Sunday, August 5, 2012

Texas Pulled Pork

I decided to try a different pulled pork recipe for the crock pot.  I found a recipe for Texas pulled pork and it turned out pretty well.

Here is what the recipes calls for :

1  (4-5 lb) pork shoulder
1 cup bbq sauce
1/2 cup apple cider
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 TBSP  prepared yellow mustard
1 TBSP worchestershire sauce
1 TBSP chili powder
1 large onion, chopped
1 1/2 tsp dried thyme

I threw in the chopped onion in the crock pot first.
 Put in the rest of the ingredients in the crock pot and stir it all together.
 I put the pork shoulder in with the fat layer face up.  It will easier to take the fat off after the pork cooks. 
 I let the pork cook for six hours on low and then turned it on high for the last two hours. After eight hours, I took the pork shoulder out and shredded the meat and discarded the fat from the pork.
There was a lot of liquid remaining in the crock pot.  After shredding the meat, I ladled all of the broth into a medium size pot and reduced the sauce.  Ten minutes later, the sauce reduced in size and was thicker.
 
I poured the rest of the sauce back into the crock pot with meat and kept it warm until it was time for dinner.
I paired the pulled pork with cole slaw and corn and it made for a great summer night dinner.

Friday, August 3, 2012

Babaganoush

So after making the Falafel baked Eggplant, I had roasted eggplant leftover and I thought hey I could try making some babaganoush.  I looked up the recipe and found that Babaganoush only contains a few ingredients making it super easy to make. 

Here is what you need:

Inside of 1 roasted eggplant
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 TBSP Tahini
2 TBSP fresh lemon juice


 I threw all of the ingredients into my blender (I don't have a food processor :( )  and blended it until all ingredients were pureed.  And that is it!   Makes for an awesome dip if you have some pita chips or veggies!
*I had leftover roasted eggplant but if you don't have any, all you need to do is cut an eggplant in half and put it in a preheated 450 degree oven and let roast until the insides are soft - about 15 -20 minutes.


Thursday, August 2, 2012

Falafel Stuffed Eggplant with Tahini Sauce and Tomato Relish

I love falafel but I actually have never tried making it so when I saw this recipe in Cooking Light I was intrigued and thought well it is as good of a time as any to try this.  I was not disappointed, this turned out great and makes for a healthy and filling meal.

Here is what you will need: This is what the original recipe called for.  A little * denotes that I didn't have this and I used a substitute.

For Tahini sauce:
3 TBSP warm water
2 TSBP Tahini
4 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp honey
1/2 tsp cumin
1 garlic clove minced

For Eggplant:

1 large eggplant *
Cooking spray
3/4 tsp kosher salt, divided*
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup fresh breadcrumbs *
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 TBSP tahini
2 tsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp freshly ground  blackpepper
1/4 tsp ground red pepper
2 large eggs
2 garlic gloves, minced
1 (15 oz) can no salt added chickpeas, rinsed and drained


For Relish:

1 cup chopped seeded tomato
1/2 cup chopped seeded peeled cucumber
1/2 cup vertically sliced red onion
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 TSBP fresh lemon juice
1 TBSP extra virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 475 degrees

To prepare eggplant, slice the eggplants in half lengthwise; score cut sides with a crosshatch pattern.

Place the eggplant halves, cut sides down, on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 475° for 7 minutes or until slightly tender and browned.
 Remove from oven; carefully scoop out pulp, leaving a 3/4-inch shell. Season cut sides with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Reserve pulp for another use. (Need an idea for what to do with the pulp...read my recipe for Babaganoush!)


   Combine remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, onion, and next 11 ingredients (through chickpeas) in a food processor; process until smooth. Spoon 1/2 cup chickpea mixture into each eggplant shell. Bake at 475° for 25 minutes or until eggplant halves are tender and chickpea mixture is lightly browned.
To prepare sauce, combine first 6 ingredients, stir with a whisk and set aside.


To prepare relish, combine the tomato and remaining ingredients in a bowl; stir to combine.
 Place 1 eggplant half on each of 4 plates. Top each half with 1/4 cup relish and 1 1/2 tablespoons sauce.
For a side I made some cheesy orzo with broccoli.  While cooking the orzo, I microwaved some broccoli.  After the orzo was done cooking, I added 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, TBSP of milk, and shredded cheese to the hot orzo and simmered it on the stove until it all melted together.   It made for a very yummy and cheesy side.
  * I didn't have kosher salt so I just used regular salt * For the sake of time, I used store bought breadcrumbs instead of making fresh bread crumbs,