Jack Daniel's BBQ Pulled Pork

The idea to create my own bbq pulled pork came from a trip to Sam's Club on our shopping trip for July 4th. Sam's was full of sample givers that day. My kids couldn't wait to get in there to sample all of the foods - funny how they will try foods during this time that they wouldn't normally try at all!

One stand was handing out bites of prepacked Jack Daniel's bbq pulled pork. My kids and even my normally really picky husband all liked it. (maybe the samples work on husbands, too?). I thought that I was good but I couldn't get over the fact that the meat was minced beyond recognition. I cannot stand to eat bbq like this. I like to be able to recognize the meat that I am eating. My husband challenged me to find a recipe that would compare to the taste of the bbq on the minced meat sandwich bites that they were scarfing down.

I searched through many cookbooks at home and at the library, through magazines and on the Internet. I finally found a recipe called "Jack Daniels BBQ Sauce" on the Budget 101 forum by someone with the username BiggerPiggyBank. The recipe calls for simple ingredients cooked together to create a homemade bbq sauce. I think that double cooking it - once on the stove as called for in the recipe and then again in the crockpot on make the pulled pork, really deepens the flavors. I truly believe that this is one of the best bbq sauces that I have ever tasted. **Note** This sauce is on the sweeter side. If you like a vinegar based sauce, I wouldn't suggest this one.

Jack Daniels BBQ Pulled Pork

4-5 lb pork tenderloin, cut in half
1 c. chicken broth
1 recipe for Jack Daniels BBQ Sauce (below)
onion buns

You will need a large crockpot for this recipe. I used a 6 qt. oval crockpot.

Add the pork tenderloin to the crockpot.

Pour 1 c. of chicken broth into the crockpot.

Cover and cook for 3 - 4  hrs. on high. After 3 hrs,., check to see if the pork is done by using two forks to"pull" it apart. It should fall apart easily. If not, continue cooking until the pork has been cooked though. My tenderloin cooked for about 3 1/2 hours.

Remove the pork to a cutting board and shred the entire loin using two forks. My preference is to leave the pork in big pieces. You can also chop it into smaller bits if you prefer.

Drain the broth from the crockpot. Return the pulled pork to the crockpot. Cover with the Jack Daniels bbq sauce and stir to mix well. Cook on low for 2 hrs to blend the flavors. Keep warm until ready to serve.

Serve the bbq pulled pork on onion buns.

  
Jack Daniels BBQ Sauce
from user BiggerPiggyBank@Budget101 forums
my version in bold text

1/2 lg onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped - I used 4 tsp minced garlic
2 c ketchup
1/3 c vinegar
1/4 c worcestershire sauce
1/2 c brown sugar, packed
3/4 c molasses
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tbsp salt
1/4 c tomato paste
2 tsp liquid smoke - I used mesquite flavor
1/2 ts tabasco sauce, to taste - I used 2 tbsp
Burbon or whiskey -- to taste - I used 2 tbsp Jack Daniels Whiskey

(In my own words) Combine onion, garlic and whiskey frying pan. Saute onions and garlic.
Combine remaining ingredients, bring to boil, and then simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
This recipe makes 4 cups. I doubled this recipe and used all of it to cover the pulled pork. 

Before serving, spoon approximately half of pulled pork into another container to use for another meal. It is delicious when used in this recipe for Brunswick Stew. Can be frozen in a tightly sealed container.

Our Menu for July 17 - 23

Better late than never with a menu plan, right?

Sunday - stacked tortilla pie with a side of rice

Monday - ravioli and garlic bread

Tuesday - crockpot chicken tetrazinni and green beans

Wednesday - grilled turkey burgers, pierogies and corn

Thursday - my MIL's goulash (making in the crockpot)

Friday - margarita chicken, rice and spinach/carrots for those who don't like spinach

Saturday- manicotti, salad and garlic bread


** For a wonderful dessert at the end of the day, try these**

Orange Berry Cake

Blueberry Bliss Pudding

No Bake Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Balls

Chocolate Chess Pie


Linking up to:

Menu Plan Monday

Secret Recipe Club: Orange Berry Cake

I can't believe that another month has flown by so quickly. It's time for another round up for the Secret Recipe Club. I'm baking from Alessio's blog, Recipe Taster. His blog features beautiful pictures and recipes. Many of his recipes stem from his Sicilian background. Delizioso!

