Braised Pork Ragu with Roasted Garlic Gnocchi

Every week I make 1 or 2 new recipes I have found from Pinterest, TV or online.  This week I made braised pork ragu with roasted garlic gnocchi.  YUM!  This is a recipe I will make for guests!  I hope your family will like it as much as I did.

2 lbs pork shoulder

2 red onions, peeled and roughly chopped

1 can diced tomatoes

1 tbsp tomato paste

4 garlic cloves, peeled, left whole

2 tbsp NoMU All Purpose rub or roasting spice of your choice

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp smoked paprika

2 tbsp sugar

salt and pepper to taste

for the gnocchi

1 garlic head, roasted

2 lbs baking potatoes

2 egg yolks

1-1.5 cups flour

salt to taste

1. To make the pork ragu, pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees
2. Place the pork, onions, tinned tomatoes, tomato paste, garlic, soy sauce, spices, sugar and salt & pepper into a roasting dish with a lid. Add a can of water (use the tomato can) and cover.
3. Place in the oven and allow to roast for 3-4 hours until the meat is tender and pulls apart easily.
4. In the meantime, make the gnocchi.
5. Place the potatoes on a baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes – 1 hour until a skewer is easily inserted.
6. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.
7. Halve the potatoes and scoop the flesh into a bowl.
8. Squeeze the roasted garlic out of the skin and place into the bowl with the potatoes. Using a potato masher/fork, mash until there are no lumps.
9. Add the egg yolks and mix well.
10. Add the flour, 1/2 cup at a time and mix in gently, you don’t want to over-work the dough. I only needed 1.5 cups of flour for my gnocchi but some mixtures might need a bit more. It’s best to make sure your potatoes are quite dry before adding the flour though as the more flour you add, the tougher your gnocchi will be.
11. When you’ve added enough flour to result in a soft dough, break tennis ball sized pieces off of the dough and roll into long strips on a floured surface. cut the strip into 1cm (0.39 inches) gnocchis and place on a floured tray until you are ready to cook them. If you like, you can also use a fork to make indents in the gnocchi which create little spaces to suck up more of the ragu sauce.
12. When the pork is cooked and soft, remove from the oven. Turn the heat up to 425 degrees. Shred the pork with two forks and place back in the sauce. Adjust the seasoning of the sauce if needed. Place the ragu back in the oven and allow to continue cooking until you’re ready to serve it with the gnocchi.
13. To cook the gnocchi, bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and drop the gnocchi in carefully. When they float to the surface they are ready. Remove them with a slotted spoon and place straight into the ragu.

Banana Coconut Upside Down Cake

This recipe makes two cakes.  I had to leave out the coconut on one because my children HATE coconut.  I think next I will add some crushed pineapple too.  Piña colada cake yum!

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray 2 (8 inch) round cake pans with cooking spray.
2. With an electric mixer, beat cake mix, eggs, oil, water, and sour cream on low until combined. Beat on high for 2 minutes.
3. Place banana slices evenly on the bottom of the two cake pans.
4. In a small saucepan melt butter. Add brown sugar and lemon juice and heat until dissolved. Pour half of the brown sugar mixture into each of the 2 round cake pans over the bananas. Sprinkle coconut over brown sugar sauce.  Divide cake between cake pans and bak 35 to 40 min or until the toothpick comes out clean.

Crock Pot Lemon & Artichoke Chicken

This one I just threw together based on a few recipes I've used in the past.  It turned out great!  You could serve this I've noodles or rice.  I served it with steamed broccoli and breadsticks.

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (mine were frozen)
1 package Italian salad dressing mix
2 tbsp. butter
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 can artichoke hearts
2 tbsp capers

Place butter in the bottom of crockpot.  Place chicken breasts over the butter.  Pour in lemon juice and then sprinkle Italian dressing mix over chicken.  Cook for 3 hours on low.  Then add artichokes and capers.  Cook another 2 to 3 hours on low.

***you can most likely add the artichokes and capers at beginning if you like I was worried that it would over cook them.

