Category: Uncategorized

Chicken & Red Pepper Panini

Normally I only get to make lunch on weekends, since our office doesn’t have a microwave.  So today, I decided to try out The Pioneer Woman’s recipe for a chicken & roasted red pepper panini.  I had a long time to think about what I was going to make, too, since we are dog sitting Tinkerbell for Rustin & Elizabeth.  I woke up at 8:20am ON A SATURDAY to make sure that she wouldn’t potty in her crate, and so that she could get out before she started whining…..which is what she’s doing right now as I write this blog.  I’m sorry Tinkerbell!  I can’t pay attention to you every second of the day!

She’s a cutie though, so it kinda makes up for it.

Now, back to the panini.  Here’s what you’ll need to make it:

  • 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 8 sun-dried tomatoes, in oil
  • 2 roasted red peppers in a jar (or you can roast them yourself by charring the outside of the pepper over an open flame or in the broiler)
  • 3 tbsp prepared pesto (you can certainly make your own if you can find fresh basil at this time of year)
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (or enough to make the right consistency for the marinade/spread)
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • salt & pepper
  • 4 slices mozzarella or provolone cheese
  • 1/4 cup mayo
  • 4 tbsp butter
  • 4 slices bread

Start by putting the sun dried tomatoes into a food processor or blender.

Next, add the pesto.  I love pesto, especially on tortellini!  Yum.

Add lemon juice.  I used bottled lemon juice, but you could certainly squeeze fresh juice out of a lemon.  I just didn’t happen to have any on hand.

Season with salt and pepper.

Stream in olive oil.  If a tablespoon doesn’t seem like enough to create the correct consistency, feel free to add more.

Blend until thoroughly combined.

Pour half of the pesto mixture into a Ziploc bag with the chicken and smush it around so that the chicken is thoroughly covered.  Refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

In a small bowl combine mayo….

…and the rest of the pesto mixture.

Stir until everything is combined.  Cover and refrigerate until needed.

Cook chicken over medium-high heat in a skillet or on the grill.

Once fully cooked, cut chicken into strips.

Spread mayo/pesto mixture on one side of each of the slices of bread.

Lay chicken on the mayo covered side of the bread.

Cut roasted peppers into strips and place over the chicken.

Lay cheese over peppers.

Place another piece of bread over the cheese and liberally butter the outer sides of each slice.

I didn’t have a panini grill, so I used my George Foreman grill, and it worked just fine.  You could also set this in a skillet with a heavy pan on top, flipping it over to cook both sides equally.

Slice in half diagonally and enjoy!

Spicy Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork

OH. MY. GOODNESS.  You have got to try this pulled pork recipe I found on The Pioneer Woman.  Definitely a winner!  I know it sounds kinda weird to cook a pork shoulder in Dr. Pepper, but trust me, you won’t be sorry!  You can’t really even taste a Dr. Pepper flavor.  It just brightens the whole experience and adds a little sweetness to contrast the spiciness of the chipotle peppers.  The Pioneer Woman cooked this in the oven, but I used a slow cooker and it turned out great.

Here’s what you’ll need:

  • 1 large onion
  • 1 whole pork shoulder (“pork butt”) – 5 to 7 lbs (however, I only used about 1/4 of the meat since I was only feeding 2 people)
  • salt & pepper
  • 1 can (11 oz) chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (can be found on the Mexican food aisle)
  • 2 cans Dr. Pepper
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar

Start by peeling and quartering a large onion and scatter around the bottom of the slow cooker (or pot if you’re cooking it in the oven).

Here’s what the label will most likely say.  Don’t worry.  It’s not really a pork “butt”.  It’s the shoulder. 🙂  Still figuring out why they call it a butt.

The whole shoulder would have probably fed about 10 people so I cut about a quarter of it and put the rest in the freezer to use later.  Liberally sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Place on top of the onion.

Pour the whole can of chipotle peppers onto the meat (sauce too).

Now, I know this might be going against your nature, and may seem weird, but trust me!  It’ll be worth it!

Pour both cans of Dr. Pepper over the meat, peppers, and onion.  I used room temperature Dr. Pepper even though we had cold ones in the fridge.  I figured, it was going to need to get hot anyway, so I might as well help it along.

Next add the brown sugar.  Stir it around so that everything is nice and combined.

Cook for at least 6 hours on Low if using a slow cooker, and at 300° if cooking in the oven.  You’ll want to turn the meat over 2-3 times while cooking.

When the meat is ready it will be practically falling apart, so use caution when taking it out of the pot.

Shred meat with 2 forks, separating the big chunks of fat as you go.  The fat should be pretty easy to see since it will be slimy and soft, and the meat will be more firm.

Place the shredded meat back into the slow cooker and keep warm until ready to serve.  Discard the fat.

I served the pork with a side of mashed potatoes.  The juices from the slow cooker made a wonderful gravy!  Hope you love it as much as we did!

Cute Etsy Finds

I was browsing through the jewelry section of Etsy today when I stumbled upon some of the cutest necklaces I had ever seen.  By the way, in case you didn’t know, Etsy is a website where ordinary people can sell their handmade or vintage items.  You can find many one of a kind treasures in any category you can imagine.

Such as this baking necklace.  I mean really, how do they come up with this stuff?  Isn’t this the cutest thing you’ve ever seen?  Resist the urge, Joanna.  Why do I torture myself like this?

It also comes in this copper color.

Chinese take out, anyone?

Really?  A carton of eggs?  What will they come up with next?  Off to drool over look at some more things that I really want, but don’t need.