When I saw his recipe for Orange Cake, I knew right away that I wanted to try it because I love the fresh taste of oranges in cakes and pastries. I will admit that some worry and nervousness set in when it came time to convert the recipe from grams to the American equivalents. I don't own a kitchen scale so I knew that I was going to have to rely on any Internet findings to get me through this time. You can imagine my surprise when I realized that there were no exact conversions for this measurements in this recipe. I decided to wing it anyway and I must say, I'm so happy that I did. This was a truly delicious cake. It was very light and moist, showered with a wonderful orange flavoring. The orange zest hits it out of the park. Do not even be tempted to leave it out.

Alessio shows several different ways to decorate the cake on his blog but I choose to use a low sugar real berry jam as a glaze for the top of the cake, along with a sprinkling of orange zest on top.

So simple and pretty! It pairs perfectly with a cup of herbal tea. The recipe will definitely go into my "favorites" pile.

Orange Berry Cake
adapted from the blog: Recipe Taster

7 tbsp. butter, softened
1/2 c. granulated sugar
zest of 3 lg. oranges
1 lg. egg yolk
2 lg. eggs
1 3/4 tbsp. canola oil
1/2 c. 100% real orange juice
1 c. all purpose flour
1 3/4 tsp baking powder
4 heaping tbsp. low sugar real berry jam
zest of 1 orange for decoration

Preheat oven to 350*. Grease and flour a 9 inch or 10 inch spring form pan and set aside.

I would recommend using a stand mixer for this recipe, although it could be mixed with a hand mixer.

In the bowl of your stand mixer, add the butter and beat until light and fluffy. Gradually add the sugar to the butter and beat until no longer grainy and the mixture is light and fluffy.

Mix in the orange zest from 3 oranges.

Add egg yolk to the mixture and beat until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat until everything is mixed together and looks smooth and creamy.

With the beaters still running, stream in the canola oil. Mix well.

Alternate pouring the flour and the orange juice into the wet mixture in the bowl. Mix well after each addition.

Spoon the batter into the spring form pan. Tap the pan on the counter top to release the air bubbles in the batter.

Bake for 20 - 25 minutes. My cake was perfectly baked at 22 minutes.

Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before inverting it onto a cake platter.

Melt 4 heaping tbsp. low sugar real berry jam in the microwave or on the stove top. Using a pastry brush, gently brush the melted jam over the top of the cake.

Sprinkle the zest of 1 orange over top of the jam.

My husband and kids, as well as I, really enjoyed this cake so I can't tell you what to do with any leftovers. I would imagine that the cake tastes the best if eaten the same day it was baked.

Time to gear up for next month's Secret Recipe Club event! Click here from more info. on how you can join in on the fun!

You just can't help but to drool over all of these beauties below. We love comments! Let us know what you think!!

Blueberry Bliss Pudding

I found this recipe while searching through some old issues of CBS WATCH magazine. It's a family recipe handed down in Sara Canning's (The Vampire Diaries) family. In her interview, she mentions that it's a family tradition to make the blueberry pudding during the holidays in Newfoundland.

It reminds me a lot of my MIL's recipe for apple pudding. Don't get it confused with bread pudding, it's not. It's more of a cake with fruit baked in it. One major difference between the apple pudding and the blueberry pudding is that the apple pudding doesn't have a sauce that gets poured over it. In the original recipe, the sauce calls for brandy and lemon extract. I made some changes adding more vanilla for the lemon extract and fresh squeezed orange juice for the brandy. I liked the sauce on the blueberry pudding but it would also be really delicious omitting the syrup and serving it with warmed, sweetened cream or topped with ice cream.

