Posted in #Recipes

Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

Chewy, soft and sweet, these oatmeal cranberry cookies take the cookie box staple out for a more grown-up spin. Although we promise, this will be popular with all members of the family.

The combination of tart cranberry, zesty orange and sweet white chocolate makes this oatmeal cranberry cookie recipe a good choice for the holidays or whenever you’re craving something sweet. Not to mention, with the combination of red berries and white chocolate chips, cranberry oatmeal cookies look lovely on a dessert tray.

If you have any leftover oatmeal, try them in these no-bake fudgy cookies.

Oatmeal Cranberry Cookie Ingredients

  • Butter: Providing that buttery richness we love, butter also helps the texture when it’s creamed with the sugar. Don’t substitute in shortening—this could dry the cookie out.
  • Sugar: Sugar keeps the cookies sweet and locks in moisture.
  • Eggs: Eggs are binding agents and help keep all of the ingredients together.
  • Vanilla extract: Vanilla extract helps make the cookies sweeter and lifts up the other flavors.
  • All-purpose flour: All-purpose flour is ideal for cookie baking because of its protein levels.
  • Baking powder: Baking powder is a leavening agent that helps cookies rise and remain fluffy.
  • Baking soda: Another leavening agent, this also helps cookies spread through a reaction that releases carbon dioxide gas.
  • Oats: Quick-cooking oats are your best bet here for chewy, soft cookies.
  • Raisins: Chewy and sweet, raisins add some texture and moisture to the cookies.
  • Cranberries: You can use fresh or frozen—the cranberries’ tartness helps balance the sweetness of the other ingredients.
  • Orange zest: Zest adds bright, citrus notes that offer some more dimension in combination with the fruit and the white chocolate.
  • White baking chips: White chocolate adds sweetness and creaminess.

Taste of Home

Posted in #Recipes

Carolina Pulled Pork

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

Each summer, my husband and I pasture-raise around a dozen hogs on our small family farm, so you could say I know a thing or two about pork recipes. Slow-cooked pulled pork is one of my all-time favorites because it uses pork shoulder, which is my favorite cut of pork. When cooked just right, this tasty cut of meat is tender, moist and shreds easily.

Since I make pulled pork so often, I love to try different recipe variations, but this Carolina pulled pork recipe is a constant. Not only is it easy to make thanks to the slow cooker, but it is tangy, spicy and full of delicious pork flavor. Use it on sandwiches, serve a heaping pile with your favorite coleslaw, or freeze it for another day. I’m sure it will become one of your favorite slow-cooker pork recipes.

What is Carolina pulled pork?

Carolina pulled pork starts with a pork shoulder that’s been rubbed with spices, and which is then slow-cooked or smoked and mopped with a tangy vinegar-based sauce while it cooks. That mop sauce sometimes includes tomato or ketchup, but true East Carolina-style barbecue does not.

When it comes to other meaty barbecue recipes, variations abound, from the different cuts of meat to the wood used in the smoker to the many regional barbecue sauces. As for the meat, the options include brisket, beef ribs, pork ribs, pulled pork or burnt ends—and that’s just the beginning! Sauces range from sweet and smoky Kansas City-style to thin and tangy Memphis-style.

Carolina Pulled Pork Ingredients

overhead shot; white textured background; Carolina-Style Pork Barbecue served over a tray with salad in small bowl, a small white over kitchen napkin; adding pork mixture over bun;
Taste of Home
  • Pork: This pulled pork recipe calls for a boneless pork shoulder or butt (sometimes called Boston butt) roast. (Psst: Both of these cuts refer to the front shoulder and leg of the pig, not the rear end!) The even marbling of this cut of pork makes it ideal for cooking low and slow.
  • Onions: You can use nearly any type of onion in this recipe, but we recommend using white or yellow onions.
  • Pork rub: Our sweet and savory spice rub made from brown sugar, salt, paprika and pepper gives the pork an extra hit of flavor.
  • Carolina barbecue sauce: Make this tangy sauce with cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, crushed red pepper flakes, garlic salt, ground mustard and cayenne pepper. It has a good balance of acid, umami, salt, spice and sweetness.
  • Hamburger buns and coleslaw: This is how you want to serve Carolina pulled pork: on a bun, piled with coleslaw, with a lot of napkins. You can buy premade coleslaw or make a creamy slaw yourself.

