Spring Break Recipe Rundown

Happy Spring Breakout out there! I figured I would start out the spring break week with a rundown of some of my favorite recent recipes. We had such a beautiful weekend here. Really put me in the mood for warm weather! My oldest daughter has had some zingers lately, I just have to share a couple of them. She has been telling everyone she loves lately that she "loves them INTO pieces" this of course instead of "I love you to pieces." I am sure that this statement will come back to haunt me in some way later in life when she remembers this. But something she recently said will definitely come back to haunt her in the next ten years when I remind her of it at the tender age of 13....Let me preface this with the explanation that for a few weeks, burping invaded my happy home. All it took was one LOUD burp from my son and his little sister fell in love with the sound and name of that lovely body function in no time! While at her Aunt and Uncle's house, she announced to everyone that she had just "burped out my bottom" Oh yes, she did. Lovely huh? I am totally going to win MOTHER OF THE YEAR. My beautiful 3 year old daughter has fallen in love with the sound of passing gas. It would be heart breaking if I wasn't so tired! :) Now onto some good and easy eats! These are some of my family's favorites: Fresh tomato pesto with pasta, too easy Peanut Butter Kiss cookies, My BBQ Sauce and Ricotta Blueberry Pancakes with Maple Cream Syrup.



Too Easy Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies:

1 package Betty Crocker Peanut Butter Cookie Mix (the dry mix, usually around $1.50)
1 egg
3 TBSP vegetable or canola oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 sugar
Hershey Kisses, unwrapped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together in a large bowl: the egg, oil, salt, vanilla extract, and peanut butter. When thoroughly mixed, add the dry cookie mix and stir to combine. Using a spoon or small ice cream scoop make balls with the dough and roll them in the sugar. Place them on a baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes. Take the out of the oven and gently press a Hershey kiss into each cooked ball. Let them cool (if you can wait that long) and store in an airtight container.



My BBQ Sauce

This quick and easy sauce is tart and sweet...but no heat. It is a vinegary (is that even a word?) sauce, so keep that in mind before you make it. My favorite combinations are sweet and tart so this BBQ sauce was a winner in my house. I love it on any kind of protein, surprisingly very good on salmon. Really.

3/4 cup ketchup
2 TBSP balsamic vinegar
2 TBSP red wine vinegar
1 garlic clove chopped fine
2 TBSP soy sauce
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 TBSP brown sugar packed

Mix the above in a microwave safe bowl and heat for 1 minute on high, then whisk again and its ready to serve.


Ricotta Blueberry Pancakes with Maple Cream Syrup

2 cups Bisquick mix ( you can use the light)
1 1/2 cups milk (any kind will work)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1 tsp lemon zest
cooking spray
Maple Cream Syrup (recipe follows)

Mix all of the above ingredients except the blueberries and the syrup with a whisk until combined. The mixture may be a little lumpy and that is OK. Heat a skillet, I like to use a nonstick, over medium heat and spray the pan with non-stick cooking spray. Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, pour 4-5 scoops of the mix onto the hot skillet leaving room to be able to flip. Quickly sprinkle about a tablespoon of blueberries onto the top of each pancake before you flip the other side. This way the berries stick to the uncooked portion of the batter. If you mix the berries into the batter it may turn gray or blueish due to the color of the berries. Cook the pancakes on each side for about 2 minutes or until golden brown on each side. Serve with syrup or maple cream syrup.

Maple Cream Syrup:

1/2 cup maple syrup, any grade will work
4 TBSP melted butter, but must be cool, not hot
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Melt and cool to just warm or room temperature your 4 tablespoons of butter. I do this in the microwave. Then add your maple syrup and vanilla and whisk, and you must use a whisk, for about 2 minutes. This whips the butter to a creamy stage while incorporating the maple syrup and then serve....SO good :)

Fresh Tomato Pesto with Pasta

1/4 cup slivered almonds (toasted if you have time)
12 ounces cherry or grape tomatoes (one container)
1/4 cup packed fresh basil leaves
1 medium garlic clove , minced
1/2 Kosher salt
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 green onions chopped
1 pound pasta, thin spaghetti
1/2 cup grated or shredded Parmesan cheese

If you have time, heat the almonds in a nonstick skillet over medium heat for 3-5 minutes to lightly toast and then cool. If you don't have time, go ahead and use them straight from the package. In a food processor, process almonds, tomatoes, basil, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/4 cup of the Parmesan cheese, the green onion, and red pepper flakes until smooth, about 1 minute. Scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula. With machine running, slowly drizzle in oil, about 30 seconds. Meanwhile, bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Add pasta and 1 tablespoon salt and cook per package directions. Reserve ½ cup cooking water; drain pasta and transfer back to cooking pot. Add pesto and the other 1/4 cup Parmesan to cooked pasta, adjusting consistency with reserved pasta cooking water so that pesto coats pasta. Serve immediately.