Blueberry Bliss Pudding
adapted from CBS Watch! Magazine
 
1/2 c. butter. softened
1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. fresh blueberries
1/2 c. water

Heat oven to 325*.

Cream butter and sugar.

Add eggs one at a time, beating until fluffy.

Add flour, baking powder, vanilla and salt.

Stir in enough water (up to 1/2 c.) to make the batter fluffy. (I only used 1/4 c. water).

Fold in blueberries. Pour the batter into a greased 9 x 9 baking dish. Bake for 45 minutes or until nicely browned and a toothpick stuck into the middle of the pudding comes out clean. While baking, prepare the sauce.

Sauce for Blueberry Bliss Pudding

3 tbsp. butter
2 c. hot water
1/8 tsp. salt
3 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. fresh squeezed orange juice
2 tbsp. cornstarch mixed with a little cold water
1/8 tsp. vinegar
1/2 fresh blueberries

Stir all ingredients together in a pot. Bring to a boil. Using a potato masher or a fork, smash the blueberries into the sauce and continue cooking until it starts to thicken.

Using a the handle of a wooden spoon, poke holes into the pudding.

Pour the sauce over the pudding. Serve warm.

No Bake Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Balls & Our Weekly Menu Plan

This summer seems to be flying by! We are in the middle of an incredible heat wave. I've been holed up in the house with the AC for a few days, finally dragging myself and the kids out to go grocery shopping.

My kids and husband have grown accustomed to eating some sort of dessert in the later evening, right before my husband leaves for work. While I love providing homemade desserts, I hate the thought of turning on the oven to heat it up in here. Thus, this batch of no bake peanut butter balls. Takes just 4 ingredients and a kid or two willing to get their hands messy and you're ready to go!

  
No Bake Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Balls

1-18 oz. jar of smooth or chunky peanut buter - I prefer smooth
1 - 16 oz. bag of confectioners sugar
1/4 c. butter, melted
chocolate almond bark
or
chocolate candy melts
or
12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips & 2 tsp. shortening

In a large bowl, stir together the peanut butter, confectioners sugar and melted butter until the mixture is crumbly. For the next step, the best way that I've found to make a smooth filling is to use your hands to mix everything together.

Line a baking sheet with foil. Roll the peanut butter filling into 1 inch balls and line the baking sheet with rows of the balls. Set the baking sheet in the freezer for 5-7 minutes to chill the peanut butter balls for easier dipping.

While the peanut butter balls are chilling, melt the chocolate in the microwave in a microwave safe bowl that is deep enough for dipping. I melted 6 blocks of chocolate almond bark at a time, stirring at 45 second intervals until smooth.

Remove the baking sheet from the freezer. Insert a toothpick or wooden skewer into a peanut butter ball and then dip it into the chocolate, turning quickly to cover the entire candy. Place onto a second baking tray that has also been lined with foil. Swirl the chocolate on the top of each candy for a pretty design. Refrigerate until the chocolate had completely dried.

Store the candies in a sealed container in the refrigerator.

**Warning** These little candies are very addictive!!


Weekly Menu Plan for July 10 - 16

Sunday - country chicken and vegetables in the crock pot

Monday - crock pot Jack Daniel's bbq pulled pork sandwiches - homemade Jack Daniel's bbq sauce!

Tuesday - bacon, lettuce and tomato jam sandwiches, cottage cheese and cucumber salad

Wednesday - breakfast for dinner: pancakes, scrambled eggs, sausage and biscuits

Thursday - Brunswick stew using leftover pulled pork and corn bread

Friday - grilled chicken and pasta with lemon basil sauce

Saturday - burrito pie and rice

Stay cool!


I'm linking up to:

Menu Plan Mondays
A Bowl Full of Lemons 
The Goose Berry Patch Blog

Garlic Asiago Chicken and Noodle Casserole

I've been doing some sorting and organizing of my huge stack of magazines that is taking up a lot of space in our little apartment. I'm sorting into 3 boxes - one for recipes that I want to keep, one for magazines that are full of too many recipes, tips and crafts to get rip apart the whole thing, and one box that holds that magazines that are going to be donated to our local thrift store. (Hopefully I will remember them and not buy them back!)

