Leftover Ham? No Problem!

Happy Monday!

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and Easter Sunday.  We had a great day here.  Lots of good food, fun with family and even some decent weather for a change!  (those of you who live in warm climates may debate that last one since it was only in the 50s and partly sunny, but we've had a brutal Spring so far, so I'll take it)

I thought I'd share an easy way to use leftover ham.  This year, we had pork for Easter dinner, but I had bought a ham last week and made this dish with the leftovers.  My boys loved it, which is always a bonus.  They are normally good eaters, but need to be reminded constantly during dinner to eat, so when I find a meal that they eat without any prodding, its a keeper!

Its inspired from this recipe, but I modified it to get this:

Ham and Potatoes Au Gratin 

Ingredients

• 4 cups potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 3 cups diced cooked ham
• 15 oz can corn or frozen corn
• 3 tablespoons minced onion
• 2/3 cup butter or margarine
• 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 cups milk
• 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1 TBS dried parsley
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• small pinch cayenne
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• generous dash  pepper
• Chopped fresh parsley

Directions

1. Combine potatoes, ham, corn and onion in a greased 9 x 13 casserole; set aside. In a saucepan, melt butter over medium heat; stir in flour until smooth. Gradually add milk; stirring constantly until mixture thickens and bubbles. Add cheese, parsley, paprika, cayenne, salt and pepper; stir until the cheese melts. Pour over potato mixture and stir gently to mix. Bake at 350 degrees F for 35-40 minutes or until bubbly and slightly browned on top.

 Like I said, these guys loved it:

Plus it was easy.  It doesn't get much better than that!

On the remodeling front, I have to admit that my little mishap with the hutch sucked up a lot of my energy and enthusiasm last week.  I am happy to say that the doors no longer look like this:

and now look like this:

(Ignore the orange oak cabinets...their day is coming)

It really wasn't that difficult to fix after all.  It just took a lot of detailed sanding, but the repainting was a breeze.  I am planning on finishing it this week with a little light distressing and then some finishing wax.

Thanks for your patience as I crawl along!  Have a wonderful week! 

Shredded Pork for a Crowd

A week ago, Ree from The Pioneer Woman Cooks posted a recipe for  Spicy Dr. Pepper Shredded Pork. I was hooked instantly.  It looked delicious.  Did you notice how I titled this post "Shredded Pork for a Crowd" though?  Well, I was so smitten with this recipe that I had to make it ASAP.  I held out for a few days and then I made it for the four of us.  I have LOTS leftover.  Like another eight dinners maybe.  Good thing we loved it!  I think it will freeze just fine for those lazy cooking days I have all the time every so often.

This recipe is so easy.  Just dump your ingredients in your pot, stick it in the oven and then come back six hours to take it out of the oven.   No searing.  No excessive chopping.  No hard to find ingredients.  There's really only a handful of ingredients in making the meat.

This would be a great BBQ recipe or for graduation parties that are coming up.   The meat can be made the day before and then just reheated.  And did I mention it serves a crowd? ;)

So, I started out with this:



Yep.  6.5 pounds of meat for two adults and two little boys.

Added a large onion to the bottom of the dish:



And added the seasoned pork:



I really need a large dutch oven.  Once I added the liquid, this was almost overflowing!


Added chipotle peppers to the top:

 I just them on there and left them like that.

Then I added 24oz ( or a few ounces shy since my pot was too full) of Dr. Pepper and a TBS of brown sugar.  I didn't get a pic here because I was worried about how full my pot was and I just wanted to get it in the oven.

The recipe says to cook it for 6 hours at 300 degrees Fahrenheit or until it is falling apart tender, turning it a few times during cooking. 

After maybe 5 hours, mine was like this:

Definitely falling apart!

I shredded my pork and then added it back to the liquid:

See where it overflowed while cooking?  Good thing I put a pan under it to catch the drips!

The Pioneer Woman had a great tip to cut down on the fat.  After making this dish, if you're making it ahead, keep the meat and liquid separate and refrigerate them both.  The saturated fat will harden and you can scoop it off the top of the liquid the next day.  I do this for soups I make and it works great.

To serve, I had tomato, avocado, lettuce, lime and cheese:

 Like my fancy dishes?  I knew you would!

I made a mistake of buying corn tortillas the first day.  I don't really care for the rubbery texture of store bought corn tortillas, so it ruined it a little for me.  The second day, I bought flour tortillas and it was 100% better.  Wow!  So good!  They are slightly spicy, but my boys ate them, so it wasn't horribly so.  Ree even has a recipe for homemade flour tortillas on her blog and I am going to try them someday!



