Category Archives: lunch

Slow cooker pulled pork BBQ

lunch, slow cooker, supper 11 Comments

Y’all will not believe how easy this was! The fact that it cooks in the slow cooker is such a bonus, too, because what’s better than coming home to supper already done?

Slow cooker pulled pork BBQ

Ingredients

  • A pork roast
  • Water
  • Salt, plus onion powder, rib rub, or whatever spices sound good
  • BBQ sauce
  • Buns

Instructions

  1. Put pork roast in a slow cooker and sprinkle on salt and whatever spices your little heart desires; I did onion powder and a rib rub Yankee had in the cabinet. Add enough hot water to fully cover the roast and turn the slow cooker on low; ignore it for the next 8-12 hours or so, depending on size
  2. After it’s cooked through remove meat to a cutting board and chop it up, discarding fat and any bone; pour the water out of the slow cooker (pork broth! Feel free to freeze it for later use)
  3. Serve! Either on a plate or on a bun, topped with your favorite BBQ sauce

Notes

Some folks return the chopped meat to the slow cooker and add in BBQ sauce so they can cook together for a bit; I don’t because I find that cooking the BBQ sauce down makes it too sugary

How easy was that? This is great with green beans!

Guacamole

lunch, sides, snacks 5 Comments

On a trip to Hilton Head Island the Yankee and I discovered this dish: guacamole topped with crab meat. This is a win. I set out to recreate it as soon as we got home, and I’m pretty pleased with the result! This is a huge party hit, too; I highly recommend.

Guacamole

Ingredients

  • Two ripe avocados
  • Two Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
  • 1 jalapeno pepper, minced
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/2 cayenne pepper
  • Kosher salt to taste, but about 1/2 tsp.
  • Juice from one lime
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1/2 medium onion, diced (or some onion powder if you hate the crunch of raw onion)
  • Eight ounces lump crab meat, drained
  • Chips (obviously)

Instructions

  1. Scoop out the avocado into a bowl and mash with a fork
  2. Stir in tomatoes, pepper, cumin, pepper, salt and lime juice, plus onion if you’re using it
  3. Top with crab meat and serve with chips

Pimento macaroni and cheese

kids, lunch, sides, supper 6 Comments

I love the simplicity of this one-pot macaroni and cheese; however, after 20 hours in the car with Kiddo (who, by the way, was a car-traveling champ) in the last four days I wasn’t really feeling the urge to watch the pot as closely as I would need to in order to avoid a boiled-over-milk scene on the stove.

I also had some pimentos that had ripened in the garden while Kiddo and I were gone.

So I crossed my fingers and totally made up tried this — and it worked!

Pimento macaroni and cheese

Ingredients

  • 3 Tbsp. all purpose flour
  • 3 Tbsp. butter
  • 2 cups milk
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp. dijon mustard (optional)
  • 1.5 cups dry pasta
  • 2 cups shredded cheese
  • 3 fresh pimentos, peeled (like this, only tiny), seeded and minced

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375F
  2. In a heavy, oven-safe sauce pot melt butter till foam subsides, then add flour and whisk until fully combined; add milk while whisking and turn off stovetop heat
  3. Stir in salt, mustard, dry pasta, cheese, and pimentos; cover pot and place in oven
  4. Cook for 30 minutes, stirring halfway through; top with additional cheese and uncover for the last few minutes if you so desire

That’s it!

Chicken Française (lemon chicken)

lunch, supper 3 Comments

This recipe originally came from here, but has lived in a binder in my kitchen for years now. This is good chicken. Man catching chicken even. It’s crispy and juicy and lemony and fabulous. I gave this recipe to my sister a few years back and she’s married now. SEE?? Try this:

Chicken Française (lemon chicken)

Ingredients

  • 1-2 pounds boneless chicken breast halves or thin chicken cutlets
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp plus 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp plus 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 1/2 cup chicken broth
  • 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice plus 1 whole lemon, thinly sliced

Instructions

  1. If using chicken breasts, pound to 1/4 inch thickness between two sheets of plastic wrap (I hate pounding chicken so I use the thin cutlets)
  2. Combine flour, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper in a shallow dish, and dredge chicken, patting to evenly coat with flour mix; set aside
  3. Beat eggs in another dish and set aside
  4. Heat oil in heavy skillet (preferably cast iron, of course) over medium heat until hot but not yet smoking
  5. Working in batches, dip floured chicken into eggs, making sure chicken is well coated, then let excess drip back into bowl; carefully ease chicken into hot oil and cook, turning once, till both sides are golden brown and chicken is cooked through — this will take about three minutes a side or so
  6. When cooked, transfer chicken to paper towel lined plate and tent with foil or put in the oven set at its lowest setting (i.e. a very slow oven — does anyone still say that?)
  7. After all chicken is fried and set to keep warm, pour oil out of skillet (I use an old coffee can for the oil), then set the pan over low heat and melt the butter in the skillet
  8. When butter is melted and stops foaming add wine, chicken broth and lemon juice. Crank the heat up a bit and boil, uncovered, stirring to release all the yummy brown bits that are stuck to the bottom of your pan. Season with remaining salt and pepper (1/4 tsp. of each)
  9. Remove paper towels from chicken plate, then spoon sauce over chicken; top with sliced lemon and serve

Chile-lime-tequila compound butter

lunch, supper 13 Comments

I have to admit, I was a little intimidated by the thought of making compound butter. It just sounded so…. complicated? Fancy? Something?

WELL. It turns out it’s just adding  yummy flavors to something already yummy: butter. I can do that! The Yankee was making our traditional Sunday night steaks and wanted something to give them a little kick. He found this recipe at Chow, and it was crazy easy to pull together.

 

Chile-lime-tequila compound butter

Ingredients

  • You need:
  • 6 Tbsp. butter, room temp (Chow said unsalted but I never have that)
  • 1 minced jalapeño or serrano pepper, seeds and membranes removed (wear gloves, people. Or don’t rub your eyes after — duh)
  • 1 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice (about 1/2 a lime’s worth)
  • 2 Tbsp. tequila
  • 2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tsp. kosher salt (which technically you could eliminate if using salted butter, but I like it salty)

Instructions

  1. Use a rubber spatula or mixer to soften butter till it’s very spreadable, then add remaining ingredients and mix till thoroughly combined (I never did get the very last bit of lime juice and tequila to incorporate, but it didn’t seem to affect the flavor)
  2. Either smooth into cute ramekin or roll into a log in plastic wrap, and place butter in refrigerator to re-harden

Ingredients

  • You need:
  • 6 Tbsp. butter, room temp (Chow said unsalted but I never have that)
  • 1 minced jalapeño or serrano pepper, seeds and membranes removed (wear gloves, people. Or don’t rub your eyes after — duh)
  • 1 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice (about 1/2 a lime’s worth)
  • 2 Tbsp. tequila
  • 2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tsp. kosher salt (which technically you could eliminate if using salted butter, but I like it salty)

Instructions

  1. Use a rubber spatula or mixer to soften butter till it’s very spreadable, then add remaining ingredients and mix till thoroughly combined (I never did get the very last bit of lime juice and tequila to incorporate, but it didn’t seem to affect the flavor)
  2. Either smooth into cute ramekin or roll into a log in plastic wrap, and place butter in refrigerator to re-harden

– See more at: https://oneparticularkitchen.com/2010/04/19/chile-lime-tequila-compound-butter/#sthash.Rwqf8fH6.dpuf

That’s it! We put little pats of these on our steaks and it was awesome.

And I still have some left! Any suggestions for what else to do with it? I’m thinking kickin’ garlic bread is next.