YUMMMM

There is a very popular drive-in in this area and everyone loves their loose meat sandwiches. Some may call these Maid-Rites. They are not tomato based like Sloppy Joes.

My son got hold of a recipe that is very close to what the drive-in has, and his sister-in-law made a big crockpot full for supper here at home after the birthday open house.

Here is the recipe.

I am  not a fan of horseradish but I could not taste it. It does add to the final taste. This is a large amount that could be cut in half, but why not make the whole thing and freeze in manageable portions. Enjoy!

Country Pork with Mushrooms

My goodness these days go by so fast! I always have lots to do but don't always feel like doing them, and at this point in my life, I can do what I want to most of the time.

This blog has been on my mind but I never quite get to it. Either I am busy trying to get my house in shape, I am too tired, or as on several days this week, my hands have been stiff and sore so didn't feel like typing. My oldest daughter and her significant other from Wisconsin came for a short visit on Saturday evening, so I did have an incentive to work on getting the house in shape last weekend.

But enough excuses for today. I thought I would just pop in here a minute and give you a quick recipe that I have made a couple of times in the last couple of months, and think is delicious and easy.

This recipe calls for country-style pork ribs but I think it would go well with any meat, not just pork.

COUNTRY PORK WITH MUSHROOMS

2 pounds country-style ribs, boneless
1 can cream of mushroom soup
4 ounces sliced mushrooms
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 envelope mushroom gravy mix
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
2 tablespoons cold water, blended with 1 heaping tablespoon all-purpose flour

Combine ribs, soup, mushrooms, salt, pepper, gravy, and paprika in crockpot. Cover and cook on LOW setting for 7 to 9 hours. Stir flour mixture into broth and cook on high HEAT setting an additional 15 minutes, or until thickened. Serve country-style ribs with mashed potatoes and corn.

Serves 6.

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In order for me to make this without making a trip to the store, I used what I had on hand. I did have the ribs in the freezer, but they were not boneless. I might have some canned sliced mushrooms, but I also have some dried mushrooms handy, so used those - didn't measure. I think the salt could be left out since there is plenty of salt in the gravy mix and soup. I discovered I didn't have any mushroom gravy mix in the house, but I did have a packet of brown gravy mix, and I added some dried onion flakes. I don't have any sweet paprika on hand so used the Spanish paprika I do have.

Since I used dried mushrooms I also added some water to the mix and I never did have to add any flour to thicken the broth. I can't tell you how much water I used, maybe 1/2 cup or more. If you add too much water, you can still put the flour in to thicken it.

As you can see, this recipe is quite adaptable to what you have on hand. The mushrooms could be a 4-oz can or fresh mushrooms if you happen to have them. When I have fresh it seems I never use all of them right away, so this would be a good way to use those up.

I think next time I will try this with chicken breasts.

What's Cooking - Pork Carnitas

PORK CARNITAS

Awhile back Pam, an internet friend, had mentioned she made pork carnitas for one of their mission trip meals, and then shared the recipe. Thank you, Pam!  I happened to have a pork roast in the freezer so decided to try it. I thought it was good. I ate it as the main meat of the meal with sides of mashed potatoes and a vegetable. She served it with a delicious cole slaw. I also made sandwiches with the meat on hamburger buns and added some barbecue sauce. That is very good. But what I thought was the best was what my daughter and I threw together with some I had left in the freezer. She and the twins came one weekend and we had gone to the parade downtown. When we got home it was lunch time so had to come up with something simple and quick. I rarely think ahead. Bad me! 

My daughter has a wheat allergy so eating out poses a problem, especially with the few places to eat in this town. We either have pizza, broasted chicken (coated with flour), Subway, or the bowling alley which is mostly fast food.

I happened to have some corn tortillas on hand, which does not have wheat in them. She fried those to slightly crisp and we made tacos with the pork carnitas. Those were the best tacos I have ever had! We just added the lettuce, shredded cheese and salsa on the tortilla. The 8 year old twins thought they were great too, and they can be finicky eaters.

Here is the recipe for pork carnitas, which can be found at My Recipes website here

Ingredients

• 
  Preparation1 3-lb. boneless pork shoulder, cut into 2-inch chunks, trimmed of excess fat
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 large onion, quartered 
• 3 cloves garlic

1. Sprinkle pork with salt, chili powder, cumin and oregano. Place in a slow cooker along with onion and garlic. Cover and cook on low until meat is tender and falling apart, about 6 hours. Shred pork and serve hot.

Note:

This recipe also appeared in the February 2010 issue.

All You 
APRIL 2012

What's Cooking - Busy Day Mexican Casserole

Busy Day Mexican Casserole

 

I can't say this is the most appetizing picture, but let me say that I found this new recipe quite tasty and easy. So for you busy mothers you may want to try this one (the rest of you as well). This is a crockpot dish and one that you can keep ingredients on hand for an easy meal.

Busy Day Mexican Casserole

1 10 count package of frozen burritos
1 large can enchilada sauce
1 pint fresh salsa
1 pound shredded cheese

Put all but the cheese in the crockpot. Cook on low for 4 hours. Half hour before serving add the cheese to melt it. Serve.

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I used the hot, spicy kind of burritos, but use whatever kind your family likes - beef and bean, chicken, etc.
I only had an 8 oz package of shredded cheddar and thought that was plenty of cheese, so would suggest using whatever amount you like. Someone had suggested it sounded like too much liquid but I did not think so. You can see on the plate that it is not runny. I think the melted cheese thickens it.

I used fresh salsa found in the produce section of the store, or might find in the deli area. I would think that you could use your favorite jar of salsa when you can't get to the store for the fresh, or make your own fresh salsa. Many of you make your own burritos and freeze them, so by all means, use 10 of those. I am lazy so used the frozen ones from the grocery store as the recipe called for. Some day I will make the effort to make them myself and freeze.