BBQ Pulled Pork with Coffee Chipotle Rub

One of my favorite things to do when I travel to one of the southern states is to get BBQ. Naturally, its just better down there. Pulled pork is one of my favorites so when I see pork shoulder on sale at grocery store I dive for it. I grab one without hesitation and throw it in the fridge. Then i start looking for a recipe. I first look through all of our cooks books but dont see any that grab my attention, so I hop on the internet. I remember coming across a blog called the "homesick texan " and i assume there isn't a better place to look for something BBQ. My assumptions turned out correct...Texas pulled pork! It was just the recipe I was looking for; no fancy wood chips, slow cookers (if you're lacking one) or grills involved, Just long, slow, low temperature cooking in the oven. Cooking it in the oven gives the pork shoulder that nice, crisp, almost burnt looking, flavorful outside....thats real pulled pork in my opinion. Anyways...there are quite a bit of ingredients but it is well worth it!! I've made it twice in the past week!...its in high demand. Enjoy!

Coffee Chipotle Rub

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup black pepper

1/4 cup finely ground dark coffee (I used french roast)

1/4 cup paprika (preferably smoked) (I used regular though)

2 tbsp salt

1 tbsp chipotle powder (look in the mexican section)

2 tsp granulated garlic (1 tsp granulated garlic equals 1/2 tsp garlic powder)

2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp cumin

2 tsp allspice

Chipotle BBQ sauce

1 tsp canola oil

1/2 onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, mined

2 cups ketchup

1/4 cup mustard

1/4 cup molasses

1/2 cup cilantro

1/4 cup brewed coffee

2 canned chipotles , chopped

2 tsp worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup lime juice

salt and pepper to taste

~Heat oil in sauce pan on medium and cook onions for 10 minutes or until translucent. Add garlic and cook another minute. Add rest of ingredients, turn down heat to low and cook for half an hour, stirring occasionally. Transfer sauce to blender or food processor and puree till smooth.

Pork Shoulder (4lb pork shoulder)

~ Coat pork shoulder on all sides with rub. Wrap pork in plastic warp, put on tray and refrigerate for 8 hours. (It's ok if it is in the refrigerator longer...up to 24 hours. Pork will last in the fridge for 4-6 days). Take the pork our of fridge, unwrap, and let come to room temperature, about 30 minutes. (If there isn't time for this you can throw it in the oven right away, it just may have to cook for a bit longer). Preheat over to 250 degrees F. Place pork in a lightly oiled dutch oven or on a roasting pan. Cook, uncovered, fat side up for 8 hours (or 2 hours per pound. Remove pork from oven and let rest for 1 hour.

***Pork shoulder might appear burnt during cooking process...IT'S NOT

Cheesesteaks a la Ryan

Summertime is finally here. And when I say finally, I mean just today it arrived. Summertime means barbeque's for most people. I have to admit that I love barbeque's, however I don't love my barbecue. I got it from Target a few years ago for about $50. It's been put to good use since then, but it's pretty beat up and has lost a couple parts along the way. I want one of those nice ones in the store, you know, with the wheels, the propane tank...I don't ask for much haha. But my little barbecue will have to do.

So the 4th rolled around and what else would you do other than barbecue. But if anyone was in the northwest on the 4th they'll know that we were the lucky winners of a day of eternal misting...you know, that rain that isn't enough to keep you from going outside, but just enough to get you wet. Gotta love it. So I still thought that maybe my barbecue plan would be salvageable, but as the day went on I naturally came to my senses and knew that it was a designated "inside day".

Ryan came up with cheese steaks. They were really good...and if Ryan can make them by himself, it means anyone can do it...ha...ha.

1 lb. thinly sliced meat (for stir-frys, etc...)
sliced provolone cheese
thinly sliced green peppers
thinly sliced onions
salt and pepper
mayonnaise
jalapenos
hoagie buns


Fry the strips of meat in vegetable oil. Season with salt and pepper. Take out and set on plate. Add green peppers and onions with additional oil. Cook and add meat again. Season again with salt and pepper.

Once cooked...section off a portion of the meat to put on a bun. Place provolone cheese on top of meat and let warm until melted. Put a small amount of mayonnaise on both sides of bun. Without pulling bun apart, place the bun over the meat and scoop up the meat mixture and cheese. Add jalapenos on top and enjoy.

Yum they're really good. It made about 4 sandwiches.

Baked Oatmeal

It has been WAY too long since my past post and I officially have no excuse not to anymore. Spring break is here, exams are done (and have been for about a week) and i have plenty of time on my hands.

Every time I go out to breakfast I always judge just how good a place is based on their oatmeal. I'm can imagine this doesn't make much sense since oatmeal is just cooked oats right? There really is a difference though. I can say that the best oatmeal I've ever had was high spot cafe in Madrona. It's a pretty plain breakfast item, but it is one of my favorites. I was searching around for something exciting that had oatmeal in it and I came across this baked oatmeal. I'm not sure if you can count this as traditional oatmeal, but if so this has become my new favorite and I had to share it.

2 cups uncooked oats (not instant)

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1-2 tsp cinnamon depending on how much you like it (i liked the full 2)

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup raisins

2 tbsp dried cranberries

1 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 cups milk

1/2 cup applesauce

1 1/2 tbsp melted butter

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp vanilla

-Preheat oven to 350F

-Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl (this includes the brown sugar). Then mix the applesauce, egg, butter and vanilla in a separate bowl. Add the two mixtures and stir well to coat.

-Pour mix into a greased 8 inch square baking dish

-Bake for 20 minutes or until golden

-Serve when its still warm

*I found it was even better with a little warm milk poured over top with any extra added toppings. ENJOY!

