S'mores on a Straw

Busy, busy month! 
We were at Great Wolf Lodge in the Poconos for a long weekend and I haven't stopped running since we got back on Tuesday.  Until now...ahhhh.
So a quick idea before I need to go look at my To Do list again. 

S'mores on a Stick Straw!  I saw the idea here at Skip to My Lou a while back, but I didn't have enough lollipop sticks.  I did have plenty of straws though.  Sorry I didn't take a picture, it was that kind of day, but here's what I did:

1. Insert straws into marshmallows (I used bendy straws and put the non-bendy part into the marshmallow).
2. Melt chocolate chips in the microwave-30 secs at 50% power, stir, repeat until melted completely.
3. Use food processor to crush a couple of graham crackers into crumbs.
4. Dip marshmallow about halfway into melted chocolate (I scraped the excess chocolate off the bottom of the marshmallow before the next step).
5. Press bottom of the marshmallow into the graham cracker crumbs.
6. Set on wax paper to harden (can put in the fridge).

They were a big hit with the preschool crowd yesterday, and we're sooooo easy to make!  It's going to be my new go-to kid dessert!
Enjoy,
D

Comfort Food

There's a little tiny BBQ place, tucked away beneath the Corolla light house in the Outer Banks, and oh how we wish we could own a franchise!  The pulled pork is so, so good!  So years ago, after having it for the first time, we returned home and searched for a recipe to replicate it.  (Hmmm, I'm beginning to see a trend here, first the hot chocolate post...) 

So, Rachael Ray to the rescue.  I've been in love with Rachael since "M" was born 9 years ago.  She kept me company while "M" did the things babies do so well!  And she taught me a bunch about cooking.  I gained tons of confidence "eye-balling" amounts of ingredients and cooking parts of the meal at the same time so that everything would be ready at the same time.  Now I have everyone of her cookbooks and use them 2-3 times a week.

Here's what we eat now when we aren't in the Outer Banks and HAVE to have BBQ pulled pork, NC style!

                     

             North Carolina-Style Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Recipe By: Rachael Ray
Serves 8

-= Ingredients =-

3 tablespoon Salt
2 tablespoon Pepper
1 tablespoon Sweet paprika
1- 5 pound Boneless pork shoulder roast (I've used other cuts of pork roasts too)
2 tablespoon Vegetable oil
1/3 cup Apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup Vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoon Sugar
1 teaspoon Hot pepper sauce
8 Hamburger rolls
4 cup North Carolina -Style Coleslaw (optional)

-= Instructions =-

1.  Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.  Mix together the salt, pepper and paprika; sprinkle all over the pork and rub in.

2.  In a large skillet or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat.  Add the pork and cook, turning occasionally, until browned, 8-10 minutes.  Transfer to a 24-inch-long sheet of heavy-duty foil and double-wrap the pork.

3.  Place the pork, skin side up, in a 9-by 13-inch baking dish; roast until tender, about 4 1/2 hours. (It's never taken this long for me-check the temp around 3 1/2 hours)  Remove from the oven and carefully unwrap the top of the pork, revealing the skin.  Increase the heat to 450 degrees and roast for 20 minutes more.

4.  Transfer the roast to a large bowl, along with any juices.  Using two forks, shred the pork.  Add the vinegars, sugar and hot sauce;  toss.  Serve on the hamburger rolls topped with coleslaw, if using.

 North Carolina-Style Coleslaw

Recipe By: Rachael Ray

Serves 8

-= Ingredients =-

1/2 cup Apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup Vinegar
2 tablespoon Sugar
2 teaspoon Hot pepper sauce
1 teaspoon Red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon Salt
1/8 teaspoon Pepper
1 Green cabbage ; cored and shredded

-= Instructions =-In a large bowl, whisk together the vinegars, sugar, hot sauce, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.  Add the cabbage and toss.  Let stand for 30 minutes, then toss and serve.

Pretty spicy!

A food stylist I am NOT!  But I know I always love to see a photo of what I'm trying to make.  Enjoy!

Here's a tease of my first craft post-coming soon!

Hmm, what could it be?  Have you ever used freezer paper, outside of the freezer? 

Happy Tuesday!

D



Gingerbread Hot Chocolate

It's a bit chilly here today, I'm glad we use Fahrenheit and not Celsius, that would be downright depressing looking at those numbers! 
Soooooo, enter hot chocolate.  But better than that, Gingerbread hot chocolate.
In a gift exchange over Christmas, I received 3 different individual serve hot chocolate mixes.  The Gingerbread ROCKED!  So I had to recreate it for consumption on a nearly daily basis-gulp.
Here's a "sort of" recipe for you:

mug of milk

powdered hot chocolate mix

ground ginger

ground cloves

cinnamon

1.  Heat mug of milk in microwave for about a minute and a half.
2.  Mix in appropriate amount of h.c. mix, 3 tablespoons?  4?
3.  Add about 1/4 teaspoon ginger, 1/8 teaspoon cloves and a good sprinkle of cinnamon.
4.  Stir well and heat in microwave again for 30 seconds.
5.  Stir again, add Snowman marshmallows-they are soooo yummy, and enjoy!



I've got a pork roast in the oven for North Carolina style pulled pork a la Rachael Ray-check back for that soon!
Stay warm,
D
P.S.  Thought I'd include a handy Celsius to Fahrenheit calculator for those of you living in countries that use the scale that you're not used to!  Ni hao SD!
http://walking.about.com/library/cal/uctemp.htm