I'm going to be trying out some of these recipes for the next few weeks so that I can weed through the pages even more, keeping the ones that we like and ditching the rest.

The first recipe to be tested was the Chocolate Coconut Bars that I baked a couple of days ago. I will be keeping this one. It's moist and delicious with a great pairing of chocolate and coconut.

Next up is tonight's dinner, Garlic Asiago Chicken and Noodle Casserole. It's my take on Garlic Parmesan Chicken and Noodles from an April 2010 Better Homes and Garden magazine. Of course I made more of the recipe that what it said. The original recipe makes 4 servings but that's not enough for my hollow-legged son and the rest of us plus enough for leftovers for my husband's lunch.

I made some substitutions and changes to the recipes, the most obvious being the cheeses that I used. My version of this recipe is below.

Garlic Asiago Chicken and Noodle Casserole
adapted from an April 2010 Better Homes & Garden
magazine recipe

18 oz cooked egg noodles - keep warm after cooking
2 lb chicken, cut up into pieces - I cooked extra chicken
thighs and legs on July 4 so that I would have extra for
this meal
4 tbsp minced garlic
1 small can of diced mushrooms, drained
5 1/4 c. whole milk
2 c. shredded Asiago cheese
2 1/2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese + 1 c. shredded mozzarella
1 tbsp sage
1 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp poultry seasoning

Preheat oven to 450*

To a large pot, add chicken, mushrooms and milk. Cook on medium heat until heated through.

Stir in Asiago cheese and 2 1/2 c. mozzarella cheese. Stir until smooth. Add noodles and stir to coat - the sauce will be thin, not a cheese sauce consistancy.

Pour the chicken and noodles into a large baking dish. Sprinkle the reserved cup of mozzarella cheese on top of the noodles.

Bake for 20 - 30 minutes or until the chicken and noodles start to lightly brown.

*****

My thoughts on this dish: Both of my kids liked this dish. They had no complaints about it. My husband and I thought that it was just ok. Just another noodle casserole and sort of bland at that. If you tend to like casseroles that contain a mild cheese flavor and don't contain a lot of spices, you would probably like this one. Would I make this again, probably not...at least not without add more flavor to it. At that point, it would be probably be another casserole completely. There's nothing wrong with this casserole. It just didn't excite my taste buds.

Chocolate Coconut Bars

If you love the combination of coconut and chocolate, you must try Family Circle's latest recipe for Chocolate Coconut Bars. You can find it in the July issue of Family Circle or you can access the recipes on the website by signing up for their free newsletter.

The bars are sort of a cake/brownie combination. Of course, when it comes to spices and extracts, I often add more than what's called for in a recipe because I like a denser flavor. I did this with the icing recipe for these bars. The recipe calls for 1/4 tsp. of coconut extract. This left the icing with barely a hint of coconut flavor. I added 2 more tsp. of coconut extract, plus 1/4 of powdered sugar to soak up the added liquid. This amount was perfect. It's a nice coconut flavor but not overwhelming and paired nicely with the chocolate bars.

I would imagine that you could freeze the bars with no problem - they won't last long enough in our house. I have to add an * here, though. Instead of using a 9 x 13 pan as called for in the recipe, I used a smaller 8 x 10 pan, making the bars a littler thicker. I cut the bars into 15 pieces.

Chocolate Coconut Bars
adapted from Family Circle Magazine - July 2011

Ingredients
1  cup  (2 sticks) butter
4    squares (1 ounce each) unsweetened chocolate, broken up
1 1/2  c. sugar
1 1/2  c. flour
4   eggs
1/2  tsp  baking soda
1/4  tsp  salt
1/2  tsp  coconut extract
1 c. sweetened flake coconut
1/2  c (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
2  c. confectioners' sugar
2 1/4  tsp coconut extract

Heat oven to 350*.

