amusing.  We've had more take-out and meals that friends have graciously cooked for us in the last few weeks than we've had in a long time!  I should probably go ahead and add the pizza delivery guys to my will.

The truth is, I've been so busy trying to share what this cookbook stands for - which is that cooking should be simple, fun and delicious - that I've abandoned my kitchen in the process!  My kitchen is mad at me!  It's saying, "Siri, come back, you belong here..." because my kitchen talks, doesn't yours?

Therefore, to appease my talking kitchen and my family, I finally cooked dinner the other night.  I cooked it up, cooked it up real good.  And, surprise, surprise, I went with a simple, approachable, delicious recipe!  Can you tell I've been promoting my cookbook for the last month?  

One-pan dinners are my jam, if I was the type of person who said things like "my jam" - which I'm not.  They are easy, the flavors all marinate together, and clean-up is a breeze.  Here, I chopped up some veggies, added sausage and shrimp and a bunch of spices and, voila, dinner is done.  Serve it over rice, quinoa or pasta and you've got a yummy week-night dinner that you didn't slave over.  Perfect for those busy times which are, let's face it, all of the times.  Recipe below...    

One-Pan Sausage, Shrimp & Veggies

Serves 4-6

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

1 lb. sweet Italian sausage, sliced

1/2 lb. shrimp (cleaned and deveined)

1 bunch broccoli, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped

1 leek, cleaned and sliced

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp black pepper

3 Tbsp olive oil, divided

Parmesan

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  On a large sheet pan, add all veggies and sausage.  Place shrimp in a bowl.  In a smaller bowl, add spices and mix to combine.  Sprinkle 2 tbsp olive oil over sausage and veggies.  Add most of seasoning, reserving about a tsp.  Toss to make sure everything is evenly coated.  Add the remaining olive oil and remaining seasoning to shrimp, and toss to combine.  Place sheet pan in oven and cook for 15 minutes.  Remove and flip veggies and sausage.  Cook for another 10 minutes.  Remove, flip again and add shrimp.  Cook for 5 more minutes.  Serve over pasta or rice with freshly grated Parmesan.    

TODAY tonight: Pork Chile Verde

Look at me!  Look at me!  I'm blogging!  I'm blogging!  It seems like every year, I take an unintended hiatus over Thanksgiving.  We usually travel to Los Angeles, and it's hard to keep up with cooking and posting recipes, even though it seems ALL I'm doing is eating, eating and eating.  But now I'm back... just in time for the most wonderful time of the year (minus waking up every morning and realizing I forgot to move that damn elf... ugh, that smirk).

I can't wait to flood this site with holiday baking but for now, let's talk about delicious comfort food.  On the Today Show yesterday, Padma Lakshmi made a chile that the crew raved and raved about.  Savannah even sent me a text, urging me to make it (and you don't ignore a woman who is 9 months pregnant).  It begins with this verde sauce consisting of tomatillos, avocados, jalapeños, cilantro and tons of yummy spices.  By the way, you should absolutely double this sauce and save some because it's ridiculous.  Then ground pork, onions and cannellini beans are added to a pot along with the sauce, stock, oh, and did I mention tequila?  The depth of flavors are intense, and yet it's also something I think your kids would enjoy (especially if you de-seed the jalapeños like I did).  

You can find the recipe HERE.

Have a great weekend!

Bacon American Flag Pizza

I'm not the best at following directions.  If I feel like I can do something on my own, I will try before really thinking it through, or looking at an instruction manual.  Why must there be so many words?  So many steps?  So many, before you begin's?  I don't want to before I begin!  I wanna begin!  

I'm a child.  This impatience can get me in trouble in the kitchen.  I see a photo on pinterest and think, I can do that!  I'm going to do that!  And then I attempt without really thinking it through.  This Bacon American Flag Pizza is case in point.  I saw this photo, started jumping up and down (no really), and grabbing things in my fridge.  I happened to have pizza dough in the freezer, fresh mozzarella cheese, purple potatoes (surprising), bacon (less surprising) and pizza sauce.  Who needs directions!?

