While You Were Sleeping

While you were sleeping I made supper.  This is by far the easiest recipe I think I have ever made.  It makes a boat load of food so either bring in the masses or be prepared for lots of leftovers.

The one thing about this recipe is that it requires a bit of advanced notice. I typically do this a day ahead of time and let the crock pot do the magic over night.

The second step is only 4 hours or if you are in a pinch you can just do it on the stove top.  I have definitely forgotten to set this up in time and before I remembered it was too late.

Either way the recipe is easy and delicious.

Easy Crock Pot Pulled Pork

by Emily Morris

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 2 days

6030964

Ingredients (serves 6)

• 4 lbs pork roast (shoulder or butt)
• 2 large onions
• 1 cup ginger ale
• 1 (18 ounce) bottle favorite barbecue sauce
• Extra barbecue sauce, for serving

Instructions

Slice one onion and place in crock pot.

Put in the roast and cover with the other onion, sliced. Pour over the ginger ale. Cover and cook on LOW for about 10 hours overnight.

Remove the meat, strain and save the onions, discard all liquid. With two forks, shred the meat, discarding any remaining fat, bones or skin. Most of the fat will have melted away.

Return the shredded meat and the onions to the crock pot, stir in the barbecue sauce. Continue to cook for another 3 to 4 hours on LOW.

Serve with hamburger buns or rolls and additional barbecue sauce. Any leftovers freeze very well.

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Steak Sandwiches with WIAW

Wednesday is here.This week is all about lessons.

1. When I wake up early and go the the gym I am happier than if I don't.
2. If I go to the gym and run I am happier than if I just do the elliptical.
3. Going to the gym means I can make dinner at night. 
4. Making dinner at night makes me happy. I think it is because I can immediately
5. Mr. J seems to think that regardless of if I make dinner or not I am still doing the dishes.
6. I really do not like doing the dishes.

Lessons learned.

Now on to the important stuff, what I ate...

Somewhere under there is Quaker Oats squares. peaches right now are in their prime.  These are local from a farm literally a mile away. They are so good and so juicy. I am a mess after eating one. 

Lunch was a salad mix of leftovers. Tomatoes, cucumbers, basil and mozzarella. All from the garden. Not the mozzarella but you know what I mean.

We made steak sandwiches for lunch.  Pretty easy meal that seemed way fancier than a typical lunch. We ate about 50% of the mixture and then had the rest the next day in tortillas with salsa.  Love it when you can use leftovers to create a new, almost completely different meal from one recipe.

Dinner was the old stand by nachos. I made them in a skillet.  Sweet potatoes and black beans with lots of avocado. More tomatoes and peppers from the garden.

Steak Sandwiches with Peppers

by Emily Morris

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

6030963

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, halved and sliced into 1/4-inch-thick wedges
• 1 green bell pepper (ribs and seeds removed), thinly sliced lengthwise
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
• 1 lb Skirt Steak, very thinly sliced
• 4 rustic rolls
• 6 slices smoked Gouda cheese

Instructions

Preheat broiler with rack 6 inches from heat.

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Add onion and peppers; cook, stirring often, until softened and beginning to char, 10 minutes. Half way through cooking time, add thinly sliced steak. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat; stir in vinegar.

Place bottom halves of rolls on a large rimmed baking sheet; dividing evenly, top each with meat mixture, then cheese slices. Broil until cheese has melted, about 2 minutes.

Remove from oven; transfer to a cutting board. Add steak mixture to rolls and serve.

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Skillet Lasagna

I have been seeing skillet everything for a while now.  Most of them involve a cast iron skillet.  I don't have one.

Hint, hint. Cough, cough.  My birthday is coming up.

Thus, I have been holding off on attempting any of these delicious creations.  Finally I decided I was tired of waiting.

I love lasagna.  It was one of those things I requested at home every break from college.  I don't make it regularly myself because well it makes a ton of food, a ton of dishes, and it takes a long time to make.  Definitely not ideal for a work day meal.

But then came the skillet lasagna.  It still makes a ton of food but you do everything in one pan and the cook time is only about 30 minutes.  Super easy.

First off you cook the onions, garlic and green peppers.  Then, you add in the meat to brown.

Followed by the pasta layer. I picked bow tie. I don't get why you would buy lasagna noodles to break them up.  Bow tie was on sale for $1 per box. They are exactly like mini lasagna pieces.  Topped with diced tomatoes and sauce.  Put the lid on and simmer for 20 minutes.

I was skeptical that the pasta would cook enough with the minimal liquids.  I basically stood hovering over the dish for the whole twenty minutes.

It was a long wait.  When the timer finally chimed off, I quickly took of the lid to sample the pasta.  Perfect. I don't know if I got lucky or what but the pasta was just past al dente.

The recipe calls for ricotta which I used sparingly since Mr. J hates ricotta. I added fresh mozzarella.  He didn't notice the ricotta and I was a bit peeved I didn't add more.  I love the extra cheesiness.

 

With the cheese added, you put the lid back on to soften everything up for about 5 minutes. 

Not bad for a Monday night dinner.  I had a cutting board, knife, and large spoon to clean in addition to the skillet. 

I am still working on the ton of food part.  We ate about 1/4 of this dish.  Let's just say I planned to have plenty available for lunch the rest of the week.

Skillet Lasagna

by Emily Morris

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Keywords: saute entree Italian

6030960

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 1 28-oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, minced
• 1 small green pepper, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 pound ground beef
• 1/2 pound Italian sausage
• 10 lasagna noodles, broken into 2-inch pieces
• 1 8-oz can tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Instructions

Add the diced tomatoes along with their juice to a 1 quart (4 cup) measuring cup. Add enough water to bring the volume to 1 quart total.

Set a large nonstick skillet over medium heat and add the oil. When it starts to shimmer, add the onion, green pepper and the salt. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until the onion begins to brown, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and red pepper and cook just until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the meat, using a wooden spoon to break it apart. Cook until the meat is browned.

Add the broken noodles to the pan, but do not stir - just let them sit on top of the onion/meat mixture. Pour the tomato/water mixture and the tomato sauce over the noodles (again, don't stir). Cover the pan and bring the liquid to a simmer. Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer and cook, now stirring occasionally, until the pasta is tender (about 20 minutes).

Turn off the heat under the pan. Stir in 1/2 cup of the Parmesan and season to taste with salt and pepper. Drop the ricotta by heaping spoonfuls onto the top of the lasagna (don't stir to incorporate), then cover and let stand for about 5 minutes to allow the cheese to soften. Remove the cover and sprinkle with the basil and remaining Parmesan.

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