Taste of Home

Posted in Kitchen Tips

This Trick for Preventing Onion Tears Changed the Way I Chop

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

When it comes to slicing onions, there is no middle ground for me when it comes to onion tears. For some reason, I always get an extreme case. This has been the case my entire life, with any type of onion, and it happens every single time. It makes for some awkward moments in the kitchen. My eyes completely well up at a rapid pace, and I truly can’t see a thing. I need to pause everything, give my eyes a serious pat down with cold paper towels, and then grab tissues for my runny nose. 

I’m not sure if this condition is genetic, scientific, or if onions just know I’m already a big cry baby by nature. But when I know I’m going to have to slice an onion, I can feel it staring at me from my produce bowl, like it’s waiting to attack. I’d be lying if I said there haven’t been moments where mascara is involved, where I’ll ditch the onion all together and find a replacement in order to avoid the drama. This is why I was so incredibly relieved when I finally discovered a trick to prevent onion tears that actually works. The curse has been broken, and now it’s my duty as a cook and writer to spread the word!

Allrecipes

Posted in #Recipes

15 Lazy Fall Appetizers To Make on Repeat

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

Fall just wouldn’t be the same without all the cozy, crowd-pleasing bites we get to enjoy during the season’s gatherings. Whether you’re heading to a tailgate or hosting a dinner party, a spread of easy appetizers is the perfect way to get things started—without stealing the spotlight (or your time) from the main course. That’s why we’ve rounded up 15 lazy fall appetizers that keep it simple with minimal ingredients and quick prep. From warm dips to wings to roasted veggie snacks, these are the starters you’ll turn to again and again.

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Posted in #Recipes

Grandma’s Hamburger Casserole

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

My grandmother’s hamburger casserole is classic comfort food! Featuring ground beef, noodles, and a creamy cheese sauce, this simple recipe dates back to the 1940’s. You can tweak the amount of cheese and sour cream depending on what you’ve got in the fridge — it’ll still turn out great!

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Posted in #Recipes

25 Slow Cooker Classics for Your Next Tailgate

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

Whether it is the final big game of the season or just a small gathering of devoted fans at your home, sports require a certain commitment to tailgating food. Tailgating is more of a style, really. It doesn’t require you to commit to actually entertaining in a parking lot. In fact, most “tailgating” happens in the comfort of people’s homes, gathered around a television instead of an open hatchback.

No single tool is more of a game-changer for tailgate-style cooking than the slow cooker. Whether you are using it to prepare dishes ahead, keep them warm on the buffet, or even transport them to the game attached to a small generator, these recipes are all just what you want for any big game. With these 25 slow cooker tailgating recipes, you’ll be prepared to serve up only the best food for any game.

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Posted in #Recipes

Our Most-Saved Soup Recipe of All Time Has More Than 1,000 5-Star Reviews

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

Panera Bread has a devoted following of fans that love their menu. While I rarely find myself in a Panera, there are several menu items that stick out to me in memory and flavor—and their creamy Broccoli Cheddar soup is certainly one of them. 

It’s a cheesy, velvety recipe made with chicken stock, sweetened subtly with carrots and dotted with broccoli and onions. This fan-favorite soup is not only a top recipe at Panera Bread, but it’s our most-saved soup recipe of all time. 

That’s right. Our Copycat Panera Broccoli Cheddar Soup is one the Allrecipes community has saved more than any other soup recipe. This comfort meal has over 1,400 5-star reviews, which shows how true to the original this is and how delicious this soup turns out. See why the Allrecipes community comes back to this recipe again and again.

Why You Should Try This Copycat Soup

This recipe is pretty close to the real deal, according to countless reviewers. And while it’s technically based on a restaurant menu item, it’s not a difficult dish to make.

“When my kids were little, they were crazy for Panera Bread Broccoli Cheddar Soup. They would eat one bowl there and take another to have at home,” says reviewer Lou Rou. “Needless to say, this added up. I tried numerous versions but none were quite right. Until I made this recipe. Spot on!”

