It’s been a while… & Green Bean Salad

I was totally shocked when I realized that it has been 6 months since I have last posted anything on my blog 😦

I have been completely wrapped up in my crazy, busy life of raising four children (1 teen, 1 tween & 2 babies), being an efficient secretary to my husband and his business ventures and his wife. Even though being busy should not be an excuse for making time to do what I love, which is cooking and blogging, there just aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done. I am currently attempting to make some minor adjustments in my life so that I can have a bit of me time, which is time I like to spend on here. This makes me smile!

Just to catch everyone up to speed

~ Bailey will be making some major adjustments this upcoming school year. She is moving from a private Christian school to a public school and entering into the IB program. I am praying that the culture shock isn’t too rough on her. Bailey has been working for her Aunt and Uncle at their business throughout this summer, and is planning on staying there through high school.  She is active in 2 rodeo circuits as well as the NBHA, and loves every minute of it. Bailey has been blessed with a horse who is as perfectly matched to her as she is to him. His name is Blaze.

~Emily will be homeschooled full-time this year. I am both excited and nervous about this. I know that everything happens for a reason and this is what we are supposed to be doing at this time. She is also active in 2 rodeo circuits and well as the NBHA (National Barrel Horse Assoc.) Emily is a cowgirl at heart and I just adore her spirit. She loves to work cattle and in her spare time she loves to design hair and nails.

~ Gracie will be three years old the end of this month. It is so hard to believe that three years have gone by so quickly. She has definitely made the transition from baby to toddler to little girl. She is most excited about her 3rd birthday party. For the past two months she has talked to me everyday about her, “Horse party, with purple balloons and cupcakes!” I hope we are able to live up to her dream party (pictures and details to come). We are hopeful that Gracie will ride in her first rodeo before the end of this year. I am anxious to let you know how that goes.

~ Richard a.k.a. Bubba is not only our baby but also our only boy. Therefore he is spoiled rotten, down to the core. He has each and every one of us wrapped around his little finger(s) like all of them. He will be turning two in November and I cannot fathom where the time has gone. It is like the days are long and the years are short. Any how he is healthy and happy and surrounded by girls…

So, now that we are all caught up on life I would like to share with you one of Bailey’s favorite salad’s. Let me know what you think about it, or what changes you make to it. I love hearing from you.

Rachel

Green Bean Salad

1 lb. fresh green beans (washed & trimmed)

1 small red onion slice thin

8 oz. cooked and crumbled bacon (or use bacon pieces already cooked)

8 oz. crumbled Feta Cheese

1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2-3 Tablesoons white wine vinegar (or white balsamic vinegar)

1 Tablespoon dried parsley

1 teaspoons minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon dried dill (optional, depending on taste)

1-2 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

Blanche green beans (place in pot of boiling water for 1-2 minutes, drain and transfer to a bowl of iced water) you want the beans to be crisp and keep their vibrant color.

Wisk together the oil, vinegar, herbs and seasonings

In a large bowl toss the beans, dressing, Feta, and bacon.

This salad is served as made or chilled.

 

Zuppa Toscana

I have missed you all! I hope that your Thanksgiving Day was spectacular, filled with delicious food, cherished moments with loved ones and football of course!

Sadly, it seems like it has been a lifetime since I have posted anything. I truly enjoy this website, it means a lot to me. However, this past month has been incredibly busy for several different reasons and despite my efforts to find the time to blog, it hasn’t happened. I had so many wonderful recipes I was excited to share for Thanksgiving 😦 which I will saved for next year…

Zuppa Toscana, is an Italian soup (which happens to be a favorite of my girls & myself) that is full of sausage, sweet onions, potatoes, and the star of the bowl, kale. This soup does have cream added to it, but it is not a heavy soup, the base is made with chicken stock with a small amount of cream added at the end. I usually would have used milk, as I commonly don’t keep heavy cream on hand, but I had some leftover from turkey day therefore I added on the richness and the calories!

I would also like to add that I have a long way to go with my photography skills, and I try my best, but I find it almost impossible to take a good (or even decent) picture of soup. Over the past six months I have probably snapped 200 shots of different soups, and not one has been even okay. But, I really wanted to jump back into my blog and this soup was what was on the menu. If any of you have any tricks or suggestions, I would love to hear it! Thanks.

