Birthday BBQ

Jeremy and I both LOVE BBQ. We had a little family birthday party for Jeremy, and I thought it was the perfect time of year for a BBQ menu. I originally wanted to make a home made bbq sauce and follow Tyler Florence's recipe for BBQ pulled pork, but once the day got here, I figured I should go for easy as well as tried and true. I had no idea what his BBQ sauce would taste like, so last minute I decided to just use our favorite "Sweet Baby' Rays Original Sauce"

BBQ Pulled pork sandwiches:

7 pounds of Pork shoulder (bone out) - [fed 17 people]

Salt/pepper

1 large bottle of Sweet Baby Ray'z Original Barbecue sauce

Potato roll buns (I like these because they are soft and a little bit sweet, and they are smaller size than large hamburger buns. Perfect size for kids, and for adults too with sides of potato salad and beans).

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Salt and pepper the pig on both sides. Put the pork in a roasting pan (fat side up) and roast it for about 6 - 6.5 hours. An instant-read thermometer stuck into the thickest part of the pork should register 170 degrees F, but basically, what you want to do is to roast it until it's falling apart. (We pulled it out a couple times and tried to start pulling meat apart with 2 forks, until it actually was "pulling apart" rather easily.)

While the pork is still warm, you want to "pull" the meat: Grab 2 forks. Using 1 to steady the meat, use the other to "pull" shreds of meat off the roast. Put the shredded pork in a bowl and pour the sauce over. Stir it all up well so that the pork is coated with the sauce.

To serve, spoon the pulled pork mixture onto the bottom half of each hamburger bun. Bon appetit!

Baked Beans (a mixture of my friend Kelly McDonald and Pioneer Woman)
3 Large cans (28 oz) pork and beans (I like "Bush's" brand) and drain a little of the liquid
1 med (sweet) onion chopped
1 lb cooked bacon cut up in pieces
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup BBQ sauce
1/2 - 3/4 cup brown sugar
a splash of cider vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard

Cook Bacon. Then stir together all ingredients, place in baking dish, cover with foil and bake for a long time maybe 1 1/2 -  2 hours on 300 degrees.

Loaded Baked Potato Salad.
I have this recipe posted here, and I doubled it for the amount of people we had over.

Cheese Steak Sandwich

I found this recipe in my Our Best Bites cookbook (which I absolutely love). Sometimes I forget that you can serve a sandwich for dinner...but since this is warm, and involves steak, I think it's totally appropriate for dinner. Both Jeremy and I loved this sandwich, we had it again the next night.

On a side note, my SIL Brittany just told me there is a Our Best Bites cookbook signing in Seattle/Bellevue next weekend! It's now on my calendar!

Cheese Steak Sandwiches:

1 lb. steak (you really can use any cut; since you’re going to slice it up and season it heavily, there’s really no need to splurge on a fillet mignon.)
2 Tbsp. butter
1 green bell pepper
1 medium yellow onion
Provolone
Kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper
Hot sauce (our favorite is Crystal)
4 Hoagie French rolls

1. Cut steak VERY thin, and set aside. (Get your husband to do it, if he's good with a knife. :-)
2. Slice bell peppers and onions. Set aside.
3. Heat 2 Tbsp. butter over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add steak and stir-fry. Season heavily with salt and lots of freshly-ground pepper.
4. When meat is about half-cooked, add peppers and onions. Stir occasionally, cooking until most of the liquid is evaporated and meat is cooked through.
5. Season with hot sauce to taste. Just a little bit for me.
6. Turn broiler on high. Position sliced buns on baking sheet and spoon steak mixture inside. Top with cheese and place under broiler for 1-2 minutes or until cheese is melted and bread is slightly toasty.

This sandwich is JUICY GOOD!

{Spicy} Orange Beef Stir Fry with Fried Rice

I got this recipe combo from my allrecipes.com cookbook. It was paired together and labeled "better than chinese take-out dinner". We both really liked this, and I've made it twice already. I added red bell peppers (in additional to original recipe). It has a nice orangey flavor and can be spicy with red pepper flakes. If you don't like spicy, you can just leave that out.