-Mel

Reese's Peanut Butter Squares

It's almost Easter...St. Patrick's Day is over and the grocery stores have piled their aisles full of chocolate, chocolate, chocolate. My parents came to Seattle a few days ago to drop my brother off for a visit, and before they left they took me grocery shopping. What more can you ask for! But anyways, they told me to pick out some Easter candy since I wouldn't be home for the holiday and I was overwhelmed. They make EVERYTHING into some form of Easter candy now! They had Easter JellyBeans, Easter Mike & Ike's, Easter Reese's...i guess the traditional chocolate Easter bunny doesn't always cut it now. But nevertheless, my brother picked up the 6 pack of Reese's chocolate eggs. By far my fave. When I was still in elementary school I found a recipe to make Reese's peanut butter squares. They taste exactly the same so if you ever have want to make them i'll give you the recipe.

Spring Break has yet to officially begin, but I've been done my exams since Monday. Last weekend we went to the Seattle Dog Show. I probably enjoyed myself way more than I should have haha. So many dogs to see, I'm never going to pass up a dog show again! My brother came up on Tuesday morning and left Wednesday night so I made sure to fill up the 36 hour period with as much as I could. We went to see the Matt Damon movie, Green Zone. I enjoyed it, wasn't sure what to expect but once I left the theatre I knew I liked it. Went to the Space Needle on Wednesday morning...BEFORE the sun came out! I have bad luck. It was still nice, but it would have been nice to see Mt. Rainier and the Olympics. Then we took a walk past the Fremont Troll, down to GasWorks and then went for lunch at Aqua Verde. It was fun...gotta get him to come back and visit!

Here's the Reese's recipe...

Reese's Peanut Butter Squares

3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1 1/2 cups peanut butter

1 cup butter

12-oz. chocolate chips (milk chocolate)

Combine crumbs, sugar and peanut butter. Mix well. Blend in butter until well combined. Press into 9 x 13 pan. Melt chips in double boiler and spread over peanut butter mixture. Refrigerate until firm. Cut into squares with a warm knife (put it into warm water before you cut with it).

-Anita

Mel's Granola

It's been way too long. Here's a quick recipe that Mel made up last year and I kind of put together on my own after making it a few times. It's good, healthy, and you can make it with whatever you want. Definitely worth a try...

Mel's Granola

• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1/4-1/2 cup sweetened coconut
• 1/4 cup oat bran
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil (*or applesauce)
• 1/4 cup liquid honey or maple syrup
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• nuts (sliced almonds/chopped walnuts/hazelnuts...)
• 1/4 cup crisp rice cereal
• dried fruit (apricots, raisins, yogurt raisins...)
• chopped chocolate chips

-Heat oven to 350 F. Line baking sheet w/ tin foil or parchment paper.

-In a large bowl toss oats, coconut, oat bran, salt and cinnamon.

-In a medium bowl stir oil/applesauce, honey, brown sugar and vanilla.

-Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients (*use your hands to mix, making fists to clump the ingredients together)

-spread evenly on sheet and bake for 10 min.

-remove from oven and flip with spatula. Sprinkle with sliced almonds. Return to the oven and bake for an additional 5 min.

-Remove from oven, flip and sprinkle with walnuts, hazelnuts and return to oven.

-Bake an additional 5 min and remove.

-Sprinkle w/ dried fruit, crushed cereal and or chocolate chips. Flip and mix them into granola.

-Let cool completely and transfer to an airtight container.

-Anita

Pineapple Delight

This has been a long time coming...my apologies. New Years Resolution: be a better blogger.

School just started yesterday after what felt like an extremely short Christmas break. Nonetheless, I made the most of it and had alot of fun. On Dec. 16th, Ryan and I went to the Radio City Rockettes down at the Paramount. There was alot of talk about the show throughout December, so we decided it would be worth our time to check it out. The Rockettes were awesome, especially during their "Parade of Wooden Soldiers". In between the Rockettes performances, we saw dancing teddy bears and singing Santa's...both of which were kind of strange, but still entertaining. All in all, it was a really fun night and I'm glad we went. Next on my list...The Nutcracker! I'm not sure if I would like it, but I've always wanted to see it since I've been in Seattle.

I went home on the 20th and got to relax a couple days before the big preparation. My mom decided at the beginning of the month that she was going to have 30...yes 30 people over for Christmas dinner. To be quite honest, we were all a little nervous, even my mother. But thank goodness she is one of the most prepared and organized people I know, so I had confidence that she would pull it off with a little help. First on the list, find a bird that can feed a crowd that size. I don't know where, but my parents managed to land a 35 pound turkey! They even needed to buy a new pan to cook it in. The bird defrosted in the bathtub about a day and a half before the big day. My mom made all the desserts a couple days before and put them in the freezer, baking the pies the day before the dinner. One of the many highlights of my mom's dinner was one of her desserts called Pineapple Delight. I'll leave the recipe below, but it's great and easy and should definitely be tried.

The dinner ended up being alot of fun! Here's what the set-up looked like after everyone had sat down...minimal elbow room, but no one seemed to mind.

Hope everyone had a great Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Pineapple Delight

Crust: 2 cups graham wafer crumbs

1/2 cup melted butter

4 tbsp sugar

dash of cinnamon

Combine all of the ingredients and press into a 9 x 13 ungreased pan. Bake 10 min @ 350 F. Cool completely.

Second Layer: 1/2 cup firm butter

1 1/4 cup icing sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

Cream butter and sugar; add eggs and vanilla. Beat until fluffy. Spread on crumbs. Refrigerate while making next topping.

Third Layer: 1/2 pint whipping cream

1- 14oz. can drained crushed pineapple

1/4 cup sugar

Whip cream and sugar; fold in pineapple. Spread over cake. Freeze.

-Anita

oops i forgot, after you bake it for 25 minutes, put the topping on and bake another 20 minutes