Smoked Pork Loin Roast

We just celebrated my mom's birthday, and for her special dinner she wanted smoked pork loin, homemade applesauce, caesar salad, and garlic mashed potatoes.  I love to grill and smoke meat so I got to make the dinner, and my sister brought the carrot cake with cream cheese frosting!

I took two pork loin roasts (each about 2 lbs.) and marinated them for an hour before putting them on the grill.

I turned them to marinate both sides.

The goal is to smoke them for 35-45 per pound at 325 F.  I'm still getting used to my new gas grill, so it ran a little hotter than I was used to and I blackened the bottom edge, even using indirect grilling.  The trickiest part with smoking, I've found, it to have it hot enough to get your pellets to smoke, but low enough for a slow smokey roast.  I like to heat up the grill to at least 400 F and after about 15 minutes the pellets will start to smoke.  Then lower your temperature and place your meat over the burners that are NOT on.

From one hearty appletite to another...happy grilling!

Company Pork Roast Marinade:

4# pork loin roast

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon wine vinegar

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1 teaspoon salt

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon pepper

 Photograph © Hearty Appletite

Creamy Alfredo Pasta Stir-Fry

There are always nights in the week, that I just don't have time to cook.  Either we get home late, or we have to rush out after dinner, and I need something fast.  Occasionally, we have to hit a drive-thru, but I'm not a fan of the greasy spoon because it pains me to imagine what it's doing to my kids' hearts, and it's flat expensive!

This meal can be thrown together in the time it takes to boil water and cook the pasta, and it's super yummy and healthy.  

While the water is heating, chop up your vegetables and pre-cooked sausage (I use smoked turkey sausage without MSG).  Here I've used onions, red bell pepper, asparagus, and sausage, but feel free to use your own favorite vegetables.  Add your noodles to the water, and cook according to the package.  Sauté your vegetable medley over medium-high heat.

Drain the noodles, add a jar of light alfredo sauce, and toss everything together.  You're done!

From one hearty appletite to another...happy cooking!

Photograph © Hearty Appletite

PB&J Cookies with "Milk"

I saw some PB&J cookies the other day, and it reminded me of my love of peanut butter cookies, combined with the fun of a thumbprint cookie.  And if you're a PB&J sandwich lover, we all know that it's impossible to eat one without a glass of milk.  

So, here you have it:  a PB&J Cookie with "Milk" =)

I started out by making peanut butter cookies.  I rolled them into 1 1/4" balls, and made my "thumbprint" in the middle.  Into the centers, I dabbed about a 1/2 teaspoon of cream cheese filling, and topped them with 1/4 teaspoon raspberry jelly.

Bake at 375 F for ~10 minutes.

Cool and enjoy!

I had to include a "hand shot" so that you could see just how puffy and chewy these turn out.  Yum!!!

From one hearty appletite to another...happy baking!

Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 cups unsifted flour

Cream Cheese Filling:

2 ounces cream cheese

2 teaspoons powdered sugar

Mix in small ramekin

Photograph © Hearty Appletite

Mesquite Smoked Beer Can Chicken Thighs

Mesquite Smoked Beer Can Chicken Thighs with Barbecue Sauce

With spring right around the corner, it's time to take the cover off the grill and buy smoke pellets!  Actually, I grill just about 365 days a year: rain, shine, or occasional snow flurries.  It's the easiest way for me to prepare meat, poultry, and fish, and it sure beats anything you can do to it in an oven!

For a taste of the smokey South, conjuring up mental images of fire pits and the smell of mesquite swirling in the air, I make my own version of beer can chicken using thigh meat.

I read in a book, that when preparing beer bread or beer can chicken, cheap beer is better.  Works for me!  I got this beer for $0.50 a can at Trader Joe's.

Start the grill and get a steady temperature of 400 degrees.  Add your smoke pellets (~1 cup) and after 15 minutes, your neighbors will be hating you because suddenly their take-out pizza isn't smelling quite as appealing :)

I use the entire can of beer, and as long as my grill doesn't get too hot, it will last the whole hour that my chicken cooks.  I remove the skins, to be healthy, and season the meat.  You'll notice that a beautiful golden and chewy layer will form over your succulently moist inner meat.

So, there you have it!  An inexpensive and easy dish that is so delicious that I can't do justice describing it.  You'll just have to make it for yourself...again...and again...and again!

