Place pork shoulder in slower cooker and salt and pepper to taste. Drain pineapple slices, reserving juice. Combine one bottle Hawaiian barbecue sauce with reserved pineapple juice and pour over pork. Cook on low 8-10 hours. In last hour, shred pork and drain off most of cooking liquid, then return pork to slow cooker with additional barbecue sauce if desired and finish cooking.
Serve on Hawaiian buns with pineapple slices, pepper jack cheese, additional barbecue sauce if desired, and a generous portion of jalapeño-cilantro slaw.
Today I’m sharing a recipe for one of our family’s top three favorite beverages…Brazilian lemonade, which I’ve been making ever since the 2016 Rio Olympics! Spoilers…there are no lemons in this drink, but rather limes, which makes it even tastier! I usually double (or even triple) the recipe because it’s so popular!
2 limes, washed well and quartered
3 cups water
1/2 cup sugar
3 Tbsp. sweetened condensed milk
4 handfuls ice cubes
Place everything in a blender and blend until smooth. Strain and serve over additional ice, if desired.
I’m still playing around with milkshake flavors, and this week, I’m sharing a non-alcoholic variety inspired by the famous Moscow Mule, with ginger syrup and lime juice. I topped it with ginger whipped cream and lime zest for a little extra punch of flavor, too!
2 cups vanilla ice cream
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup ginger syrup
1/4 cup lime juice
Combine all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.
My obsession with lavender continues! I’ve made lavender lemonade milkshakes in the past, but I decided I wanted to try to come up with a recipe that featured only lavender, and this fits the bill…it’s bright and refreshing!
2 cups vanilla ice cream
1 cup milk
1/4 cup lavender syrup
Combine all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.
My quest to find as many things to do with matcha as possible continues! This time, it’s matcha malts, and they’re bright and delicious! I served them with lavender whipped cream, but you could use any whipped cream, or none at all…the star here is the malt!
2 cups milk
4 cups vanilla ice cream
6 Tbsp. original malted milk powder
4 Tbsp. culinary matcha
Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. Enjoy with your favorite whipped cream, if desired. Serves 3-4.
Iced lavender cream matcha season at Starbucks may not last all year long, but now that I’ve learned how to make one at home, I can have it any time I want!
Iced Matcha
1/4 cup hot water
2-3 tsp. matcha powder
1 cup milk (Starbucks uses oat milk, but you can use your milk of choice)
1 Tbsp. simple syrup
Whisk matcha powder in hot water (I used an electric whisk). Add milk and simple syrup, and whisk until well blended. Add ice if desired.
Lavender Foam
3 Tbsp. cream
2 Tbsp. milk
2 Tbsp. lavender syrup
Purple food coloring and dried lavender (optional)
Whisk cream, milk, lavender syrup, and food coloring until frothy. Spoon desired amount on top of iced matcha and sprinkle with dried lavender.
I am on a major lavender kick, so of course I had to buy the lavender-lemonade whipped cream at Target the first time I saw it…but then I had to figure out what I was going to do with it! Since we love lavender-lemonade to begin with, I thought why not make lavender-lemonade milkshakes, and use the whipped cream to top them? It was just as delicious as I hoped…perfect for spring! I’m sure they would be good with regular whipped cream, too, since the special variety is a seasonal item.
4 cups vanilla ice cream
12 oz. frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
1 tsp. lemon zest
1/2-1 tsp. dried lavender
Add all ingredients to blender and blend until combined. Top with whipped cream and additional dried lavender, if desired.
I’ve been on something of a burrito kick recently, and one of the types of burritos I wanted to tackle was breakfast burritos, because Turkey loves the kind they sell at McDonald’s. I think I included all of their standard ingredients in my first attempt other than pork sausage, and Turkey said that I didn’t even need to include that in the future…but he wouldn’t mind if I tried them with chorizo!
Tortillas–I used the “Extra Grande Burrito” size
1/4 cup shredded cheese of your choice per burrito
Scrambled eggs–(About three per burrito–I made a total of 18 for six burritos)
Diced tomato (I used one large tomato for six burritos)
Diced green chilies, drained (I used two small cans for six burritos)
Browned pork sausage or chorizo (optional)
Burritos toppings (sour cream, hot sauce, melted cheese, avocado, etc.)
Preheat oven to 375. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Spread 1/4 cup shredded cheese in the middle of a tortilla. Mix scrambled eggs with tomatoes and chilies, and place a portion on top of cheese. Top with meat, if desired. Fold the tortilla in the traditional burrito style, and place seam-side down on baking sheet.
Bake at 375 for 12 minutes. Serve with your favorite toppings.
I decided I wanted to try something really different for Thanksgiving, so I made a pineapple pie! It’s a super easy recipe, and is really fresh and unique. I absolutely loved it, and I’ll definitely be making it again!
40 oz. crushed pineapple with juice
1 cup white sugar
6 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 pie crusts
1 egg
2 Tbsp. milk
1 Tbsp. white sugar
Preheat oven to 425.
Combine crushed pineapple with juice, 1 cup sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice in a medium saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened, then boil for 1 minute. Cool slightly.
Line a 10-inch pie plate with crust. Beat egg and brush crust with it to prevent sogginess. Pour filling into the prepared pie dish. Cover with remaining crust; press and flute the edges to seal. Cut a few steam vents on top (or do a lattice crust as pictured), brush crust with milk and sprinkle with 1 Tbsp. sugar.
Bake until golden brown, about 35 minutes. Serve with whipped cream and flaked coconut if desired.
Once I perfected my white chocolate raspberry cheesecake recipe, I started wondering what other kinds of cheesecakes I could make following the same basic recipe. For my first attempt, I went with one of my favorite flavor combinations, blueberry-lemon. It turned out just as well (although maybe not quite as pretty coming out of the cheesecake pan), and the flavor is amazing…I think I like it even better! The real star of the recipe is the sauce, which would also be good on pancakes and waffles, ice cream, and anything else you can think of!
Blueberry Lemon Sauce:
10 oz. frozen blueberries
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
3 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. cornstarch
Combine blueberries, lemon juice, sugar, and cornstarch in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and continue boiling until sauce is thick, about 5 minutes. Strain through a mesh strainer. Refrigerate overnight.
Graham Cracker Crust:
1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
3 Tbsp. sugar
6 Tbsp. melted butter
Preheat oven to 350. Mix all three ingredients together, then press into the bottom of a springform pan. Bake for 10 minutes, then cool to room temperature. When cool, place in freezer for at least an hour.
Cheesecake:
2 cups white chocolate chips
1/2 cup half-and-half
24 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp. lemon zest
1/2 tsp. lemon extract
Preheat oven to 325. Melt white chocolate chips and half-and-half in double boiler; cool slightly. Mix cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time. Add lemon zest, lemon extract, and melted white chocolate mixture and mix thoroughly. Pour half of the batter over frozen crust. Spoon 3 Tbsp. blueberry sauce over batter. Slowly pour in remaining cheesecake batter. Spoon 3 Tbsp. blueberry sauce over top. Swirl batter with the tip of a knife to create a marbled effect. Bake in the preheated oven until top is set, 60-75 minutes. Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake inside for another 30 minutes. Cool cheesecake to room temperature, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. Serve with remaining blueberry sauce
