Making pulled pork sandwiches would be a heck of a lot easier if I used a slow cooker and started the process in the morning. But since my slow cooker is packed in a box somewhere in the attic I decided to prepare tonight’s dinner on the stove top using a heavy duty pot with a lid.
Instead of braising the pork in my favorite bbq sauce, I decided to try something different. I found a dry rub recipe for Kansas City barbecue ribs on About.com. I adapted the recipe ever so slightly and massaged the rub into the large cubes of pork. I decided not to sear the meat but instead added water and a couple chicken bouillon cubes to the pot and let the pork first come to a boil reducing the heat to a low simmer for two hours. Two hours later I grabbed a few pieces of the pork with metal tongs and was very happy to see the pork pull apart so beautifully.
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Today I embraced the rain, gray sky, and Fall with open arms. Rob returned home late last night from a week long business trip and this morning he gave me the gift of time by taking all the kids and a friend to the state fair all day so I could catch up on the blog and other projects around the house. I soaked in the silence and freedom of our quiet home and treated it as sacred personal retreat. I cooked most of the day and made myself this chorizo arugula pumpkin cream sauce and poured it over pasta. I ate in silence with a glass of ice water staring out the window just allowing myself to enjoy the moment. I relish days like today.
Chorizo is a spicy pork sausage seasoned with smoked paprika and salt. The pumpkin flavor is very subtle but detectable and the cream just balances everything out beautifully. [click to continue…]
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[donotprint] I’ve been light on posting recipes here the last couple weeks – sorry. Last week my children had the whole week off from school and every night we’ve been staying up far too late watching the Winter Olympics in Vancouver BC. I usually work on posting recipes after they go to bed but instead have been caught up in Olympic mania. Can you blame me? Each night we’ve been watching our favorite athletes compete and its been thrilling! As a parent of 2 young daughters who play sports all-year round, the Olympics get our full attention in our house.
But today I have a really simple and wonderful pasta recipe for you. It is made with penne pasta, spinach, bacon, and a few other ingredients. The flavor of the pasta is very light and seasoned just enough allowing the bacon and spinach to shine. This would be the perfect recipe for a weeknight meal or as a side dish. [click to continue…]
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[donotprint] One of my favorite appetizers is bacon wrapped water chestnuts. There is something about bacon and the crunchiness of water chestnuts – that when they come together is like a “party in your mouth”. Some may call this popular appetizer “trashy”, but who cares? It may not be the most gourmet appetizer on the table but I can guarantee you it will be one of the first appetizers to disappear. Trashy - Smashy – It’s all good.
This recipe would be great for New Year’s Eve or for Superbowl Sunday. [click to continue…]
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All the holiday cookies and treats have been baked. Presents still need
to be purchased, wrapped, and placed beneath the Christmas tree. It’s hard to believe that in just a few days my kids will be running to our family room at the crack of dawn to see what Santa brought them. I typically wake up around 6am to bake cinnamon rolls and make coffee so when the family wakes up the smell is permeating throughout our house.
From there I sneak back into bed and listen for the sound of feet running across our creaking hardwood floors towards our bedroom. The kids will be shouting at us with joy and excitement begging us to get up so they can open presents. From there, I go straight to the kitchen to pour my husband and I a cup of coffee, remove the cinnamon rolls from the oven and replacing it with our traditional Breakfast Casserole to bake. While we wait for our casserole, our family enjoys opening presents and eating freshly baked cinnamon rolls. This has been our tradition for the past 10 years and every year I look forward to it. [click to continue…]
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