Oven roasted brussel sprouts

I love brussel sprouts!  They have gotten a bad wrap over the years.  Cooked correctly these are a great tasty side dish.

1 1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts
3 tablespoons good olive oil
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Cut off the brown ends of the Brussels sprouts and pull off any yellow outer leaves. Mix them in a bowl with the olive oil, salt and pepper. Pour them on a sheet pan and roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. Shake the pan from time to time to brown the sprouts evenly. Sprinkle with more kosher salt ( I like these salty like French fries), and serve immediately.

Chicken wings 3 ways

My family loves chicken wings BUT not one of my kids like the same sauce!  Ugh!  Can you say short order cook or mucho expensive if we order out.  So I discovered an easy way to please everyone.  I bake my wings in the oven until crispy and you store bought sauces for all there tastes.  Except the hot wings that one I can't share it could make me millions someday.  Yeah right!

1 bag frozen wings
1 bottle if wing sauce
1 bottle BBQ sauce
1 bottle teriyaki sauce

Bake your wings on a silicone cooking may or on foil for easy clean up.  Bake at 400 degrees for 40 min or until crisp.

Remove from pan and toss in a bowl with sauce.

See easy!

Cheeseburger Egg Rolls

These were fun!!  Tonight we had an appetizer and movie night.  So much fun!  I love egg rolls my kids however do not.  So I saw this recipe on Pinterest and gave it a try.  My kids thought it was so tasty and fun.

1 lbs ground beef
1 bag cheddar cheese
1/2 can hormel bacon bits in the jar
Worcestershire sauce
Garlic salt
Egg roll wrappers

Sauté ground beef until done.  Drain.  Add a few dashes of worshestershire sauce and a pinch of garlic salt.  Stir in bacon bits.

Lay wrapper with one corner facing you.  Place some ground beef mixture down center of the wrapper and top with cheese.  Wet edges of wrapper with water and begin to roll by taking the corner that is pointing towards you and tuck it under meat.  Roll forward tucking in each side.

Fry in vegetable oil until crisp.  Keep warm in the oven on 200 degrees until all egg rolls are done.  Serve with ketchup, mustard, mayo for dipping.

Mozzarella & Potato Bake

This was a really good side dish.  It was a nice twist on mashed potatoes.  I served it with a grilled flat iron steak and roasted Brussel sprouts.

2 pound potatoes
1/2 pound fresh mozzarella balls
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
3 tomatoes
1 oz butter
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
pepper & salt to taste

Peel and boil the potatoes in salted water for 25 minutes, until completely tender and mash them. 

Add 1 tbsp of butter and 1/4 cup warm milk and mash into potatoes.  The mashed potatoes will stay thick and firm, but that’s okay.  Season with salt and pepper liberally.

Place into a small casserole dish.  Top with half of the sliced mozzarella, sprinkle with basil, then tomatoes and then the remaining mozzarella.  Bake in a 400 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.

Grilled Pizza

Grilling season is about here. I love grilled pizzas we do this a lot on weekends with friends.  I grill a few pizzas and some chicken wings while we sit around enjoying the sun.  These are easy to do.  I will get a premade pizza dough from a local pizzaria.

Chicken Alfredo pizza
Store bought pizza dough
1 jar garlic Alfredo sauce
1 grilled chicken breast sliced thinly
Shredded mozzarella
Olive oil
Parmesan cheese

Brush pizza dough with olive oil and place on grill.  In 2-3 minutes flip pizza dough.  Top with Alfredo sauce, sliced chicken, mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.  Quickly close the lid to melt cheese.  When cheese is melted remove from grill and let set a few minutes for cheese to set up, then slice.


Margarita pizza
Store bought pizza dough
Olive oil
Sliced and seeded Roma tomato
1 ball mozzarella cheese, sliced
Basil, chopped

Brush pizza dough with olive oil and place on grill.  In 2-3 minutes flip pizza dough.  Brush with a little more olive oil and top with cheese and tomato.  Close lid to melt cheese.  When cheese is melted remove from grill and let set a few minutes for cheese to set up, sprinkle with basil then slice.

