bbq — Ma Whats For Dinner?

Slow roasted pulled pork sandwiches

May 7, 2012 by Alex aka Ma, What's For Dinner 4 Comments

I love pulled pork.

Not only is it delicious…

But it’s cheap…

And I can use it for days!!!

Perfect for a summertime BBQ!

Check out the three meals I got out of my $11.94 pork shoulder!

First one…

Pulled Pork Sangies

Serves: 10 Prep time: 15 minutes + 1 day Cook time: 6 hours

For the dry rub:

3 T paprika

1 T garlic powder

3 T brown sugar

1 T dry mustard

3 T coarse salt

1 t liquid smoke

1 t dried oregano

¼ cup olive oil

For the Sandwiches:

1 (5 to 7 pound) pork roast, preferably shoulder or Boston butt

2 T prepared mustard

2 packages Hawaiian bread rolls

2 cups BBQ sauce

In a food processor combine the paprika, garlic power, brown sugar, dry mustard, salt, liquid smoke, and oregano. Turn in the processor on and add in your olive oil until you have a nice paste.

Rub your pork butt with the prepared mustard then slather on your spice mixture. Be sure to massage it in well and get it into all the nooks and crannies. Let in marinate in the fridge for as long as possible, at least 1 hour or up to overnight.

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

Place the marinated pork in a roasting rack and roast at 300 degrees until an instant read thermometer reads 170 degrees F, about 6 hours, when the pork just easily falls apart.

Pull the pork into small pieces and serve on a Hawaiian buns with BBQ sauce and cole slaw. MMMMmmmm! So good!

Grilling Week – Steak Fajitas

May 25, 2011 by Alex aka Ma, What's For Dinner 9 Comments

You all know about my Mexican food problems here in CT.

They don’t have any…

Well not anything good…

So it’s up to me to make it for us.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE fajitas.

Have for years.

I remember this one time when I used to wait tables at this great restaurant in Boston while I was in college.

It was called the Sunset Bar & Grill

I’ve told you about their AMAZING Nachos.

Well I had a customer once who ordered our famous Cadillac Fajitas but instead of pronouncing it “Fa – HEE – ta” they asked for the “Fa-JIE-tis”

Like “Fagitis” is some creepy disease you catch in the Amazon Jungle.

Still makes me laugh.

STEAK FAJITAS

WHAT YOU NEED:

2 pounds skirt or flank steak, organic if possible

1/2 cup orange juice

1/2 cup pineapple juice

1 lemon juiced

2 limes juiced

1/2 cup olive oil

4 cloves or garlic, chopped

1/2 cup soy sauce

2 T sriracha sauce

1 T chili powder

1 T ground cumin

1/2 T ground corriander

1/2 T paprika

1 t oregano

1 t black pepper

1/2 head of chopped cilantro

1 green bell pepper, sliced

1 red bell pepper, sliced

1 orange bell pepper, sliced

2 onions, sliced

Toppings:

whole wheat tortillas

pico de gallo

guacamole

shredded cheddar

sliced olives

sour cream

WHAT TO DO:

Place your steak and veggies to the side while you build your marinade. Combine all remaining ingredients, other than your toppings, in a large bowl and mix well.

Place the veggies and steak into a large ziploc bag and pour the marinade over the top. Close the bag and let it sit in the fridge for at least 3-4 hours. One day would be great!

Remove from fridge and let come to room temp while you heat up your grill to medium high. Spray or oil your grill so the meat doesn’t stick.

Meanwhile heat up a cast iron skillet on the grill. I put mine in the back corner where it’s hottest. Cook your onions and peppers until nice and soft and charred.

Toss on your meat and cook to medium (or medium rare) about 5 minutes on the first side, then 4 on the second.

Slice your meat on an angle and against the grain into strips.

Serve in warm whole wheat tortillas with sauteed onions and peppers and toppings!

Better than a case of “fagitis” any day!

Serve these up with some Sangria and it’s a good day for the ‘rents and the kiddos!

Filed Under: Dinner Recipes For Kids, Featured, Kid Favorite Recipes Tagged With: bbq, fajitas, grilling, mexican food, onions, organic, steak, tex mex

Grilling Week – Steak and Chicken Kabobs

May 23, 2011 by Alex aka Ma, What's For Dinner 6 Comments

Who doesn’t love food on a stick?

I certainly do…

And so do the kids!