SPICY ORANGE BEEF
(Adapted from allrecipes.com)
Servings: 4

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 pound round steak, cut into thin strips on the diagonal
1 red bell pepper, sliced in strips
1/8- 1/4 cup orange zest
1-2 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (I like to substitute 1 tsp fresh ginger grated if I have it)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup beef broth
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup orange marmalade (don't leave this out!)
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (use less if you don't like spicy!!)

1. In a wok or skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add beef strips 1/3 at a time. Stir-fry for 3 minutes or until browned, removing the done pieces to a plate lined with paper towels.
2. Return all the beef to the wok. Stir in red bell pepper strips, orange zest, garlic, and ginger; stir-fry 1 minute.
3. In a medium bowl, combine cornstarch, broth, soy sauce, marmalade, and red pepper. Pour this mixture into the beef, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook for 1 minute. Serve hot.

FRIED RICE
(Adapted from allrecipes.com)
Servings: 4


In the cookbook it was paired with "Fried Rice". I love it when side dishes are suggested...leaves me from using my brain too much. I think this was an easy and yummy recipe. I followed direction almost completely.

2 2/3 cups water
1 1/3 cups uncooked white rice
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoons vegetable oil, divided
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 (10 ounce) package frozen green peas, thawed
2 green onions, chopped

1. In a saucepan bring water to a boil. Add rice and stir. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, season eggs with salt and pepper.
2. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in small frying pan, pour in eggs. Coat the bottom of the pan with the eggs, in order to cook them evenly; cook for about 3 minutes. Flip the eggs, cook one minute more and remove them to a cool surface. Let them cool, then cut them into thin slices. Set aside.
3. Place rice in skillet; break up any clumps and toss to coat with oil. Stir in soy sauce, peas, eggs and green onions. Stir and cook until heated through, approximately 3 minutes.

PW's Meatloaf

We are super lucky and have an awesome Meat Market in town (Owen's Meat). They have THE BEST ground beef ever!!! It's made completely from ground Roast, and has the best flavor and is so juicy delicious. We've made hamburgers with it several times and they are a perfect ten. So... I figured if meatloaf was ever going to taste good it was with this awesome Owen's ground beef. Plus, I think the Pioneer Woman's recipe is great to begin with it. I made it exactly like her recipe found here, BUT did NOT use BACON. I figured it wasn't necessary-b/c I wanted to taste the beef flavor more than bacon. Jeremy loved this, too, and we made sandwiches the next day with leftovers. seriously, good stuff. Will definitely make this again!

Meatloaf:
1 cup Milk
6 slices White Bread
2 pounds Ground Beef ( I recommend getting the BEST ground beef possible)
1 cup (heaping) Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
¼ teaspoons Seasoned Salt
¾ teaspoons Salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
⅓ cups Minced Flat-leaf Parsley
4 whole Eggs Beaten

Ketchup Sauce:
1½ cup Ketchup
⅓ cups Brown Sugar
1 teaspoon Dry Mustard
Crystal Hot Sauce To Taste

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour milk over the bread slices. Allow it to soak in for several minutes.
2. Place the ground beef, milk-soaked bread, Parmesan, seasoned salt, salt, black pepper, and parsley in a large mixing bowl. Pour in beaten eggs.
3. With clean hands, mix the ingredients until well combined. Form the mixture into a loaf shape on a broiler pan, which will allow the fat to drain. (Line the bottom of the pan with foil to avoid a big mess!)
4. Make the sauce: add ketchup, brown sugar, mustard, and hot sauce in a mixing bowl. Stir together.
5. Pour 1/3 of the mixture over the top of the bacon. Spread with a spoon.
6. Bake for 45 minutes, then pour another 1/3 of the sauce over the top. Bake for another 15 -30 minutes.
7. Slice and serve with remaining sauce.

Serve with mashed potatoes. Yummy!