Rotel Sausage Dip

All photos by Madeline L.

Ok, so I posted this back in 2009 when I joined Saltbox House, but I decieded to re-post it after my sister took some updated photos. This may be a little late to share for the Superbowl, but still is a wonderful recipe for any occasion or just to have for a small meal. My mother in law passed this recipe onto me after I loved it so much. While she calls it sausage dip, I call just call it "Rotel" after the main product used in it. Since I've shared it, many people request for me to bring it to events or ask me for the recipe. Surprisingly it is only 3 ingredients and 3 simple steps to make it. Here they are:
 

Ingredients:
1 Pound of Ground Breakfast Sausage
I Make mine with Jimmy Dean's Maple (yes maple) ground Breakfast Sausage
1 8oz. box of Cream Cheese
1 can of Rotel brand diced tomatoes and green chilies
This is the key ingredient and even though I have tried other brands, Rotel is best.

Directions:

Brown ground breakfast sausage.

Stir in package of cream cheese (softened) until well mixed.

 

 

 

Then mix in one can of Rotel brand diced tomatoes and green chilies (with juice).

This is great served with Tortilla chips (Hint of Lime is my favorite).
I love mine wrapped in a fresh warm corn tortillas.

Pulled Pork

I have enjoyed making several crock pot meals this week from the Rival crock pot recipe book. This is the second recipe I tried this week, and it was so yummy and easy. (picture taken from rival crock pot website.)

Yields 8-10 people

1 Pork shoulder roast (2.5 to 4 lbs)

1- 21 ounce bottle BBQ sauce

2 tbsps lemon juice

2 tsps brown sugar

1 medium onion, diced

Buns/Rolls

*Note- when using a 4 quart crock pot, decrease the ingredients in half except the BBQ sauce. Decrease the BBQ sauce to 14 ounces.*

1. Cook roast for 10-12 hours on low or 5-6 hours on high. (I did mine on the high option)

2. Remove roast, discard liquid. Shred pork. return to crock pot. 

3. Add remaining ingredients. Cover; cook on low 1 hour or high 30 minutes. Serve.

Bacon Wrapped Dates

If you don't feel like eating a million of these then don't make them cause you will eat a million of them if you make them.

There. I said it cause it's true.

Now GO MY PETS! Make these ASAP!

Bacon Wrapped Dates

Ingredients:

Nitrate-free bacon (1 package (8 oz))

Dates, organic if possible (1 pound)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Cut the bacon slices in half.

3. Pit the dates with your fingers or with a paring knife.

4. Wrap each date with a half a slice of bacon. Use toothpicks if necessary.

5. Set on a baking dish, ideally one with high sides, so the bacon grease doesn’t spill all over your oven when it melts.

6. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the bacon gets crispy.

7. Remove from oven and transfer the bacon-wrapped dates to a serving platter.Note: Make sure you save that perfectly good bacon grease — pour it into a cast iron skillet and use it for something else!

*I used regular bacon and dates. Nothing special. SUPER TASTY!

Swedish Meatballs

This recipe is a re-do after I first posted it in January 2009. I love meatballs and I was overdue to make them again. These meatballs were demonstrated to me by an Italian woman I once for in 2001. She learned how when she lived in Stockholm. I had to make up some things of my own because when she showed me it was a bit like: "Ok, I add a bit of this and a bit of that and here you go." I have since then taken her demonstration and formed my own measurements with a few altered ingredients making it as close as I could get. I think I did pretty well. Try them for yourself. Smaklig måltid or enjoy your meal!

Meatballs-
Ingredients:
1 lb of Lean Ground Beef
1 lb of Ground Pork
2 eggs (lightly beaten)
1 small onion diced or equivalent dried onion (Sauted in oil)
1 pint of Heavy Cream
2 cups of bread cubed or crumbs (gluten free bread works great too)
1/2-1 teaspoon of California Garlic powder (or equivalent amount of garlic)
1/2-1 Tablespoon of Ginger
1/2-1 Tablespoon of Nutmeg
1 teaspoon of pepper and salt
Oil for making meatballs and sauteing onions

Toast your own bread crumb in a 400 degree oven for up to 10 minutes or more if needed to dry. You can always leave them out over night to dry. Grind them up into crumbs. (Food processor is a fast way)

Mash beef and pork together in one bowl. In another bowl mix eggs, cream, garlic, ginger, nutmeg, pepper, and salt together. Mix all together with hands and then add sauted onions and bread crumbs, again mix with hands until meat becomes a lighter texture. Roll into small balls and cook on medium to high heat and keep turning them.

After cooking them on medium to high heat, transfer to a slow cooker set on high. Make sure they are mostly cooked (hardly any pink in the middle). You don't have to transfer them to a slow cooker, but since I make so many, I like to transfer them so I can keep cooking more in my pan while keeping the rest hot.

Gravy:
This can be with or without fat drippings. I use lean ground beef so, I hardly get any fat drippings really. Just use any fat drippings you have and add butter accordingly if desired.

Ingredients:
4 cups of water (reserve 1 cup for corn starch and 1 cup for bullion to dissolve in each)
2 beef bullion cubes
Butter if needed (depends on you)
1/2 to 1 cup of cream (any kind)
Ginger, Nutmeg, garlic, Salt and Pepper to taste and smell.

