Tomatillo Dressing

May 1, 2015 by Nikki Cole

Hey it’s Nikki with Busy Mom’s Helper, who here likes sweet pork? It is one of my favorites! I love going to Costa Vida and getting their sweet pork burrito, but it can get expensive so I found a good copy-cat recipe. To spice it up more I added this Tomatillo Dressing that makes it more moist and adds a lot of flavor.

Ingredients

3 tomatillos
1 bunch cilantro
1 tsp garlic salt
1 lime
1 packet hidden valley ranch dressing
1 cup buttermilk

Directions

1. Cut into smaller pieces the tomatillos and cilantro and place in blender. Remove the skin from the tomatillos, most of the time the skin will fall off on its own or its really simple to peel off.

2. Add in the garlic, ranch, and buttermilk. If you don’t have buttermilk just add 1 cup milk and 2 tablespoons butter.

3. Cut the lime in half and squeeze juice into the blender.

4. Blend well, I usually blend only half the cilantro with everything for about a minute then add the rest, scrape down the sides, and blend for another minute or two.

Serve cold over any dish! I especially love it with my sweet pork burrito, but it is also great on salads as well – I have even put it on rice.

Sweet pork

Ingredients

2 pounds pork
2 cans pepsi (not diet)
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/4 cup water
1 can diced green chilies
1 can enchilada sauce (mild, medium, or hot)
1 cup brown sugar

Directions

Marinate pork in a bag over night with 1 can of pepsi 1 cup brown sugar and garlic salt and water.
Place the content of the bag into a slow cooker and cook on low for 7 hours or high for 3-4.
An hour before you want to eat, drain the pork, shred it with two forks, then place back into the empty crockpot
Combine the shredded pork with the diced chilies, enchilada sauce, 1 cup brown sugar, and 1 can Pepsi. Stir well.
Turn the crock pot on high and let warm for about an hour.

Serve burrito style with rice, sour cream, cheese, and the flavorful Tomatillo Dressing, or over a salad.

Hawaiian Pulled Pork

July 17, 2013 by Kelly Dedeaux

Hawaiian Pulled Pork

Ingredients
3-4 lb. Pork Roast
1 cup Teriyaki Marinade
1 tbsp. Paprika
1 tsp. Ground Black Pepper
1/2 cup Chicken Broth
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1/4 cup Soy Cause
1 cup Chili Sauce
6 oz. Pineapple Juice
1/4 Onion, diced
2 tbsp. Ginger
4 Garlic Cloves, minced
8 Hamburger Buns

Directions
Place the Onions along the bottom of your slow-cooker. Place the Pork on top of the onions.

In a large bowl, combine all of the remaining ingredients EXCEPT the Buns. Pour sauce over the pork.

Cook on low for 7-8 hours. Remove from slow-cooker and shred easily with two forks or tongs.

BBQ Spare Ribs

June 18, 2013 by Kelly Dedeaux

This BBQ Spare Ribs recipe was my first attempt at ever doing ribs myself, and to be quite honest, I was nervous I’d mess it up. It turned out WONDERFUL, however, and definitely got two thumbs up from Hubby, and myself!

This post is a tribute to my amazing, wonderful and crazy Hubby ‘Flash’. This Father’s Day I was thinking of all the things he does for our family, all his sacrifices for us, and just feel like I could never repay him in a million years. I’ve made it a goal to better show my appreciation year-round, to remind him more often than just on Father’s Day. So here’s me shouting to the world: I LOVE YOU HUBBY!!!

BBQ Spare Ribs

Ingredients

4 lbs. rack of Pork Spare Ribs
1/8 cup ground black pepper
⅓ cup paprika
⅓ cup sugar
1 tablespoon salt
Tangy BBQ Sauce

Directions
Preheat oven to 250 Degrees. Spray a rimmed baking or roasting pan. Put ribs in the pan and pierce meaty parts with a fork.

In a small bowl, mix the Pepper, Paprika, Sugar and Salt. Rub generously on both sides of the ribs.

Wrap the ribs tightly with foil. Bake for about 2 1/2 hours.

Pull back the foil, and use a basting brush to rub the Tangy BBQ Sauce all over the ribs. Reserve a bit for dipping, if desired. **Recover the ribs with the foil and bake for another hour.

Enjoy, with lots and lots of napkins or wet wipes!!!

**If grilling, this is where you would finish the cooking on your grill.

Molasses Pork with Sweet Potatoes

May 26, 2013 by Kelly Dedeaux

Flash (hubby) loves sweet potatoes. For me, they’re okay if cooked right (and with marshmallows, of course), but with him it’s LOVE. This was one of those meals I made mostly for him, but ended up enjoying just as much! I was surprised the kids liked it so much, also. Maybe it’s the marshmallows? Either way, this pork is so flavorful, juicy and blends perfectly with the sweet potatoes. Almost a treat instead of a main dish!

