Ork's Bacon Bites

These may sound gross, but they are AWESOME. Our friend Ork made them for us at a cookout at his house last summer and I was hesitant to try them...dates, no thank you. My mind was changed immediately. I've made them for a few parties and friends are always hesitant until they taste them. They are one of those appetizers that you just keep eating more of!

-Bacon
-Package of pitted dates (you can usually find them by the nuts in the shell in your grocery store)
-Soy Sauce
-Hot sauce - we use Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce but any hot sauce would (Sriracha can be found in the Asian food aisle)
-Toothpicks

Cut bacon slices in half. Take a piece of bacon and wrap it around a date and secure with a toothpick. Continue until you have as many wrapped dates as you want. Layer in a tupperware container. Sprinkle with soy sauce until the dates are all sitting in a layer of soy sauce. Add hot sauce to taste (we do a couple tablespoons). Seal the tupperware. Shake the container occassionaly to make sure the dates get throughly coated. Let marinate for 30-60 minutes. Grill or broil until bacon is cooked through. I usually broil them since I usually need to keep an eye on the kids while prepping. Ork always grills them on his smoker and they taste even better that way.

These will blow your mind, I promise!

From the kitchen of Joerg Podschun.

Pork Piccata

I haven't made this for a while, but it was tasty. I originally found it while looking for a recipe to use up the jar of capers I had in my fridge.

-8 thin boneless pork cutlets
-1/4 t salt
-1/4 black pepper
-1/3 cup all-purpose flour
-2 T olive oil
-1 cup chicken broth
-3 T capers
-2 T lemon juice
-1 T butter

Season both sides of pork with salt and pepper. Dredge in flour and shake off excess. Discard remaining flour.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork and saute for 2 minutes per side. Remove pork to a plate and keep warm.

Add broth and simmer 2 minutes, scraping up any browned bits from bottom of skillet. Stir in the capers and lemon juice. Return the pork to the skillet and simmer gently for about 1 to 2 minutes, until pork is heated through. Whisk in the butter.

Serve with mash potatoes and peas and garnish with lemon and parsley, if desired.

Per serving: 366 calories, 21 g fat (7 g sat), 35 g protein, 7 g carbs, 0 g fiber, 582 mg sodium, 101 mg cholesterol.

All Day Flank Steak

This is one of our crock pot favorites in this house. Super easy, pretty health, and yummy!

-1 1/2 - 2 pounds flank steak
-1 large onion, sliced
-1/3 cup water
-1 can chopped green chiles
-2 T red wine vinegar
-1/2 t chili powder
-1 t garlic powder
-1/2 t sugar
-1/2 t salt
-1/8 t black pepper

In a large frying pan, brown steak on both sides. Put steak in crock pot. In frying pan, saute onion for 1 minute, then add water, green chilies, vinegar, chili powder, garlic powder, sugar, salt and pepper and saute for another minute. Pour over steak and cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 4-5 hours. Slice steak and serve with onions and pan juices. I serve it over rice.

When I am really running low on time, I just throw all the ingredients into the crock pot and it still turns out great.

From the kitchen of Lisa Stone.

Tamale Casserole

This is like a super easy, mexican pot pie. I usually make it with ground turkey and serve with a dollop of sour cream (and jalepenos for me) on top.

-1 pound ground beef or turkey, browned and drained
-1 can kidney or black beans
-1 small can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, sliced (I omit this ingredient...too spicy for my kids and it's just as yummy without it)
-1 green pepper, sliced
-1 small yellow onion, diced
-1 can enchilada sauce
-Fresh or canned mushrooms
-2 garlic cloves
-Salt and pepper to taste
-1 pkg. cornbread (or muffin) mix (and ingredients need to prepare it)

Brown the meat and put it in the slow cooker. Stir in everything except the cornbread. Mix cornbread according to package. Pour cornbread mixture over ingredients in slow cooker. Cook on low, 5 hours.

**I mix all the ingredients together in the crockpot except for the corn bread mix. I set the crock pot on low. Five hours prior to dinner time, I prepare the corn bread mixture, layered it on top of the mixture already in the crockpot and kept the crockpot on low for another 5 hours.

Are you still cooking?

I hope you are still cooking because I have been on a cooking hiatus. I loved posting to this blog because it helped motivate me to continually try out new recipes. One of my goals for this year (yes, I am starting my New Year's resolutions a little late this year) is to get back to my cooking and blogging.

First of all, I need to know...who is really reading (and USING) this blog (besides Kate, of course)? Just as I requested on my personal blog recently, show me some love in the comments section if you stop here regularly. If you ever make any of these recipes, PLEASE comment. I'd love to hear how your meal turned out.

I love ya Kate...you motivate me to continue this blog. Thanks for continuing to come back, especially after I have been a slacker for so long.

At Kate's request, I have been on the hunt for some more crock pot recipes to post. If you have one to share, please e-mail/FB me with it or just post it in the comments section. I usually like to try out recipes before I post them. However, as I've mentioned, I've been a little bit of a slacker in the kitchen lately. I will post some crockpot recipes as I get them and let you know if they are one's that I have actually made.

I am ALWAYS looking for new recipes to try. With two little boys and very little time to get dinner prepped, cooked, and on the table, I am especially interested in simple and quick recipes that still manage to have a lot of flavor. Send them my way, PLEASE!

Keep the comments coming and become a follower of this blog!

Fall Off the Bone Ribs

-2-3 pounds baby back ribs
-1 medium onion, thinly sliced
-1 green pepper, thinly sliced
-1 yellow pepper, thinly sliced
-1 red pepper, thinly sliced
-Lawry's seasoned salt
-Black pepper

Season ribs with a generous portion of Lawry's on both sides. Sprinkle black pepper on both sides. In a large baking dish (I use a turkey roasting pan), layer peppers and onions around ribs. Refrigerate for 24-48 hours. Bake at 300 degrees for about 8 hours or until meat is tender. I've never tried it, but you could also make this in a crock pot.

The meat will literally just fall of the bone it is so tender. I love to make pulled pork sandwiches with the leftovers. No additional seasoning required. Just put the leftover meat (minus the bones) in a crock pot with a little water so the meat doesn't scorch. Put it on low or high until warm through. Serve on fresh hoagie buns or kaiser rolls. YUM!

From the kitchen of Tava Musial.