pineapple pork tacos

It's dairy-free recipe time again!

Based on my recent recipes it probably seems like I eat an extraordinary amount of pork.  That's just a coincidence.  Actually we tend to eat quite a bit of chicken and beef, so when I find good pork recipes I get super excited to try them out!

This recipe came from an issue of Real Simple magazine.  Do you get Real Simple?  You need to!  I love this magazine!!  It has tons of great recipes, organizing, cleaning, fashion, and parenting tips.  Wait, this wasn't suppose to be an ad for Real Simple.  Back to dinner...

Pineapple Pork Tacos


1 chipotle chile + 2T adobo sauce
3T honey
2 cloves garlic, crushed with press
1/2 small pineapple, cut into 1/2" slices (or 1 can pineapple slices)

1 pound boneless pork chops
1/2 small red onion, sliced
1/4C cilantro, chopped

8 corn tortillas

• In blender, puree: chile, adobo sauce, honey, garlic, 1/2 of the pineapple slices, 1/4tsp salt + pepper
• Put pork chops in gallon zip bag, pour 1/3C sauce over chops
• Seal bag and marinade chops in refrigerator for a few hours
• Save remaining sauce in sealed container
• When ready to cook: grill pork chops, onion, + remaining pineapple until cooked through
• Chop onion + pineapple, place in bowl + add cilantro
• Cut pork into chunks
• Make tacos using pork, pineapple salsa, + extra sauce

This sauce has a pretty intense kick to it, but the pineapple cools it down remarkably.  If you like less spice, just use half a chile, instead of a whole one.

Enjoy!

dairy free's the life for me

Back by popular demand, dairy free recipes!  Here's what Drew and I had for dinner over the weekend....

Pork BBQ and Cole Slaw

Yum!!

This is a great weekend meal because the pork BBQ is best when cooked low and slow.  Drew is mostly in charge of making the pork, so I'm working from his, um, loose directions.  He tends to be a little of this, a little of that kind of chef. 

Day 1:

• Dry rub the pork roast and refrigerate overnight

1T paprika
1/2 T brown sugar
1/2 T chili powder
1/2T ground cumin
3/4 tsp pepper
1tsp salt
1tsp cinnamon (this makes a HUGE difference, use it!)
1tsp garlic powder

Mix together and rub over trimmed 3+lbs pork roast

• Make the cole slaw and refrigerate overnight

1 bag Cole Slaw mix {salad section of grocery store}
1/2 C mayo
1/2 T apple cider vinegar
3T sugar

Pour Cole Slaw mix (cabbage + carrots) into large bowl
Sprinkle with generous salt and pepper
Mix remaining 3 ingredients to make the dressing
Pour dressing over cole slaw mix
{note: it won't seem like there is enough dressing, but the salt causes a lot of water to come out of the cabbage overnight.  Give it a stir the next morning and make sure it's wet enough for your taste}

Day 2:

Cook pork roast in the Crock-Pot on low for 6ish hours
Once cooked through, remove from the Crock-Pot and shred with forks/fingers
Put pork back in Crock-Pot and cover with bottled BBQ sauce
Stir up and cook on low for another couple hours

The pork is already fully cooked, so whenever you want to eat go ahead and dig in!

We like to eat our sandwiches 'Southern Style' by putting a big dollop of Cole Slaw right on top of the BBQ.

{I also like to have some on the side}

Drew also really likes to put raw onions on top of his BBQ.  Seeing as how raw onion is my kryptonite, I skip this step.

That's it!  I love that this recipe is completely dairy-free with no modifications.  It feels like I'm missing out on less when I can eat the whole recipe as it was intended.

Enjoy!

it's what's for dinner

I was really inspired by the recipes that B has been posting over on her blog, so I decided to put up some of my own!  B and I are both going dairy-free for our milk allergic babies, so finding good stuff to eat is especially challenging.

On Sunday, I made Bruschetta and Penne with Broccoli and Lemon.

Bruschetta:

6-7 plum tomatoes
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1T extra-virgin olive oil
1tsp balsamic vinegar
6-8 fresh basil leaves, chopped
1 baguette + 1/4C extra-virgin olive oil

Parboil the tomatoes for 1 minute in boiling water that was just removed from the burner
Skin the tomatoes, cut into quarters and remove seeds (this keeps it from getting too watery)

Preheat oven to 450F
Chop tomatoes finely
Add tomatoes to garlic, 1T olive oil + vinegar, mix well
Slice bread, coat 1 side with olive oil, place oil side down on cookie sheet
Toast on top rack 5-6 minutes
Place tomato mixture on bread just before serving

This tasted sooo good!  It was fresh and delicious -- perfect for summer!

