Recipe Links

Yesterday I mentioned food in almost every other sentence. Steph requested recipes and I'm more than happy to share where I found these great meals.

First up is the BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches. I had never made this before, but it sounded easy (especially since it's made in a slow cooker/crock pot). The recipe calls for boneless pork shoulder, but I couldn't remember that at the store and bought what was labeled "pork for carnitas" and assumed it would be just fine since carnitas is pulled or shredded pork for tacos... right? (That was all that was on the label so maybe it was pork shoulder?) I think I had roughly 3-4 pounds and it cost under $6. We loved it. Even my picky eaters were asking for thirds! I didn't make my own BBQ sauce, instead I chose two different store bought sauces because we like options around here. I did not follow the shredding-adding bbq sauce-reheating method that is in the directions. Instead I just took enough pork for a few sandwiches, added a tablespoon of the cooking liquid and a few tablespoons of bbq sauce and then made a sandwich like that. We definitely didn't use a whole two cups of sauce, either, but maybe you like more while we were happy with less. This recipe is a keeper and using the "pork for carnitas" ended up being a very inexpensive meal.

Next up I mentioned pizza. You can find my method for homemade pizza here.

I made nachos for lunch on Sunday. I just spread refried beans on chips (my favorite right now is On the Border brand), covered with some leftover taco meat I had, jalapenos and shredded cheese. Heated it in the microwave for 45 seconds to a minute. Easy.

Alright, biscuits and gravy. Or, The Best Breakfast Ever.
Sometimes making gravy is a trying task. Sometimes it's perfect and other times you want to throw your skillet out the window. I received The Homesick Texan Cookbook for Christmas and it's definitely a little treasure of mine. I made the biscuits (recipe here) and substituted shortening (half cup) for the butter and they turned out perfectly. (Also, the recipe says to "beat" the biscuits, but in the cookbook this is left out so I didn't do it, and I believe is why mine turned out so fluffy.)
Tips for making biscuits- don't over work the dough, when cutting biscuits never twist your cutter- simply push it through the dough and then pull straight up. This will help them rise and you'll be able to split them in half exactly like you're supposed to- with a fork.

For the gravy you can use this recipe. I first browned a half pound of breakfast sausage and then made the gravy and added the sausage to it. Or you could commit a sin of sorts and use a cream gravy mix.... I um, have certainly neeevvveeeer done that before.

And one more! Last night for supper I made Skillet Lasagne. It made more than enough for one meal so I froze half of it for another night. It's very simple, uses ONE skillet (or pot, that's what I used) and tastes delicious (unless you are a very stubborn four year old that won't even try it). I followed the directions, but added basil and oregano to the meat before adding the tomatoes which made it more like my usual lasagne. It was really good and will be added to my recipe rotation. It's also fairly quick to make, something like 30-45ish minutes from start to "on the table".

So, there you have it. Consider them all highly recommended and try them out soon!