One Pot Wonder

Have I mentioned I hate to grocery shop? I know, most people don’t mind it. It’s a stumbling block since I love to cook. I think it’s moreso that I don’t like how much money it is. I used to grumble since afterwards I then had to carry it up three flights…now there are no stairs involved. Also, it made me so sad to see really little kids there with their parents when I’d go super late (like 10 o’clock, past their bedtime). My previous grocery store was always crowded.  I now shop at the world’s largest grocery store. I cannot believe how big it is and it isn’t ever crowded. I might be coming around.

This dinner was a 1 pot meal with what I had around in an effort to use a few things up AND to avoid shopping just one more day.

Ingredients:

2 sweet Italian sausage links
1 yellow onion, quartered
1 tbs butter
1 apple
1 cup chicken broth
½ cup dried cranberries
white or brown rice

Directions:

In a dutch oven, brown sausage until cooked most of the way through and then remove it from the pan. When cooled a bit, slice into disks.
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Stir in broth and scrape any browned bits off the bottom. Cook for 5 minutes on medium.
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Add onions and butter until translucent.
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Add in apple, sliced sausage pieces, and cranberries.
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Cover and cook for 7 minutes more (or until sausage cooks the rest of the way through and the cranberries have rehydrated).
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This was so good, so easy, and had really minimal clean up! Win, win, win!
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I served this over some rice and steamed some broccoli on the side. I decided to thicken it a little bit with a cornstarch slurry but it is good the way it is. You could easily do most of the prep without the apple and cranberries the night before for a reallllly quick dinner.

I wish I had given the apples less cooking time but they were a different texture than the sausage anyway. I loved the cranberries in there. How good would it be over wild rice?

I plan meals ahead of time, I bring a list. What will make me enjoy it more. Maybe I should get to pick out a treat each time (as in a random ingredient to play with)!

 

Pumpkin Pasta Perfection

I’ve made this simplified pumpkin pasta a few times since I first saw Rachael Ray make it but I hadn’t made it for real in awhile. This time I used leftovers and it wasn’t quite right. I made it for real just before moving since it only requires a few ingredients and the leftovers are pretty great too.
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I like the pumpkin puree since it coats like a sauce on pasta on it’s own and with just a few other ingredients this pumpkin pasta is a winner. It’s a nice pre-fall or mid-winter treat. I carefully avoid the overly pumpkin time in mid-November.

Ingredients

8 oz pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
1/2 pound pasta (something short)
2 sweet sausage links
1/2 cup chicken stock (or veggie stock)
4 tbs heavy cream

Directions

Boil water for the pasta.
Remove the sausage from the casing and brown in a skillet.
Mix pumpkin puree and stock over medium-low heat until heated through.
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When pasta is almost cooked drain and put it into a flat pan so it is only about one noodle deep
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Add in the sauce, sausage and cook over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes until the pasta is cooked al dente.
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Gently mix in heavy cream just before serving.

I chopped some fresh rosemary over the top too. I thought it was woodsy and I had some on hand. Sage would be good too. I sprinkled a little nutmeg in as well.
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I love this dish. It’s rich and flavorful but so simple. I think it’d be a great for guests.

Such a cheap dinner!

Sausage and Pumpkin Pasta

1/2 lb pene pasta: $0.75
1 can pumpkin: $1.79
2 sausage links: $1.42
chicken broth: 4 oz. chicken stock: $0.05 ($2.99 jar/25 cubes=11 cents per cube/cup)
heavy cream: $0.16
total = $4.17 and serves 3-4 ($1.39 per serving)

Blue Ribbon Wins In My Book

Mr. J and I squeaked in on cashing a discount deal we’d purchased to Blue Ribbon Barbecue and loved it! We went the last night before it expired and saw a few other with the deal in line behind us too.Blue Ribbon has 2 locations and I realized I’d been to the Newton, MA one way back when with my sis. Mr. J and I went to the Arlington one.
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I got pulled pork, collard greens, cole slaw, and I couldn’t resist a side of corn bread. I love pulled pork.
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The pulled pork was super tender and just begging for one of their many sauces. I couldn’t get over the collards. Sometimes they’re severely overcooked but they were fresh and leafy. I think they cook them with a ham hock…as if there’s any other way.
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I liked the cole slaw, but wasn’t wowed. Same with the corn bread. The corn bread was very crumbly, as it should be, but I thought it was too dry.
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Mr. J got ribs, baked beans, cole slaw. He liked everything and had been there before.
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They do catering and take out but we plopped down with our plates along their window counter. The outside seats were full since the season to eat outside was nearing an end.

Dare I say it? I think I like Blue Ribbon Barbecue BETTER than Red Bones. I’m not sure but it might be so.

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Piggy Went to the Crockpot

I’ve been just on the edge of my seat to share my pulled pork with you! HUGE win for me. See, I attempted this once before. I cooked my pork butt for HOURS over the course of 2 days and it was terrible and undercooked. I tried to salvage it but it was a wash. I was annoyed, felt betrayed by the pork, and felt wasteful.

