favorite new recipe: southwestern pork burritos

ingredients:
1 boneless pork should roast (2 ½ pounds) trimmed of fat
1 can of diced tomatoes & green chilies (don’t drain)
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon of honey
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon chili powder
¼ teaspoon of salt
flour tortillas
assorted burrito toppings (cheese, lettuce, sour cream, fresh cilantro, beans, etc..)

my version:
(use raw honey- 2 tablespoons, kaboom chili powder, large spoonful of extra hot salsa)

directions:
1. spray 3-4 quart slow cooker with cooking spray
2. place meat in cooker
3. in blender, add tomatoes & chilies, tomato paste, honey, garlic, chili powder and salt. cover and blend on medium speed for 10 seconds.
4. pour mixture over pork
5. cover and cook on low setting for 8-10 hours
6. once done, shred with forks
7. serve shredded pork on tortilla, add toppings and EAT

seriously, this is the best crock pot recipe ever!!!!! and "boston butt roast" is gonna be the title of my next album!!!

pork chop bubble gum

questions for the cooks out there:

why is it, sometimes my pork chops come out chewy? am i over or under cooking them?

i use shake-n-bake and stick them in the oven, and sometimes they turn out perfect, and sometimes they end up tough and chewy. is there some secret pork cooking trick i don't know?

another question: is it ok to take a hot frying pan and stick it in the sink with cold water? it makes a lot of noise (sizzle and pop) but seems to do no harm.

and finally, why does the coffee creamer sometimes not dissolve and float to the top of my cup of coffee? it happens when i put creamer and splenda in the cup first, then pour the hot coffee.

the mysteries of the kitchen...........

healthy low cal smoothie

this one is simple and you can vary it to make it vegan by replacing dairy yogurt with soy yogurt.  or make it with protein powder.  honey give it a nice flavor too.

start with fat free vanilla yogurt.  add some splenda.  then ice and fruit.  frozen fruit is even better and you can skip the ice that way.

fruit variations:

the orange julius:  frozen pineapple, banana and OJ

berry blast:  frozen blue berries, strawberries, etc...

classic:  banana and strawberry

breakfast sandwiches

when my super sweet boyfriend got word from the doc that his cholesterol was similar to "a 90 year old man who lived on a dairy farm and ate butter like it was going out of style", i decided to come up with some healthy crap we could eat and not be miserable. he was my guinea pig and helped me come up with these delicious, healthy and easy to prepare breakfast sanGwiches. (enjoy!)

#1 breakfast sangwich: "the patty-pepper suprise"

Toast an "everything" bagel, add fat free american cheese and allow it to melt. fry 2 morning star veggie sausage patties in a pan with a small amount of olive oil on medium heat. allow them to get crispy on the outside, and add to bagel w/cheese. then scramble egg beaters (i prefer plain, but the boyfriend likes the "garden vegtable".) scramble in a pan sprayed with a light oil spray (like pam.) add seasoning (salt & pepper or season salt like herbamare if you have the high BP). and finally, add a few mild banana peppers. YUMMY!

#2 breakfast sangwich: "the i ain't fakin', it's not bacon!!!"

toast 2 pieces of white bread (italian with sesame seeds), add swiss cheese and allow to melt. fry 3-4 pieces of morning star's veggie bacon in a pan with a small amount of olive oil. be careful to not over cook (blech!) but allow to get crispy. follow the same egg beaters & seasoning advice above. add a few splashes of hot sauce and ENJOY!!!

#3 breakfast sangwich: "the i'm too tired to care what i name the damn thing!"

ok. blah blah, similar to the 2 above. this one involves a toasted english muffin and morning star breakfast links. use the same egg beaters (or maybe try the chive and cheese kind that i might try someday), fat free american cheese and hot sauce. see how it's a combo of the first 2? do the same crap i said above and eat it and shut up.

ok, it's 4pm, time to go home. i think i need a vacation. he he he.....