girlymama

try this - carnitas

This recipe is from our dear friends who are fabulous cooks. I LOVE this. It is - no exaggeration - one of the best things you will ever eat!

Carnitas

3 lbs boneless pork shoulder or country-style pork ribs
6 garlic cloves, halved
1 orange, zest of (cut into wide strips using a vegetable peeler)
3/4 cup fresh orange juice
sea salt
1 tablespoon canola oil (optional) or safflower oil (optional)
12 corn or flour tortillas, warmed
guacamole
salsa fresca
black beans

Cut off any big pieces of fat from the pork and put them into a wide, heavy saucepan or frying pan. Cut the pork into strips about 1 1/2 inches long and 3/4 inch wide. Add the pork to the pan with the garlic, orange zest, orange juice, and 2 teaspoons sea salt. The meat should be in a single layer, if possible. Add water to barely cover the meat and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to medium low, cover partially, and cook, stirring occasionally, until all of the liquid has evaporated, about 1 hour. If the meat is not yet fork tender, add a bit more water and continue cooking.

Uncover the pan and continue cooking the pork until all the fat is rendered and the meat is browning in the melted fat, 10-15 minutes longer. There is usually enough melted fat in the pan, but if necessary, add the 1 tablespoon oil. When the meat is brown and crisp, using a slotted spoon, transfer it to a colander and let any excess fat drain away.

Immediately transfer the pork to a warmed serving bowl. Accompany with the warm tortillas to make tacos: slather each tortilla with the guacamole and the salsa. Serve with the beans and/or rice on the side.

try this: oven roasted vegetables

This is such a quick, easy side dish with dinner. Just throw it in the oven with whatever you're already roasting in there. Its great with roast chicken.  It seems like it makes a ton, but my kids goggle it all up!

Oven Roasted Vegetables

1 1/2 pounds fingerling potatoes, cut in half lengthwise
olive oil
kosher salt, fresh ground pepper
1 pound french string beans, trimmed
1 bunch thin asparagus, ends removed, cut diagonally into 3-inch pieces

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Put potatoes on a sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil, then season with salt and pepper. Toss with your hands.
Roast potatoes for 20-25 minutes, then remove from oven. Toss the string beans and asparagus with the potatoes and roast for another 15 minutes. Sprinkle with a bit of kosher salt (or some freshly grated Parmesan cheese if you're feeling decadent!)

adapted from Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics

try this carnival: healthy meals

Welcome to the  monthly "Try This: Spice Up Your Kitchen" carnival! This month's theme is HEALTHY MEALS. We're not the only ones who resolved to eat healthier this year, right? Its so hard to come up with healthy meals that taste great.  Especially when your favorite food groups are the "Pizza" Group and the "Cookie" Group.

This is a recipe I tried out last year. My husband does NOT like most fish, but he loves this! I serve this with black beans and a green salad. And, sometimes, guacamole. YUMMY! (You could go crazy and add a margarita, but that probably would turn this into a not-so-healthy meal...)

Cornmeal-Crusted Tilapia with Salsa

4 Tilapia filets
1/3 c yellow cornmeal
2 tsp paprika
3 tbsp olive oil, salt
½ c Salsa

In a shallow plate or bowl, combine cornmeal and paprika; season with salt and pepper. Dredge each piece in cornmeal mixture, patting on to coat completely.
In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tbsp oil over med-high. Cook without crowding until golden brown and firm, about 2 min per side for thin pieces and 4 min for thick ones. Transfer to a plate. Serve with salsa.

recipe origin: everyday food magazine. (photo is from everyday food as well, since once again i forgot to take a picture before we ate!)

I hope you all have a great time looking through all the recipes today – I cannot WAIT to find some new recipes!! And remember: when you add your post to the Mr. Linky, please link to your specific post – not your general blog URL.
Here's how to play, if you have questions.

try this: homemade calzones

My sister made these for us once and they have become one of my husband's favorites. So yummy. We love them with tons of sausage peppers and onions.

Ingredients: 

1 pkg of refrigerated pizza dough (Pillsbury or the like. Trader Joes has great dough too.)

2 cups of your favorite pizza or spaghetti sauce

2 cups of mozzerella cheese

All the toppings you love...pepperoni, mushrooms, peppers, onions, sausage... whatever you have around the fridge.