This main dish recipe is one that I tweaked a little to make it dairy-free, but I think it's just as good with or without cheese.  In fact, I usually just serve it with a side of freshly grated Parmesan and Drew is happy.

Penne with Broccoli and Lemon:

1 box penne
2-3 chicken breasts, chopped
6T extra-virgin olive oil
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound frozen broccoli florets, thawed
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 + 1/2 lemons, juiced and zest finely grated

Cook pasta + drain
Heat 1T extra-virgin olive oil PER chicken breast in skillet
Add chopped chicken breast pieces and saute until cooked through
Add remaining 3-4T extra-virgin olive oil to pan
Add garlic + cook until golden (1-2 minutes)
Add broccoli, red pepper flakes, + 1tsp salt
Cook until heated through (1-2 minutes)
Add broccoli mix + lemon juice to pasta
Heat through, sprinkle with lemon zest

The original recipe also called for 1C of Parmesan to be mixed into the pasta.  I thought this was overkill even before I went off dairy.  However, since I omitted the cheese I had to bump up the red pepper flakes to keep the flavor alive.  If that's too spicy for you {I like spicy} you can definitely cut it back to 1/2 tsp.

I also threw in some grape tomatoes that were in the fridge -- why not.

Think we liked it?

Good wine helps too.

makin' whoopie

...pies, that is.

I love Whoopie Pies! In honor of Drew's birthday, they are today's Favorite Thing Friday.

Drew loves whoopie pies too and requested them for "the rest of his birthdays."

For those of you who aren't familiar with this delicious treat, whoopie pies are a dessert that originated in the northeast with the Amish.

Physically, a whoopie pie is 2 chocolate cookie/cakes with fluffy vanilla frosting in between them.

Spiritually, it's heaven on earth. With just enough sugar sin to make it feel good.

When in Maine, you'll find awesome whoopie pies at Wicked Whoopies. I've had them and if you're ever in Maine, you need to get one. The memory of them makes me smile.

Everyone who's not lucky enough to live near either Wicked Whoopies or an Amish bakery, fear not...you can make them at home!

This recipe was taken from a combination of those found at I Dream of Dessert and Epicurious. I made a few changes and it worked out really well!

First, you make the cakes.

Cake:



2C flour
1/2 C cocoa
1 + 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1T white vinegar + 1C whole milk*
1 tsp vanilla
1 stick butter at room temperature
1C packed brown sugar
1 egg

*Combine the vinegar and milk to make buttermilk. It will curdle -- this is gross, but it tastes great ultimately

1) Preheat oven to 350ºF

2) In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, + salt

3) In the bowl of your mixer, beat butter + brown sugar until fluffy (about 3 mins)




4) Add the egg + beat to combine

5) Add the flour mixture + milk in small batches,
*begin + end with the flour!

6) Beat to combine, scrape down the walls often



7) Prepare your baking sheets by lining with Parchment Paper



8) Spoon batter onto sheets. You can make them as big or small as you like. I like mine to be 1 pie = 1 serving, so they are about 2" diameter

The cake will puff, but won't spread too much, so you may want to press down (lightly!) and spread them a little with the back of the spoon before baking.

9) Bake at 350ºF for 8-10 mins.

Bake in the lower + upper 1/3s of the oven, switching spots halfway through baking.



The cakes are done when they have puffed slightly and spring back with some pressure



10) Remove from baking sheets to cool on racks.

While the cakes are cooling, start making the filling.

Filling:



1/2C whole milk
2T flour
1 stick butter at room temperature
pinch of salt
2C powdered sugar
1 + 1/4 tsp vanilla


1) Heat milk (gently) in a small saucepan

2) Sift in flour, stir to combine



3) Heat over med heat until thick, about 3 mins.

4) Remove from heat + place in another bowl to cool more quickly



5) In mixer bowl, beat butter with the paddle attachment until creamy

6) Sift in salt + powdered sugar, beat until creamy

7) Add vanilla, beat to mix

8) On slow speed, add cooled flour mixture, 1T at a time

9) Beat on medium speed, 3-4 minutes, until fluffy

At this point, Drew requested his filling be orange, so I added some color. You don't have to do this step and it will be white.



Once the cakes are completely cool (wait at least 1 hour), smear some filling on the flat side of 1 cake, then top with another cake.



I like to wrap them in plastic wrap, then put in a sealed container (a cake pan + lid here) to keep them fresh for a few days.



Grab a cold glass of milk and enjoy!