Homemade White Castle Cheeseburgers

All my life I have loved White Castle cheeseburgers or belly bombers as some so affectionately call them.  This recipe is the closet I have ever found to making homemade "whiteys".  Follow the directions and you will find these are a close second when no White Castle is around.  This recipe was floating around Facebook awhile back.

• 1 1/2 pounds hamburger
• 1 package Lipton onion soup mix
• 1 tablespoon peanut butter (yes, peanut butter.. trust me)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• Sara Lee Classic Dinner Rolls (or the really soft small-sized dinner rolls from the bakery), sliced in half
• Cheese slices(you can use Kraft Singles or sliced Velveeta cheese.. we used Velveeta)

Instructions

• In a large bowl mix the hamburger, Lipton onion soup mix, peanut butter, and milk. Spread the meat mixture on a cookie sheet. Use a rolling pin to roll over the meat to smooth it out.
• Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. The meat will shrink. Take it out of the oven and put the diced onions all around the edges, this will give the meat a great flavor.
• Bake for 15 more minutes, remove from oven, then spoon the onions from the edges all over the top of the meat and layer with cheese slices.
• Bake another 7-10 minutes (until cheese is melted). Then add the tops of your rolls (the bottom part of the rolls will just sit on the counter) and place back in the oven for about 5 more minutes.
• Take it out of the oven. Slice the meat with a pizza cutter and pick up the slider/top bun with a spatula and set it on the bottom bun.

Snickers Apple Pie

This pie was super easy and very delicious.  My son and his girlfriend came over for dinner tonight and  whole family devoured it.  No left overs this time!  Ugh!  The hardest part was opening all the darn candy bars!

Ingredients

• 1 pie crust
• 3 green apples diced
• 1/4 cup caramel ice cream topping
• 15-20 mini snickers chopped
• 2 1/2 cup COOL WHIP whipped topping softened
• 1/3 cup can sweetened condensed milk

Instructions

1. Spread snickers on bottom of pie crust. Next layer the apples next. Then drizzle caramel on top.
2. Combine cool whip and sweetened condensed milk together in a small bowl and spread on top.  Note...don't over mix or your pie will be runny.
3. Drizzle with caramel and a few snickers. Place in refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Take out about 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
4. **notes: this pie is best on the first day! if you want to keep the apples from browning, you can put a little lemon juice on them.

Orange Chicken Stir Fry

This was quick and easy and I had almost all the ingredients on hand.  I had a taste for Chinese today and orange chicken is my daughters favorite.  Hope she likes it!

• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon orange zest
• 2 large cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon minced ginger
• optional sweetener like sugar, honey, agave, etc.

Stir-fry:

• 1 pound chicken tender cut into cubes
• salt and pepper
• 3 tablespoons corn starch
• 4 cups chopped vegetables such as broccoli, carrots, celery, mushroom, snap peas, etc.
• olive oil
• 1/2 cup medium yellow onion, chopped

Instructions

• Blend all the ingredients for the sauce in a blender or food processor for 10 seconds.
• Taste the sauce and add your choice of sweetener to your liking.
• Blend again for a few more seconds.
• Heat the sauce in a large skillet on medium-high heat for 5 minutes. Carefully transfer the sauce to a heat proof bowl.
• Rinse the skillet clean.
• Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
• Add the corn starch and massage the chicken with your hands.
• If using fresh broccoli or green beans, boil the broccoli for 3-5 minutes until soft enough to pierce with a fork yet firm.
• Transfer the vegetables to a plate lined with a paper towel.
• Wipe down the skillet until dry.
• Heat approximately 1 tablespoon of oil in the skillet on medium-high heat.
• Cook the onion and chicken until the chicken is cooked through, approximately 3-4 minutes.
• Add the remaining vegetables and stir-fry them together for 2 minutes.
• Slowly add a few tablespoons of sauce while stirring the vegetables and chicken.
• Continue to add the sauce a few tablespoons at a time, allowing about 15 seconds between each addition to allow sauce to slightly cook down.
• Spoon the stir-fry over a bowl of hot rice. Serve immediately.