Line a 8 x 10 baking pan with foil. (9 x 13 can be used). Spray the pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Make Bars:

Combine butter and chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 1 minute. Stir. Microwave another minute and stir. Microwave for 30 seconds more and stir until smooth.

Stir in sugar, flour, eggs, baking soda, salt and coconut extract. Pour into prepared pan; smooth top.

Bake for 30 minutes. Watch carefully and check often so that you do not over bake the bars.

Remove pan and sit on a cooking rack.

Prepare Topping:

Spread coconut on a baking sheet and bake at 350* for 10 minutes or until golden.

In a large bowl, combine butter and powdered sugar. Beat until smooth. Beat in coconut extract and 2 tbsp water. Stir in up to 1/4 c. extra powdered sugar to make a thick icing.

Spread over partially cooled bar and top with toasted coconut. Cover with plastic wrap or a tight fitting lid. Refrigerate until completely cooled.

Set the bars on the counter 15 - 30 minutes before serving . Cut into small squares.

Refrigerate any leftovers.

The pièce de résistance, however, was scooping up a bite of the coconut bars along with a bite of creamy, homemade chocolate ice cream. Heavenly! (chocolate ice cream recipe coming soon!)

June '11 Cookie Carnival Round Up

Time again for our monthly Cookie Carnival Round Up!

June brought us these two different cookie recipes to choose from:

Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies from Smucker's

and Lemon Tea Cookies from Betty Crocker

Both recipes went over big with our bakers this month!

Check out our bakers and what they had to say about the cookies....

Lisa@Gourmified made lemon tarts from the lemon cookie recipe. She said "I decided to use my mini tart pan and make some lemon tarts instead of cookies. They very very closely resemble a lemon bar, which I love, just with a slightly thicker crust."

Juliana@horneandoalgo made the lemon tea cookies of which she said "A delicious lemon cookie, very colorful and ideal for afternoon tea."

Christine@whimsicalbakery made key lime tea cookies. She said that her cookies really turned out tangy. Be sure to check out her new redesigned blog. It's pretty!

Vivian@Letstrythese made the lemon tea cookies. She said that although the cookies are somewhat fragile, they were still tasty. She gave a great tip of baking the cookie half way and then filling it, rather than doing it prebaking.

Julie@littlebitofeverything made the chewy peanut butter cookies. Like me, she has memories of crisscrossed peanut butter cookies. She loved this new recipe and said " You'll keep reaching in the cookie jar for more!"

Donna aka my friend "Trainlady" baked along with the Cookie Carnival this month. I've known Donna for several years through FamilyCorner.com. She baked both cookies and shared them with her neighbor Dorothy. Donna said "I made both cookie recipes this month. Dorothy, who loves anything sweet especially loved the lemon filled cookies. She is my dear neighbor who just turned 92 in May. I made the peanut butter cookies, too, and froze them to take on our camping trip. They held up real well after being frozen and were so yummy!  The peanut butter cookies were MY favorite!"

Here's Donna and her peanut butter cookies!

This is the lovely Dorothy holding the lemon tea cookies.

Here are my cookies....

I baked the chewy peanut butter cookies. Even though my cookies spread out and didn't look so pretty, they tasted really good! We'll be making them again!

and rounding up this month's recipes is

Katrina@BakingandBoys made the chewy peanut butter cookies. She said "Loved these chewy peanut buttery coconutty oaty cookies!"

Thanks ladies for a GREAT round up this month! Thank you for baking along with me!

We love comments!! Please take a couple of minutes to let us know what you think of our cookies!

Want to join in on the fun? Here's what you need to know.

Cookie Carnival - Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies

I grew up eating only one kind of peanut butter cookie - my mother's homemade recipe. She would make them for Christmas and Easter and any other family get-togethers we might have during the year. I remember helping her bake and scooping out the peanut butter - always JIF! I remember how she would take the time to criss cross each cookie with a fork so that the lines were just perfect - and I imagine that she still does the same thing. Mom, if you're reading this, your cookies have definitely left good memories!!  Those cookies were sort of crisp on the outside, yet sort of soft on the inside. A perfect cookie for dunking in milk or coffee. I don't make those cookies here at my house because my dh and kids really don't like plain peanut butter cookies. But I can instantly snap back and remember what they tasted like when she tells me that she just baked a batch of them.