This time was different since I used my shiny red crockpot for the pork butt/pork shoulder. Fun fact: pork butt and pork shoulder are the SAME thing. Pulled pork cooks low and slow for hours. Mr. J and I work too long for most crockpot items to be weeknight dinners. I was out of ketchup so I improvised with my fav tomatoes and some vinegar, salt, and sugar.
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The prep was super fast  in the morning and then it cooked low and slow for 10 hours all while the pup was probably drooling. I always wonder if he is driven crazy by the food smells or if he loves it. Well, he loves most things in life so I’d guess he loves it.
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Ingredients

4 pound pork shoulder/pork butt
1 onion, chopped
2 tbs garlic, chopped
1 cup canned tomatoes (or ketchup)
2 tbs white vinegar (omit if using ketchup)
⅓ cup cider vinegar
⅓ cup packed brown sugar
2 tbs paprika
3 tbs spicy brown mustard
2 tbs salt
2 tbs pepper
1 tsp liquid smoke

Directions

Mix onion, garlic, tomatoes, vinegars, sugar, paprika, mustard, salt and pepper.
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Cut pork into quarters being mindful if it is a bone-in cut (mine was).
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Add everything into the crockpot.
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Set for 10 hours on low and return home to delicious barbecue smells!
Gently remove pork and reheat the sauce on high or in a pot to thicken.
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I was so excited! This was good and really different from meat I typically serve. I used tongs to get it out of the crockpot and it FELL off the bone. Success! I didn’t even have to fork the meat appart…it separated enough just when I picked it up with the tongs a bit!
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There was a lot of meat here given I’m feeding two of us. We ate it a few times then I froze the rest with the sauce. I’m curious to see how it is defrosted.

I served it with some cornbread muffin tops I made. I rarely use my muffin top pan for actual muffins but I did this time! I used a mix but they’re easy enough to whip up.
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Memory Meal

In honor of a very special man Mr. J’s family lost I wanted to remember him at home since the  memorial service wasn’t for a while. I asked Mr. J’s Gram what Gramp would pick if he could have anything to eat. She said: pork chops, apple sauce, and sweet potatoes.

I took a spin off these and went with it. I made Sweet Potato Anna and Rye-Stuffed Pork Chops with Apple Thyme Pan sauce. It was good. Definitely not a light summery meal but it was a cool and rainy day which went perfectly!
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Rye Stuffed Pork Chops with Apple Thyme Pan Sauce
I found this recipe on a blog called A Sweet Chef check it out. This recipe looked amazing on there! I have nothing against apple sauce but thought adding apple into the pork would be more my style.

Ingredients:

For the stuffing
2 tbsp. unsalted butter, separated
1 cup rye bread, diced small (about 2 slices)
1/4 cup onion, diced
1/4 cup celery, diced
1/4 cup dried apples, diced
1 tsp. minced fresh thyme leaves (I went with dried)
1/4 cup chicken broth
1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
kosher salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
For the chops
2 boneless center-cut pork chops (about 5 oz each)
1 tbsp. olive oil
kosher salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
For the sauce
1 tbsp. unsalted butter
2 tbsp. shallots, minced (I used onion instead)
1 tsp. all-purpose flour
1/4 cup apple cider or apple juice
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
chopped fresh thyme leaves (again, I used dried)
kosher salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
(I added in a smidge of maple syrup for sweetness)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Toast bread in 1 tbsp. butter in an oven-proof skillet over medium high heat until crisp and then transfer to a bowl.  Return pan to heat.
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Saute onion, celery and apples in 1 tbsp. butter over medium heat until soft.  Stir in thyme.  Add vegetables to bread cubes.  Toss mixture with broth, vinegar and seasonings until liquid is absorbed.  Wipe out the skillet.
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Prepare chops.  Fill pockets with bread mixture.  They will be full, but you’ll probably have some left-over stuffing.  Saute chops in oil over medium-high heat until brown on one side, about 3 minutes.  Carefully turn the chops over and add any extra stuffing to the pan at this point.  Transfer pan to the oven.  Roast about 8 minutes, then remove the chops and stuffing from the pan and set aside.  Tent with foil to keep warm.
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Saute shallots (onions) for the sauce in 1 tbsp. of butter in same skillet over medium heat.  Add flour and cook for 1 minute.  Deglaze the pan with cider, wine and vinegar.  Simmer until sauce is slightly thickened, about 2-3 minutes.  Finish sauce with thyme, salt and pepper.
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Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Anna

Ingredients

1 large sweet potato peeled & sliced thin
3 tbs melted butter
1 tbs dijon mustard

Directions

Slice the peeled sweet potato into thin slices (I used a mandolin)
Melt butter and mix mustard in
layer potato slices and drizzle butter on each layer adding salt & pepper too
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Bake 425 for 30 minutes until the edges are brown& crispy!
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