Molasses Pork with Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients
2 10 oz. Pork tenderloins
1/4 cup Molasses
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1 tbsp. Rosemary
1 tsp. Red pepper flakes
1 lb. Sweet potatoes, cut into pieces
2 1/2 tbsp. Olive oil
1 Shallot, minced
1/2 cup Chicken broth
Salt and pepper, to taste
Handful marshmallows, if desired

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 Degrees.

In a bowl, combine the sweet potato pieces, other half of the pepper flakes and 1 1/2 tbsp. of the olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss to evenly coat.

Spread the potatoes on a sprayed baking sheet, leaving an open spot in the center of pan for the pork to be added later. Put the potatoes in the oven for 15 minutes.

Heat the remaining olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown both sides of the pork, about 3 minutes per side. Remove from heat, save the skillet.

In a bowl, mix the molasses, mustard, rosemary, and half of the pepper flakes until combined.

Remove the baking sheet with the potatoes, and place the pork in the empty center spot. Brush pork and potatoes with some of the molasses mixture. Sprinkle marshmallows over sweet potatoes, if desired.

Return baking sheet to the oven until pork is cooked through (145 degrees minimum), about 15 minutes.

Take the skillet, pour extra ‘fat juice’ from it, then return to medium-high heat. Add the shallot and cook about 3 minutes, or until beginning to soften. Add the remaining molasses mixture and chicken broth.

Bring to a boil, stirring frequently, then simmer until the sauce thickens, about 3 minutes.

When all is done, drizzle some of the molasses sauce over the potatoes and pork to serve. Save the extra for those who want more sauce (we all did).

Notes: 4 servings

Ham and Egg Cups

May 8, 2013 by Kelly Dedeaux

Has anyone else had trouble sleeping lately? I have! No matter how tired and exhausted I am, and whatever time I go to bed (usually between 10-11pm), I can’t fall asleep before 2am! It’s crazy, and very frustrating just laying there. Despite the little sleep, I still have to get up to get kids ready for the day, get Wonder Woman to the bus, make breakfast, all of that fun daily stuff. I’m just getting more tired, but still unable to sleep sooner. So if I seem a bit more grammatically incorrect or my spelling is struggling, please just know that I’m running on low (well, lower) energy than normal. Hopefully I’ll get my body back on schedule soon and can catch up on my ZZZZs!

My kids really love eggs, but I seem to run out of ways to serve them that keep their interest. These ham cups are just so fun and cute, they gobbled them up quick! It was interesting to see their differences, though. One would eat the egg first, then the ham. Another would eat all the ham around the edge, then move onto the egg. The silly little things you notice of your kids!

Ingredients – per cup:
1 Slice ham, preferably thick (I used 3 slices thin lunchmeat ham)
1-2 eggs
Sprinkle of diced green onion
Salt and pepper, to taste
Optional: diced mushroom, tomato, green peppers

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 F.

In a sprayed cupcake pan, line each slot with the ham.

Mix the other ingredients together in a bowl, then divide among the ham cups.

Bake for about 15 minutes, or until edges of ham slices are turning crispy and eggs are the desired done-ness.

Sweet Pork Burrito

April 3, 2013 by Kelly Dedeaux

I love Costa Vida. Seriously, I’d eat there every week if my budget would allow! I wanted to make an attempt for an at-home, simple-yet-still-so-delicious Sweet Pork Burrito. If you don’t believe ME that it was so darn close you could fake it, just ask the dozen family members who we shared with at lunch: they absolutely loved it!

Sweet Pork Burrito

Ingredients:
3-4 lb. Pork roast
2 tbsp. and 1 cup Brown Sugar
1 tsp. Red cayenne pepper
2 tsp. Cumin
1 tsp. Salt
1 can Dr. Pepper
2 Chicken bouillon cubes
1 clove Garlic, minced
½ small Yellow onion, chopped

Night before:
In bowl, mix 2 tbsp. brown sugar, cayenne pepper, cumin and salt together. Rub all over roast. Place in crock pot on LOW all night.

Next morning:
Add Dr. pepper, bouillon cubes, garlic and onions. Keep on LOW.
An hour before serving, shred pork roast and add 1 cup brown sugar.
Serve in tacos, burritos, or salads. Melt cheese with a tiny drizzle of the sauce on top for ‘smothered’.

Notes: Some say to use Coke, but I used Dr. Pepper because it’s what we have in abundance at our home. We had a 3 ½ lb. roast, and it was enough for ten adults, plus plenty of leftovers.

For our portion of the leftovers, I made this:
In 9×9 pan sprayed with non-stick spray, place one tortilla.
Cover with one cup pork roast leftovers.
Add one cup shredded lettuce and diced tomato combination. Sprinkle with cheese.
Repeat layer, putting ½ cup pork roast sauce and ½ cup cheese over top.
Bake in oven at 350 F for about 30 minutes, or until warmed throughout.