Picnic Sandwiches

Its the end of summer, beginning of fall: the perfect time to get outside.  You still have enough light to enjoy summer activities like BBQ, and picnics, and events at the park.  Certainly here in Austin, I feel like we are finally getting back outside as the heat of summer eases up.  With that in mind its the perfect time of year to have a few people over for casual get-togethers over the weekend.  Easy, simple, but tasty foods are great to have in your back pocket for things like this.

The pulled pork sandwiches and chicken salad I made for Katie's Shower are exactly those type of things.  It was a cinch to put them together for a crowd without breaking my back and slaving in the kitchen.  You can prep both meats in the crock pot, or do the pork in the smoker (like Aaron likes to).

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

The pulled pork sandwiches are probably some of my favorite.  It's a really simple flavor concept that I think is always a win: sweet, spicy and savory.  Aaron does the pulled pork in the smoker (a 8-10 lb pork shoulder or butt), he puts a brown sugar rub on it.  Or you can put the pork in the slow cooker with your favorite BBQ sauce, a sprinkle of brown sugar, salt and pepper, and a splash of root beer and soda.  As long as the pork gets cooked so tender it falls apart - you are good to go.

Put your pork in a bowl and shred it with two forks, your hands, or Chanel's secret weapon (the hand mixer!).  Then prepare the sauce: I like to simmer Stubb's BBQ sauce with 2/3 cup of pineapple juice, 1/4 cup of brown sugar, and a 1/2 cup of hot sauce.  Its a tangy, sweet Hawaiian flavor with a bite.  Simmer it until its thick then pour it into your pork, a little at a time, until its the right consistency for you.  Some people love LOTS of sauce, others less - do you.  I like to serve them on King's Hawaiian slider rolls with coleslaw. 

Classic Coleslaw

The slaw is pretty easy to make also.  Chop 3/4 head of red cabbage, 1/2 head of green cabbage, and 1 1/2 cups grated or shredded carrots.  Whisk together 1 cup of mayo, 1 tbs. white wine vinegar, 1 tbs. apple cider vinegar, 2 tsp. sugar, 1 tsp celery salt, 1/2 tsp. dry mustard, salt and pepper. Taste and re-season as needed - pour the dressing over the cabbage and carrots and combine well, make sure its evenly coated.  I like to make sure it sets in the refrigerator for at least 2 or 3 hours before serving - it lets all the flavors blend and grow.

Chicken Salad Sandwiches

The chicken salad is seriously one of the easiest and most flavorful I have ever had.  You put four or six chicken breasts into the crock pot, cover with chicken broth, season with salt, pepper, sage, poultry seasoning, basil, garlic and dill.  Cook until falling apart with a fork.  Then Chanel used her secret trick (which I will totally tell you), which is to use the hand mixer to shred the chicken.  Its practically magical.

Once its shredded, you add mayo until its the moistness you like, add diced celery and re-season with the original seasonings. For the shower, I served the chicken salad on sliced croissants (thanks, Pillsbury) and it was great.  One of the best things about shredding the chicken (instead of dicing it) is that it tends to hold together better, so when you have lots of little sandwiches, it doesn't fall out the sides and into people's hands when they pick them up.

Raspberry Chocolate Chip Muffins

September is a hard month for me.  I love-hate September.  There is the good: the kids start school, it's the start of the downhill side of the deathly heat of summer in Texas, there is the possibility it could rain, it's the first sign of fall coming... The bad? Well, pretty much the flip-side of all the good parts: the kids are going to school so that makes me kind of sad, summer is supposed to be over, yet its still 100 degrees outside, and its not actually fall yet!

Early September is definitely too early to start wearing sweaters, decorating with pretty leaves and pumpkins, and cooking up all the cozy, aromatic recipes of fall. Except that I really want to.  So badly.  Adding to the problem I have is that all those amazing autumnal vegetables I love and want to cook with aren't really in season yet.  So I have to find things to cook that will appease my need for cozy-fall feelings but also are more appropriate for the actual season.

Thankfully the internet is full of handy charts and info-graphics that can remind you what is in season with a quick google search.  So while I was sad that none of my favorite fall things are on the list yet, it provided some solid inspiration for things to make until October finally decides to come.

Design by Alice Mongkongllite / BuzzFeed

LOTS of these things are favorites in our house so my brain started cooking.  Eggplant is immediately off the list, Aaron is super allergic and we can't even have it in the house, so unfortunately for any of you who are eggplant lovers (like my mom) there will probably not going to be any recipes with eggplant on the blog.