Well, had I looked at the ACTUAL recipe (found here), I would have realized I needed to bake the bacon first to get it crispy.  And I would have realized that using alfredo sauce instead of a tomato-based sauce would have kept the cheese whiter.  And if/when I make this again, I will use shredded mozzarella cheese.  Oh well, you can still tell that it's a flag, right?  It tasted good! 

Now I want to make a patriotic dessert.  Any ideas? 

Company Pot Roast

Now that it's officially fall, with October looming around the corner (already put up Halloween decorations, yup, can't be stopped), I have been cooking more hearty meals.  After all, it's time we start thickening up our bear fur for the long winter!  Am I right, my fellow lumberjacks?  My fellow woodsmen?  Sarah Palin?  I'll stop.  Anyway, a Pot Roast is one of my favorite cooler weather meals.  And who is the queen of PERFECT comfort food?  Ina Garten, of course.

  

I love the title of this recipe.  It sounds so proper.  So Ina.  I imagine her saying to her husband, Jeffrey, "Jeffrey darling, I'm going to whip up some Pot Roast for our company, go get some good wine" and then effortlessly throwing this together in her black button-up shirt.  Well, I recently had company (my sister Hannah) so naturally I had to make this.  It was delicious, for real, I can't count the number of times Carson said, "this is good, this is really good."

  

A few notes: instead of removing half of the sauce and blending it, I used my handheld immersion blender and lightly blended everything right in the pot, making sure to leave some of the carrots in tact.  The sauce is the best part about this meal... extremely flavorful and the perfect consistency.  I made buttery egg noodles and also roasted some vegetables on the side (butternut squash, brussel sprouts and mushrooms) and served them alongside the pot roast and on top of the noodles.          

And while this meal was prepared in a Dutch oven verses a crock pot, here are some of my favorite slow cover recipes for your weekend enjoyment...

starting top left, going clockwise...

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Stew

Slow Cooker Squash Stew

Crock Pot Ribs

Slow Cooker Short Rib Ragu

Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

Spaghetti Squash with Crispy Sausage and Veggies

It's squash season!  No, not the sport.  What even is the sport?  (I just googled it, it's that terrifying game where you're stuck in a small room with walls everywhere and a frantic ball ping ponging by your entire body.)  No, I'm talking about the vegetable... butternut, acorn, and my personal favorite, spaghetti squash.  I could really eat spaghetti squash as a side to every meal!  But lately, we've been having it as the main dish.  It's surprisingly hearty, even served vegetarian, but add meatballs or crispy sausage and you've got a very satisfying meal.  This time I sautéed mushrooms, brussel sprouts and broccoli (using the same skillet I had cooked the sweet italian sausage in prior)...   

...and tossed it all together with roasted spaghetti squash (cut in half lengthwise, seeds removed, sprinkled with olive oil, salt and pepper and roasted in a 400 degree oven for 30-40 minutes).  

More Spaghetti Squash recipes:

Southwest Spaghetti Squash

Spaghetti Squash with Roasted Tomatoes

Meat Ragu with Spaghetti Squash

Baked Spaghetti Squash with Summer Vegetables

Slow Cooker Apple Pulled Pork

I've officially had 3 kids for 4 weeks.  Life will start to get WAY easier now, right?

Bahahahahahahaha *manic laughter* bahaha *tears* bah *face plant into computer* ha.

Actually, if I'm being honest, I've found myself adjusting more quickly to life after each birth.  I'm used to the chaos and zero sleep after one and then two kids.  So basically, I'm saying I could EASILY have 19 children like that Digger family.  Dagger?  Dugger?  Yeah, them.  

That said, I still have moments of pure insanity, like the other day when I tried to make this Slow Cooker Apple Pulled Pork.  A friend on Facebook sent me the basic recipe: cook 3 pounds of pork in a slow cooker for 6-7 hours on low with a bottle of BBQ sauce and a chopped apple.  Easy, right?!  Yeah, unless you're an idiot like me and you accidentally buy some sort of pork loin instead of a pork butt or shoulder.  A loin is lean.  A loin won't PULL apart in a delectable manner like a butt or shoulder will.  So basically this was a FAIL by me but we ate our lean pork anyway and enjoyed it.  Because what can go wrong when you put meat in a sweet Hawaiian roll and top it with cheddar?       

