Camping: Dessert Apples

So... I wanted to also find a simple dessert that wasn't too heavy.  My boys will sit and eat apples all day if I let them, so I decided to find an easy apple dessert.  Searching all my pins - and success!!

INGREDIENTS:
Apples: peeled and sliced, not too thin
Few tablespoons of lemon juice
Brown sugar
Marshmallows
((Forgive me for not measuring my ingredients.... by now you should know I don't like to measure unless it's absolutely necessary.  lol))

DIRECTIONS:
* Peel and slice apples ahead of your camping trip.  Lightly coat with few tablespoons of lemon juice to keep them from browning.  (I made my apples the day before camping and we ate them on day 2 of  camping and they still weren't brown.  Yay!)
* Place all your apples in a pot safe to use on the grill, or over an open flame
* Put a good amount of brown sugar on top of the apples.... I'd say I did about a cup over my 5 apples
* Top with a handful of marshmallows.... stir all together.
* Cook over the grill until the apples are tender then devour!!

Man.... my boys were SO happy eating this... warmed up their tummies on such a chilly camping night!

Slow Cooker BBQ Pork Ribs

Hey there!!

It's been harder & harder for me to plan ahead, lately, but I actually DID thaw out my boneless ribs so I could make them today.  I was excited like a child waking up on Christmas morning, knowing I get to cook my ribs today.  Is that silly?  Oh, I don't care!

Once again, I do what I always do - - I search and search and take information from a handful of different recipes and make up my own.  Here's how it went.... 

Ingredients:

(Roughly) 3 lbs of boneless pork ribs

1 large white onion, big chunks

1C water

Chicken bouillon powder (enough for 1 1/2 cups of 'stock')

Garlic powder

Cumin (I love this stuff!!!)

Mesquite seasoning

(small dash) of cinnamon

1/2 C white wine

Bay leaves

1 lg bottle of Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce (or your favorite)

1/2 C brown sugar

1/2 C applesauce (I used my homemade apple butter, but -of course- did not write down the recipe. Ugh)

Liquid smoke

Hot sauce or spicy bbq sauce (just a bit - to add a tad of Ooomph to it)

Directions:

1) Spray the inside of your crock-pot with cooking spray.  I found this tip in one of the many recipes and it just made sense.  I've never done it before, but not sure why.  Chop the onion into big chunks and cover whole bottom with it.  

2) Mix together the 1 C water and the next 7 ingredients in a cup & pour half of it over the onions.  Layer in all the boneless ribs and pour the rest of the mixture over top.

3) Sprinkle the brown sugar and applesauce/apple butter on top of the pork.  Put the crock-pot on High/6 hours, put the lid on it and walk away for awhile.  

4) After it cooks a little over an hour, I checked on it to see how it's coming.  The house is already starting to smell pretty good.  I stirred it a bit, moved some things around, re-covered it and let it go some more.

5) After another hour, I came back.  The ribs are starting to look tender, now, which is good.  I mixed into the juices about 1/2 C of the BBQ sauce I am going to use.  Moved the ribs around a bit with some tongs, re-covered then walked away, once more.

6)  Once they have been cooking for about 3 hours, I came back and they looked juicy and smelled delicious!!!

Still 6) I took out most of the liquid & discarded it.  I reserved a small amount (about 1/2 C or so) in a small bowl and mixed in the rest of the BBQ sauce.  Add in the liquid smoke & a few small squirts of the spicy BBQ sauce, to give it a bit of a kick.  Poured it all on top of the ribs (which are starting to fall apart now, yummy!!) lowered the temp to Low/10 hours, re-covered again and walked away.

7)  1 hour later the ribs were awesome and ready to be matched up with yummy sides and devoured.  My meal consisted of the BBQ Ribs, Buttery Dill Mashed Potatoes, Bacon & Green Beans and Parmesan Garlic Biscuit Knots (will post that recipe separately)  YUM!!  

Apples!!

Last weekend, I took all my boys to the Apple Festival at the local Apple Orchard and we had a blast!!  We have gone a few times and I tend to forget that it's for fun.... NOT necessarily to get apples.  I buy too many bags to fill up while we're out in the orchard and thus... end up with way more apples than we need!  (And spend more money than I'd like, but it's for the 'experience', right??  I keep telling myself that.  lol)

So now... what to do with all these apples??  My littlest boy, Micah, LOVES apples and he can eat and eat and eat them, so that takes care of a few, but we are still left with FOUR bags of apples that I need to find recipes for.

