Outlaw Potatoes

There’s a little barbecue joint near us.

We’re not sure what it’s called. The owners themselves don’t seem to really know what it’s called, either. In some places, it’s “Taste of Texas,” and in others, it’s “Texas BBQ Joint.” Neither are particularly imaginative, but I don’t really mind because their food is pretty good.

One thing on their menu is a concoction called, “Outlaw Potatoes.” It’s a baked potato smothered in sour cream, cheese, green onions, and either pulled pork or chicken.

This is my own version of it.

I did this first part the night before, since I want dinner to be ready when I got home today and didn’t really want to wait forever. Anyway, last night, I coated russets in olive oil, sprinkled them with coarse kosher salt, and put them in an oven. The foil underneath was to catch oil as it dripped.

After an hour, they were soft when squished, so I took them out, let them cool, and refrigerated them.

Next, I prepared the slow cooker Texas pulled pork. First, put some vegetable oil in the crock pot. I was using brand new measuring spoons because most of mine have mysteriously (and maddeningly) disappeared from my kitchen over the last month or so. I have no idea where they’ve gone and this is driving me absolutely crazy. Two sets, practically obliterated. *sigh*

Next, put a chunk of pork in there. The recipe said to do four pounds, but this piece here was that big and seemed like far too much.

So I cut it in half

And only put half in the crock pot. The other half went in the freezer. I think I’ll be making jambalaya soon with it.

Now for the sauce. Here’s some barbecue sauce (Famous Dave’s, of course).

Normally I like to mix up the sauce separately, but this time around I didn’t want to dirty any extra dishes, so I put it right on the pork.

Then I added some apple cider vinegar.

And chicken broth (I always use reduced sodium, if I can).

We’re just getting started. Here’s a bit of brown sugar added to the pot:

A bit of yellow mustard:

Some Worcestershire sauce:

Some chili powder:

Some dried thyme:

And finally, some minced garlic:

I had waited until this point to mix it together, but now was a good time for that.

Lastly, I chopped an onion and added that.

And with that, I put the lid on it and put it in the fridge overnight. In the morning, I took it out and plugged it in.

After I got home from work that afternoon, it smelled amazing. This is what it looked like:

Remarkably fork tender.

Just a few minutes of shredding with two forks, and this is what it looked like.

Now for the assembly. First, I sliced a potato lengthwise, heated it up in the microwave, and pushed the ends toward each other to open it up a bit.

Added some plain Greek yogurt (healthier than sour cream!), shredded cheese, and chopped green onions. They probably would have added crumbled bacon at the Taste of Texas, but I didn’t think it would really add a ton so I didn’t bother.

Then, finally, I topped everything with the pulled pork.

Very delicious.

An easy dinner, and a satisfying one. Very flavorful and filling.

And very easy. Perfect for a weeknight.

Jimmy’s Mexican Pizza

I’m not a big fast food person, but apparently Taco Bell has something they call “Mexican Pizza.” Apparently it’s pretty good. I knew when a recipe for something similar popped up on allrecipes.com, it would be well-received in my house. Anyway, I was getting sick of our usual collection of Tex-Mex recipes, so it was nice to try something different.

Start off by putting a half pound of ground beef in a skillet with some minced garlic. I skipped the onion that was called for because I didn’t have any.

Cook it up until browned, and then drain the grease out. At this point, add your seasonings: chili powder, cumin, paprika, salt, and pepper. It seemed like a lot to add to just a little bit of beef, but I’d rather have a lot of flavor than just a touch.

Here it is all mixed together.

Now, the recipe said to spread some refried beans from a can on a flour tortilla. It did not say whether it was necessary to heat them first. I thought that cold beans seemed gross, even though it would be baked in the oven, so I went ahead and warmed them in a pan before spreading on my tortillas.

I think this is brilliant: tortillas in pie plates. Keeps everything from spilling out!

And here they are with the beans.

And then topped by the seasoned beef.

Next, I put another tortilla on top of each one and put them both in the oven for about 10 minutes..

Meanwhile, I snipped up some green onions.

And prepared the rest of my ingredients. Jalapeno slices, salsa, and canned tomatoes (ideally fresh, but I didn’t have any).

When the pies came back out, I smeared the little bit of salsa that I had on them.

Then some cheese…

And then tomatoes, green onions, and jalapeno slices.

I put them back in the oven for about 10 more minutes, and here you go!

I served them cut in slices with a little dollop of sour cream on top, along with a side of Mexican rice.

Very yummy! Here’s the recipe, if you’d like to give it a try.

It made for good leftovers, as well.

Soft, Hot, & Buttery Cornbread

I got it in my head yesterday morning that I wanted to bake. I didn’t want to make cookies or brownies or sweets, though. I was looking for some sort of bread, something a little more savory and a little less sweet than coffee cake. And not a fruit bread, either, though I would have considered banana bread if the store’s entire supply of bananas weren’t still tinged with green.

Then I remembered that I had just saved a recipe for cornbread online. I think I stumbled across it randomly and saved it without giving much thought to it, but suddenly, I needed to make it.

First, I whipped up a batch of my "First Time" chili to serve with the cornbread. I ran out of chili powder, so after a quick google search for chili powder substitutions, I supplemented my meager supply with this mixture. This really has nothing to do with my cornbread, but I took pretty pictures and wanted to post them. Also, maybe you’ll find it useful.

Though I will say that the recipe was reviewed by someone from South Texas who was VERY upset that only one kind of pepper was included in this blend and went on at length about this being a poor excuse for chili powder. Ah well. It’s not like I have a supply of various peppers, all dried and ground up for occasions like this.

Anyway, back to the cornbread.

Crack a few eggs.

Add milk.

And whisk it together.

Maybe I should mention that while I was doing this, my butter was softening. My hands are never warm enough to soften butter just by holding it, so this is what I often do. Don’t laugh.

Yes, I stick it in my back pocket. Hey, it works.

Should have closed my cupboard before taking that picture.

Next, whip up a mixture of flour, corn meal, salt, and a ridiculous amount of baking powder.

Okay, time to mix up that softened butter and a bunch of sugar.

Keep going until it’s fluffy.

Alternately add in the cornmeal/ flour mixture…

… and the egg/ milk mixture.

Don’t worry, that’s neither rust nor blood on my mixer. It’s red food coloring from that time I made red velvet cupcakes. That whole area of my kitchen has red spatters, actually.

Here’s my nifty, shiny, slide-top dish that I inherited from my grandmother’s kitchen collection. Never really used it before, I guess because it’s not airtight. Figured this was a good time to try it out.

Pour the batter in the pan

And bake.

How pretty!

I don’t think I’d ever made cornbread from a recipe that wasn’t on the cornmeal container itself. And I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed cornbread this much.

Sweet, moist, fluffy, buttery, crumbly. A perfect foil to my chili, which I’ve started to ratchet the heat up in lately.

And a perfect breakfast the next day.

I was a total fan of this recipe. Ignore reviewers who suggest it needs more sugar or more cornmeal or oil instead of butter. They’re idiots. Seriously. I’ve never enjoyed homemade cornbread the way that I enjoyed this.