I can totally handle 11 more children.

#VoiceTailgate: English Muffin Pizzas + Pimm's Cup

To celebrate the fact that tomorrow night Rixton is performing live on The Voice, our Monday #VoiceTailgate will be all about this particular British Invasion!  I remember very clearly (at least my eardrums do) when The Wanted hit The Voice stage and therefore it's safe to assume that Rixton, a talented pop/rock band from the UK, will most likely make a few women in the audience faint.

UNLESS THOSE WOMEN HAVE THESE ENGLISH MUFFIN PIZZAS IN THEIR STOMACHS!

(I'm working on my segues which, by the way, is a very oddly spelled word).

We make these a lot in our house.  They're simple, fast, and individual - therefore everyone can enjoy a delicious pizza unique to their own tastebuds.  For your tailgate, you can have a variety of pizzas already prepared OR you can create a toppings bar and let people make their own.  Either way, you're guests will say, "Bob's your uncle!? These muffins are the dog's bullock's! I am properly gobsmacked! All is tickety-boo in my world!"  

Um, because your guests will be required to speak using googled British phrases.      

*You might be wondering how "English" English Muffins really are.  Well, Wikipedia says that "despite being considered as quintessentially English, and available in most British supermarkets, they are less widely eaten than crumpets or scones."  By the by (British people say that), what on Earth is a crumpet??  I'm going to ask Rixton.   

For our #VoiceTailgate, we're making Roasted Garlic + Swiss Chard and Mushroom + Sausage Pizzas (I sautéed the swiss chard and mushrooms in olive oil, cooked the sausage until it was nice and crispy and roasted the garlic prior to cooking the pizzas).  Other good toppings would be roasted peppers, olive tapenade, broccolini, burrata, roasted chicken or plain old pepperoni for the kiddos.

(You can also REALLY impress your friends and make Homemade English Muffins.)

English Muffin Pizzas

Printable Recipe

Sliced English muffins

Jar of pizza sauce (or we use a 28oz. can of crushed tomatoes)

Mozzarella cheese

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Desired toppings

Preheat your oven to 450.  Lightly coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.  Place English muffins slices on baking sheet, top with pizza sauce, cheese and toppings.  Drizzle with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.  Bake for 10 minutes or until cheese is golden and bubbly.

On to our proper English-style cocktail.  Pimm's!  You said that with a British accent, didn't you?  The first time I ever had one of these was at a pool party with Carson and his friends, way way way way way back in the day before children and one-piece bathing suits.  A classic English liquor, which tastes a bit like fruit and spices, served often with ginger ale or lemonade and garnished with all sorts of fruits and veggies.  For this tailgate, I will be drinking an "Iced Tea Cup" instead, which doesn't sound as cool in my fake British accent but still tastes delicious.  Cheerio! 

   

Carson's Pimm's Cup
Printable Recipe

Pimm's No. 1 Liqueur (or Iced Tea)
Ginger Ale
Ice
Assorted sliced fruits and veggies like apples, oranges, lemons, strawberries, raspberries or rhubarb
Sprig of rosemary for garnish

Place ice in tall glass.  Fill halfway with Pimm's (or Iced Tea) and the rest of the way with ginger ale.  Stir well.  Add desired fruits and veggies.

*Note: it can be easier to make a large pitcher of this, still using the half and half ratio.  Fill glasses with ice and fruit/veggies and then pour in Pimm's mixture.

Have fun watching the Top 10 tomorrow night on NBC at 8/7 Central!

Egg & Sausage Casserole

Another Easter Sunday dish I made was this egg casserole.  I love things you can prepare the night before and toss in the oven when you wake up.  It makes life so easy, and I love easy life.  When things are simple, I have time to blog, and read a book, and shower.  I should make this casserole every day of my life.  But I don't, and so I blog when I can, and I'm very behind for this month's book club, and I shower twice a week. 

