Pork Roast - Home Cooked Recipe 38

Ok, I'll admit, I have been super lazy and haven't posted in a month!  I always mean to but then I get caught up in doing other things, such as work and social activities.  But I have been cooking and eating out, and hope to bring you a lot more posts from here on out.
Today I am going to be giving you a recipe for something I tried for the first time.  A pork roast!  I do not have much experience with cooking large pieces of meat such as roasts and whole chickens, etc.  I've decided that in 2013 part of broadening my culinary horizons is to attempt these roasts, and my ultimate goal is to roast a whole chicken (and possibly a turkey!).  Hopefully I'll discover it's not as intimidating as I think, and be able to provide you with some great recipes!
Now, I do have to say, when I came up with this recipe, it's because I got the wrong kind of pork roast.  I meant to get a pork roast (a butt - not really the butt of the animal but the name for the cut of meat!) that you can pull apart to make pulled pork.  What I ended up with was a pork loin roast, which can really only be sliced (kind of like a large pork tenderloin).
So I scrapped my original plan and decided to go with a lemon-garlic roast!  The flavor was excellent, but next time I'll be more careful to select the exact kind of roast I want.

Lemon-Garlic Pork Loin Roast

Ingredients:

• 1 2-3lb pork loin roast
• 2 lemons, 1 sliced, 1 cut in half and juiced
• 1 cup chicken broth (or veggie broth)
• 2 tbs garlic powder
• 1 tbs onion powder
• 1 tsp dried rosemary
• salt and pepper (to taste)

Preheat oven to 325. Combine garlic powder, rosemary, onion powder, salt and pepper.  Place roast in pan. Rub spices all over the pork roast, massaging it into meat.    Place lemon slices all over the top of the roast.  Pour chicken broth and lemon juice over meat, letting it settle into the bottom of the pan.  Roast in oven for 2 1/2 to 3 hours.  Baste with juices from the bottom of the pan every 30 minutes or so.  Let rest 30 minutes before slicing and serving.  Enjoy!
***I served my roast with roasted potatoes and a green salad, feel free to serve with whatever sides you like.

Simply Sides 1 - Roasted Broccoli

I realized the other day when perusing this blog for improvements I can make, that I could make another section just dedicated to side dish recipes.  I love side dishes, sometimes better than the main course.  And I have eaten side dishes as main meals.  Plus I'm always looking for new ways to dress up veggies to make them more palatable, or new healthier sides (such as quinoa instead of rice etc). 
And so a new section on this food blog is born, and every post will start with the heading "Simply Sides". 

Today's side dish started as a way to dress up broccoli because I am bored with frozen broccoli microwaved, or fresh broccoli steamed.  I saw a couple posts about roasting broccoli, and then I thought I would jazz it up further by adding my own additions such as onions and garlic cloves.  We both enjoyed it as a side with our meal the other night, and will be making it much more often, especially if fresh broccoli is on sale!

Roasted Broccoli

Ingredients:

1 head of fresh broccoli cut into florets

4 (or more) cloves of garlic

1/2 large onion, diced
1tbs lemon juice
2 tbs oil (veg or olive, you choose!)

1-2 tbs parmesan
salt and pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425.  Line a sheet pan with foil.

Combine all ingredients in a bowl.  Spread evenly onto lined sheet pan. (It may help to spray the foil with cooking spray before spreading mixture over it, some of my onions stuck to my foil.)  Roast at 425 for 20-25 minutes.  Serve with your favorite meal.
Enjoy!

Baked Pasta - Home Cooked Recipe 37

Everyone needs an easy go-to weeknight meal right?  I know I certainly do.  I was browsing Pinterest (one of my favorite apps) and came across this quick and easy pasta bake that's a great meal.  A few ingredients, a few steps, and presto! Dinner on the table with little effort.

Pasta Bake

Ingredients:
1 box (12-16oz) your favorite pasta (I used bowties)
1/2 a jar of Alfredo sauce
1/2 a jar of your favorite tomato sauce
1/2 a package shredded mozzarella (4oz)

Parmesan, grated

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.
Cook your pasta according to package instructions, draining 1 minute shy of what the box recomends.  Meanwhile, mix together the two sauces in a baking dish - I find no need to do this in a separate bowl, mixing them together in the dish you'll be baking in works just fine.  Add drained pasta and mix well.  Add 1/2 the mozzarella, and mix well.  Sprinkle remaining mozzarella over the top, then sprinkle parmesan over the top to your liking (I like a lot!).  Bake for 30mins. 
Enjoy!

BONUS RECIPES

I am posting a new recipe for an actual dish tomorrow but in the meantime I wanted to give my readers a couple of quick bonus recipes.  Both are for restaurant copycats.
The first is for Popeye's Cajun Sparkle.  I fell in love with spice over the summer and whenever I go to Popeyes I try to get a few extra packets.  It's great on chicken, rice, potatoes... Really anything you want to kick up a bit.

A Knock-Off Of Popeye's Cajun Sparkle
1 tbs salt
1 tbs pepper
1 tsp granulated garlic
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp ground sage
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne
Combine all ingredients.  Sprinkle as desired!

I love the ranch dressing at Outback!  I have never found another ranch like it.  It's rich and creamy and has a bit of zip and kick to it that I just adore.  I didn't find an exact replica, but I did find a recipe that gives your normal ranch a nice spicy kick.  It's delish!

A Spin-Off Of Outback's Ranch
1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix
1 cup mayo (I use Hellmann's-ALWAYS!)
3/4 cup buttermilk (if you don't have butter milk try adding 1 tbs white vinegar to regular milk, or now Hidden Valley has buttermilk ranch packets, use that)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
Combine spices, add ranch packet mix well.  Stir in mayo, combine well.  Slowly add in buttermilk until fully incorporated.  Refrigerate for at least 30 mins and stir well before serving.  Serve on salads, with chicken, with crudite, whatever you enjoy ranch on/with!

We Made Room For Dessert 7 - Magic Bars

I know why this dessert that I'm about to give you the recipe for is titled "magic" bars... Because they are absolutely delicious and will satisfy your sweet craving!  While the title of this blog is No Room For Dessert, I do occasionally post dessert recipes, and this snack bar is precisely the reason why.  The great thing about these bars is that you could add, substitute, or remove ingredients to suit them to your taste.  I am going to give you the recipe for what I made, and then give you some suggestions for what you could add/substitute.

Magic Bars

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2cups graham cracker crumbs (or about 6 graham crackers crushed up)
• 1/2 cup melted butter (1 stick)
• 1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup flaked coconut -this ingredient makes these bars but if you don't like coconut leave it out-
• 1 cup chocolate chips (you can use milk, semi-sweer, dark, etc - or sub in something else)
• 1 cup white chocolate chips (this can also be left out - or use vanilla chips)

***suggestions (a cup or so)

peanut butter chips

butterscotch chips

peanuts, walnuts - whatever your fav nut is

1 10oz jar maraschino cherries
dried cherries/cranberries

Directions
Preheat oven to 350.  Grease 9x13 pan.
Mix melted butter with graham cracker crumbs and press into bottom of greased pan.  Next pour sweetened condensed milk over graham cracker crumbs, spreading into an even layer.  Sprinkle on your coconut, then your chocolate and white chocolate chips, pressing them down slightly.
Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.  Cool, then cut into bars.
Enjoy!