Mini Nutella Cookie Cups

If you love Nutella as much as I do you will adore this quick and easy recipe!  I take these to pot lucks all the time and they are a big hit.  There is only one problem I have with these cookies and its  the fact they never last more than a day or two at my house!  Another tip is use a roll of store bought peanut butter cookie dough when your in a hurry.

Mini Nutella Cookie Cups

1 cup butter (softened)

1 cup white sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Jar of Nutella(12 tablespoons per batch)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease your mini muffin tin.

Cream butter and both sugar in bowl until light, smooth and fluffy! Beat in eggs and vanilla until fully incorporated. Gradually add dry ingredients  until all the flour is mixed in!

Roll dough into balls 1.5 inches thick.

Pop them in the mini muffin tin and bake for 10-12 minutes, until golden brown but not too dark around the edges.

When done, remove from oven and let sit for about 2 minutes. Then make wells for the nutella with a shot glass, a similar object or a spoon. Add 1 tbsp Nutella to each cup – it will start to melt quickly so you can swirl it around and make it nice and smooth.

Let cool 15-20 minutes in tin. Remove from tin and place on serving dish.  

White Chicken Enchiladas

I found this recipe last year on Pinterest.  They are really easy and taste great!  I use left over chicken or buy rotisserie chicken if I'm short on time.  I only made half of the recipe for this picture because it was just hubby and I eating tonight.

White Chicken Enchiladas

10 soft taco shells

2 cups cooked, shredded chicken

2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

3 Tbsp. butter

3 Tbsp. flour

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup light sour cream

1 (4 oz) can diced green chillies

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9x13 pan

2. Mix chicken and 1 cup cheese.  Roll up in tortillas and place in pan.

3. In a sauce pan, melt butter, stir in flour and cook 1 minute.  Add broth and whisk until smooth.  Heat over medium heat until thick and bubbly.  

4. Stir in sour cream and chilies.  Do not bring to boil, you don't want curdled sour cream.

5. Pour over enchiladas and top with remaining cheese.

6. Bake 22 min and then under high broil for 3 min to brown the cheese.

Oven Baked Meatball Sandwiches

I tend to make a double batch of meatballs and sauce when I'm making spaghetti and either freeze the second batch for this recipe or make this the next night.  It's quick, easy and delicious.  You can throw your frozen meatballs and sauce right into the slow cooker and when you get home put together your sandwiches.

Oven Baked Meatball subs

1 lb ground beef
1/2 lb ground pork
2 slices bread
1/4 cup milk
1 egg
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp.  oregano or Italian seasoning
Hot dog, hoagie or mini hoagie rolls
Provolone or mozzerella cheese
1 heaping tbsp chili powder
1 jar of your favorite pasta sauce

Beat egg in large bowl, add milk and torn bread slices.  Combine ground meats and spices (except chili powder)with egg mixture.  Add salt n pepper to taste.

Cover a baking sheet with foil.  Form meatballs by hand or using medium size cookie scoop.  Bake meatballs for 20 minutes.

In saucepan pour in sauce and add chili powder.  Once sauce is warm add meatballs.  Cook about 10 min.

Split rolls and add enough meatballs to fill roll and top with slice of cheese.  Bake 10 to 15 min on 350 degrees.  Use remaining sauce to dip.

Tres Leches Cake

This is my favorite dessert.  I always save a little of the "3 milk sauce" to serve warm over the cake then top with whip cream.  Most if the time I make the cake from scratch but recently I have found its just as good with a box cake mix.

Tres Leches Cake

1 yellow cake or white mix (with pudding) baked as directed in 13 by 9-inch pan
For topping mixture:
1 can evaporated milk
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 can cream of coconut

To finish:
Serve with whip cream

Poke holes in the cake with a fork all over. Pour topping mixture over cake. Let mixture absorb completely in refrigerator.
Cover with whipped cream or cool whip.