I used this recipe but changed it up a little.  Omitting the bacon, I only used pork sausage, and so that kids would eat it, I skipped all green veggies.  No kids ended up eating it (did I mention there were donuts that morning?), so I wish I would have added green onions but, next time.  With sausage, cheese, hashbrowns and Bisquick as ingredients... there will definitely be a next time!    

Bacon Bourbon Brussels Sprouts Skewers

How were your Thanksgivings??  Have you been eating leftovers for days, like me?  Have you been having food-induced night terrors, like me?  (I should also credit watching Breaking Bad before bed to those lovely dreams... too much stuffing + Walter White is a terrifying combo apparently.)  Well, I hope you enjoyed eating your faces off with your loved ones.  I thought I'd share with you one dish that I made, these Brussels Sprouts skewers.  Other than the fact that I added too much cayenne, they were delicious and appropriate for any wintertime meal.  Try them!    

Recipe here.

Brown Sugar Peppered Bacon

As a kid, if I ever found myself in a breakfast buffet type situation, I would typically eat close to 10 pieces of bacon.  Multiple trips, zero willpower, lacking parental supervision??  It is my weakness.  As long as it's crispy, of course.  I recently tried a sweet and peppery bacon that might be the best thing I've ever put in my mouth.  If you ever find me rocking bath and forth in a dark corner, all 500 pounds of me, it's because this bacon took over my life.  I knew I could easily recreate this deliciousness at home, and so I did.  You can, too:

 Preheat oven to 350.

Line a baking sheet with tinfoil.  Place a rack on top.

Put bacon on rack, as much as you can fit.

Sprinkle with brown sugar and freshly cracked black pepper.

Bake for 30-40 minutes, until it's CRISPY.   

*Tara, you have won the Annie Chun's Giveaway!  Please email me your mailing address.

Baking Bacon

How do you cook your bacon?  I usually let it sit over the stove on a low heat until it crisps, but over the weekend I baked it.  Baking sheet, aluminum foil, rack, cooking spray, bacon, 375, 20-30 minutes or until it crisps, I mean, REALLY crisps.  There is nothing worse than chewy bacon if you ask me.  I've also heard of cooking it in the microwave but I don't know how to do that, do you?  Learn me.  

Crock Pot Ribs

Want to impress everyone you know?  I mean it, absolutely everyone you know in the world, minus maybe your vegetarian friends, but even they will be impressed because they secretly want to eat ribs too.  I know I often push that something is very easy to do, but these ribs, they are SO EXTREMELY SIMPLE.  A child could make these, no really, go get your child and I'll explain...

Child?  H e l l o  c h i l d!!!  Ok, have your mommy go get the crock pot, because it might be heavy for your iddy biddy arms.  Now Child, you can do this part, spray the pot with cooking spray, all over the bottom and sides (I like to use the olive oil kind).  Now, take a rack of pork ribs from the grocery store - what?  Pork comes from pigs.  Yes, pigs.  Yes, like Wilber.  Are you crying??  Ok, make your mommy come back and p.s. bacon comes from pigs too.

Cut the ribs into 3 or 4 slabs and generously season with salt and pepper.  Ok, here comes the most important part... you can not layer the ribs.  The skin must be touching the bottom and sides of the crock pot.  If you're making this for a large group, I recommend borrowing extra crock pots.  If you don't want to listen to me, and you do end up layering them, the result will still be tasty but you won't get that crispy exterior which is to die for.     

That's all you do.  Cooking spray, ribs, salt and pepper.  I like to cook mine on high for half the time and low for half the time - between 6 and 8 hours.  Just keep and eye on them, and when they start to fall off the bone yet have that crispy exterior, they're done.  

You can serve with your favorite BBQ sauce, but they don't need it.  We eat these plain.  They are succulent and moist and juicy and crispy all at the same time.  Now off you go, impress your friends, and I'm sorry I scarred your child for life.  

