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Pulled Pork and Tri Tip

PREPARATION Pork shoulder Roast: Generously season all sides of the pork roast. Put the roast on the grill grate, fat-side up, and smoke for 3 hours, spraying with apple juice every hour after the first hour. Transfer to a disposable aluminum foil pan large enough to hold the roast. Increase the temperature to 250 degrees F, and roast for 6 to 8 additional hours, or until an instant-read meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part, but not touching bone, registers 190 degrees F. If the pork starts to brown too much, cover it loosely with aluminum foil. Carefully transfer the pork roast to a cutting board and let it rest for 20 minutes. Pour the juices from the bottom of the pan into a gravy separator. With your hands pull the pork into pieces. Season with additional rub and moisten with the reserved pork juice. (Discard any fat that has floated to the top of liquid. Add barbecue sauce, if desired, and mix well. PREPARATION for Tri Tip: Season with Spade L Ranch seasoning and let it sit out…

Maple Cumin Carrots

I walked around the house last night mumbling to myself, “oh my gosh, I love those carrots, those carrots are so good, wow those carrots were amazing”. So here you go. Trader Joes has these great multi colored carrots, don’t miss them! I peeled and cut the carrots in half and boiled until al dente (can you say that with carrots? You don’t want them mushy). Run them under cold water to stop the cooking process once they’re done. Meanwhile, boil maple syrup and sage leaves until reduced by 1/2. Set aside and take out sage leaves. Mix together equal parts (1 tsp-ish) cumin, brown sugar, coriander, salt, and chili powder. In a large cast iron skillet heat butter and EVOO until bubbling. Add 1/2 of carrots and 1/2 of herb mixture to the pan. Only flip once so you get a nice crust on carrots. Add second half of carrots and rest of herb mixture. Plate carrots and top with sage maple syrup and juice and zest of one lime. Trust me these are worth the extra effort.

Kicked Up Sloppy Joe Peppers

On this blustery cold day, kicked up sloppy joes sounded perfect. These low carb versions won’t hurt your waistline either! Don’t get too used to getting a list of ingredients. 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced 1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded, deveined and diced 1 red onion, diced 1 carton diced mushrooms 2 pounds extra lean ground beef 2 tablespoons minced garlic 3 tb red wine vinegar 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1 tablespoon paprika 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon dry mustard 1 6 -ounce can tomato paste 1 cup tomato sauce 1 can diced tomatoes 3 tablespoons packed brown sugar 2 tb Worcestershire sauce Heat canola oil in large sauté pan. Saute peppers and onions for about 5 minutes then add ground beef, mushrooms, and garlic. Cook through. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for 45 minutes or so. Core yellow or red peppers and add sloppy joe mixture. Bake for 30 minutes at 350.

Thanksgiving Benedict

Thanksgiving is one week away! As much as I can’t wait for the big day, I love the leftovers just as much. Here is a yummy idea for lunch the next day. Add an egg or two to your stuffing and mix it all together to form a patty. Sauté the stuffing cake until brown and cooked through on both sides. Top with turkey and a poached egg. Drizzle leftover gravy and cranberry sauce.

French Onion Soup Cups

Greeting your guests with these individual French Onion Soup cups, will warm them right up on a chilly fall night. Ingredients 5 Tb butter 4 sweet yellow onions, sliced 2 garlic cloves, chopped 2 bay leaves 2 fresh thyme sprigs Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 3/4 apple cider 3 heaping tablespoons all-purpose flour 2 quarts beef broth 1 baguette, sliced 1 block grated Gruyere Cheese Directions Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, and s&p and cook until the onions are very soft and caramelized, ~25 minutes. Add 1/2 carton of broth and apple cider, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer about 5 minutes and get all bits of onion off the bottom of the pan. Discard the bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Dust the onions with the flour and give them a stir. Turn the heat down to medium low and cook for 10 minutes. Add the rest of the beef broth, bring the soup back to a simmer, and cook for 10-15…

Chicken Burgers with Caramelized Onions

My favorite dinner lately was also one of the easiest. I made ground chicken burgers (added my favorite chicken rub, garlic, and s&p) and topped it with leftover french onion soup, Gruyere cheese, and a bit of parsley. Baked sweet potato fries (from the freezer), and Salad de Maison finished off this easy yet delicious meal. There are so many ways to use leftovers!

3 Step Salad

My idea of the perfect salad comes in 3’s. You don’t have to have specific ingredients and you can be creative with it! 1. Toss in your favorite kind of cheese. What do you have on hand? Goat cheese, feta, or parmesan..are all great ideas. 2. Add fruit or veggies. Pear, apple, leftover asparagus? They all work! Cut them into different shapes and sizes for look and variety. 3. Add any nuts or seeds that you have in your freezer or cabinet. Cashews, pecans, or pistachios are all great ideas (make sure to toast them). Nuts keep great in the freezer so I always have at least four varieties on hand (same with cheeses). Finally, I always use at least 2 kinds of lettuce. I love the different texture and flavors it gives to the salad. In this case I used 3; spinach, arugula, and baby bibb lettuce. Your perfect salad can be done in 1,2,3!

Fancy Scrambled Eggs

Who feels like cooking tonight? Not me, we’re doing takeout. If you’re home for the night preparing for Christmas, my favorite clean out the fridge/no hassle cooking is “fancy” scrambled eggs. I add leftovers, lunch meat, produce, whatever I can find to make it healthy, filling, and pretty darn tasty! I started with sautéing ham, leftover asparagus, tomatoes, fresh spinach, and green onions. I then added the eggs and topped with parmesan. Dinner and done!

Smoked Brisket

Our Traeger was working overtime the last couple of days. It really the best thing that has happened to our kitchen this past year! The most unbelievable tender Brisket recipe TRAEGER recipe- cover brisket in a whole bottle of Famous Daves Rib Rub. Place brisket right on the grill grate for about 3 hours on 180 degrees. Take the brisket off and put in roasting pan covered with foil and put back on the grill at 225 for another 5 hours.

Tarte with Arugula Salad

This may not be the prettiest picture of food but it is one of the easiest and most delicious! I made it for an appetizer but I’ve also been known to devour one for dinner. Use Trader Joe’s (Maitre Pierre) Tarte D’Alace and top with arugula and parmesan tossed in EVOO, lemon juice, and S&P. Keeping it semi-homemade and delish!!