A little of this, a little of that

I was able to spend time with my sister and two of my brothers the last couple of weeks!

Do some cooking...

 

and some crafting.

Feeling productive.

'Taters

I haven't made these in a long time, so when I came across a different way of making them on Pinterest (with no real link for details), I thought I'd give it a try.

I usually put thin slices of onions in-between the cuts, but this time I also added bacon! I was a little worried either the bacon wouldn't cook or it would burn, and that the potatoes would come out too dry.

The onions burned at the tips, but that's okay, it was easily brushed aside. Disappointingly, the bacon did not cook. I splayed the potatoes out thinking maybe that would help and put them back in the oven.

That didn't really do anything, so I took out the little slices and zapped them in the microwave, problem solved!

They were very tasty, the bacon gave them a great flavor, but next time I'm going back to wrapping them in tin foil. They're more tender, not so dry, and the onions cooks down to almost nothing, leaving a yummy flavor behind. I wouldn't consider this a failure, but it's not really a success, either, just different, I guess. It sure didn't stop me from eating them!

Easiest Pulled Pork Ever!

Oh, man, this is the best recipe I’ve ever tried for pulled pork! Basically, take a pork loin, toss into crock pot, pour a Coke over it, let cook for a few hours. Add barbeque sauce.

I couldn’t believe how easy and delicious this turned out. There was not an ounce of fat and it was melt-in-your-mouth tender. I served it on toasted Santa Cruz sourdough. We already want to eat it again!

Be sure to see the entire recipe at GroupRecipes. Thank you for tracking this one down, Dawn!

UPDATE 02-10-2013: For those of you who don't like pork, I made this with beef, stew meat, to be exact, and it was yummy as well. But we decided we prefer the pork; it's not as dry and seemed more savory.

Homemade Refrigerator Roll Dough

Making Clover leaf rolls is one of my proudest achievements in the kitchen. My go-to cookbook is an old Betty Crocker book, a just married gift from my bff, Lauri. It's battered and well-used, the best pages being the messiest. I highly recommend Betty's recipe (as well as other recipes found in this book, like the best peanut butter cookies in the entire world!). It's the closest thing to my dad's clover leaf rolls I can make.

I made a batch for Thanksgiving and they rose nice and high, the best I've ever made, I think.

 

A couple of days after Thanksgiving my daughters suggested I make more, but I told them they'd have to wait for Christmas. Well, I caved and whipped up another batch.

What's neat about this dough, besides the fact it makes A LOT of rolls, is that it keeps in the refrigerator up to 5 days. So I made some the other day and just now took the last of the rolls out of the oven. I made mini rolls and had enough left over to make a tiny cake-pan full.

I had some turkey breast, so I made myself a little sandwich from half of the pan bread. It was messy, the rolls separated because it was still warm from the oven, but I didn't care, the effort to keep it together was worth every bite! I wish this blog had smell-a-vision!

Bacon Sundae

 

Now I can say I tried it, and I like it!

Married 33 years and I didn't even know the man could bake!

 

Tonight Dawn made mini bagel pizzas!

Last night Valerie made brussel sprouts (I didn’t even know I liked them, everyone else found out they didn’t), rice and chicken. Neither one of them cook, so I’m beside myself with munchie joy!

The sample lady at Costco was passing out little cups of salad made of cucumbers, tomatoes and feta cheese. That’s it, no salt, pepper, salad dressing, nothing but those three ingredients. I bought this wonderful trio, brought them home and made it right away. You know how you hear people call something “refreshing”? This.

I wasn’t sure if my family would like it, but I was asked to make another batch of it today. A new dish everybody likes, yay!

Good Ol' Fried Cabbage

I made some fried cabbage the other day, first time in a long while. I was the only one who ever ate the stuff, so I try not to offend the noses of those who don't. Then Hubby told me it smelled so good he had to taste it, and, hey, Mikey! He liked it!

My recipe is sort of fly by the seat of your pants because that’s how my dad cooked everything and he’s the one I learned from. But I think that’s what makes it easy and also gives you the freedom to make it your own.

Fry up a few pieces of bacon in the same lidded-pot you’ll cook the cabbage. Set bacon aside, leaving the drippings in the pot (a Tablespoon or two should do it). Add a chopped onion (whole or half, up to you, as big or little pieces as you like) and saute for a couple of minutes. Add chopped cabbage (mine end up looking like squares), but if it won’t all fit at once, put the lid on it and let it cook down for just a minute or two. Keep stirring while adding the cabbage until it all fits. Add some granulated garlic powder (about a teaspoon or so, you don't want it to overpower the taste of the cabbage), and salt and pepper to taste. Cover, stirring occasionally. When it’s almost done, crumble the bacon and toss it in. Finish cooking to your liking.

Cooking time is less than 10 minutes. That said, I like my cabbage with a little crunch to it, but some prefer it more on the mushy side, you just have to play with the cooking time a little. Also, I buy my bacon in those already cooked packages at Costco, so all I have to do is zap it for a minute. Since I don’t have bacon grease on hand, I just use a splash or two of olive or canola oil instead. It doesn't require much fat, just enough to flavor it, because the cabbage will make its own juice which actually steams it. Good stuff, Maynard.