Over the Kitchen Counter: Angie's Place for Cooking and Crafts

Easy Pulled Pork Sandwiches

  I know this is not the prettiest photo but I will tell you that Pulled Pork sandwiches are delicious!  Traditionally, this southern slow-cooked pork can take up to 16 hours to become wonderfully tender, but for everyday home cookin', this method is much easier.  I make my version in a crock-pot and throw it all together in the morning and by dinner-time it's ready to go.  About 15 minutes before serving, I shred the pork tenderloin or roast(s) with 2 forks and return the meat to the sauce in the slow cooker.  Then I just bring the whole thing to the table and everyone can top their split hamburger buns (or kaisers or soft rolls) with as much as they like.  You can use a store-bought Pulled Pork spice packet and add ketchup, brown sugar, and cider vinegar to flavour the meat and create the sauce, or use the recipe below for a homemade version.  If you have a bottle of liquid smoke add a tiny amount for an even more authentic hickory-smoked flavour.  Easy and delicious...and the men-folk love it! 

Pork Barbecue Sandwiches

1-1/2 pounds pork tenderloin or boneless loin roast

1 cup prepared barbecue sauce

1 onion minced

1-1/2 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp liquid smoke (optional)

Place meat in crock pot.  Mix remaining ingredients and pour over meat.  Cook on low 8 hours.  Shred meat with 2 forks and return to pot to mix with sauce.  Serve over split buns.

 

Chicken Divan Crepes

  I felt like making something a little more special with the boneless chicken breasts I had in the fridge and remembered the delicious Chicken Divan Crepes I used to get at the crepe restaurant The Magic Pan.  I had to make up my own recipe since I couldn't find an exact match anywhere, and they turned out wonderfully.  Everything can be made in advance, which is convenient, and then assembled and baked right before serving.  I made up the crepe batter and let it stand for a good hour and a half - this allows it to relax after mixing so that the crepes are nice and thin when you cook them.  I poached the chicken breasts in stock and white wine, then diced them up and added them to my creamy sauce.  Once all the crepes were all cooked off I spooned on the filling, added some steamed broccoli florets, tucked in the sides and rolled them up.  They were then placed in the greased baking dish, topped with extra sauce, and baked at 350 F for only 20 minutes, to heat them through.  Very yummy!  With the extra few crepes I had left over I whipped up a dessert: sauteed banana slices, in butter and rum, topped with vanilla ice cream and maple syrup.  Fantastic!
  Here are the recipes for the crepe batter (which can be used in any crepe dish) and the creamed chicken.  Just let me know if you have any questions.

Crepes:

1 cup water

1 cup milk

4 eggs

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups flour

4 Tbsp butter, melted

Blend all ingredients thoroughly.  Let stand up to 2 hours.  Grease crepe pan (or 6" fry pan) and pour scant 1/4 cup batter into pan.  Swirl to coat evenly.  Cook over med. heat until bottom is golden and top is dry (about 1 min.).  Remover to plate and repeat until all crepes are done.

 

Creamed Chicken

5 Tbsp butter, melted

1/4 cup green pepper, chopped

5 Tbsp flour

dash lemon pepper

2 packets instant chicken bouillon powder

3 cups milk

3 cups cooked chicken, diced

Sauté green pepper in butter until soft.  Blend in flour, pepper, and bouillon.  Add milk gradually stirring constantly until smooth and thickened.  Reserve one cup of sauce for over top of crepes in baking pan.  Add chicken to remainder of sauce.  Let cool and assemble your crepes.

 

Chili

Oatmeal Pancakes

  I don't think I've shared this recipe with you yet - and it's one of my all-time favourites.  A slight variation on a basic pancake recipe changes up the flavour and texture just a wee bit.  Make them using the same method as a traditional pancake and enjoy a warm, oatey breakfast!  (This recipe is great because it is so simple, uses regular ingredients from your cupboard, and you get lots of pancakes from one batch.)  How 'bout making some tomorrow?

Oatmeal Pancakes

1-1/2 cups rolled oats

2 cups skim milk

1 cup flour

2 Tbsp sugar

2 Tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3 eggs

1/4 cup oil

 

In A Rush Dinner

  Everyone finds him- or herself in a time crunch once in a while at dinner time, and I'm no exception.  I consider this one of my "cheater" meals (even though it still uses fresh ingredients and I have to assemble it) because it is pretty quick to prepare and is all made in one skillet.  Thanks to a simple recipe from the Campbell's Soup people, I can get dinner on the table in about 30 minutes with no special planning or ingredients.  I try to have a couple cans of Half Fat cream soups in the cupboard (this one uses celery soup and there's a Chicken Broccoli Divan that I just love, using broccoli soup), and I am never without some frozen veg in the freezer and pasta in the pantry.  My DD likes this dinner so much she requested it for her birthday one year!

Easy Chicken & Pasta

1 Tbsp oil

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken, cut in chunks

1 can cream of celery soup

2-1/4 cups water

2 cups fresh (cut up) or frozen vegetables*

1/2 tsp dried basil

2 cups uncooked bow tie pasta

 

* I use onions, carrots, mushrooms, green beans, garlic, zucchini, celery, peas, corn...etc.

 

Heat oil in large skillet.  Add chicken and stir fry until cooked through; set chicken aside.

Sauté vegetables for a few minutes to soften.  Then add soup, water, and basil.  Heat to a boil, stirring often.

Stir in pasta.  Cook at med. heat 10 mins., stirring often.

Add back chicken and cook at low heat until pasta is tender and chicken is hot.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese if desired.

