Tag Archives: cooking

Avocado Bruschetta

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In the past few months, I’ve become fairly well obsessed with avocados. I’ve been eating them for decades, in small bites (as part of sushi rolls), but it was only in the last few years that I became a fan of guacamole and chunks of avocado in salads. Recently, when we were trying to come up with what to do with some swordfish destined for the grill, I offered to make a bruschetta.

Quite a long time ago, I fell in love with a swordfish sandwich made by a now-defunct Boston restaurant, Division 16. The sandwich involved a braided roll, a thin slice of swordfish steak, and bruschetta. It fell apart as you ate it and it was just the most wonderful thing ever. That’s how my association with meaty fish and bruschetta started, and it’s a pairing I’ve enjoyed many times since.

We’ve done bruschetta many times, including on scallops, which is a particular favorite of mine. So, when the question came up during my shopping trip of what to put on the swordfish, I headed straight for the avocado and vowed to try making an avocado bruschetta. It’s insanely easy, and it definitely holds its own versus the meaty swordfish (and tuna, as well). If putting this on scallops or lighter-flavored fish, I’d recommend using a smaller shallot, unless you like a lot of shallot flavor. I tend to use gargantuan shallots that grab you by the ears and shout “HELLO!” loudly in your face, and that can overpower more delicately flavored seafood.

This dish would ABSOLUTELY go with any grilled poultry, as well, so feel free to play with it a little. Additionally, add some shelled edamame and make it an entrée. Or serve it on crostini. Or put it on matzoh (as we did the other night). Seriously, I love eating this; the combination of flavors just makes me so incredibly happy…

 

Avocado Bruschetta

So pretty…so tasty…

 

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 0 minutes

Serves: 2-4

 

Ingredients

1 shallot (size it to your shallot level preference)

1 ripe avocado

1 medium-sized tomato

2 Tb olive oil

1 Tb lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

 

Make it Happen

1. Peel and dice the shallot; place it in a mixing bowl.

2. Slice open the avocado and remove the pit. Scoop out the avocado halves in whole pieces if you can, then chop them into half-inch chunks. Add to the bowl.

3. Dice the tomato and add to the bowl.

4. Add the olive oil and lemon juice to the bowl; stir well to combine. Add salt and pepper to your taste.

Super-easy Crock Pot BBQ Pork

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There came a day when we agreed that the night’s dinner would be pork roast – but I had no clue what I was going to do to the pork…and we were on our way out the door for work. In a fit of desperation, I threw stuff together and I was shocked and amazed that it worked. Not only did it work, but we repeated it several times since, sometimes with pork tenderloin, always to super-tasty results. Now, sure, you can just skip even the work I did by simply making this a two-ingredient recipe (pork and barbecue sauce), but I actually like the idea of mixing something on your own, so you can adjust it however you’d like. Note that if you’re cooking pork tenderloin, you can easily get away with a lower cook time – say, 8 hours on LOW. If, however, you go with the pork roast, I’d strongly suggest more like 10-12 hours, so it has plenty of time to cook itself to death and fall apart. I’m drooling just thinking about it. I will also note that this goes quite well with cornbread, making for a very simple meal, low on prep and high on flavor. Seriously, that’s just a combo made of win.

 

Crock Pot BBQ Pork

*want*

 

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cooking Time: 8-12hrs on LOW

Serves 4-6

 

Ingredients

2-3 lb pork roast

1 cup ketchup (I use Heinz Simply or Organic, because both are HFCS-free)

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

2 Tb red wine vinegar

non-stick cooking spray

 

Make it Happen

1. Spray the inside of a 4qt crock pot with non-stick cooking spray (or an olive oil mister, as we do).

2. Place the pork in the bottom of the crock.

3. In a measuring cup or bowl, add the ketchup, then the brown sugar and vinegar. Stir well to combine. Pour over the pork until it’s completely covered.

4. Cook on LOW for 8-12 hours.

5. Remove the pork to a cutting board and let it rest for about 5 minutes before cutting, then serve with sauce on the side.

Crock Pot BBQ Beef Sliders

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Sometimes, you just want wee sandwiches filled with shredded meat. I can’t say why; I just know that it IS a thing that sometimes people, like me, just WANT AND NEED TO HAVE RIGHT NAO.

And thus, when I was planning for a fellow crock potter to come over for dinner, I figured that I’d throw stuff in the crock in her honor. She wasn’t able to make it to dinner after all, but we managed to get through dinner anyway. The biggest challenge: not going back for seconds. And thirds.

This one is easy as all-get out, since it doesn’t require either A) a ton of ingredients, or B) a ton of time to prepare. Easy crocks are always full of win, in my book, and when they’re tasty, that’s serious bonus time. I will say that this sauce comes out a bit tangy, so we used potato dinner rolls as the slider buns. This ended up being a perfect combination, since the tang of the sauce was a natural accompaniment for the sweetness of the roll (and vice versa).

Crock Pot BBQ Beef Sliders

So very tasty…

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cooking Time: 8-12hrs on LOW, 4-6hrs on HIGH

Serves: 6

Ingredients

two 8oz cans of tomato sauce (or one 15oz can)

3 Tb honey

1/4 cup brown sugar, packed

2 Tb Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 tsp ground mustard

1-3/4 to 2lbs top round steak

12 potato dinner rolls or (sweet) slider buns

Make it Happen

1. Place the first six items in a bowl and stir well.

2. Coat the inside of a 4qt crock pot with non-stick cooking spray. Spoon a small amount of the mixture from the bowl into the bottom of the crock and swirl it around to create a thin coat.

3. Cut the steak, as needed, to make it fit in the crock. (I had to cut mine into thirds.) If you have multiple pieces and they can’t all fit side-by-side, place one layer of steak in the crock, then cover it with some of the sauce mixture, then add another layer of steak and repeat this process until all steak and sauce is in the crock pot.

4. Cover and cook on LOW for 8-12hrs or HIGH for 4-6hrs.

5. Remove the steak from the crock and shred the meat with two forks. Put the shredded beef back in the crock and stir it back into the sauce to combine them well.

6. Spoon your desired serving onto a potato dinner roll or other slider bun. One serving = 2 sliders.