Here is the recipe, but I strongly recommend you check out Ree's post about making it.  She has some great tips and her pictures are a million times better than mine.

Spicy Dr. Pepper Shredded Pork

Ingredients

• 1 whole Large Onion
• 1 whole Pork Shoulder ("pork Butt") - 5 To 7 Pounds
• Salt And Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• 1 can (11 Ounce) Chipotle Peppers In Adobo Sauce
• 2 cans Dr. Pepper
• 2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Peel the onion and cut it into wedges. Lay them in the bottom of a large dutch oven.

Generously salt and pepper the pork roast, then set it on top of the onions in the pan.

Pour the can of chipotle peppers over the pork (include the sauce.) Pour in both cans of Dr Pepper. Add brown sugar to the juice and stir in.

Place lid tightly on pot, then set pot in the oven. Cook for at least six hours, turning roast two or three times during the cooking process. Check meat after six hours; it should be absolutely falling apart (use two forks to test.) If it’s not falling apart, return to the oven for another hour.

Remove meat from pot and place on a cutting board or other work surface. Use two forks to shred meat, discarding large pieces of fat. Strain as much of the fat off the top of the cooking liquid as you can and discard it. Return the shredded meat to the cooking liquid, and keep warm until ready to serve. (You can also refrigerate the meat and liquid separately, then remove hardened fat once it’s cold. Then heat up the liquid on the stove top and return the meat to the liquid to warm up.

Serve on warm flour tortillas. Top with shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, grated cheese, avocado slices, salsa, and whatever else you’d like.

 Have a wonderful day! 

How About Some Irish Soda Bread?

With St. Patrick's Day right around the corner, I thought I'd share a recipe in honor of the day.

Once I decided to make this in honor of St. Patty's Day, I got to wondering just how this bread came to be.  From what I understand, in the early to mid 1800s, making bread with yeast was not common in Ireland.  Because time and other resources were limited, using baking soda as a leavening agent was popular and therefore,  soda bread was a staple in many households. 

The recipe I am sharing together isn't as traditional as the original soda bread recipe they used back then, but it is so very good.  Trust me.

If you've never had Irish soda bread and you're wondering what it tastes like, the closest thing I can thing I can think of is a scone.  Well, at least this version is.  Its very similar and while scones aren't really that hard to make, this Irish soda bread is way easier.  So if you just imagine you are making a giant scone, you won't be that far off.

The recipe I like is from Martha Stewart.  It is called Sunday Best Irish Soda Bread.

When I made this, I had a little helper who decided he didn't need a nap that day and wanted so badly to help me.  Of course, I said yes. 

So here is what you'll need:

Notice the almost empty container of milk.  If you read my post here (towards the bottom), you'll know where it went.

Mix the dry ingredients together (except baking soda):

Cut in the butter:

Stir in the raisins:

Wait for a little crumb to fall:

Whisk buttermilk, egg and baking soda together and then add to dry ingredients:

Stir with a fork until fixture holds together.  Press into a round, dome shaped loaf, about 8" in diameter:

Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet (I was out and used Pam Spray without any sticking at all) and brush with egg and cream mixture.  Make an "x" in the loaf about 1/2" deep:

Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 70 minutes and you will have this:

I kid you not, this was just my husband's serving:

Why can men eat like this and not gain weight?   How is that fair?

Enjoy!!

Sunday Best Irish Soda Bread
From The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook: The Original Classics

ingredients ~

4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons whole caraway seeds (I omitted this)
1 teaspoon cinnamon (my addition)

4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
2 cups golden or dark raisins (I plumped mine in heated fresh orange juice, then drained and pat dry)
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 large whole egg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon heavy cream  (I just used 75% buttermilk and 25% skim since I didn't have any heavy cream)

directions ~

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, caraway seeds (if using)  and ground cinnamon (if using) until well combined.
2. Using a pastry cutter or 2 knives, cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal. Stir in the raisins until evenly distributed.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, egg, and baking soda until well combined. Pour the buttermilk mixture into the flour-and-butter mixture all at once, and stir with a fork until all the liquid is absorbed and the mixture begins to hold together. Using your hands, press the dough into a round, dome-shaped loaf about 8 inches in diameter. Transfer it to the baking sheet.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolk and cream. Using a pastry brush, brush the egg wash over the loaf. Using a razor blade or sharp knife, make and x-shaped slash about 1/2 inch deep into the top of the loaf. Bake, rotating halfway through, until it is a deep golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean when inserted into the center, about 70 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

P.S.  Here is my funny little outtake from baking with my son.  He is an expert egg cracker and so proud that he can do it without breaking the yolk.  So, I was taking his picture:

And he wanted to take a picture himself of the unbroken yolk.  He went to take it and this is the unedited photo he took:

Can you say "easily distracted"? Looks like something better caught his eye!  He is the perfect combo of  his father and me, at least! ;)

Linking up with:


Mmmmm...Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Happy Monday...Hope everyone's week is off to a good start.  If not, I have something that will make it turn around in a hurry.   How do chocolate chip cookie bars sound?