*Easy clean-up bonus.  Line an old cookie sheet with two layers of aluminum foil.  Simply fold up and throw away when you're done.  No washing dishes for you!

From one hearty appletite to another...happy cooking!

Photography © Hearty Appletite

I Love You Smoothie: Berry Delicious Valentine's Day Smoothie

Sometimes there's just no sweeter way to say, "I love you," than to make something delicious and healthy to give to your loved one for Valentine's Day -- or any day!  It's more of a "I-love-you-and-your-heart-and-want-you-to-live-forever" statement that you just can't give in a card.  

Packed with probiotics and antioxidants, this organic, healthy, very berry smoothie is healthy enough for breakfast, fancy enough for dessert, and easy enough for anytime!  

From one hearty appletite to another...happy cooking!

I Love You Smoothie!

1 banana

1/2 cup frozen strawberries

1/2 cup frozen blueberries

1 cup organic vanilla yogurt

splash of coconut milk (or regular milk/orange juice) to get it the consistency you like

*for a heartier meal replacement smoothie, blend in one avocado--so creamy and it will keep you full longer!

Photography © Hearty Appletite

DIY Valentine's Day Card

I have to say that for as much as I love to bake, sew, knit/crotchet, and paint, I'm not an "arts and crafts" person.  DIY projects are not aimed at me.  However, this DIY Valentine's Day Card, from Better Homes and Gardens February 2012 issue, jumped off the page at me.  Since it requires measuring and mixing, it's almost like cooking...almost.

A template is included, but I actually made my own.  Into the blank hearts, write out "prizes" for your sweetie to win.  Then cover each message with clear contact paper...I used tape.

Using metallic acrylic paint, mix 2 parts paint with one part dish soap.

Paint over each covered heart with three coats of the mixture.

Let dry, attach a penny, and give to your special someone!

Happy Valentine's Day Friends! xo

 Photography © Hearty Appletite

Raspberry Filled Baked Doughnuts

On a recent trip to Target, I had plans to buy something baking related.  I didn't really know what I was looking for, but I wanted something frivolous that wouldn't take up too much space.  

At the end of one of the aisles was a Valentine's Day display with a variety of cute, heart-shaped bakeware.  I bought the mini baked doughnut pan!

I was so eager to try my new pan that I quickly washed it and used the recipe from the packaging.  So yummy!  In my haste, I didn't make sure to wipe the middle part of the pan that makes the doughnut "hole," but it turned out to my advantage because I was able to fill the centers with raspberry jam.

Light and luscious, and not even bad for you!  Win-win! :)

From one hearty appletite to another...happy baking!

Baked Doughnuts Recipe adapted from NordicWare

2 cups flour

3/4 cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

3/4 cup buttermilk (or make sour milk)

2 eggs

2 Tbsp melted butter or olive oil

1 tsp vanilla

Heat oven to 375 F.  Grease and flour pan.  Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl.  Stir in buttermilk, eggs, butter/olive oil and vanilla; beat until just combined.  Fill each well 2/3 full.  Bake 10-12 minutes, until the top of the doughnuts spring back when lightly touched.  Cool 5 minutes in pan; invert onto cooling rack and cool completely.  Glaze and decorate as desired.  Makes 18 doughnuts.

Photography © Hearty Appletite

In Honor of Hostess: Snowball Cake

Hostess Snowball Cake

I was so excited to do this post and bake this cake for the Crazy Cooking Challenge!  Then my excitement turned to disappointment and I wanted to hurl this un-photogenic "snowball" down the hill...Sprinkle Bakes is a hard act to follow!  Anyway, I stepped away from it for a day, and decided to blog about it because it's delicious and fun and visually delightful in person.  

I used Baker's unsweetened chocolate instead of cocoa powder.

A beautiful, puffy, yet moist and dense chocolate cake!

It was really fun to be able to bake the cake in my Pyrex bowl.  For the future though, it needed to be more concave in my opinion.  My cake was a bit more like a snowball that smacked into a window!

It smelled like Hawaiian coconut, yet looked like a snowball!

When the direction say to "cool completely" DO THAT!  I got anxious and added the filling too early, which then melted slightly and caused the center of the cake to collapse when I cut it.  Hense, the lack of "smile" :)  But you know what?  My tongue never suspected a thing!  Mmmm!

