My psychic but fuzzy visions...and Pulled Pork of course!

I had no idea that when I created this blog earlier in the week and named it Crista's Fresh Start, that it was so prophetic.

On Tuesday, my job of over five years came to an end.  Of course the immediate response was shock and awe.  My company was a wonderful company to work for and it was a crushing experience to be told I no longer had a position. Many of my co-workers and the sales reps I supported and reached out and told me what a great asset I was and that I will be missed, and this makes me feel much better.

Alas, hind sight is 20/20.  While I loved my job, it was very much dead-end. I had often thought about trying something new or even going back to school.  This forces me to step out of my comfort zone and do just that. 

In the mean time, I will take at least a few days to enjoy the "real house-wives of Indianapolis" lifestyle.  Yeah, I know I'm not a wife, or a housewife, but neither was Bethany Frankel and look where she is now! 

So as I enjoyed my first day of as a lady-of-leisure, I whipped out the crock pot and made some delicious dinner.  Without further ado, I give you...

Delicious Pulled Pork

5 lb. Pork Shoulder
1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup of water

Mix spices together and rub over the pork roast.  Place roast in a 5-6 qt. crock pot and add the cup of water.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4-5.

Blake likes his with slaw and bbq sauce on top!  I like it just as it is.  There is no wrong way to eat this delicious meat!

You-Won't-Even-Miss-the-Carbs Casserole

In my quest to cut back on carbs, I'm trying out some new dishes. This one caught my eye because I'm a big fan of cauliflower, so this sounded yummy to me.

Low Carb Sausage, Mushroom and Chicken Casserole

3-4 cups diced cooked chicken
1 lb pork sausage
1 stalk celery, chopped fine
1 tablespoon onion, chopped
1/2 lb mushroom, sliced
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
16 ounces frozen cauliflower, cooked well and drained
8 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded
salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
paprika (optional)

Brown the sausage with the celery, onion and mushrooms. Stir the softened cream cheese into the sausage mixture until well blended. Coarsely chop the cooked cauliflower. Mix all ingredients and spread in a greased 9"x13" baking dish. If desired, dust the top with paprika. Bake, covered with foil, at 350º for about 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until hot and bubbly and top is lightly browned, about 10 to 15 minutes

Source: not sure! Whoops!

Some Like It Hot!

It was one of our first cool evenings tonight, so I thought I'd spice things up. These pork chops were awesome and very spicy. You can easily adjust the heat to your taste. I served them with Trader Joe's Vegetable Jambalaya, and it was great together. I'll definitely be making these again soon!

Cajun Pork Chops

1 lb. Pork Chops
1 Medium Onion (julienned)
2 Stalks of Celery (cut in 1 in. pieces)
1 Red Pepper (julienned)
1 Green Pepper (julienned)
Olive Oil
Cajun Seasoning
Hot Sauce

Sprinkle pork chops generously with Cajun seasoning. Heat oil in a large skillet and saute the onions and peppers until onions are translucent.Add pork chops and cook one side until browned. Turn chops and cover skillet, cook for 8-10 min. or until pork chops are done. Remove from skillet, place on platter and shake hot sauce over everything.

Source: Adapted from stellastyle.com

Sunday Morning Cheddar Biscuits & Gravy

I don't think I've made biscuits and gravy since 8th grade home-ec, but it is still just as easy now as it was then. This time I took a hint from our local Taste Cafe and added some Sharp Cheddar to the mix and they were delicious! (Pardon the shadows in the picture, just the metal cris-crosses on the old 1920's windows)

Cheddar Biscuits & Gravy

Biscuits:
1 cup all-purpose flour 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon butter, melted
1/4 cup shredded Sharp Cheddar
Gravy:
1/2 pound bulk pork sausage
1 tablespoon butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups milk
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Combine milk and butter; stir into dry ingredients just until blended, then stir in cheese. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto a greased baking sheet. Bake at 450 degrees F for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan, cook the sausage over medium heat until no longer pink. Stir in butter until melted. Sprinkle with flour. Gradually stir in milk, and seasonings. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until desired thickness. Serve over biscuits and top with additional cheese if desired.

Source: adapted from Allrecipes.com

The Fresh Market!

I'm so excited that we finally have a long awaited grocery store in my very own neighborhood. It has been a few years since Meridian Kessler had a grocery, making it a real pain, especially when you realized you are only one item short of a recipe, or just need milk for your cereal.

Luckily, The Fresh Market, chose to build a brand new store complete with rooftop parking.

In honor of the new store, and to have a good excuse to go shopping, I picked two recipes from the store's website to try. They were both delicious!