However, my kids are huge fans of apples, pears, and melons.  Chanel loves mangoes, corn and plums.  I'm a huge fan of raspberries and peppers and okra... my goodness so many ideas for things to make this month! I think there are going to be some creative pizzas coming this way with beets and arugula or figs and prosciutto.  We could have a cozy night with some gumbo chock full of okra. I will probably make that sausage and pepper bake again, since it was such a hit!

Okay, but back to the issue at hand, what was I going to make today, right now, to feed the kids for the week?  Inspired by this Averie Cooks bread, I decided on making some Raspberry Chocolate Chip Muffins with a crumble topping borrowed from my banana bread.  These muffins did the trick.  Hondo has been gobbling them up. 

Before I get to the recipe, there are just a couple notes I want to share about muffin making.

1. For a popped-up muffin with a pretty top, make sure your cupcake tins are full.  That means batter all the way to the top of the liner.  So even if your recipe says it makes twelve, if the tins aren't full they won't pop up over the top and have that pretty muffin shape, they will look flatter like a cupcake.  So maybe you get nine muffins instead of twelve (this recipe should make 12).
2. I like to use two liners instead of one.  This is for a couple reasons - if you chose a pretty decorated liner or a color, it will be more clear and pop if there are too since they are pretty translucent.  Also, often some grease will seep into the liner and can leave them very shiny and soggy, they can rip more easily when getting pulled off.
3. Also, spray your liners with some cooking spray after putting them in the cupcake tins.  It might sound crazy (it did to me when Aaron suggested it), but it helps the liners peel off cleanly without taking half the cake or muffin with them and also prevents some of that seeping-grease problem.

Also for this recipe I recommend using fresh raspberries, not frozen.  First, I can't seem to ever find a bag of just frozen raspberries and not a berry mix.  Second, I find that frozen fruit can bleed and sink, so you end up with a soggy-bottomed muffins.  Lastly, because of the size of fresh raspberries, I think cutting them in half means you get bites with good, full berry flavor, but not so much that the bread around it is soggy.

Raspberry Chocolate-Chip muffins

Makes 12 standard muffins

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 6 oz. fresh raspberries, washed, patted dried and halved
• 1/3 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 batch crumble topping (see below)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare a cupcake tin; line with cupcake liners and spray lightly with cooking spray, set aside.

In a large bowl combine the flour, sugars, baking soda and salt. Set aside.  In a separate bowl, combine the cooled butter with the buttermilk, oil and vanilla.  Whisk together and then whisk in the egg.

Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until combined.  Carefully fold in the raspberries and chocolate chips, the raspberries can smush easily.

Fill each cupcake tin to the top of the liner with batter.  Top each muffin with crumble topping.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until tops are golden browned and a tooth pick comes out clean.

crumble topping

Ingredients:

• 3 tbs. butter, melted
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice
• 1/3 cup of flour

Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl.  When the butter is cool enough to touch, use your fingers to crumble it into pea-sized pieces.  Top the muffins with equal amounts before baking.

Bacon-Gruyere Cavatappi

Cheese is a food group to me.  When the rest of my fridge could be pretty empty, the cheese drawer is full.  When I was pregnant with Townes, the first thing I did was call our favorite French Restaurant, Justine's, in a panic that their triple-creme brie wasn't pasteurized (it is, thank goodness).  When I am at the grocery store with Chanel and I ask, "do we need cheese?" she just laughs at me.  You get the picture - cheese is a big deal.

My kids know it too.  We don't just eat American cheese - which has its throne in the crockpot to make queso.  But Townes has always loved brie spread on a cracker, or feta in his eggs, or blue cheese in a lobster beignet (not that he can even say, beignet).  So when I am feeling like a cheesey comfort food staple like mac and cheese we go one of two routes: 1. we make Annie's white cheddar shells with extra butter and some cream (SO GOOD) and maybe some peas and carrots thrown in or 2. I make some from scratch version with "stinky" cheese so it has a more adult flavor.

This is clearly the latter, since I'm not gonna post a recipe on how to do-up some Annie's (though I totally could if anyone is interested). In my opinion, bacon and gruyere go together so wonderfully.  There is a bitterness to the cheese that is perfectly complimented by the saltiness of the bacon. For this cheese sauce I also tried to liven up that deep flavor in the gruyere with some Worcestershire, horseradish, dry mustard and then smooth it out with cheddar.  Topped with more bacon and some butter bread crumbs, this was a total win.