 

Minestrone Soup

  I love soup and knew I wanted to try the minestrone soup in the Italian cookbook (from the international set of booklets I have).  I have tried several versions of pasta-vegetable soup but this one had the interesting addition of sliced pepperoni.  Of course, it all smelled wonderful simmering on the stove and the thick and hearty result was just perfect for a winter lunch-time meal.  (Add a hunk of homemade Italian bread and I am a very contented woman!)  I always prefer a vegetarian recipe but overall this was an excellent soup and my DH loved the flavour of the pepperoni.  (I liked the spinach and red wine!)

Minestrone Soup

1 Tbsp oil

1/4 lb. pepperoni, sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 onion, diced

1 large carrot, chopped

1 celery stick, chopped

1 zucchini, sliced

1/2 tsp basil

1/2 tsp oregano

2-(28 oz) cans tomatoes

2 cups chicken broth or water

5 oz. spinach

1 (19 oz) can kidney beans

1/4 cabbage

1/2 cup red wine

3/4 cup macaroni

grated Parmesan cheese

 

Heat oil and saute next 8 ingredients 10 min.  Add remaining ingredients, except macaroni and Parmesan.  Simmer about 1/2 hour, stir occasionally.  Add macaroni, cook 20 mins.  Sprinkle with Parmesan.

 

Caribbean Night

Well, here's the rest of the menu for Caribbean night.  First, the Spicy Meat Pies...
they were really tasty.  I used my regular pie pastry and just added the beef filling as per the recipe (a mixture of ground beef, onions, spinach, and spices).   It called for 2-double crust pie shells.  I only made 1/2 the recipe and I still had filling left over.  I made some little hand-held sizes and a few bigger ones for the DH.  They were so good my mom even asked me for the recipe!

Next, I made the Caribbean Chicken.  Poor DH got 3 extra phone calls to pick up ingredients on the way home from work but it was worth it.  The boneless, skinless, chicken thighs are sauteed in a sauce of onions, fresh pineapple, spices, chicken stock, rum, and bananas!  It was so tender and flavourful - with a dominant curry flavour.  The sauce was quite sweet and the bananas were almost like a dessert.  There should have been a topping of cashews but because we have the nut allergy I had to leave those out.  They would have cut the sweetness I think and offered more of a balance to the flavours.  The rice around the edge of the platter is just a Caribbean Combo mix.  I had enough to make and this seemed like a great accompaniment (it was - spicy!)

I did mix up a jug of Rum Punch (hey, it was in the cookbook!), which was pretty good.  Strong, but not over-powering.  I did add more pineapple juice than called for and couldn't handle too big a drink of it.  I'm actually going to serve the rest of it to mother tonight! ;0)  

International Recipes

  I came across these old recipe books I had from the really early 80s, international recipes from nine different cuisines (Caribbean, Italian, Asian, English, American, Canadian, Ukrainian, German, and French).  It was really fun to re-visit these old menus and they inspired me to add a couple new "theme nights" to the rotation.  First up will be Caribbean since the idea of Caribbean Chicken (with curry and fresh pineapple) and Jamaican Beef Pies whet my appetite.  Oh, and the Coconut Queen Buns sealed the deal - can't wait to try those for dessert!  A little Bob Marley in the cd player and maybe even a rum punch cocktail could make for a very fun evening.

I will definitely work my way through some of these oldies, some I have made already back in the day (pork tourtiere, cornish pasties, croque monsieur) and some are going to be completely new for us (guy lon ngow, Georgia pecan pie bars) but I will definitely share the good ones with you!  Find inspiration in your older cookbooks and you may discover a whole new menu for your family.
 

Broccoli Soup

I love to make a big pot of soup on Saturday and it's a great way to use up the vegetables in the crisper before shopping day on Sunday.  When I want a change from my usual vegetable soup or chicken noodle soup, I really enjoy this quick and easy broccoli soup.

I start with a bunch of broccoli, coarsely chopped, in my big soup pot.  I add a chopped onion, a couple cups of diced potatoes (this makes the soup nice and thick without adding cream), and a clove of minced garlic.  Then I pour in about 1-1/2 cups of chicken broth (or vegetable broth, or water and some bouillon), a pinch of thyme, pepper, and salt.  I let that come to a boil and then simmer for about 10 minutes or so, until the potatoes are nice and tender.  I use an immersion blender (or a regular blender, in batches) to puree the soup right in the pot and then stir in 1-1/2 cups of milk.  Done!  So simple and really warm and comforting on these cold January days!  (Very healthy and nutritious too!)

Stir-Fry Update...

You do not have to have a wok to make stir-fry and the method is fast and simple.  I don't really use any particular recipe - just cut up some meat (chicken/pork/beef) and whatever vegetables you enjoy (but the most used would be onions, carrots, celery, snow peas, peppers, broccoli).  Add some oil to a large pan and stir-fry over high heat: start with the meat and when it is no longer pink, push it to the sides of the pan and add the vegetables: onions first, then the harder root veg, peppers, and finally top with the bean sprouts.  When they are softened a bit, stir the meat back into the mix and add your sauce ingredients.  I like to use a mix of water (about 1/2 a cup or so), 2 Tbsp each of sherry, soy sauce, cider vinegar, 1 Tbsp corn starch, 1 tsp sugar, and a pinch of red pepper flakes.  You can also use hoisin sauce, or if you really don't have (or don't want to buy) all those ingredients, they do sell flavour packets of stir-fry or chop suey mix (usually in the Asian section or gravy section).  These are good to keep in the cupboard if you don't have all the other ingredients on hand.  You can usually find what else you need to concoct some sort of stir-fry on short notice (and I always have a big sack of rice in the pantry)!  Hope that helps!