The Meat and Potatoes Foodie Guest Post ~ Maple Garlic Marinated Pork Tenderloin

by Alisa at The Meat and Potatoes Foodie...

It's back-to-school-mania.  I don't even have kids but it's even affected (infected?) me.  The flurry of Facebook posts.  First day of school wardrobe pictures.  Moms fretting about their little ones' first day of kindergarten.  First day of first grade.  First day of high school.  

And while I can't appreciate the insanity of back to school on a personal level, I can appreciate all that goes along with it.  Cooler weather (on the horizon at least).  Football.  The return of Hell on Wheels, American Horror Story, Glee.

And of course my own personal favorite - fall cooking.  This is the time of year cooking becomes more relaxed and laid back.  When the oven is no longer the enemy but a source of comfort and deliciousness.  Fall cooking is for all intensive purposes, the Michael McDonald of cooking seasons.  And damn if I don't love me some Michael McDonald. 

This pork recipe is a perfect seque for fall.  It's rich and earthy like a fall dish but easy to assemble ahead of time so you can still enjoy the summer sunlight hours.  Simply grill off the pork just before you sit down to eat.  Serve it with roasted acorn squash to accentuate the change of seasons or leftover summer squash sautéed in a little butter finished with fresh basil.  Because as sweet as the idea of fall is, Lord knows it's just a matter of time before we're wishing summer was back.

Maple Garlic Marinated Pork Tenderloin

From Allrecipes with minor changes

(Serves 4-6)

Printable Recipe

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon sesame oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

fresh ground black pepper to taste

1 cup maple syrup

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

2 chopped green onions and handful of chopped cilantro or basil, option, plus extra for garnish

1 1/2 pounds pork tenderloin OR 4-6 smallish pork chops

1. Combine mustard, sesame oil, garlic, pepper, maple syrup and salt and green onions if using.  Place pork in a shallow dish and coat thoroughly with marinade.  Cover, then chill in the refrigerator at least 8 hours, or overnight. 

2. Preheat grill for medium-low heat.

3. Remove pork from marinade, and set aside.  Transfer remaining marinade to a small saucepan, and cook on the stove over medium low heat for 5 minutes.

4. Brush grate with oil, and place meat on grate.  Grill pork, basting with reserved marinade, for approximately 15 to 25 minutes for tender oil (about 4 minutes per side for pork chops) or until interior is no longer pink.  Avoid using high temperatures as marinade will burn. 

5. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.  Garnish with chopped green onions or cilantro if desired.  

Slow-Cooker Pulled Pork Stew

I'm not on my game today.  I'm exhausted, Jack is trying to show me that the 'terrible two's' really do exist, these pictures are blurry, Advil isn't working, blah, blah, blah.  You should see my face.  I look as happy as Ben Stein does when he's sad.  So I'll wrap this up - I don't want you to catch my horrible mood. 

Pulled out the slow cooker last night for it's inaugural autumn usage.  Found this recipe (HERE) and really enjoyed it.  I used a 4-pound pork shoulder (recipe calls for 2), added 2 extra cups of water but otherwise did everything the same.  8 hours on low = 8 hours of your house smelling scrumptious.

Ok, I'm going to go force myself into a happy place by stuffing my face.  FRIDAY.  

Perfect Potstickers

At least according to Alton Brown. I don't know if I'd call them perfect, they were missing some heat like wasabi or Sriracha. But they were tasty and very simple to make. Just don't underestimate how long they need to cook. NOT long. I overcooked the pork slightly. Sigh, not perfect.

Brown Sugar and Bourbon Ribs

I mentioned these ribs in my Minnesota Goodness post, but I never gave you the recipe. So now I would like to present you with just that. Drum roll. Are you ready? Ok. Brown Sugar and Bourbon Ribs. (You're supposed to click there, in case you're slow.)

I made them this weekend at the BaByQ (get it?) and they are such a perfect balance of sweet and spice. Perfect finger lickin' good summer recipe.

spices...


flavors...


rubbed...


grilled...


For some more yumminess from that shower, go to here.