Bacon-Gruyere Cavatappi

Serves 8

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. cavatappi pasta (or elbows)
• 1 lb. thick cut bacon, diced
• 1 small white onion, grated
• 1 tbs. butter
• 1 tbs. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. dry mustard
• 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 tsp prepared horseradish (optional)
• 3 tbs. flour
• 2 cups milk
• 8 oz block of orange cheddar, freshly grated
• 6 oz block of gruyere, freshly grated
• 2 tbs. butter
• 1/3 cup breadcrumbs
• Green onions or chives, chopped for garnish

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a large sauce pot or dutch over, boil water with salt and a dash of olive oil (to prevent sticking), cook pasta to the al dente directions.  Rinse your pasta under cold water in a colander and set aside.

Empty the pot and return it to the stove.  Cook all the bacon in the pot over medium heat, stirring frequently to prevent scorching.  When crispy, transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate and set aside.

Pour the lose bacon fat from the pot into a heat safe container and set aside, do not wipe out or rinse your pot. 

Add the 1 tbs. of butter to the pot over medium-high heat.  Saute the grated onion until translucent.  Add the garlic powder, dry mustard, Worstcheshire, salt and pepper and horseradish.  Whisk until mixed.  Add the flour and stir until evenly coated.

Immediately add the milk, whisking to incorporate smoothly. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and add the cheddar and gruyere. Turn off the heat and stir until creamy and blended.

Add the pasta to the pot with the cheese sauce.  Reserving a small handful for topping, add the cooked bacon to the pasta and cheese.

Transfer the pasta mixture to a 9x12 casserole dish.  Melt the 2 tbs. butter in a microwave safe dish and then stir in the bread crumbs.  You may need to add more  if you want them a little drier, but its your preference. 

Chop the remaining bacon into small bits and add to the bread crumbs.  Top the pasta with the bread crumbs and bacon.

Bake until the breadcrumbs are just browned and the casserole bubbles.

Remove and top with chopped green onions or chives.

Cheesy Sausage and Pepper Pasta Bake

Another day, another dinner I haven't planned and have no idea what we are eating later, or even if we are eating at all.  It probably sounds crazy, but its normally by 11 am that I start to feel stressed I don't have a plan for dinner.  I will look at Chanel and whine, "what am I making for dinner tonight" and stretch out and lay my face down on the kitchen island in utter defeat.

Its seriously 11 o'clock in the morning, and I'm already over it.  I love when something comes to me the night before and I wake up with a fun plan for dinner.  That doesn't happen nearly as frequently though as the above-described scenario.

However, the majority of the time, Chanel and I manage to talk our way to something or some idea that seems worth a shot.  Or we come up with something we already know and love that sounds yummy.  On this particular morning I whined and Chanel replied, almost terrifyingly quickly, "sausage and peppers."

Well, okay! However, I immediately realized the main issue with the classic Italian-American staple, that none of my boys would probably been keen on eating slimy slices of peppers and would just eat sausage.  And baby Hondo, would probably manage to choke on pieces that big and it just didn't seem like it would be a very popular choice.  But I like sausage and peppers, and Chanel likes sausage and peppers (not that she eats dinner at the house very often, but she taste tests a lot, and often snacks on last night's dinner after our morning walks, so I suppose she kind of has a dog in this fight).

So my brain started working through it and this creamy, tomatoey, sausage-peppery pasta is what came out and it was fantastic. I mean, it got gobbled up like I could not have predicted.  Two 9x9 pans of pasta was GONE by 11 am the next morning!

Aaron called his bestie Clay to come over and they both had two helpings, Hondo tore through three bowls, even Townes gobbled two servings down.  I packed some up for T to take to school for lunch the next day, and the little bit left was snatched up the next morning for a baby brunch split between Hondo and Betsy and tastes for Chanel. 

It's only been a week since I made it and I've already had requests for it again! I think it might have bumped regular ol' baked ziti from the rotation.

