Shrimp Scampi

This always reminds me of my Dad and the boys actually picked this for dinner tonight so they made it all themselves :)  Turned out yummy!!

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• ½ cup dry white wine or broth
• ¾ teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
• ⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste
•  Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 ¾ pounds large or extra-large shrimp, shelled
• ⅓ cup chopped parsley
•  Freshly squeezed juice of half a lemon
•  Cooked pasta or crusty bread    

• PREPARATION

  1. In a large skillet, melt butter with olive oil. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add wine or broth, salt, red pepper flakes and plenty of black pepper and bring to a simmer. Let wine reduce by half, about 2 minutes.
  2. Add shrimp and sauté until they just turn pink, 2 to 4 minutes depending upon their size. Stir in the parsley and lemon juice and serve over pasta or accompanied by crusty bread.

Italian Sausage Flatbread Pizza

 This was delicious and quick to make!!!  The boys weren't huge fans so made them a pepperoni/sausage pizza!!

Ingredients

2 large Naan loaves (like 1 8.8 ounce package of Stonefire Naan)
1/4 cup pesto (I like the fresh stuff that you get in the deli section of the grocery store rather than the shelf-stable pesto in jars; you can also make your own!) mixed with 2–3 tablespoons of water (enough to get a nice drizzling consistency)
1/2 pound Italian sausage, crumbled and cooked
1 small zucchini, halved and thinly sliced
8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
About 1/2 cup pizza sauce (we love this recipe!)
Ricotta cheese to taste (about 1/4-1/3 cup will probably do)

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Instructions

Preheat oven to 450 F. Line a baking sheet with foil, place flatbreads on the sheet, and set aside.

If you haven’t cooked your sausage yet, crumble it into the pan and cook completely. When the sausage is done cooking, remove the sausage from the pan, but leave about 2 tablespoons of the drippings in the pan. Cook the zucchini over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, just enough for it to soften. Remove from pan and drain on a paper towel and season lightly with salt and pepper.

While the sausage is cooking, spread pizza sauce on the flatbreads. Top with the sausage, zucchini, and shredded mozzarella. Bake in preheated oven for 5-6 minutes or until the cheese is melted but not burned.

Remove the pan from oven. Add a few dollops of ricotta cheese evenly distributed over the pizzas. Drizzle with pesto. Cut into pieces and serve immediately.

Creamy Chicken and Bacon Pastry Pockets

We had some time at the cabin to make a new recipe and this was DELICIOUS!!!  Reminded us a little of Chicken in Crescent Roll - I will make this again for sure!!!

Ingredients

·       1 box puff pastry (2 sheets)

·       1 8oz container Philadelphia Chive and Onion flavor Cream Cheese

·       1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

·       1 1/2 cup cooked shredded chicken breast

·       1/3 cup cooked crumbled bacon

·       3 tablespoons finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes

·       1 egg

·       1 tablespoon water

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Instructions

1.    Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2.    Warm cream cheese in the microwave for 20-30 seconds to soften. Place in a mixing bowl with mozzarella cheese, chicken, bacon, and sun-dried tomatoes. Stir to combine and set aside.

3.    Defrost puff pastry sheets according to package directions. Lightly dust a work surface with flour and roll one sheet at a time into a 12 x 12 inch square. Cut 4, 3 inch strips each direction to make 16 squares, 3 x 3″ each.

4.    Place about 2 teaspoons of cream cheese mixture onto each square. With your finger, brush a dab of water around the edges of each square and fold over diagonally to make a triangle. Press edges together and crimp with a fork to seal.

5.    After stuffing and folding each pastry, place on a baking sheet. Whisk egg and 1 tablespoon water together and brush over the top of each pastry. Bake in preheated oven for 12-15 minutes or until puffed and golden brown. Cool 10 minutes before serving. Can also be served at room temperature.

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Notes

FREEZER INSTRUCTIONS

·       Follow directions through egg wash. Place baking sheet in the freezer. When pastries are solid to the touch, transfer to an airtight container and store in the freezer. When ready to bake, place frozen pastries directly on a baking sheet in preheated 400 degree oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until puffed and golden.

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.