When I found this recipe called Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies and saw that it called for coconut and oats and that it was a soft, chewy cookie, I thought that I might be able to pass this off to my family. I thought that it would be the perfect cookie to try out in the Cookie Carnival. Since it was June, I knew that many kids, including mine, would be out of school so I was hoping that it might pique their interest into getting into the kitchen!

Well, it worked. My kids helped with baking these cookies and all of us ended up really liking them. I love Smucker's Natural Peanut Butter but I didn't have any on hand so I subbed regular creamy peanut butter. I think that using the regular peanut butter instead of natural added more oil to the mix, thus making them spread more. My cookies turned out to be really thin (and not too pretty) but they tasted great!

Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies
adapted from Smucker's website

1 cup sugar
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup smooth, creamy peanut butter
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups quick rolled oats
1 cup flaked coconut

Preheat oven to 350*.

Beat sugar, brown sugar, butter and peanut butter until creamy. Beat in eggs, milk and vanilla. Mix well. Combine flour, baking powder and baking soda; stir in rolled oats and coconut. Add to peanut butter mixture and beat on low speed until well blended. Cover and chill 30 minutes.

I used a large ice cream scooper to drop mounds of the cookies onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 15 - 17 minutes or until light brown around edges. Cool 2 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool completely. If the cookies start to stick to the pan, return the pan to the oven for a minute to soften the cookies again. Remove from the pan immediately using a large, flat spatula.

Join the Cookie Carnival and bake along with me each month!

Sweet & Sour Grilled Chicken Tenders

We love to grill. It's probably the most used appliance (is a grill technically an appliance? I should be!) at our house during the hot summer months. We don't stop after the summer is gone. Nope, we grill all year long. Even when the snow is falling.

I've never been a big fan of fruit being cooked with meat but I really do enjoy the sweetness that pineapple adds to chicken, pork and shrimp and the marinade in this recipe can be used on any of them.

Sweet & Sour Grilled Chicken Tenders

1- 2.5 lb bag of frozen chicken tenders, thawed

Marinade & Sauce (make 2 separate batches):

1/2 c. crushed pineapple with juice
1/4 c. bottled sweet & sour sauce
1/4 c. bottled spicy sweet chili sauce
2 tbsp. water

Pour 1 batch of the marinade/sauce ingredients into a large Ziploc bag. Add chicken tenders and shake to coat the chicken with the marinade.

Refrigerate chicken for 2 hours or up to overnight. Grill chicken tenders for 4 minutes on each side or until the insides of the tenders are no longer pink. Discard leftover marinade that was in the bag.

Warm second batch of marinade/sauce and pour it over chicken before serving.

Delicious served over rice.

Soft & Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Has there ever come a time when you're not in the mood for a chocolate chip cookie? For me...nope, never! My family prefers soft and chewy chocolate chippers so these cookies from the Goose Berry Patch, aptly named Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies, fit the bill for a quick and easy cookie recipe.

I don't own a Kindle (hopefully one day!) but I've been enjoying the free downloads on Amazon through the Kindle for PC. I found this recipe in one of those free downloads called "The Goose Berry Patch Circle of Friends Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes".

The recipe uses instant vanilla pudding to keep the cookies soft and moist. I found the batter to be a little stiff so I added 2 tbsp. of milk at the very end of mixing. This thinned the batter out a bit, making it easier for the cookies to spread out just a bit.

Soft & Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
from the Goose Berry Patch Circle of Friends
Chocolate Chip Cookie Cookbook  
Kindle for PC edition

2-1/3 c. all-purpose flour
1 t. baking soda
1 c. margarine
1/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. brown sugar
packed
1 t. vanilla extract
5-1/4 oz. pkg. instant vanilla pudding mix
2 tbsp milk (my addition)

In a bowl, combine flour, baking soda, margarine, sugars, vanilla and dry pudding mix; beat until smooth and creamy.

