Pioneer Woman's Spicy Shredded Pork

 

Another family favorite from Pioneer Woman. So far we're batting 1000. Even the picky girls get excited when the hear we're having one of Ree's recipes for dinner. This one is simple: rub a spicy paste over the pork and roast for several hours in the oven. We prefer things slow-cooked in the oven but I'm sure this recipe would be equally delicious in a crock pot. The kids preferred to eat their pork plain, with a fork. I rolled mine into a tortilla. Added a touch of chipotle salsa, shredded cheese and some homemade guacamole. Yum!

Spicy Shredded Pork
Recipe from The Pioneer Woman

4 pounds (up To 7 Pounds) Pork Shoulder
1 teaspoon Dried Oregano
1 teaspoon Ground Cumin
1 teaspoon Chili Powder
1 Tablespoon (to 2 Tablespoons) Salt
Pepper To Taste
3 cloves (to 4 Cloves) Garlic
1 Tablespoon (to 2 Tablespoons) Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons (to 3 Tablespoons) White Wine Vinegar
¼ cups Brown Sugar
1 whole Onion
Lime Wedges

Rinse and pat dry the pork shoulder.

To begin, just throw the dried oregano, cumin, chili powder, salt, black pepper, garlic, olive oil, white wine vinegar and brown sugar into a food processor or blender. (I happen to love brown sugar in my cooking, but you can decrease or omit it if you like.)

Cut one onion into quarters and put it in the food processor with the spices. Blend mixture until totally combined and then pour it over the pork shoulder.

Now rub it into every nook and cranny of the meat, tucking it under folds an in crevices. Let no stone go unturned.

Then place the pork into a roasting pan or Dutch oven and add a couple of cups of water. Cover tightly and roast pork at 300º for several hours, turning once every hour.

When it is fork tender, crank up the heat, remove the lid, and roast it, skin side up for another 15 to 20 minutes to get the skin crispy. When it’s done, let it rest for 15 minutes before shredding.

Shred the pork shoulder (two forks work well). When it’s all shredded be sure to pour the juices all over the meat.

Serve with warm tortillas, lime wedges, sour cream, pico de gallo, guacamole, tomatillo salsa … whatever makes your skirt fly up!

Pasta with Bacon and Mushrooms

Need a good recipe? Head over to The Pioneer Woman's blog. Every single recipe I've tried from Ree's blog or her cookbook has been wonderful. I'm not one to buy cookbooks anymore. I have more recipes bookmarked on my computer than I could ever make in my lifetime. But when I saw that The Pioneer Woman had a cookbook, I ran right out to Books-a-Million and picked it up. For full price. (If you know me, that's a big deal. I never pay full price for anything!) It was sooo worth it. Beautiful pictures. Step-by-step instructions. Delicious food. What more do you want?

This recipe for Pasta with Bacon and Mushrooms was easy to throw together. In fact, it uses ingredients I keep on hand all the time. I didn't have a chance to stop at the store to pick up ingredients for my planned meal so I fixed this instead. Pasta in a creamy sauce with mushrooms (I used Baby Bellas) and bacon. Bacon makes everything taste better! Even the picky girls liked it. This is definitely my new go-to recipes.

I found this recipe through Joy in Cooking. Lisa tweaked the recipe a bit by adding some chicken cubes and spinach. (Love that idea!) I was feeding the picky girls so I didn't add the spinach (but I definitely will next time. Just didn't want tit to look to scary the first time. LOL!) I did add the chicken and it added a little heft to the meal. The girls got a little extra protein and dh was satisfied as well. Win-win.

Pasta with Mushrooms and Bacon
Recipe courtesy of The Pioneer Woman

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
3 slices Thin Bacon, Cut Into 1/2-inch Pieces
3 cloves Garlic, Minced
1 package (10 Ounce) White Button Mushrooms, Sliced Thin
1 cup Low Sodium Chicken Broth (OR Dry White Wine)
1 cup Half-and-half
¼ cups Heavy Whipping Cream
3 whole Green Onions, White And Light Green Parts Sliced
¼ cups Flat-leaf Parsley, Minced
½ cups Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
Salt To Taste
Freshly Ground Black Pepper, To Taste
1 pound Thin Spaghetti Or Angel Hair Pasta
Extra Parmesan, For Sprinkling