Cake: 

Adapted from Sprinkle Bakes
2 ounces unsweetened Baker's chocolate

6 tbsp hot water

1 ½ cups flour

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

½ cup butter

1 cup plus 1 tbsp sugar

2 large eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

½ cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease a 2 quart heat-proof bowl (stainless or pyrex) with shortening and lightly flour. Set aside.  In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

Melt butter with sugar and water in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring to combine. Remove from heat and add the chocolate. Cover and allow the chocolate to melt.  Pour mixture into a mixing bowl. Beat with an electric hand mixer until mixture has cooled enough to add the eggs without scrambling them.

Add eggs, vanilla.  Beat until well combined.  Reduce mixer speed and add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the sour cream.

Pour into greased bowl and bake for 60-70 minutes, or until a toothpick tester comes out clean.  Let cool slightly. Run a knife around the edge of the cake, then turn out onto a cake stand or serving tray lined with wax paper strips. Let cool completely.  Cut the dome of the cake off about 1/3 of the way down from the top.  With your fingers, press to make an indentation in the middle of the base of the cake.  This will make room for the marshmallow filling without wasting any cake.

Filling/Frosting

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 16 oz. jar marshmallow cream

1 cup confectioners' sugar

1 generous cup sweetened flaked coconut 

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter until fluffy.  Add marshmallow cream and beat again, scraping down the sides and bottom of bowl as needed.  When thoroughly combined, remove 1 cup of the white mixture and place in the center of the cut cake.  Place the top of the cake over the marshmallow center and line up the edges as best as possible.

Add the 1 cup of confectioners' sugar to the remaining frosting.  Mix well. Place waxed paper strips around the bottom of the cake to keep the plate clean while you frost and decorate.  Frost cake with an offset spatula.  Cover with coconut.

Remove wax paper strips from underneath the cake and tidy up the serving plate edges if coconut remnants are present.

Notes: 

You must use a 2 quart (8 cup) bowl for this recipe.  The batter is approx. 4 cups and needs plenty of room to rise while baking. 

From one hearty appletite to another...happy cooking!

Photography © Hearty Appletite

Spaghetti Casserole: A Meal To Share

I had the privilege of bringing a family a meal after the birth of their baby this past week.  The addition of a new baby to a family brings so much excitement, happiness, and joy!  It's also a time of adjustments, and a few extra *yawns* and bleary eyes for the parents.  Meals that can just be popped in the oven, or heated in the microwave, are always appreciated.  

Here's a meal that's easy to transport, easy to heat up, and easy to serve and clean-up.  And, if you aren't a cook yourself, there are a few short-cuts to take that will help you.

Any good meal starts with light and fluffy sweet rolls!  You can make them yourself, or pick up a package at a bakery/grocery store.

For the main dish, prepare or buy your favorite spaghetti sauce.  Cook 3/4 pound of noodles.

Combine the noodles and sauce, and spread in a disposable casserole dish.  Top with grated cheddar cheese, cover with foil, and write the directions on top.  (Cook for 30 minutes at 375).  

To complete the meal, I added a bag of caesar salad, and baked a lemon cake in a bread pan (then wrapped in waxed paper) for dessert.  

Here are my favorite recipes to share, but feel free to use your own tried-and-true! :)

From one hearty appletite to another...happy cooking!

Spaghetti Sauce Recipe:

1 pound sausage or ground beef

1/3 cup chopped onion

1 clove garlic

1 1/2 teaspoons basil

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons salt, divided

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons parsley

2 bay leaves

28 ounces canned diced tomatoes

14 ounces tomato sauce

Brown meat with onions, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper.  Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a simmer.

Sweet Roll Dough:

3 1/2 cups flour

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 package yeast (~2 teaspoons)

1 cup warm water

1/3 cup butter 

1 egg

Combine all ingredients and knead until elastic (about 5-7 minutes).  Allow to raise in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours.  Knead.  Let them raise another hour.  Roll out into a circle on a floured surface and cut into 16 triangles.  Roll them up!  Raise 45 minutes and bake at 400 F for ~12 minutes.

Lemon Cake:

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon lemon extract

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon lemon peel

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup milk

Combine butter with sugar and cream together.  Add extract and eggs and beat well.  Stir in dry ingredients alternately with milk, and add lemon rind.  Pour into greased and floured 5x9" pan.  Bake at 325 F for 45-50 minutes.  Top with hot lemon juice mixture and bake an additional 5-8 minutes.

~Topping~

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons hot lemon juice

Photography © Hearty Appletite