Two for One Dinners and other Fun Thoughts

This was a hard week to say the least. There has been a horrible stomach bug raging through my children's preschool and by the middle of the week, my oldest two had it. Quickly followed by myself and then my four month old daughter. When you have multiple children getting sick from from every area of their bodies all over your home, it makes life seem pretty dark to say the least. But thankfully, by Saturday night, both older children were feeling good and Daddy has yet to come down with anything, I will take my blessings as they come! On a funnier side note, because of all the illness in the house, the laundry got backed up and I was running low on basically everything I can get my still pregnancy-weight strapped body in. When I went to put on a pair of underwear...I searched in my drawer and found a pair I didn't remember having, I was pleasantly surprised. I slipped them on and they felt so good, they were so comfortable and I had that feeling of "where have you been all my life." It's amazing how such a simple thing as a good fitting pair of undies can make the storm going on in your life seem like a calm, cool, bubbling stream. I thought to myself "I am so glad the laundry got low, I would have never seen these if I had not had to "search" for them." When I decided I would treat myself to another pair of these extremely comfy undies, I looked at the tag to see which store had made them and saw "Old Navy" but then to my dismay I saw "maternity!" OH MY GOSH, this pair of wonderfully fitting undies that I thought were a gift from angels were actually a pair of maternity underwear that did not make it into my "maternity clothes" box that had been put up 3 months ago! Thus ending my love affair with the comfy undies. I threw those suckers off as if they were on FIRE! Now onto more serious and normal topics. I have become a Huge Fan of the Boneless Pork Loin Roast. Because of the size, I can cut it in half and get two dinners out of one roast. They freeze perfectly, are so easy to work with, and take on any flavors you add. I made two totally different dinners this past week with this roast and got great reviews. The first recipe I have listed is a Honey Mustard Bacon Roast that does take about 90 minutes to cook, so you will need to take that into consideration before making it. The other recipe is disgustingly easy. I am not even sure its considered a recipe its so simple, but is SO good. Its a recipe for pulled pork sandwiches, made in a handy crock pot from a fresh or frozen state. Double duty out of any cut of meat works for me! Hope you have a good week!

Honey Mustard and Bacon Roast

1 2-pound boneless pork loin roast ( You will have to buy a 3-4 pound roast and cut it in half or use the whole thing and just double the sauce recipe and amount of bacon)

1/4 cup of Dijon mustard

3 tablespoons whole grain mustard

1/4 cup honey

2 garlic cloves minced

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

6 bacon slices

cooking twine if you have it

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a baking dish and rack if you have one. If you don't have a rack, you can certainly cook the roast without it. Lay your roast in the baking dish, fat side up. In a mixing bowl, combine the two mustard's, honey, and garlic. Sprinkle the meat with the salt and pepper. Pour and spread half of the sauce on the pork, while reserving the other half for after it is cooked. Then take your bacon and lay it on the pork length ways covering the sides and top of the roast. If you have some twine, tie the bacon on the pork, if not, do not worry about it, just make sure the bacon is on the top portion of the roast, not the sides so it won't slide off. Bake the roast at 375 degrees for 90 minutes or until the thickest part, usually the middle is 160 degrees in temperature. ( You may want to lay a piece of foil over the top after 60 minutes if you don't like your bacon too crispy or dark.) Once it is cooked, let the meat rest of 10 minutes and then slice and serve with the sauce your reserved earlier.

Pulled BBQ Pork

1 8 to 12 ounce bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce

1 onion sliced into four pieces

1/2 cup orange juice

salt and pepper

your favorite hamburger buns or rolls for serving

Place your roast in your crock pot and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place the sliced onion around the roast. Mix your juice and BBQ sauce in a bowl and pour it over the roast. Replace the lid and cook on low for 6-8 hours. If you need to cook it longer, I suggest cooking it from a frozen state and on low 10-12 hours. When it is done, take two forks and pull the roast apart in the crock pot, in essence shredding it and then mix it around with all of the sauce. Serve big drippy portions of the juicy meat on buns with all your favorite fixings. Enjoy!