From start to finish, the recipe takes about 45 minutes, but much of that time is spent letting the soup simmer and thicken while whisking. Sharp Cheddar cheese is the key to getting the proper tangy, cheesy flavor—as is a nice, rich chicken stock. Fresh vegetables bring a mellow sweetness and milk fills out the recipe. 

Allrecipes

Posted in #Recipes

20 Cozy Fall Dinners You Can Make in Just 3 Steps

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

Fall is a time for cozy comfort recipes of all types—from soups and stews to cheesy casseroles and more—but it can be a busy time too. This collection of 20 recipes provides plenty of options for getting dinner on the table for the whole family without a lot of extra steps. From beef stew to grilled shrimp, these recipes show off the best comfort flavors we crave in fall—and all the recipes come together in three steps or fewer.

Allrecipes

Posted in Book Reviews

Mug Cakes: 100 Speedy Microwave Treats to Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

Satisfy your sweet tooth instantly with a microwave cake baked in a mug.

Mug Cakes contains one hundred quick and easy recipes that are ready in a matter of minutes! Why reach for store-bought mix that takes up to an hour to bake? Let Mug Cakes show you how to make a quick, tiny batter to mix in a mug with a fork! These desserts are the perfect personal serving size when you don’t feel like baking an entire cake or pan of cupcakes.

With dozens of mouthwatering recipes, there is something to please every taste. It’s all here, from basic Buttermilk Cake, Red Velvet, and Carrot Cake to fancy Chocolate Caramel Fleur de Sel. Let the kids try their hand at S’mores and Root Beer Float cakes. Then send them to bed and try the liquor-infused recipes from the Adults Only chapter (Irish Coffee Cake, anyone?). There are recipes for cake lovers with special dietary needs, and even non-cake recipes like mug puddings, pies, and cheesecakes, when you get tired of cake (yes . . . it can happen!).

So if you’ve got five minutes to spare, grab a mug, mix up a mug cake, and satisfy your dessert craving ASAP!

Posted in #Recipes

My Grandma’s 3-Ingredient Dinner Is Embarrassingly Simple, Yet So Delicious

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

Most of us likely have a few generational recipes passed down from our grandparents that have become staples at our holiday dinners and family potlucks. Some of us may even have ones that have become part of our weekly rotation.

While many of the recipes we love to share are delicious pound cakes or homemade spaghetti sauce, sometimes we can forget about the ridiculously simple ones that were just meant to get dinner on the table—like my grandmother’s three-ingredient recipe, made with some pretty unlikely household staples.

Raising eight kids on a farm, my grandma had a lot of hungry mouths to feed, which meant sometimes the simple, cheap meal was the way to go. In this case, however, it turns out the simple, cheap meal was actually a delicious one that I still make to this day when I don’t feel like cooking, or don’t have a lot of ingredients in my house.

The combo? Egg noodles, a can of tomato soup, and bacon. I’m not sure if you could call it a stew or just a runny “pasta sauce,” but noodles smothered with bacon-packed soup is the budget-friendly meal of dreams.

The method has changed over the years, but, originally, when my grandma—and subsequently my grandpa, when she passed away—made the dish, it was four ingredients. That final ingredient was a diced onion, but as kids, my brother and I didn’t like onion, so my mom would omit it when she made it.

My grandma would fry the bacon in a cast iron skillet, then cook the onions in the bacon grease, and finally add the tomato soup and water — which gave the soup so much extra flavor. Then, she’d serve the tomato soup sauce over egg noodles. It really doesn’t get much easier.

Today, I only use the three ingredients—mostly because I didn’t know there was a fourth until I fact-checked the recipe with my parents—and don’t use a cast iron skillet. I like to cook my bacon in the oven because it’s a lot less messy, so I’ll cook the bacon, cut it up, and add it to the pot of prepared tomato soup. 

It may sound like a strange dish, but the simple flavors really work together—and it’s a great meal to stretch those last few days before your next grocery run. In other words, don’t knock it ‘til you try it!

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