Marinated Mushrooms

Marinated mushrooms are a great appetizer, snack, or party food. These are also easy and quick to make.


Ingredients

• 8 oz mushrooms, cleaned and cut into bite-size pieces
• 2 Tbls olive oil
• 2 Tbls apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 Tbls Italian seasoning
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• pinch of kosher salt

Directions

Heat the olive oil in a saute pan over medium-high heat. Once the oil heats up, add the mushrooms. Sprinkle the kosher salt over the mushrooms. Saute the mushrooms, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms begin to brown. Don't fully cook the mushrooms, you only want to get some of the water out of them. As soon as the mushrooms start to get some color, add the vinegar, Italian seasoning and crushed red pepper flakes.

Remove the pan drom the stove and pour the entire contents into a separate container. Now let the mushrooms cool. As the mushrooms sit, they will marinate in the oil, vinegar, and seasonings. The longer they sit, the more flavor they will absorb and the better they will taste.

You can store them covered in the refrigerator. They will keep for a few days.

Eggs Marshall

Eggs Marshall, a.k.a. eggs with Italian seasonings, a.k.a eggs with Italian salad dressing. The idea for this recipe came from season 2 episodes 21 of the TV show How I Met Your Mother. It's incredibly simple and really delicious.


Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 1.5 Tbls Italian dressing

Directions

Beat the eggs in a bowl. Heat the Italian dressing in an 8 inch skillet over medium heat. When the dressing heats up and begins to bubble, add the beaten eggs. Cook until the eggs reach your desired level of doneness.

Feel free to use more or less dressing to make the Italian flavor more or less assertive. The flavor will also probably vary depending on which brand/style of dressing you use.

Crock Pot Citrus Pork Carnitas

Carnitas is a Mexican pork dish that is slow roasted or braised. There are a bunch of different ways to make carnitas with different seasonings.


Ingredients

• 2-3 lbs pork shoulder
• 1 large orange, juiced (approx. 1/4 - 1/2 cup)
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1 Tbls cumin
• 1 Tbls minced garlic
• 1/2 cup beef stock (or beef broth)
• 1 onion, sliced

Directions

Plop the pork shoulder into your crock pot. Sprinkle the cumin and garlic evenly over the pork. Cover the pork with the onion slices and pour the orange juice, lime juice, and beef stock over the contents of the crock pot.

Cook on low for 8-10 hours. The pork should shred easily when it's done. If there's more liquid than you'd like, turn the heat up to high and remove the lid until some of the liquid evaporates.

The pork is tender with a subtle smokey citrus flavor. It's not spicy, but you can make it that way by adding some cayenne pepper before cooking.

I used this to make tacos using corn tortillas, diced raw onion and tomatos, and fresh cilantro.

I also used this pork to make great sandwiches with some sliced cheddar and mustard.

Blackberry Barbecue Sauce

If you like barbecue sauce (who doesn't?) and you're looking for something that's a little bit different, this recipe is great and really easy.


Ingredients

• 1/2 cup blackberry preserves (seedless is best)
• 1 1/2 cups ketchup
• 2 Tbls brown sugar
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp mustard (optional)
• 2 Tbls balsamic vinegar

Directions
Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Simmer for about 15 minutes.


Makes about 2 cups.


I usually make this with pork chops.