Pineapple Salsa Pork

Things are a little crazy here right now because we just closed on our first house yesterday. So I'll say right now I don't know if I'll be able to get a recipe out next week. I'll try, but if it doesn't happen, know I'll be back the next week...in a new kitchen! This recipe has been sitting on my counter for a few weeks now, just waiting for the perfect time to be tested. And today really could not have been a better day for it. It's a crock pot recipe, which I am loving now. I remember making a crack about crock pot cooking not really being cooking back at my bridal shower...I take it all back! I love you, crock pot. Don't ever leave me.

Ahem.

Last night I stuck my pork in the marinade to do it's thing.

Then this morning I dumped everything into the crock pot and attempted to stir it around a bit.

I cooked my pork for 8 hours on low, and it was just falling apart at this point.

Husband wanted to have it with rice rather than tortillas to change things up a bit, so that's what I did. And my rice cooker spat rice water everywhere for some reason. Nice. It's never done that before, so I don't know what happened. But back to the pork. So good! I even tried scooping it up with some of those hint of lime tortilla chips...whooo boy. The lime with everything else was awesome. I highly recommend that, but no need to go out and buy those chips specifically for this recipe. I didn't think the black beans added much of anything, but Husband liked them so I don't know if I'll keep them in the recipe. I also used sriracha instead of the Frank's hot wings sauce because that's what I had on hand. This is definitely a good one to keep in my back pocket for when things get crazy. 4 stars.

Chipotle Chicken, Mango, and Black Bean Enchiladas

This isn't even the last enchilada recipe I want to try. I still have one more. Somebody....stop me.

Here's all my ingredients (minus the soy sauce and tortillas-fail) ready to go.

 This was my first time trying to dice up a mango, and I have to say it was kind of a pain. It could be that my mangoes weren't quite ripe enough, I don't know. I've never actually cooked with them. That was probably the most difficult/annoying part of this recipe. Everything else was simple.

I cooked the chicken

and the sauce.

Here's the enchilada filling all ready to go.

Honestly I feel like a 15 ounce can of black beans was a bit too much. Next time I'd probably use a smaller can (if they exist).

I assembled the enchiladas and stuck them in the oven. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of them before they baked. But here's what they looked like after baking with the remaining mango sprinkled on top.

These were definitely good. And spicy! They're spicier than I expected, but not unbearable. I only added one teaspoon of chipotle chili powder since I wasn't sure how hot they would be, which I feel was a smart move. They're sweet, but not overly sweet.

That was my attempt at showing the inside of the enchiladas. I'm still learning with the whole food photography thing. Overall, I could see myself making these again. 3 stars due to mango difficulties and too many black beans.

Homemade Cinnamon Bread

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!! I made cinnamon bread! I'll admit I wanted to do a little more Irish of a recipe, but I didn't find anything that really excited me. Plus I already had all the ingredients on hand for this.

I melted the butter in the milk.

I added the yeast after it had cooled, but things didn't look any different, so there's no picture. I mixed the sugar and eggs in my stand mixer.

Added the butter/milk/yeast mixture.

I realize these pictures aren't that exciting. Even my camera was acting up, so I know they're not much to look at.

Here's the dough after I added the flour and salt:

After switching to the dough hook and letting it beat around for about 10 minutes, it looked a lot better.

Believe it or not, I don't have any glass or metal mixing bowls, so I just used these plasticy ones.

After letting the dough rise for two hours, it didn't look very different, but I pressed on and rolled it out onto the counter.

I sprinkled on the cinnamon sugar, and it wasn't until I started to roll it all up that I realized I forgot to spread butter on the dough before adding the cinnamon sugar. I briefly thought about trying to scoop it all off, adding butter, then trying again. But then I thought it couldn't make that much of a difference, and continued onward.

I let the dough rise for two hours again, and I swear it didn't rise at all. Husband says it did, but to me it looked exactly the same. But again, I persevered for the sake of this blog. You're welcome. ;) Coming out of the oven, the bread looked like this:

Still unsure of whether or not this had worked, I popped it out of the pan, and cut off a piece. Success! I was really surprised. Due to what looked like a lack of rising, I was pretty convinced my yeast had gone bad and thrown off the recipe. So I'm happy to say that this recipe is not a fail, and I will probably make it again. The only downside is it is kind of an all day process. I started the recipe around 1, and the bread didn't go in the oven until 6. 3 stars for this one.