Unfortunately, I have NO idea what kinds of apples we have.  There are signs at the beginning of each row of trees, but we don't tend to follow the lines very well - - we didn't go up and down the rows, to keep track.  Oh no!!  We weaved in & out, back & forth, side to side.... and have NO clue what types of apples we have.  

** ALL my boys.  I love them so much!!  **

Now I'm on a hunt for some yummy, creative and fun apple recipes to use up my stash.  Whenever I find some... I will, of course, let you know how they go.  Good, bad and yummy!!

Oh.... these apples!! 

Savory Chops w/ Holiday Dressing

I was looking for a recipe that would give me a little holiday cheer and use up the pork chops I had in my fridge. I searched around and found a handful of recipe components I liked and put them together.  This turned out SO good and definitely put me in the holiday mood!! 

Savory Pork Chops with Holiday Dressing

6 boneless pork chops
4 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp honey
2 tsp corriander
1 tsp garlic powder
4 sprigs of fresh rosemary (stripped off the stem)
2/3 C Italian dressing
1/2 C maple syrup
5 slices bacon, cooked & crumbled
4 green onions, chop'd
1 pkg stuffing, chicken flavor (water & butter according to package directions)
1 Red Delicious Apple, unpeeled & diced
3 celery stalks, chop'd

1) Mix together the Dijon mustard, honey, garlic powder & corriander... spread both sides of each pork chop with the mixture.  Press the rosemary into both sides of the pork chops & set aside.

2) Heat half of dressing and half of the maple syrup in a large non-stick skillet, on medium heat.  Add the chops and cook approx. 4 min on each side or until browned.  Add the remaining dressing & syrup for the second half of cooking.  Meanwhile....

3) Boil the water & butter according to dressing package.  Once boiling - add the diced apple & sliced celery into the boiling water & cook until celery slightly tender.  Finish the dressing according to package: Usually: add dressing mixture, cover & remove from heat.... then fluff with a fork. 

4) Right before chops are finished, top with green onions & bacon crumbles for a few minutes.  Place dressing on plate & top with the chops, with the onions & bacon on top. 

(This picture isn't the best... the colors all kind of run together and look very similar, however the smells and tastes make it all worth it!!)

*** It happened by chance, however a perfect drink to go with this meal is something my husband bought me so that I wouldn't keep drinking Mt. Dew.  He got me a "Fruit Punch Snapple".... I don't know if it was a special drink, new or old... but it was SOOOooooo good.  It tasted crisp and clean... and the pomegranate taste went so well with the sweet pork chops with the great woodsy rosemary smell!  Perfect combo!! ***

Pork Tenderloin with Apples & Onions along with Cranberry & Walnut Rice

We just had the most flavorful and pretty supper... and I can't wait to share it with you!!  I'm trying to venture out into new cooking methods and variations of ingredients that I've never tried and so far so good.  My 4 year old liked the "really good chicken", since meat is either 'burger' or chicken to him.  My 9 year old actually ate the rice and my baby went "nom nom nom" until daddy gave him half of his.  Overall - it was a huge success and would easily make this again, anytime!!   (And possibly bring the rice to the next family get-together-potluck.  They'll love it, too!!) 

Pork Tenderloin with Apples & Sweet Onion

3 pork tenderloins, trimmed, about 1 lb each and cut into large chunks
1 1/2 teaspoons ground fennel
Flour, for dredging
2 to 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons butter
2 medium onions, cut into thin wedges
3 or 4 medium Macintosh apples, peeled and chopped
4 fresh bay leaves
A few sprigs fresh sage, very thinly sliced
1/3 C Apple flavored vodka

2/3 C Brandy
1 cup chicken stock, seasoned with celery salt

I found the most beautiful Macintosh Apple at the Market today, I just had to 
take a picture of it.  See it here in the middle??  Oh yeah... 

1) Season the pork with fennel, salt, and pepper, and dredge in flour (do this after you cut them into large chunks). Heat a few tablespoons olive oil (or veg oil, it's cheaper) in a big pan or Dutch oven over med-high heat. Add the pork and brown the meat. Do this in 2 batches if your pot is too small.... or as I did, use two burners and two pots at the same time.  Remove the browned meat to a plate and set aside for now.

2) Add the butter to the same pan. Reduce the heat a bit and add the onions, apples, bay leaves, and sage. Season with S&P and cover the pan for about 12 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. (Notice: If you over stir, you'll end up mushing your apples... still tastes great, however, it's mushy.  Duh.  I mushed one pan and the other pan turned out perfect.  Go figure.) 