Seasonings - oregano, basil, pepper, salt, garlic powder

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and spray with PAM.  Lay out pizza dough flat and cut in half.  Place sauce in a line, cover with cheese.  Add your toppings and any seasoning.  Fold the two halves into a two burrito shapes, making sure to overlap the dough.  Spread a bit of butter on the dough and sprinkle garlic powder on the dough after folding.

Place in the oven for 15-17 minutes or until the tops of the calzones are golden brown.  Remove and enjoy!

My sister made these for us once and they have become one of my husband's favorites. So yummy. We love them with tons of sausage peppers and onions.

Ingredients: 

1 pkg of refrigerated pizza dough (Pillsbury or the like. Trader Joes has great dough too.)

2 cups of your favorite pizza or spaghetti sauce

2 cups of mozzerella cheese

All the toppings you love...pepperoni, mushrooms, peppers, onions, sausage... whatever you have around the fridge.

Seasonings - oregano, basil, pepper, salt, garlic powder

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and spray with PAM.  Lay out pizza dough flat and cut in half.  Place sauce in a line, cover with cheese.  Add your toppings and any seasoning.  Fold the two halves into a two burrito shapes, making sure to overlap the dough.  Spread a bit of butter on the dough and sprinkle garlic powder on the dough after folding.

Place in the oven for 15-17 minutes or until the tops of the calzones are golden brown.  Remove and enjoy!

try this: peanut butter blossoms

These are my husband's absolute favorite. Colin is a fan, too.

Peanut Butter Blossoms

48 HERSHEY'S KISSES
1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Sugar

1. Beat shortening and peanut butter in large bowl until well blended. Add 1/3 cup granulated sugar and brown sugar; beat until fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into peanut butter mixture.
2. Refrigerate dough for about 30 minutes.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
3. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in sugar and place on a cookie sheet.
4. Bake for 8-10 minutes.  While baking, remove wrappers from Hershey Kisses.  After removing the cookies from the oven, immediately press a hershey kiss into the center of each cookie.  Cool and enjoy!

Recipe origin: Mom. And the Hersheys Kiss package.

try this: herb-roasted leg of lamb

What I'm making for Christmas dinner this year. So amazing, so easy and SO delicious.

Herb-Roasted Leg of Lamb

12 large unpeeled garlic cloves, divided
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 (6-pound) boneless leg of lamb, trimmed and tied
4 to 5 pounds small unpeeled potatoes (16 to 20 potatoes)
2 tablespoons good olive oil

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Place the oven rack in the lower third of the oven so the lamb will sit in the middle of the oven.

Peel 6 of the cloves of garlic and place them in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add the rosemary, 1 tablespoon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, and butter. Process until the garlic and rosemary are finely minced. Thoroughly coat the top and sides of the lamb with the rosemary mixture. Allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Toss the potatoes and remaining unpeeled garlic in a bowl with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Place in the bottom of a large roasting pan. Place the lamb on top of the potatoes and roast for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours, or until the internal temperature of the lamb is 135 degrees (rare) or 145 degrees (medium). Remove from the oven and put the lamb on a platter; cover tightly with aluminum foil. Allow the lamb to rest for about 20 minutes. Slice and serve with the potatoes.

recipe origin: Barefoot Contessa Family Style

yobaby meals or how i got colin to eat an actual vegetable

**Giveaway is now closed! Congrats to Tiffany, comment #4!!**

My first two kids were terrific eaters. They ate pretty much anything we put in front of them. We even took them to another country, where they happily ate ethnic food for several weeks with little complaining. They'll still try almost anything!

Then we had Colin.

This kid would happily eat nothing but fruit, yogurt, hot dogs and chicken nuggets for the rest of his life. He hates meat. He hates most vegetables, although he used to eat peas. (But not anymore.) He'll occasionally eat a carrot. He won't eat rice or potatoes. He does eat pasta, but only if its spaghetti that is not cut up so he can slurp it and make a huge mess. (Oh, he does like pizza. But who doesn't like pizza?)

SIGH.

So when I was contacted by Stonyfield Farms about trying their new YoMeals, I enthusiastically said, "YES!! PLEASE help me get some vegetables into my son!!" With all three of our kids, YoBaby Yogurt  has been a staple in our house. It was usually the one thing I could guarantee they would eat, even on their pickiest days!!