As the calendar says spring I’m trying to wish the weather into cooperation…

Thus, I do hereby dub this week…

Grilling Week.

Come on and get your fire on!

This recipe is always a hit and you’ll laugh when you see how easy it is…This is why I love the grill!

Steak and Chicken Kabobs

WHAT YOU NEED:

1 pound organic chicken

1 pound organic rib eye steak (you can go with whatever steak is on sale if you want)

1/2 cup BBQ Sauce (or you can use store bought, I like Sweet Baby Rays)

1/2 cup italian dressing (Love Newman’s!)

WHAT TO DO:

Grab a large ziploc bag. Pour in your BBQ sauce and your italian dressing.

Cut your chicken and steaks into 1 inch cubes.

Toss them into your marinade and put them in the fridge.

Let them marinate for at least 1 hour, but they can sit for up to 24 hours.

Remove from marinade and poke them onto skewers. Be sure to keep your chicken on one and the beef on the other, way easier for cooking times!

Heat up your grill to medium high. Be sure to wipe it with some oil to start so your meat doesn’t stick.

Toss them on the grill and cook to your desired doneness on the steak (we like medium rare) usually about 3 minutes per side. Leave the chicken on until the juices run clear.

I take the boys off the sticks so they don’t end up playing swords with them but how your clan likes to eat ‘em is up to you.

Serve up with some Rajun Cajun Potatoes and dinner is served!

Filed Under: Dinner Recipes For Kids, Featured, Kid Favorite Recipes Tagged With: bbq, chicken, grilling, kabobs, organic, steak, summertime

Stick to your ribs Steak Tacos

August 6, 2010 by Alex aka Ma, What's For Dinner 27 Comments

Last weekend we had some of my old college girlfriends up with their families for a BBQ.

It was the first time we had gotten our families together.

I can’t believe that between us we have 9 kids.

Oh, how times have changed!

Instead of planning after hours parties and heading to the cafeteria to eat away a hangover…

We were discussing what kind of bottles we thought worked best and how many soccer practices a week a 5 year old should have.

Oh how the mighty have fallen…

Well, before the party the hubs freaked out and didn’t think we had enough food.

Really, honey?

Have you met me?

Of course we have enough food.

Yet, off he went to the store to purchase more and he came home with meat…lots and lots of meat. Needless to say I have about 7 extra steaks in the fridge to use up this week. Get ready for some steak leftover recipes guys! Grill a lot of it this weekend…you’ll be glad you did.

Serves 4 Prep Time: 1o minutes Cook Time: 15 minutes

1 T canola oil

2 large leftover steaks (you know the one your hubs thought you needed) If you are a vegetarian you could use portobello mushrooms instead

1 large onion, sliced

1 red pepper, sliced

1 yellow pepper, sliced

1 t garlic powder

1/2 t dried oregano

1/2 T ground cumin

1/2 T ground corriander

1/2 T chili powder

1/2 cayenne pepper

S&P

tortillas

shredded cheese

guacamole

sour cream

hot sauce, this is optional, but I like it spicy!

In a large cast iron skillet heat your oil over medium high heat. When the oil is hot add your onion and peppers. Saute for about 5 minutes until they are softened, season with S&P. Toss in your leftover steak and season with the remaining spices and additional S&P. Cook until heated through, about another 5 minutes.

Build your taco by laying your steak taco mixture in the middle of your tortilla. Top with cheese, sour cream, quacamole, and hot sauce. Need some good guacamole recipes? Here are two of my favorites…

Tyler Florence’s Guacamole

Barefoot Contessa’s Guacamole

My guacamole is kind of a combo of these. I’ve made a lot of guac in my day and I’d swear by these two. YUMMY!!!

Happy Friday Follow all! Please leave me a note to say you were here and I’ll get ya back over the weekend!

Filed Under: Dinner Recipes For Kids, Recipes For Kids Tagged With: bbq, cheese, Friday follow, guacamole, kids recipes, leftovers, tacos, tex mex, tomato, tortilla

Come on baby light my fire, we’re grilling corn

June 11, 2010 by Alex aka Ma, What's For Dinner 30 Comments

Oh, Tyler Florence, how I love thee. You’ve been my constant cooking companion for years. You make the best quacamole, by far, your chimichurri sauce is to die for, and once again, you’ve raised common street fair food to an art. Oh yes, I’m talking about the grilled corn with chili lime butter. I was inspired walking around a street fair on the upper west side of Manhattan this weekend by all the scrumptious smelling grilled corn. I love it, because it’s sort of like food on a stick, but slightly higher brow. It’s like the aristocrat of corn dogs. So I ran home to fire up the grill and make one of my favorite all time summer bbq staples. Try Tyler’s recipe, it’s delicious. Love ya, Ty!

