Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Back track to February

February's bunco was hosted by Krista.  Lots of great food that kept me stuffed for days.  Its so funny how many times I hear each month "oh, its from Pinterest."  Pinterest has really become a great resource for party good and drinks.  Krista made the Raspberry Beer Lemonade that she found on there.  It was sooo good.  Dangerously good. 

Raspberry Beer Lemonade
3/4 cup frozen raspberries
3 1/2 (12 oz) bottles beer, chilled
1 (12 oz) container frozen raspberry lemonade concentrate, thawed
1/2 cup vodka
Garnish with lemon and lime slices

The dinner was a schmorgiborg of Tex-Mex with chocolate flan and lime cupcakes to top it off. 

Spicy Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork
Ingredients

-          1 whole Large Onion
-          1 whole Pork Shoulder or Pork Butt (original recipe calls for 5- 7 Pounds, I generally do 2-4 pounds and adjust the rest of the ingredients as necessary)
-          Salt and Pepper
-          1 can (11 Ounce) Chipotle Peppers In Adobo Sauce
-          2 cans Dr. Pepper
-          2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
Instructions
1.        The original instructions are for preparation in an oven.  I use my crock pot and it works perfectly!
2.       Peel the onion and cut it into wedges. Lay them in the bottom of the pot.
3.       Generously salt and pepper the pork roast, then set it on top of the onions in the pot, fat side up.
4.       Pour the can of chipotle peppers over the pork (include the sauce.)
5.       Pour in both cans of Dr Pepper.
6.       Add brown sugar to the juice and stir in.
7.       Place lid tightly on pot and cook on low for at least 8 hours.  Original recipe indicates you should turn the roast two or three times during the cooking process.  I’m never home while its cooking, so I never do this and it turns out fine.  You know the roast is done when the meat falls apart easily.
8.       Remove meat from pot and place on a cutting board or other work surface. Use two forks to shred meat, discarding large pieces of fat. Strain as much of the fat off the top of the cooking liquid as you can and discard it.
9.       Return the shredded meat to the cooking liquid, and keep warm until ready to serve
10.   Serve on warm flour tortillas. Top with shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, grated cheese, avocado slices, salsa, and whatever else you’d like.  I like this dish with cole slaw on top.  You can also serve as pulled pork sandwiches.

Easy Chicken Taquitos
Note:  I hesitated even including this recipe because it turned out so terribly on bunco night.  My corn tortillas completely fell apart, so I had to serve them enchillada-ish which didn’t work because the tortillas were crispy.  I have made these several times before and they are usually very good.  Figures that they would break when entertaining!
-Krista
Ingredients
-          1/3 cup (3 oz) cream cheese
-          1/4 cup green salsa
-          1 Tablespoon fresh lime juice
-          1/2 teaspoon cumin
-          1 teaspoon chili powder
-          1/2 teaspoon onion powder
-           1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic, or garlic powder
-          3 Tablespoon chopped cilantro
-          2 Tablespoon sliced green onions
-          2 cup shredded cooked chicken
-           1 cup grated pepperjack cheese
-           small tortilla – corn or flour
-          kosher salt
-           cooking spray

Directions
1.       Heat oven to 425ºF.
2.       Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.
3.       Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds so it’s soft and easy to stir. Add green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder and granulated garlic. Stir to combine.
4.       Add cilantro and green onions and stir.
5.       Add chicken and cheese and combine well. (You can prepare up to this step ahead of time. Just keep the mixture in the fridge.)
6.       Work with a few tortillas at a time and heat in the microwave until they are soft enough to roll without cracking. It helps to place them between damp paper towels. Usually 20-30 seconds will do it. If you find yours are cracking when you roll them or are coming unrolled right away, just try heating them longer and try the paper towel thing.
7.       Place 2-3 tablespoons of the chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keeping it about a 1/2 inch from the edges. Then roll it up as tight as you can.
8.       Place seam side down on the baking sheet. Lay all of the taquitos on the baking sheet and make sure they are not touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray or an oil mister and sprinkle some kosher salt on top.
9.       Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown.
Chocolate Flan Cake
Ingredients
-          1 (18 ounce) box chocolate devil's food cake mix
-          1 1/2 cups water (amount per cake mix directions)
-          1/2 cup oil (amount per cake mix directions)
-          3 eggs (amount per cake mix directions)
-          1 (11 ounce) jar cajeta or caramel topping
-          1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
-          1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk
-          1/2 cup fresh milk
-          1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature
-          1 teaspoon vanilla
-          5 additional eggs

Directions
1.       Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2.       Spray a large 12-cup Bundt pan with nonstick coating.
3.       Soften the cajeta/caramel in the jar in the microwave and pour into the prepared pan.
4.       Prepare cake mix according to package directions.
5.       Pour the cake batter into the cake pan over the cajeta/caramel.
6.       To make the flan - pour condensed, evaporated and fresh milks into a blender with the cream cheese, vanilla and remaining 5 eggs and mix well.
7.       Pour the flan mixture very slowly over the cake batter.  Note – even though the flan is poured on top of the cake batter, it will sink to the bottom of the pan while cooking.
8.       Spray aluminum foil with non-stick cooking spray.
9.       Cover the pan TIGHTLY with aluminum foil - covering tightly is very important.
10.   Set the Bundt pan into a large pan and set on the oven rack and slide into the oven.
11.   Carefully pour hot water into the larger pan to a depth of 2 inches - the bundt pan will be sitting in 2 inches of water.
12.   Bake cake for 2 hours; do not uncover during this time.
13.   After two hours, remove cake from water and allow to cool for 15 minutes. Peel off the aluminum foil.
14.   Invert cake onto a large plate with rim.
15.   The cajeta/caramel will drip down the sides of the cake.
16.   Cool completely then refrigerate. Refrigerate leftovers.

Lime Cupcakes
My inspiration came from Piece of Cake.  In reality, I did the following
Ingredients
-          1 (18 ounce) box chocolate white cake mix
-          1/2 cup water (amount per cake mix directions)
-          1/3 cup oil (amount per cake mix directions)
-          3 egg whites (amount per cake mix directions)
-          1/3 cup sugar
-          2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
-          2 additional tablespoons water
-          Vanilla frosting (I used canned frosting – sorry!)
-          Lime zest (for garnish)

Directions
1.       Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2.       Prepare cake mix according to package directions.
3.       Pour cake batter into the muffin tins (lined with paper liners)
4.       Bake according to package directions and then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
5.       While the cupcakes are baking, prepare the lime syrup - In a small saucepan, whisk together the sugar, lime juice and water.
6.       Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally.
7.       Boil until the sugar is dissolved, and the syrup is clear and slightly thickened, about 1 minute.
8.       Set aside to cool.
9.       After the cupcakes have cooled, prick each one deeply with a fork about 4-5 times.
10.   Carefully spoon about 1/2 teaspoon of syrup over each cake and allow the syrup to soak into the cakes for about 10 minute
11.   Frost and decorate, as desired.
12.   Refrigerate any leftover cupcakes for up to 3 days.

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