Beat in eggs; stir in chocolate chips.

Stir in milk and mix until creamy.

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 375 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes, or until golden. (I baked my cookies for 7 minutes on the middle rack and then moved the tray to the top level in the oven and continued baking for another 1 1/2 minutes.)  Let cool on wire racks.

Makes 2 to 3 dozen.

Linking up with:
Tuesday Time Out

Menu Plan - Week of June 26- July 2

Let's see if I can get back on some sort of schedule this week. With my kids out of school, we seem to lose our ways around the house. I'm hoping to start back into a routine again.

Our menu for this coming week looks like this:

Sunday - Turkey & stuffing roll-ups with mashed potatoes and corn

Monday - Baked mastacolli

Tuesday - Ginger soy pork tenderloin with garlic roasted red potatoes and glazed carrots

Wednesday - Croissant pizza

Thursday - Rosemary Thyme chicken strips, rice & gravy, salad and green beans

Friday - southwestern mac and corn bread

Saturday - taco meat loaf and Spanish rice


My goal for this week is not to go out to eat anywhere. Wish me luck!

Linking up to:
Menu Plan Monday

Secret Recipe Club: Easy Oreo Truffles

I have had such a sweet tooth lately. I decided ahead of time, before receiving my secret blog name, that I would search for something sweet to make for this round of the Secret Recipe Club.

I was totally thrilled to receive A Tale of One Foodie's Culinary Adventures as my secret name. Erin's blog is full of sweet treats with beautiful pictures accompanying her recipes. In fact, her pictures of the Easy Oreo Truffles is what drew me in to my recipe of choice to begin with!

With just 3 ingredients, you can't go wrong making these. It does take a little time if you want them to turn out as beautiful as Erin's did. Mine didn't look quite as nice but they are still pretty. One thing is for sure...these little gems are rich and chocolaty and absolutely delicious. I have 4 more recipes from Erin's blog bookmarked for me to add to my menus this summer!

Easy Oreo Truffles
original recipe from Kraft 
my version adapted from A Tale of One Foodie's Culinary Adventures

1 regular-sized pkg of Oreos
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
16 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, melted
toppings: sprinkles, nuts or crushed Oreos

Add entire package of Oreos to a large food processor. Chop until the Oreos turn into coarse crumbs. Reserve 1/3 cup of crumbs for the topping on the truffles.

Add cream cheese to the cookie crumbs. Process until the crumbs and cream cheese are blended together.

Roll the mixture into 1 inch balls and place on a baking sheet lined with waxed paper. Once the baking sheet if full, stick it into the freezer for 5-8 minutes (or you could stick the tray into the frig for a while longer). This step makes dipping the truffles so much easier. I tried dipping them without freezing them and the balls fell apart in the chocolate.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler on the stove or by melting it in the microwave. Dip each truffle one by one, laying each one back onto the wax paper lined tray. Immediately sprinkle the candies or crushed Oreos on top of the truffles.

Refrigerate the truffles on the tray for at least 1 hour. Store in a tightly sealed container. For maximum flavor, refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.

MMM! A prefect choice for those sweet tooth cravings.

I've enjoyed another month in the Secret Recipe Club. If you would like to join us, here's what you need to know.

Bow Tie Pasta Salad

Happy Memorial Day!

**My family and I would like to say THANK YOU to our military men & woman, past and present, for serving and protecting us!**

We had this Bow Tie Pasta Salad at our little family picnic today. It was 95 and very humid here so we ate inside in the AC. ;)  We had a simple picnic of hot dogs, pasta salad, cake w/strawberries and iced tea.

Bring on summer!

  
Bow Tie Pasta Salad

2 -12oz boxes of bow tie pasta, cooked
2 medium tomatoes, diced into small pieces
1 large cucumber, diced into small pieces
1 can of black olives, drained and diced into small rings or pieces
12 oz Kraft Greek Vinaigrette salad dressing
6 oz Kraft Italian salad dressing
1/3 c. Salad Supreme

Cook pasta. Drain and rinse with cold water. Drain again.