Preparation Instructions

Cook pasta according to package directions.
In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add bacon pieces and cook until light brown but not crisp. Remove bacon from pan and set aside. Do not clean pan.
Add mushrooms and garlic to pan. Toss/stir around and cook over medium-high heat for 5 minutes; increase heat to high if needed to help mushrooms begin to turn golden brown.
Pour in chicken broth. Stir, scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen any bits. Cook over medium-high heat for several minutes, or until the liquid is reduced by half.
Reduce heat and pour in half and half and cream. Stir and allow to bubble and thicken for a couple of minutes. Add sliced green onions and parsley, then cook for one more minute. Finally, add Parmesan and stir, allowing cheese to melt and incorporate into the sauce. Turn off heat.
Add cooked pasta to a large bowl. Add half the sauce from the pan. Toss with tongs. ***Add 1/2 cup hot pasta water at this point if the pasta mixture is too thick and gunky. Toss and add more water until it reaches the consistency you need.***
Serve pasta in individual bowls, topping each helping with the rest of the sauce. Sprinkle with extra parsley and extra Parmesan.
Enjoy!

Ten in 2010: Week Seven and the Best Recipe Ever!

 

Time for another Ten in 2010 update: I just can't seem to juggle things these days and keep all the balls in the air. This week I ran five times, on target with my half marathon training plan. I even worked with the weights twice. I drank lots of water. I went to bed early (okay, early-ish). But cooking and blogging. Definitely dropped the ball. In my defense we were super busy this week. The kids had three basketball games and two out-of-town wrestling meets in addition to the regular practices, Media Club and 4-H meetings. Time was definitely a factor. We ended up eating out a lot more than I'd have liked. Pizza Hut twice and Burger King once. The seasons are thankfully winding down and we won't be so slammed next week. My goal? No eating out. Actually cooking and blogging about it. We'll see how that goes! ;-) Stop by Recipe Girl's blog to see how everyone else is doing!

This week I did find the best recipe I think I've made in recent memory. Drip Beef. It's so good that I think I could make it every week (or more often!) and no one would complain. In fact, they've already been requesting it. 

The Pioneer Woman is my hero. I love her blog. I love her photographs ... and now I also love her cookbook! I made her drip beef the other day thinking that that dinner would be ready when we got home from the game. Dinner was ready. And it was delicious! Hubby is still raving about it and he had to eat it like three days in a row. The nephew gave it a thumbs up too. Definitely a recipe that we'll be making over and over. Simple ingredients. Quick prep. Amazing taste. And my contribution the the Saturday Blog Showcase hosted by Thibault's Table and All That Splatters. To see what everyone else made, head over to All That Splatters. And while you're there be sure to check out Lori's beautiful Blueberry Squares. They look amazing. (Check back soon and I'll let you know how they taste. I'm getting ready to make them right now!)

Basic Drip Beef
Recipe courtesy of The Pioneer Woman Cooks!

1 whole 2.5 To 4 Pound Chuck Roast
¼ cups Butter
1 whole Large Onion, Sliced Thick
3 cloves Garlic, Peeled
½ cups Soy Sauce
1 cup Sherry (cooking Sherry Is Fine)
½ teaspoons Salt
4 cups Water
Toasted, Buttered Deli Rolls
OPTIONAL: Rosemary, Thyme, Other Spices

Heat butter in a heavy pot over medium-high heat. Saute the onions for a couple of minutes, or until starting to get brown.

Set chuck roast on top of the onions. Add all remaining ingredients. Cover pot and simmer (very low heat) on the stove for 6 hours, or until beef is fork-tender and falling apart. **If meat is not yet tender, return to oven for 30 minute intervals till it’s tender!** Shred meat with two forks until all large chunks are gone. Serve immediately or continue to simmer for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

*Mixture can be refrigerated overnight. Remove hardened fat from top of pan before reheating.
Serve on top of toasted, buttered deli rolls. Top with cheese and place under the broiler if desired.

Crash Hot Potatoes

It's easy to forget that simple is usually the best but this recipe will remind you. Crash Hot Potatoes, from The Pioneer Woman Cooks, is simplicity at it's finest. Find some potatoes. Boil them. Flatten them. Sprinkle with olive oil, salt and freshly ground pepper and any herbs you'd like and bake. 450 degrees. Twenty minutes. Seriously, that's all there is to it. They are deliciously creamy on the inside and crusty-crunchy on the outside. Delicious.

If you need more direction or want step by step photos and instruction, check out the original recipe over at The Pioneer Woman Cooks, check out her recipe for Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeno Thingies. Delicious!

Since I had this recipe bookmarked all summer before I got around to trying it, I'm submitting it to ththis week's Bookmarked Recipes event over at Ruth's Kitchen Experiments.