YoBaby Meals offer a unique 3-in-1 combination of protein-packed yogurt + fruit + veggie purée in one cup. It comes in three flavors -- Pear & Green Bean, Peach & Squash, Apple & Sweet Potato – and, thankfully, is in a 6-ounce cup. (My son always wants more after a 4-ounce YoBaby!) And of course, YoBaby Meals are still all natural and certified organic, made with milk from cows fed organic feed and not treated with antibiotics or artificial growth hormones.

My thoughts?
Thank you, Stonyfield. My son ate vegetables. Real vegetables. Happily! With no screaming or throwing vegetables on the floor! (Not that my child ever does that. Ahem.) He liked the Peach and Squash flavor best, followed by the Apple and Sweet Potato. Pear and Green Bean was not such a hit, but he never liked green vegetables in baby food, either.

Stonyfield Farms is offering a lucky Girlymama reader a YoBaby gift pack that includes a Yobaby travel bowl with lid, a Yobaby organic cotton bib , an Eric Carle growth chart AND 3 free Yobaby Meals coupons!! Here's how to enter: 

1. Contest ends Friday, December 18.
2. Entry #1: Leave a comment just saying you want to win.
3. Entry #2: Leave a SEPARATE comment telling me your trick getting your kids to eat healthy.
4. Entry #3:  Leave another comment telling me in what way you promoted this contest (i.e., posting about it on your blog or Facebook, Tweeting about it, emailing  friends, and/or subscribe to my feed by email or in a reader).
5. Winners will be selected by Random.org, announced back here on this post, and notified via email with further instructions.

Good luck!!

***
I'm also giving away TWO sets of K'NEX this week on Girlymama reviews! Go enter!

try this: french toast apple bake

Looking for something decadent for brunch? This is super yummy. And the best part is that you make it the night before and just pop it in the oven in the morning.

French Toast Apple Bake

3/4 C butter, melted
1 C brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
2 (21 oz) cans apple pie filling
15 to 18 slices white bread
8 eggs
1 3/4 to 2 C milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Grease/Pam/Butter a 9X13 baking dish. (I often half this recipe and put it in a oval baking dish.) Pour butter into the dish and then sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon into the dish. Top with the apple pie filling. In a mixing bowl whisk together eggs, milk and vanilla.  Layer the bread slices on top of the apple pie filling, pressing down firmly so that they get all nice and smooshed down onto the apple pie/butter mixture. You can alternate layers of bread with pouring the egg mixture so that every layer is thoroughly saturated.
Make sure that you pour SLOWLY, so as to avoid spillovers! Cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate overnight.
Uncover and bake at 350 for 1 hour. If desired, drizzle with syrup and put in the broiler for a few minutes to caramelize. Or I usually just sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.

Recipe origin: Blissfully Domestic

Looking for something decadent for brunch? This is super yummy. And the best part is that you make it the night before and just pop it in the oven in the morning.

French Toast Apple Bake

3/4 C butter, melted
1 C brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
2 (21 oz) cans apple pie filling
15 to 18 slices white bread
8 eggs
1 3/4 to 2 C milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Grease/Pam/Butter a 9X13 baking dish. (I often half this recipe and put it in a oval baking dish.) Pour butter into the dish and then sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon into the dish. Top with the apple pie filling. In a mixing bowl whisk together eggs, milk and vanilla.  Layer the bread slices on top of the apple pie filling, pressing down firmly so that they get all nice and smooshed down onto the apple pie/butter mixture. You can alternate layers of bread with pouring the egg mixture so that every layer is thoroughly saturated.
Make sure that you pour SLOWLY, so as to avoid spillovers! Cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate overnight.
Uncover and bake at 350 for 1 hour. If desired, drizzle with syrup and put in the broiler for a few minutes to caramelize. Or I usually just sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.

Recipe origin: Blissfully Domestic

try this carnival: christmas cookies! *giveaway*

Welcome to the  monthly "Try This: Spice Up Your Kitchen" carnival! This month's theme is CHRISTMAS COOKIES. Aren't cookies one of the best parts of Christmas? (When else can you justify eating cookies for breakfast?) My family makes approximately eleventy billion cookies at Christmas... and we eat every. single. one.

Its so hard to pick a favorite. Because I love cookies. Love cookies. LOVE COOKIES!!!! But here goes:

Chocolate Crinkles

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar (I always end up using closer to 1 cup)

1. In a medium bowl, mix together cocoa, white sugar, and vegetable oil. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; stir into the cocoa mixture. Cover dough, and chill for at least 4 hours. (Do not skip the chilling step!! Trust me!)