For a great thickener use corn starch, flour, and potato flakes. (Use one, two or all three).
Melt butter and/or fat in saucepan, add water with bullion.

While continuously stirring with whisk pour in starch, sift in flour, and shake in potato flakes. Add up to 4 tablespoons of each or as needed and bring to a boil or until thickened.

Helpful Hint* Pour gravy into a slow cooker and set on low to high while you cook the meatballs. Add meatballs into gravy as you cook them to keep warm and set in gravy.

Serve with Berry Sauce:
I Strongly recommend serving the meatballs with whole berry Cranberry sauce (unless you can find Lingon Berry sauce). The point is, the flavors that come together from the ginger and the sweet yet tartness of the berry makes a delicious combination. I was always told never to serve them with out the berries.

Garlic Mashed potatoes are also a great addition!

pineapple ginger pork roast and sweet rice

YUMMY!  This was really good.  My "recipe"
I took a can of pineapple in pineapple juice and emptied the juice into a caserole dish.  then I ran the pineapple through the blender a bit.  (You could use crushed pineapple and avoid the blender, but I didnt have any) I added a little bit of salt and probably a 1/2tsp of ginger (ground) I would use a little more ginger next time. I put a 3lb pork roast that had been cut in half on top of the juices and poured the pineapple over it.
I put it in the oven at 300 for just over an hour.  The internal temp was 150 when I took it out.  While it was in the oven I basted it a couple of times.

the sweet rice was really good too!  It is also called sticky rice.  I cook 1 cup rice in 2 cups water with a little salt.  It takes about 45 minutes to cook, and it is really sticky.

Pulled Pork Acorn Squash

We are getting down to the last weeks of winter. Even though I am really excited for spring, I'm still enjoying some winter delites. Winter squash is among those, you can usually buy winter squash through the spring and in some areas you can buy it year round. This dish I created a while back when I started to use my rice cooker for making other things besides rice. I love that about the rice cooker. My rice cooker makes faster meals than the oven or slow cooker and easier than my regular pressure cooker. With this recipe, I baked the acorn squash in the oven at the same time that I cook the pulled pork in my rice cooker and in one hour, I have a delicious meal.

Wash and cut your Acron squash lengthwise, then clean out seeds with a large spoon. Slice the inside of each half in a criss cross like shown above. 

I like to brush some olive oil over the squash before I bake it. Bake in a pre-heated oven set at 400 degrees for 60-75 min.

I like to use Pork Carnitas cuts because they make the best pulled pork for me every time.

You need about 2 pounds. Rub pork with Salt, Pepper, and Paprika as desired.

Rub about 2 teaspoons of olive oil on the bottom of the rice cooker.

Click your rice cooker on and brown all sides of your meat when the cooker is hot.

Then, add these ingredients for the sauce:

1 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce (I use Bull's Eye)

1/2 cup of Chicken or Beef Stock

6-8 oz of apple, white grape, or pineapple juice. (I use what I have)

Cook for 60 minutes until cooked thoroughly

Shred your meat with a fork or pull it apart with your fingers. It should come apart fairly easy.

I like to serve mine with a side scoop of vanilla or plain yogurt and some orange slices. Trust me, the combination is unbelievable.

Or, if you find that the combination works for you already (like I do). Fan out your orange slices on your squash and drizzle the yogurt over top. Yummy.

There is just something about the yogurt and the BBQ sauce that makes the whole thing come together perfectly!

Ginger Apple Pork Loin

It's that time of year when apples are everywhere. I love to cook with apples. Not just in pies either. I will add some tart apples to almost anything lately. My favorite recipe that I came up with years ago, is my Ginger Apple Pork Loin. I know that a lot of people use apples in their pork roasts but, this recipe is unquie because the other ingredients bring everything together to make a juicy semi-sweet loin that has the taste of autum in every bite. I actually made this one for a Halloween Harvest Dinner Party the other day and it turned out really nice.

Ingredients:

I don't really measure anything for this recipe, so I put some estimates.

*

Boneless Pork Loin (any size as other ingredients can be adjusted)

Celery- 2-3 stalks sliced

Apples- 3-4 samll or 2-3 large chopped

Wallawalla Onion 1/2-1 whole onion cut into wedges

Rosemerry- 2-3 sprigs or 1-2 tablespoons of dry

Ginger (grated or dry) about 2-4 teaspoons depending on how you like it

Nutmeg 2-3 teaspoons

Celery Salt 1-2 teaspoons

Garlic- You can put whole cloves, minced, or dry depending on how much you like it.

Pepper as desired

Apple Cider 1/2 to 1 cup

Worshire sauce 2-3 Tablespoons

1 pack of onion soup mix or other dry soup mix

Directions:

Mix all dry ingredients (except soup mix) and rub all over meat.

Add Apples, Onions, and Celery all around meat.

Spinkle soup mix over all ingredients

Pour apple cider over all ingredients

Cooking Directions:

Cook your loin any way you prefer. It is usually cooked covered for a more tender loin.

Slowcooker for 3-4 hours or until done

Grill 20-30 minutes or until done

Stovetop 20-30 minutes or until done

Low Oven (about 300 degrees) for 3-4 hours or until done

High oven (350-400 degrees) for 30-60 minutes or until done

I serve my pork loin with Nichole's Balsamic green beans that she will be posting soon.