Cheesy Sausage and Pepper Pasta Bake

Serves 8

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. tube pasta (like penne or ziti), cooked al dente
• 1 medium white onion, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 4-6 cloves of garlic, minced
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tbs. butter
• 1 lb. hot Italian sausage*
• 3 heaping tbs. flour
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 large jar (24 oz) of chunky tomato sauce (like this Classico one)
• 3-4 cups shredded Italian blend cheese (mozzarella, parmsean, etc)

*I used bulk sausage for this recipe, I think the crumble texture of bulk sausage lends well to being mixed into a pasta bake.  However, you could also use a link sausage.  In that case, you will want to sear the outsides first, then slice it into 1/2 inch thick discs and then add them to the veggie mix to cook through.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a large stock pot or dutch oven, over medium-high heat, melt the butter.  Add the onion, bell peppers, garlic and salt and pepper; saute until onions are translucent.

Add the sausage to the pot.  Using a wooden spoon, mix the veggies into the sausage and break it up into small pieces as it cooks. 

Once the sausage is browned and cooked, sprinkle the flour on top, 1 tbs at a time, and mix until all the fat and grease has been absorbed by the flour and has created a paste.  Depending on the variety of sausage you chose, you may need more or less flour, based on the amount of fat released by the meat.

Whisk in the jar of sauce a little at a time, making sure it combines smoothly and without lumps. Bring to a boil and stir in the cream.  Simmer and stir until combined. Remove from the heat.

Add the cooked pasta directly to the pot and stir to coat the pasta evenly. 

This would taste amazing just as it is and would not NEED to be covered in cheese and baked, you could easily just spoon this pasta right into a bowl and eat it. 

Pour the pasta into a 9x12 casserole pan or two 9x9 pans.  Sprinkle the cheese on top, add a little salt and pepper.  Bake in the oven until cheese has melted, about 15 minutes.

Spinach and Feta Stuffed Breakfast Crescents

These are one of my absolute favorite things to make for parties, the kids, or just on a regular weekend morning.  They are easy, have endless variations, and pretty much appeal to everyone.  Also they are pretty cheap and feed a lot of people.  I made them last summer for Alice's Baby Shower Brunch and they were a big hit, I also make them on Sunday and freeze some and they are great for handing to the kids in the stroller when Chanel and I go for our morning runs. 

All it takes is one (or two or three) tube of crescent roll dough, eggs, cheese, a veggie and you are set to go.  The spinach and feta variety are my favorite: sometimes there is added sun-dried tomatoes.  Aaron likes to make them more reminiscent of a Kolache - eggs, cheese and bacon or jalapeno sausage.  Just chop up your fillings (spinach and tomato), whisk your eggs with a bit of half-and-half and then make a scramble.  Toss the cheese in at the very end so it melts, but doesn't burn.

Heat up your oven and get out a baking sheet.  Lay out the dough on your baking sheet and decide what route you want to go: You can use two pieces and make a pop-tart type pastry, you can just place some on top and roll it up like a crescent, you can even just bundle one together and make a little ball.  I think the crescents present the best, you can see the filling poking through the sides and they look pretty all stacked up on a plate together.  On the other hand though, for the kiddos, its nice to have everything contained so the pop-tart style might be a little less messy.

Spinach and Feta Stuffed Breakfast Crescents

Ingredients:

Makes 8 Rolls

• 1 can of crescent roll dough
• 6 eggs
• 1/3 cup half-and-half*
• Salt, pepper and garlic powder, to taste
• 3 cups fresh spinach
• 1 cup feta cheese crumbles

*I like to use half-and-half or heavy cream when I make scrambled eggs because it gives the scramble a little more volume than just eggs or eggs and water.  However, I don't recommend skim milk or even plain milk because the water seems to separate a bit from the mix and they can be drippy (still tasty, but drippy).

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment or a baking mat, set aside. Chop the spinach and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together your eggs, half-and-half, and seasoning.  Melt a bit of butter in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the spinach and saute for a minute or two.  Pour the egg mixture over the spinach and stir, keeping the eggs from burning but allowing them to cook.

Just as the eggs are setting (so there is just about no liquid left), add the feta, stir together until the eggs are just cooked.  Remove from the heat and set aside.

Open the can of crescents and pull each triangle apart.  Using a spoon, place a large spoonful of the egg filling in a line down the middle of the crescent and then roll it up from the wide end.  Place the filled dough on the baking sheet.  Repeat with remaining dough.

Bake the crescents in the oven for 5 minutes.  Watch them carefully so they do not over brown.  Depending on your oven, they may need a little longer, but I would just watch them carefully.