BBQ Ranch Salad

This is now my FAVORITE salad!!  It was SO delicious!!!  The whole crew loved it and can't wait for leftovers!!

Ingredients

·       leftover BBQ (such as bbq chicken, steak, or pork). We used this

·       1–2 heads romaine, clean and chopped/torn

·       2–3 ears corn on the cob

·       2 large tomatoes, diced

·       1 bell pepper, diced

·       1/2 red onion diced or sliced thin

·       1–2 avocados, diced or sliced

·       1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

·       1 package french fried onions (or make your own)

·       chopped cilantro, optional

·       Buttermilk Ranch Dressing

·       BBQ Sauce

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Instructions

Slice leftover BBQ meat, or grill up your choice of BBQ meat.

Corn:  If using leftovers, simply slice off the cob.  You can add it to the salad warm or cold!  If using un-cooked, cut off the cob and saute in a pan with a pat of butter for 4-5 minutes until golden.  You can also defrost fresh frozen corn from a bag.

For Dressing:  You may enjoy just our classic Buttermilk Ranch Dressing, as-is!  OR try my BBQ Ranch by placing 1 cup of ranch dressing in a bowl and whisking in your favorite BBQ sauce 1 tablespoon at a time, tasting as you go until you like it best. (Pro Tip:  This makes for a really great dipping sauce for fries, as well.)

Arrange greens in bowls.  Add BBQ meat and vegetables on top.  Sprinkle with french fried onions and top with dressing.

Buttermilk Ranch Dressing

This is DELICIOUS!!!  Ross said this should be used with everything!!

INGREDIENTS

1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1/8 teaspoon dried dill
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1 1/2 teaspoon dried chives
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/8 teaspoon dry mustard

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Instructions

1. Combine mayo and buttermilk in a bowl and whisk until smooth. Add all seasonings and whisk to combine. Add additional buttermilk if desired for consistency. (see note below) For best results, let chill for an hour or more for flavors to intensify. Store in a lidded container in the fridge.

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Notes

Note: Different mayonnaise brands produce different consistencies in this recipe. I have purposely kept the amount of buttermilk called for quite low to allow you to add more depending on the consistency. For me, about 2/3 cup buttermilk seems to be perfect, but that same amount is sometimes incredibly thick or incredibly thin for others. So just keep that in mind. Mix everything together and then add more buttermilk until it’s perfect for you.

Note: all spices and herbs listed below are dried. If substituting fresh, use the ratio 1 part dry = 3 parts fresh.

Apple Cider Smoked Pulled Pork

This was amazing!!  I love when I can find a recipe that lets Rossy use his smoker :)  We all inhaled this!!

Ingredients

·       7–9 lb bone-in pork butt/shoulder roast

RUB

·       4 tablespoons brown sugar

·       1 tablespoon garlic powder

·       1 tablespoon onion powder

·       1 tablespoon kosher salt

·       1/2 tablespoon pepper

·       1.5 tablespoons smoked paprika

·       2 teaspoons dry mustard

·       1 tablespoon coriander

·       1 tablespoon chili powder

SPRAY

·       1/2 cup apple cider

·       1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

BRAISING

·       2 cups apple cider

·       3–4 sweet, crisp red apples, peeled and sliced

·       2 onions, sliced

SAUCE

·       1 cup ketchup

·       1/2 cup apple jelly

·       1/4 cup apple cider

·       1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

·       1 teaspoon liquid smoke

·       1/2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

·       1 teaspoon chili powder

·       1/2 teaspoon onion powder

·       1 cup pan juices from roast (fat separated)

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Instructions

1.      Pat roast dry. Combine all rub ingredients and pat on all sides of roast, rubbing in well. Cover roast and let sit overnight in the fridge.

2.      When ready to cook, preheat smoker to 225 degrees and smoke roast directly on grill for 5 hours. While cooking, combine spray ingredients in a clean spray bottle and spritz roast all over once every hour.

3.      While roast is smoking, combine all sauce ingredients and whisk together in a pan. Set aside until pan juices are ready.

4.      After smoking, transfer your roast to either your slow cooker (if it will fit, remember you have more stuff going in there!) or a roasting pan, or disposable roasting pan (if you’ll continue cooking on the smoker.)

5.      Place apples, onions, and 2 cups apple cider around the roast in the roasting pan. Cover with lid, or tightly with foil. Cook in slow cooker on high for 6-7 hours (or low for more like 8-10 if you want/need to drag it out, overnight for example.) If you are cooking in the oven, set temperature to 275 degrees. In the smoker, you can increase temperature to 275 as well. Cook until internal temperature reaches 200-210 degrees, usually about 6-7 hours.

6.      Let pork rest, covered for at least 15 minutes (longer is just fine) before discarding bones, separating fat, etc.

7.      Pour pan juices into a fat separator. Pour 1 cup of juices into your BBQ sauce and bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 15 minutes until slightly thickened.

8.      Pour a little of the remaining juices over shredded pork. Use a slotted spoon to grab the onions and apples and mix them in with the pork. Serve alone or on rolls or over rice. Freezes great! Excellent on nachos, pizzas, and more.