Stir in tomatoes, cucumber, and black olives.

Pour salad dressings and Salad Supreme over pasta. Stir to mix well.

Refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Serve cold.

Lemon Chocolate Chip Cake Mix Cookie Bites

If you're looking for a cookie that will travel and hold up well for summer picnics, my Lemon Chocolate Chip Cake Mix Cookie Bites will work perfectly.

The tartness of the lemon cake mix balances well with the sweetness of the semi sweet chocolate chips. I used a mini cookie scoop so that you would end with just a bite or two of each cookie, making them easier to handle. These cookies are topped with a simple lemon glaze but they taste great leaving them unglazed, too. I loved the extra tang from the lemon in the glaze but my kids loved the cookies without the glaze.

I love how quickly cake mix cookies come together. I chose to use semi sweet chocolate chips this time but you could easily sub sprinkles, white chocolate chips, walnuts, macadamia nuts or even sunflower seeds would create a nice texture and taste. If you choose to let the cookies plain, roll the cookie balls into sugar before baking for a pretty crinkled look. You could also drizzle melted chocolate over top of the baked cookies. Versatility...another reason that I love cake mix cookies!

Lemon Chocolate Chip Cake Mix Cookie Bites 
adapted from Duncan Hines

Cookies:

1 Duncan Hines Lemon Supreme Cake mix
1/3 c. vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 tbsp. lemon juice (original calls for fresh lemon but I used bottled)
3/4 c. semi sweet chocolate chips

Glaze:

1 c. powdered sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice (original calls for fresh lemon but I used bottled and omitted the zest)

Preheat oven to 350*

Mix together cake mix, oil, eggs and lemon juice. The batter will be stiff.

Using a mini cookie scoop or a teaspoon, drop cookie batter onto an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for 8-12 minutes or until the cookies start to turn brown around the edges. Remove from oven and cool cookies on the sheet for 1-2 minutes. Remove the cookies from the cookie sheet to cooling racks to cool completely. If you are going to glaze the cookies with lemon glaze, do so while the cookies are still slightly warm.

To make glaze: 

Stir together powdered sugar and lemon juice. Set aside for 5 minutes. Spoon glaze over warm cookies.

Tuscany Pasta

I haven't been inspired to try much of anything new lately but with all of the veggies and fruits coming into season right now, I don't want to miss out on them, either. My recipe for Tuscany Pasta came together rather quickly with some fresh ingredients that I had on hand. It's a light dish full packed full of flavor.

Tuscany Pasta

1 lb of shell pasta, cooked
2 cans of diced tomatoes with basil and oregano
3 tbsp Italian seasonings
 olive oil for cooking vegetables
1 16 oz container of button mushrooms, sliced
3 tbsp minced garlic in olive oil
1 bag of fresh spinach
freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for topping (optional)

Cook pasta, drain and set aside.

While the pasta is cooking, pour the two cans of tomatoes into a large sauce pot. (big enough to hold cooked pasta). Stir in Italian seasoning and cook over medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

In a large frying pan, drizzle two tbsp. of olive oil. Add mushrooms to the pan, along with the garlic and saute until the mushrooms start to soften. Remove the mushrooms to a bowl and keep warm.

In the same frying pan, drizzle in one more tbsp. of olive oil. Add entire bag of spinach to the pan. Toss the spinach to coat it with the olive oil. Cook over medium heat until the spinach just starts to wilt. This will happen very quickly so do not stop tossing the spinach while it is cooking. Spoon the spinach into the bowl with the mushrooms.

Once the tomatoes have cooked for 20 minutes, add the mushrooms and spinach to the sauce. Stir to mix well. Continue simmering for 5-10 minutes.

Pour the cooked shells into the pot of tomato sauce. Toss well to evenly coat the pasta.

To serve, spoon into bowls and top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Buon Appetito!