Remember to remove the Bay leaves before serving - these sweat off flavor while
cooking & heating, but are not meant to be eaten whole.  Ick.

Uncover the pot and raise the heat a bit. When the onions start to brown, add the 2 alcohols to the pot. Add the stock and put the pork back in.  Simmer to cook through a few minutes more. Serve from the hot pot.

....and now for the side, a full-of-flavor and beautifully festive dish: 

Cranberry & Walnut Rice

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup orzo

1 1/2 cups long-grain white rice

About 2 2/3 cups chicken stock

A generous handful dried, sweetened cranberries

1/3 cup walnut pieces, toasted

1 tsp Allspice
4 green onions, thinly sliced on an angle (would be great with this, however I forgot to put it on.  Eh.)

1) Brown the nuts a bit in a small pan - remember there's natural oils in nuts so no need to add any extra.  Once you smell the nuts, it's done.  If you wait to long, they'll burn & taste bitter.  Take the nuts out & set aside.

2)  In a medium sized pan - melt the butter.  Once it begins to foam, add the orzo & heat until lightly browned.  At this point, stir in the rice until evenly coated and mixed in.  Add in the stock (just shy of the normal 2-1 ratio for rice...) and add in the cranberries.  

3) Bring to a boil, reduce heat and then simmer.  Cover and cook until rice is tender & done, about 15-18 min.  Fluff the rice a bit, add in the walnuts & Allspice.  (Top with the green onions at the very end... the step that I completely forgot.)  

This holiday type rice is a perfect side to the tenderloin.  It's also such an easy rice recipe that even I didn't mess it up - - I can never seem to make rice 'just right' - but this turned out great!  I was also very afraid that the rice would be boring or bland - because although pretty, it tends to look somewhat 'boring'.... I assure it is not.  It is far from boring or bland - - you'll want to make it over and over and share it with loved ones!!  

Mmm Mmm Mmm!! 

Apple Cinnamon Pancakes w/Homemade Syrup

I tend to forget about breakfast.... and in my house it's easy to do because my kids love cereal & toast, and that's much easier.  However, when I do make breakfast, I tend to go all out.  I've been in an apple-cinnamon kick lately and found a recipe for homemade syrup that would go perfectly with apple pancakes.  I didn't get any pictures (long story, that doesn't end well for my husband.....) but whenever I make this again, I will definitely take some and share with ya'll!! 

Apple Cinnamon Pancakes w/Homemade Syrup

Pancakes:


1) Use your favorite pancake mix (I LOVE Aunt Jamima's Buttermilk Complete.  Just mix in water and you're good to go!)  - - Remember, I don't measure much, so I'll do my best with the 'directions'.  Put approx. 4 C of the mix in a bowl and use a mixer to mix in just enough water to thicken it up like cookie dough.... NOT pancake consistency yet! 

2) Peel & grate 2 Granny Smith apples.  Use the medium-ish sized side of the grater, so they are little slivers.  Grate directly into the pancake batter mixture and then fold in gently.  The juices from the apples will make up for any of the 'missing' water.  Once incorporated, add a little water at a time to make it the right consistency for your pancakes. 

3) Finish with the pancakes like you normally would - - large fryin pan, medium heat, bubble, flip... etc.

MEANWHILE:

Homemade Syrup:

1 C white sugar
1/2 C brown sugar
3 Tbsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp nutmeg
2 C apple cider mixture (I take a whole jug of apple juice - 2 quarts, I believe.  Add in a handful of Cinnamon Imperials candy, stir or shake gently.  Once it sits in the fridge for a bit the flavors mix well and it's the PERFECT juice to use for this syrup.  If you chose to just use apple juice - - add in 2 Tbsp ground cinnamon.)
1/4 C butter
2 Tbsp lemon juice

1) Mix sugars, cornstarch, nutmeg in a medium sized pan.  Pour in the apple & lemon juices and whisk together - heat on medium.  Cook & stir constantly until it thickens a bit and boils. 

2) Let boil for about 2 minutes, continue to stir.  Removed from heat and then stir in the butter until melted and well incorporated.  Once it sets for a little bit, it'll thicken even more. 

3) Generously pour over the apple pancakes you just made!  YUMMY!!

** I also made scrambled eggs with mozzarella cheese & green onion slivers and little sausage links.  This was a GREAT breakfast - - too bad 'someone' missed it.  Humph. **

ENJOY!!!