Zuppa Toscana

Ingredients

• 1 pound sweet Italian chicken sausage (hot sausage would be great as well)
• 2 large Idaho potatoes
• 2 large sweet onions
• 1 heaping Tablespoon of minced garlic
• 12-16 ounces of chopped kale
• 3 cans of all natural chicken broth 14.5 oz each
• 1/2 pound bacon cook and chopped
• 1 Tablespoon dried parsley
• 3/4 to 1 cup of heavy cream or milk
• sea salt and black pepper to taste
• 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
• 4 cups water
• 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
• Parmesan cheese for garnish

Directions

• Add vegetable oil to a hot Dutch oven or heavy pot (med-high heat) brown and crumble sausage  remove from pot
• Dice onions and potatoes add to sausage drippings cook 10-12 minutes
• Add garlic to potatoes and onions
• Pour chicken stock and water into pot bring to a boil and then reduce heat
• Add salt, black pepper, crushed red pepper, parsley, bacon & sausage
• Check the tenderness of your potatoes, when tender add cream and kale cook until thoroughly heated and slightly wilted
• Once the cream is added do not boil, the cream will separate
• Serve with parmesan cheese as a garnish

 

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork & Citrus Slaw Sandwich’s

As I was looking through my previous posts I realized that I must be on some sort of pasta or chicken kick. I do love both pasta and chicken, but we eat so much more. So I must share with you some of the things we eat on a regular basis. Pulled pork is a staple here at our home. When I discovered how easy is was to throw in the slow cooker and how scrumptious the results were, it became a regular on our menu. I might have made this too many times last year. It was the main course at all of the birthday party’s in which I was the hostess. This pork is easily prepared, cooked and pulled ahead of time, the slaw is just as easy. Therefore, this is a great dish to prepare when you are expecting a crowd or contributing to a potluck.

For some of you the idea of putting cole slaw on your Bar-B-Que sandwich is nothing short of absurd. Let me enlighten you, I can recall the first time I saw this odd combination on a menu (many, many moons ago). I ordered the pork, sans the slaw. There was NO WAY I wanted to ruin my lunch that way. It was several years later before I actually tried cole slaw on my pork sandwich, and that was all she wrote. I was hooked, and to this day if I am eating a pulled pork sandwich you had better believe there is slaw of some sort on it. There is something wonderful about the  crunch, creaminess, and sweetness that the slaw adds, and how it  pairs up with the spicy bar-b-que (if you like the heat) sauce and meatiness of the sandwich. This is one of my all-time top 5 sandwiches.

On a totally different note. It has been brought to my attention that I need to include serving sizes, in my recipes. I will make a huge attempt to include as much information as I can. Again, the whole measuring thing is anything but my thing. But, I will try 🙂 Also, I always try to make my recipes so that you can easily double or divide the amounts. If the cooking/baking time requires adjustment, I will add that as well. I know that some of you are cooking for 1 or 2 and some are cooking for 6-8, so I am trying to accommodate everyone!

Below are the instructions on the meat and slaw. Once everything is prepared. Pile the pork onto a fresh bun, top the meat with your favorite sauce, mine is Stubbs’s Spicy, and then finish with the slaw! Good vittles!

Slow-Cooker Pulled Pork

Serves 8-10

• 7 lbs. Boston Butt bone-in (I get two 3 to 3 1/2 lbs. pieces of meat)
• 2 Tablespoons Lawry’s Seasoned Salt or Everglades Seasoning
• 4 cups water
• 8 split buns

Directions

• Rub seasoning into meat
• Place meat into slow-cooker, the side with the most fat should face up.
• Add water, cover and cook on high for about 5 hours.
• Move meat into a large pan. Remove bone and large pieces of fat. I don’t shred the meat because I prefer the large chunks of meat. If you like use two forks or a pair of tongs and pull meat apart.

Citrus Slaw

•  1/4 cup cider vinegar
• 2 Tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 celery seed
• generous 1/2 cup of light canola mayo
• 1/3 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 black pepper
• 16 oz. shredded coleslaw mix (with red cabbage & carrots)
• 3/4 cup mandarin oranges
• 1 Tablespoon juice from mandarin oranges

Directions

•  In a large sealable container, whisk together all ingredients except slaw mix and oranges.
•  Add cabbage mix, toss well.
•  Gently fold in oranges.
•  Refrigerate until ready to serve.