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Notes

·       If you don’t have a smoker, you can cook the entire recipe in the oven. Simply discard the smoking step and instead rub the roast with the spices, sear in a pan, and then place directly in a roasting pan or slow cooker with cider, apples and onions and cook until internal temperature reaches 200-210. (I would plan on 8-10 hours) To add the smoky flavor, add 1 tablespoon liquid smoke with the cooking liquid.

·       You could also easily use a smaller, boneless pork shoulder roast, which cooks much faster, simply use as much of the rub as you need, you’ll have extra.

Baked Brie

Sweet and Salty - yes please!!!  This was delicious!!

Ingredients:

8-oz. wheel of baby Brie

1/2 package puff pastry (found this in the frozen dessert aisle), thawed for about 40 minutes at room temperatures

About 2-4 tablespoons jelly

blueberries

1 egg white mixed with about 2 teaspoons cold water

Preheat oven to 350.

Top brie with jelly and berries.

 Put the pastry untop of the brie and tuck under - wash with egg (that has been beaten) 

Put in oven for 30 minutes.

Crunchy Chickpeas

I needed a snack that felt like I was eating chips but was healthy :)  This was pretty good - only thing is B man ate them all before I could actually snack on them all week!!!

Ingredients

15oz can of Chickpeas - drain can and pat dry

1/4 cup of chopped onion - any color

2 Tbls of olive oil

3 cloves of garlic - pressed or minced

1/4 tsp of oregano

1/4 tsp of paprika

1/4 tsp of ground cumin

Dash of red pepper flakes

Dash of cinnamon

Preheat oven to 425

Mix chickpeas with oil and seasonings. Blend well.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread chickpeas out on top.

Bake for 20 minutes or until chickpeas are brown and crunchy.

Serve warm -- you can store for later as well, just put in a toaster oven to get a little heat back in them.

Shrimp Tacos

The boys are obsessed with shrimp so I made up some shrimp tacos tonight - why have I never thought to make these before, I don't know.  AMAZING :)

Ingredients:

Tortillas

Shrimp

Cayenne

Cumin

Chili powder

Salt

Avocado

Shredded cheese

Red onion

Cilantro

Tomato

Toss shrimp in spices and saute in pan till opaque.  Throw everything together and eat up!!  

Swedish Meatballs

Super random but I've been having a craving for swedish meatballs so figured why not make it from scratch.  This was great - Ross LOVED it.  "Add it to family fav hon!"

·       1 pound ground beef

·       1/4 cup panko bread crumbs

·       1 tablespoon parsley chopped

·       1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

·       1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

·       ¼ cup onion finely chopped

·       ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder

·       ⅛ teaspoon Pepper

·       ½ teaspoon salt

·       1 egg

·       1 tbsp. olive oil

·       5 tbsp. butter

·       3 tbsp. flour

·       2 cups beef broth

·       1 cup heavy cream

·       1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

·       1 tsp. Dijon mustard

·       salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1.    In a medium sized bowl combine ground beef, panko, parsley, allspice, nutmeg, onion, garlic powder, pepper, salt and egg. Mix until combined.

2.    Roll into 12 large meatballs or 20 small meatballs. In a large skillet heat olive oil and 1 Tablespoon butter. Add the meatballs and cook turning continuously until brown on each side and cooked throughout. Transfer to a plate and cover with foil.

3.    Add 4 Tablespoons butter and flour to skillet and whisk until it turns brown. Slowly stir in beef broth and heavy cream. Add worchestershire sauce and dijon mustard and bring to a simmer until sauce starts to thicken. Salt and pepper to taste.

4.    Add the meatballs back to the skillet and simmer for another 1-2 minutes. Serve over egg noodles or rice.

Spinach Berry Salad with Sweet Poppy Seed Dressing

Needed something festive for the 4th of July - so found this yummy salad and it was RED WHITE AND BLUE!!  It was so delicious and huge hit at the cabin!!

Ingredients

·       8 cups Baby Spinach Leaves

·       1 cup Strawberries sliced

·       6 ounces Blueberries

·       6 ounces Raspberries

·       4 ounces Feta Cheese

·       1/4 Red Onion thinly sliced (may use less)

·       1 cup Sliced or Slivered Almonds

Sweet Poppyseed Dressing:

·       1 cup Oil

·       1/3 cup Vinegar white, apple cider, or raspberry

·       1/2 cup Sugar

·       1 teaspoon Poppy Seeds

·       1 teaspoon Dried Mustard

·       1 teaspoon Salt

·       To make dressing: in a bowl or jar, add oil, vinegar, sugar, poppy seeds, dried mustard, and salt. Shake well. Refrigerate until ready to use.

·       Place spinach in a large salad bowl. Top with sliced strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, feta cheese, red onion, and almonds.

·       Drizzle with poppyseed dressing.

·       Serve immediately.

Fajita Pasta

This was delicious!!  We all just killed it!!

Ingredients

1 pound spinach fettuccine noodles

1 yellow bell pepper, sliced

1 red bell pepper sliced

1 green bell pepper, sliced

1 purple onion, sliced

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 jalapeño, chopped

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, chopped

1/4 cup fresh cilantro

2 cups chicken stock

1/3 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup parmesan cheese (optional)

Instructions

1. Add all of the ingredients (except for the heavy cream and parmesan. Cover, bring to a simmer and cook until the chicken has fully cooked through and the noodles have softened, about 25 minutes.
2. Stir in the cream and parmesan cheese and serve immediately.