12 ears fresh corn, unshucked

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

3 limes, zest finely grated

1 bunch fresh chervil, chopped

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 pound queso fresco, finely grated

1/4 cup chili powder

Soak the corn in a large container of water for 1 hour. Prepare the grill. Put the soaked cobs on the hot grill and cook for 30 to 40 minutes, turning frequently. The corn is done when it feels soft when you press on it.

While the corn is grilling make the lime butter: In a small bowl add the butter, lime zest, chervil, chili powder and salt and pepper, to taste. Mix well and spread onto a large plate.

Take the corn off the grill and carefully peel back the husks (it will be hot). Remove the corn silk and tie the husks in a knot so you can hold on to it like a handle. Roll in the lime butter. Place on a large platter and serve immediately.

Filed Under: Appetizer Recipes For Kids, Healthy Side Dish Recipes For Kids, Kid Favorite Recipes, Recipes For Kids, Vegetable Recipes For Kids, Vegetarian Recipes For Kids Tagged With: bbq, chili lime butter, corn

Philly Steak N’ Cheeseburgers

May 21, 2010 by Alex aka Ma, What's For Dinner 19 Comments

I know, I know you’ve been waiting for all the BBQ recipes from Brady’s birthday party. Well I can tell you about them, but Ma drank a bit too much vino and forgot to actually take pictures of the food. So, you’ll just have to trust me when I say the burgers and dogs were great. The chicken wings and steak tips went really quick and the New England Steamers were amazing. So now I have all these leftover and what’s a girl to do? Well I grabbed some prepared burger patties (I know, oh the horror) and sprinkled them with steak seasoning, grilled ‘em up and dressed them to look like a Philly Steak and Cheese Sub. This ain’t your average leftover burger!

Serves: 6 Prep Time: 20 minutes Cook Time: 15 minutes

6 burger patties

2 T steak seasoning

1 onion sliced thin

1 bell pepper sliced thin

2 T olive oil

2 T butter

2 T flour

1 1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup cheddar cheese

1/2 t ground nutmeg

S&P

6 sub rolls

Turn on your grill and heat it to medium high to grill your burgers. Let the meat sit on the counter for about 10 minutes before you put them on the grill. Sprinkle with steak seasoning and drizzle with a bit of olive oil. Grill to desired doneness. Let rest under some tin foil for about 5 minutes. Meanwhile heat 1 large skillet and a medium saucepan over medium high heat . Add 1 1/2 T olive oil to the skillet and 2 T butter to the saucepan. When the skillet is hot add your onions and peppers. Season with steak seasoning and allow to saute for about 10 minutes or so, until nice and soft. Once the butter has melted in your saucepan, whisk in your flour. Cook for about 1 minute. Slowly stir in your milk whisking constantly. Bring to a boil then roll the heat back to about medium low and allow it to simmer for 5 minutes. Season with S&P and grated nutmeg. Stir in your cheese and allow to simmer on low until your burgers are ready to go.

Split a sub roll in half, toast if desired. Top with burger, pile on your onion and peppers, then slather on your cheese mixture. Philly Cheese burger style! I ran out of buns, so the hubs had to settle for a bulkie roll…sorry babe.

Filed Under: Dinner Recipes For Kids, Kid Favorite Recipes, Recipes For Kids Tagged With: bbq, burgers, leftovers, philly, steak and cheese

Slow roasted pulled pork sandwiches

Grilling Week – Steak Fajitas

Grilling Week – Steak and Chicken Kabobs

Stick to your ribs Steak Tacos

Come on baby light my fire, we’re grilling corn

Philly Steak N’ Cheeseburgers

Featured Cooking With Kids Videos

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Slow roasted pulled pork sandwiches

Grilling Week – Steak Fajitas

Grilling Week – Steak and Chicken Kabobs

Stick to your ribs Steak Tacos

Come on baby light my fire, we’re grilling corn

Philly Steak N’ Cheeseburgers

Featured Cooking With Kids Videos

Join Our Mailing List

Find us on Facebook

Connect With Ma

Find A Local Farmer’s Market

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