One Pot Teriyaki Chicken and Pineapple Rice

Oh my lovelies...this one is a winner. Spoiler alert! The thing that instantly piqued my interest with this recipe was the pineapple rice. And when we were in Disneyland last week, Husband bought a pineapple spear for a snack and it was insanely juicy and sweet. We were both pretty surprised, and thinking about that is what pushed me to try this out today. That and the fact that it's actually quite simple.

The chicken can marinate anywhere from an hour to overnight. Mine ended up marinating for about 5 hours.

I didn't take any pictures of cooking the sauce down as you really do have to keep an eye on it and stir it constantly so the sugar doesn't burn. But I should hope no one really needs a picture of that. Pretty straightforward, right?

Browning the chicken was a bit more....fun? The olive oil and bits of sauce leftover in the pan splattered rather violently when I first put the breasts in. So please excuse my dirty stovetop for the remainder of tonight's pictures.

I wasn't too worried about the darker areas on the chicken as the original blogger's chicken also had some very dark bits. Cooking the rice was less exciting. Add the liquid, simmer, add rice and pineapple, cover and wait.

When I removed the lid to add the chicken back into the pot, it looked like this:

Still pretty wet. But the rice wasn't supposed to be completely done at this point anyway. So I added the chicken and brushed on some more of the sauce.

After probably 10 minutes or so, not totally positive since my mom called me, I decided it was probably done. The chicken breasts I bought were a bit thinner so I wanted to make sure I didn't overcook them.

After stirring everything around, I was confident it was all good to go. The rice at the bottom of the pan had browned slightly, even though there was still a bit of liquid at the top. But after I stirred it, things looked better.

I know I already said this recipe is a winner, but really it was a lot better than I was expecting. To me, the rice really brings it all together. The chicken is great on its own, but if you get a bite with a piece of pineapple, that sweetness just makes it amazing. And it's one pot! Hooray for easy clean up! So if it isn't already obvious, this one gets 4 stars from both of us and is definitely going in the recipe book to make again.

My Favorite Disneyland Treats

I know I missed the last two weeks. My bad. This last week we went on vacation to Disneyland, so the week before I was busy getting ready for said vacation. The night before we left, I tried reheating the lasagna roll ups I'd just posted. I followed the directions from PW and the roll ups were still frozen in the middle when I took them out of the oven. :( I did think it was weird that the reheating directions called for a lower temperature than the original recipe. I kept the other batch to try again with a higher cooking temperature.

Since this is a cooking blog though, to make up for my missed weeks, I'll post my own must try Disneyland treats. I know lots of people have thrown their opinions on this into the ring, and now it's my turn! In no particular order: (none of these pictures are my own)

Dole Whip

I've tried the standard Dole Whip and the Dole Whip float and both are glorious. That being said, I prefer the original a little more than the float so I can get more of the ice cream. ;) These can be found outside The Enchanted Tiki Room in Adventureland.

Mickey Beignets

For those who don't know, beignets are very similar to donuts. And these are delicious. They're warm, soft, and cover you in powdered sugar by the time you're done eating them. Super messy but totally worth it. You can get these at the Mint Julep bar in New Orleans square near the Haunted Mansion. And on that note...

Mint Julep

I LOVE Disneyland mint juleps. They're probably my all time favorite park treat. They're very faintly minty, mostly with a lemon-lime flavor. So SO good. I even asked for the recipe when I was there before this trip. I have yet to make them though, as the recipe is quite large. These can also (obviously) be found at the Mint Julep Bar.

Mickey Pretzel

 I'm a sucker for cute food and love a good soft pretzel so these are a no brainer for me. They can be found at various food carts around the park.

Turkey Leg

The turkey leg is one of those things I think everyone needs to try at least once. No picture can convey how huge these things are. However, they are REALLY good. They have a kind of sticky honey glaze that is amazing. You do end up pretty sticky and they're hard to eat, but I think everyone should give them a shot at some point. You can find the turkey legs at Edelweiss Snacks near the Matterhorn in Fantasyland.

An honorable mention also goes to the peanut butter sandwich at Pooh Corner in Critter Country. 

I had every intention to try one of these, only to get to Pooh Corner and find out they've been discontinued. :( I did find a copycat recipe that I plan on trying because I just have to know what they're like. 

I know there are a lot of other good treats to try at Disneyland, but that just gives me another reason to come back!