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Roll dough into one inch balls. (I use a cookie dough scoop.) Coat each ball in confectioners' sugar before placing onto prepared cookie sheets.

3. Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes. They will look underbaked, but that is okay. If you bake them to long, they will be like hockey pucks! Let stand on the cookie sheet for a minute before transferring to wire racks to cool.

recipe origin: my mom

Now this month's carnival is a little special. I am giving away an adorable Christmas cookie cutter gift set from Ann Clark!

Here are the rules:
1. Contest ends Saturday, December 5 .
2. Entry #1: Submit a recipe to the carnival. (It can be an old post on your blog - just remember to link to the specific post, not your whole blog please.)
3. Entry #2: Leave a comment telling me what your very, very favorite thing about Christmas is.
4. Entry #3:  Leave a SEPARATE comment telling me in what way you promoted this contest (i.e., posting about it on your blog, Tweeting about it, emailing  friends, and/or subscribe to my feed by email or in a reader).
5. Winner will be selected by Random.org, announced back here on this post, and notified via email with further instructions.

I hope you all have a great time looking through all the recipes today – I cannot WAIT to find some new recipes!! And remember: when you add your post to the Mr. Linky, please link to your specific post – not your general blog URL.
Here's how to play, if you have questions.

try this: roast beef with carmelized shallots

I made this for Christmas dinner one year. It was pricey, but a HUGE hit and very special. (If you pick up the beef on sale or at Sam's, its not as painful!)

Roast Beef with Carmelized Shallots
serves 10-12

6 pounds boneless rib-eye roast (with fat), tied, if desired or
9 pounds bone-in rib-eye roast (with fat)
Coarse salt and fresh ground pepper
2 pounds shallots, peeled and halved if large
2 tsp light brown sugar
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 cup dry red wine
2 tbsp dijon mustard

1. Preheat oven to 500°. Season beef with salt and pepper. Place in a large roasting pan; roast until golden brown, about 30 minutes.
2. Reduce oven temperature to 325°. Place shallots around beef; roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of beef registers 130° for medium-rare, 1 to 1 1/4 hours more, turning shallots with tongs after about 30 minutes. (For bone-in, plan on 2 hours cooking time.)
3. Transfer beef to a platter; tent loosely with foil. Transfer shallots to a shallow bowl (continue cooking if not golden brown). Toss with sugar and vinegar; season with salt and pepper. Cover with foil to keep warm.
4. Pour off fat from pan. Add wine; cook over medium heat until syrupy, scraping bottom of pan, 2 to 4 minutes. Add 2 cups water; cook until reduced by half, 4 to 8 minutes. Strain into a small bowl; whisk in mustard and any accumulated juices from beef. Season with salt and pepper; serve with beef and shallots.

Recipe origin: Everyday Food

I made this for Christmas dinner one year. It was pricey, but a HUGE hit and very special. (If you pick up the beef on sale or at Sam's, its not as painful!)

Roast Beef with Carmelized Shallots
serves 10-12

6 pounds boneless rib-eye roast (with fat), tied, if desired or
9 pounds bone-in rib-eye roast (with fat)
Coarse salt and fresh ground pepper
2 pounds shallots, peeled and halved if large
2 tsp light brown sugar
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 cup dry red wine
2 tbsp dijon mustard

1. Preheat oven to 500°. Season beef with salt and pepper. Place in a large roasting pan; roast until golden brown, about 30 minutes.
2. Reduce oven temperature to 325°. Place shallots around beef; roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of beef registers 130° for medium-rare, 1 to 1 1/4 hours more, turning shallots with tongs after about 30 minutes. (For bone-in, plan on 2 hours cooking time.)
3. Transfer beef to a platter; tent loosely with foil. Transfer shallots to a shallow bowl (continue cooking if not golden brown). Toss with sugar and vinegar; season with salt and pepper. Cover with foil to keep warm.
4. Pour off fat from pan. Add wine; cook over medium heat until syrupy, scraping bottom of pan, 2 to 4 minutes. Add 2 cups water; cook until reduced by half, 4 to 8 minutes. Strain into a small bowl; whisk in mustard and any accumulated juices from beef. Season with salt and pepper; serve with beef and shallots.

Recipe origin: Everyday Food