Asiago Cheese Dip

1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
1 cup Asiago cheese, shredded and divided
2 green onions, sliced and white ends removed
1/4 cup white mushrooms, chopped
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained and chopped

Preheat oven to 350°. In a bowl, blend mayonnaise, sour cream and 1/2 cup Asiago cheese. Fold in onions, mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes. Pour mixture into a loaf pan. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top.
Bake for 20 minutes or until bubbly. Serve with crackers, TFM French Rounds or pita chips. (I used TFM Garlic French Rounds)

Sausage & Spinach Penne Pasta (w/Mushrooms)

1 pound sweet or hot Italian sausage
1 (16 ounce) bag fresh spinach
4 tablespoons TFM Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 - 4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
salt
dried crushed red pepper flakes, to taste
1/4 cup Romano cheese
1 pound TFM Whole Wheat Penne Pasta
* I added about 6 ounces of fresh mushrooms*

Take sausage meat out of casings. Sauté until cooked and then place on paper towel lined plate to absorb fat. Keep warm.
Heat olive oil in pan; add sliced garlic and sauté for 1 minute. (Cook mushrooms here if desired.) Add washed spinach leaves and sprinkle with salt and crushed red pepper. Simmer 4 minutes until cooked and stems are soft. Add sausage, toss to mix. Remove from heat.
Meanwhile cook penne according to package directions, drain. Toss spinach mixture, cheese, and pasta together. Top with additional cheese before serving.

Source: The Fresh Market

Soup-er Easy Supper

This turned out to be a very simple weeknight supper. All you need is some pork chops, an onion, and some noodles!

Speedy Golden Mushroom Porkchops

3 pork chops
Seasoned salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 an onion, chopped
1 can condensed golden mushroom soup

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Season porkchops with seasoning salt and pepper, and place in a greased small casserole dish.
Cover porkcops with onion, then cover with soup.

Cover and bake at 375 degrees F for 40 minutes, then uncover and bake for 15 more minutes.

Serve over egg noodles if desired.

Bustin' My Chops

On to a grill that is... We are trying to enjoy being outside more, so we utilize the grill as much as possible. We seem to eat a lot of chicken, so tonight I thought I'd mix it up a bit and grill some pork chops. These were very juicy and flavorful. I did a foil packet of veggies on the side, and they were pretty good. I think I'll add some garlic to them next time, to kick it up a little.

Pork Chop Willy's Grilling Rub

3 tablespoons sweet paprika
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon coarse salt, either kosher or sea salt
3/4 teaspoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon chili powder
3/4 teaspoon granulated garlic or garlic powder
3/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne
Six to eight 10- to 11-ounce bone-in pork rib chops, 3/4 to 1 inch thick
Vegetable oil spray

At least 1 and up to 8 hours before you plan to grill the pork chops, prepare the dry rub, combining the ingredients in a small bowl. Coat the chops with the spice mixture, place them in a large plastic bag, seal, and refrigerate.

Fire up the grill, bringing the heat to medium.

Remove the chops from the refrigerator and let them sit covered at room temperature for about 20 minutes.

Spray the chops with oil and transfer them to the grill. Grill for 18 to 20 minutes total. Turn onto each side twice, rotating the chops a half turn each time to get criss-cross grill marks. The chops are done when just a hint of pink remains at the center. Serve hot.

Source: Epicurious.com

Yellow Squash, Tomato, & Onion Packets

1 medium onion, chopped
2 medium yellow squash, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
4 large plum tomatoes, quartered
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/3 cup KRAFT Shredded Parmesan Cheese

Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Place onions in center of (24x18-inch) sheet of foil; top with squash and tomatoes. Sprinkle with basil.

Bring up foil sides. Double fold top and ends to seal, leaving room for heat circulation inside.

Grill 15 min. or until vegetables are tender. Open top of packet; sprinkle vegetables with cheese. Let stand 3 min. or until cheese is melted.

Source: Kraftfoods.com

Carnitas Take 2

Awhile back I made some really tasty crockpot carnitas. They were good, but not spicy enough for my taste. I found a different recipe and this one had a lot more flavor! I highly recommend it!

Crockpot Carnitas

3 lb. pork butt roast
1 onion, sliced into rings
4 garlic cloves
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp cumin
2-3 fresh jalapeno peppers, seeded and deveined, cut into strips
1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped, leaves only
1 can beer (12 ounces)
salt and pepper

Insert garlic cloves in roast; place in Crock Pot with onion, herbs, jalapeno peppers and cilantro which has been chopped. Season to taste. Pour in beer. Cook on high 4 to 6 hours until fork tender. Remove meat; shred. Or can be placed in roasting pan in preheated oven (450º) for about 15 minutes before shredding. Serve with warm tortillas, shredded cheese and pico de gallo.

We had enough meat for leftovers, and I made shredded pork nachos with the meat the next night, and they were great also!

Source: http://kayaksoup.blogspot.com/

Crock Pot Carnitas!

I love using my crock pot on Mondays. After what always seems like a long day, it is nice to open the front door and smell dinner waiting for me! Today I modified a few recipes to create these tacos, and they were delicious! The fresh salsa on top is delicious and was inspired by my friend Ali Dill who is always cooking wonderfully healthy things.



Crock Pot Carnitas Tacos

1 1/2 lbs pork shoulder roast or pork butt
1 Cup water
Pinches of salt and pepper
1 small onion thinly sliced
1 can Rotel tomatoes with chilies
¼ Cup finely chopped white onion
½ fresh lime juice
Corn tortillas

Place roast in crock pot, pour water in the crock pot, season roast with salt, pepper and add onion slices. Cook on low for 8 hours. Drain pork & onions, and shred. Return to crock pot and add tomatoes w/chilies, onion, salt and lime juice. Serve on tortillas with salsa recipe below.

Source: altered from http://pickypalate.blogspot.com




Ali Style Salsa

8 oz. can of Corn
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1 avocado chopped
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
juice of 1/2 a lime
pinch of salt

Mix everything together. Delicious!