I love to bake, but there are also plenty of times where I just want to eat something yummy without having to spend a lot of time making it.  How many times have you made cookies but lost interest after the first batch came out of the oven?  If you can relate to feeling that way, then this recipe is for you!

Here is what you need:

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/2 granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt and set aside.  Cream together butter and sugars.  Add eggs one at a time and then add vanilla.  Stir in dry ingredients.  Stir  in chocolate chips.  Spread mixture in a 9"x13" pan (I sprayed mine with Pam).  Bake at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes.

I'll be honest, even eating them like this would be pretty good with me:

But trust me, its even better like this:

Do you SEE all that caramelized wonderfulness in there?!?! 

How about here?

These are so easy.  The best thing about these bars are the caramelized edges!  And the fact that they're easy. So yummy.  I have been making these for years and they are always loved. 

I hope you love them too!


I'm linking this recipe up to these parties:

Toffee! Just in time for Valentine's Day!!

(Scroll to the bottom for an update on Target's home clearance!!)

I'm cutting it close, but I thought I'd share how I make toffee.  Its a great treat to make for Valentine's Day and the great thing about toffee is that you probably have all the ingredients on hand already. 

The thing about toffee though is that there are a few tricks to get it to come out right.  Some of the common complaints about making toffee are that it never gets hard and stays kinda ...bendy.  Another is that it burns easily.  And another is that the butter separates and "pools" on top.

So, like I said before, I love to research this stuff, so I came up with a few tricks to help you make sure yours comes out just right!

You will need:

• A working candy thermometer.  I say WORKING because I had one that was not working properly and that was no good.  How do you tell if your candy thermometer is working?  Boil water in a pot with your candy thermometer inserted.  The thermometer should read 212 degrees F (100 degrees C).  I ended up buying a new one:

• A medium sized, heavy bottomed saucepan.  The heavy bottom (and also cooking at medium heat) will help prevent the toffee from burning while it is cooking on the stove.
• A large rimmed cookie sheet or jelly roll pan, lined with foil
• An offset spatula.  A knife or other type of spatula will work ok too.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup finely chopped, lightly toasted almonds (I omitted these due to my family's preferences)

In the saucepan, combine the butter, sugar and salt. 

 Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the butter has melted. 

 Place candy thermometer in pan.  Continue stirring until the mixture comes to a boil, then stop stirring constantly.

  Continue to cook until the temperature on the candy thermometer reaches 300 degrees F (149 degrees C), stirring only occasionally. 

(At 300 degrees F)

A better shot of what the mixture will look like.

As soon as the toffee reaches 300 degrees F, pour it out onto your prepared pan.  Then sprinkle your chocolate over the top of it and let it sit for a few minutes.

Then, using your spatula or knife, spread the chocolate evenly over the top of the toffee.

If desired, sprinkle nuts evenly over the chocolate.  I love it with almonds, but no one else in this house does and since I do not need to eat ALL this myself, I skipped this step. 

(I sprinkled mine with coarse sugar sprinkles)

Place toffee in the refrigerator until slightly set and then, to help ensure even, pretty cuts, lightly score your toffee with a serrated knife, cleaning it after each cut.  Put the toffee back in the refrigerator until completely set and break into pieces.  Because of the scoring, it should break pretty cleanly.

Enjoy!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I posted last week about Target clearancing a bunch of home items right now.  They usually do markdowns on Thursday and I went there yesterday to see what new markdowns they had.  There was quite a bit at 75%!

Some examples (taken with my cell, so excuse the quality):

Shower curtains @ $3.74

These were $6.48

This organization  center was $12 (originally $50)



This duvet was $22 (originally $80)  They had a few different styles by Thomas O'Brien:

I was so tempted to buy this, but I has the reverse colors of this (white with a dark pattern) in my master and didn't want to have too much of the same color in my guest bedroom.  I'm still thinking about buying it so I can change things up in my master for the winter though since the white is more summer like.  We'll see.

This is what I did buy:

A 2 pack of shelves for $3.74 that I plan to paint:

And two curtain rods for $5.48 each in silver that I plan to use in my master when I redecorate it (soon, I hope).  They look like this:

Of course, the selection varies from store to store, but Target usually has the same clearance schedule throughout the country so its worth a look see.  If you go, I'd love to hear what you see and/or get!

I'm joining the party here: