Hot Cross Buns Recipe

Years ago I had the good fortune of being in Oxford, UK just before Easter. I recall walking passed sweets shops filled with giant, elaborate chocolate eggs and bunnies and bakeries displays filled with hot cross buns. I'll admit that up to this point, I did not know that hot cross buns were a real thing. I had only heard it mentioned in that one nursery rhyme! Ever since that trip to Oxford, I've been wanting to make hot cross buns for Easter and I think this year is going to be the year. I love to bake but baking bread is not really my thing so this is a little scary. I'm going to use the recipe I found on JoCooks since the measurements are available in cups and teaspoons. 

Hot Cross Bun Superstitions

-Sharing a hot cross bun with someone with will ensure friendship throughout the coming year.

-Buns should be kissed before eating because they have a cross on them.

-To avoid shipwreck, bring a hot cross bun on board with you.

-Hang a bun in your kitchen to protect again fires and ensure that all breads baked that year will turn our perfectly.

[Hot Cross Buns spotted via JoCooks]

Foodie Friday: Slow Cooker Enchilada Pork Tacos with Sweet Corn Slaw

A couple of weeks ago, Tuan showed me Half Baked Harvest's Instagram account and asked, "Can you make me everything from this blog? It looks so good." The man was speaking the truth. Everything on Tieghan's blog looks delicious and her photos are gorgeous and beautifully styled. My photos are not beautifully styled but I can say that everyone enjoyed the Slow Cooker Enchilada Pork Tacos with Sweet Corn Slaw that we had for dinner last night. I tweaked the recipe a bit to feed 5 adults (included 3 men) and save myself time. Despite the amount of green chiles and jalapenos I used, the tacos were not spicy at all. They actually could have used a little kick so make sure to have a bottle of tapatio on hand if you make this. The slaw was crunchy, refreshing and a great addition to the taco. This was a great recipe to enjoy while watching Thursday Night Football.

Ingredients for pork:

5 pounds of pork shoulder

1 oz package of taco seasoning

2 cans (14 oz) of diced green chiles

1 sweet onion, diced

2 cans  (10oz) of enchilada sauce

Ingredients for slaw:

1 bag of honey roasted sweet corn

1 tablespoon of olive oil

salt and pepper, to taste

1 bag of angel hair coleslaw

2 jalapeonos, seeded and diced

Juice of 2 medium limes

3 teaspoons of rice vinegar

1 cup of chopped fresh cilantro

30 tortillas

Cotija cheese, crumbled

Hot sauce

Directions:

Add pork ingredients to slow cooker, stir until well mixed. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours.

Heat bag of honey roasted sweet corn in pan with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Transfer to bowl. Add the rest of the slaw ingredients to the same bowl. Toss well. Cover and place in fridge until ready to serve.

When the pork is cooked and falling apart, remove from slow cooker and shred with two forks. Drizzle with sauce left in slow cooker.

Assemble tacos be layering pork, slaw and cheese on top of warmed tortillas.

Enjoy!

[I really need better lighting in the kitchen.]

Are You Ready for Some Football? Gourmet Game Food Recipe Round Up

Tonight marks the beginning of a very important event in our house: FOOTBALL SEASON. Over the next few months we will cheer, we will despair, we will agonize over who to play, we will spend countless hours on the couch, talk smack and we will pray that number 18 completes a lot of touchdowns. So cheers to the start of football season and good luck to everyone in Tuan and Minh's fantasy football league! I hope to create at least a couple of the recipes below this season.

PS

My heart is exploding with love today for my new niece Julia. Ahhh I can't wait to see her this weekend.

[Spicy Whiskey BBQ Sliders. I need this.]

[Bacon & Melie Corn Bread with a big pot of chile would be perfect.]

[Sticky Lemon & Honey Drum Sticks]

[Pizza Dip]

[Queso Fundido with Chorizo]

[Cuban Pulled Pork Sandwiches]

Ice Cream Dreams - Drool Worthy Ice Cream Creations for National Ice Cream Month

It's summer. It's hot. It's also National Ice Cream Month so let's cool down with these ice cream creations that make me wish I wasn't diabetic. I'm going to try to make the mango sticky rice ice cream and will report back. In the meantime, keep dreaming those ice cream dreams! And on that note, have a great weekend everyone. Tomorrow I head to OC for a book club meeting and we get to welcome our Aussie house guests.

[Dulce de Leche Ice Cream Waffle Sandwiches spotted on Squirrelly Minds]

[Donut Heaven Sundae spotted on Some Kitchen Stories]

[Fried Ice Cream in Puff Pastry spotted on La Receta de la Felicidad]

[Choco Tacos spotted on Food 52]

[Toasted Coconut Mango Ice Cream spotted on You Are My Fave]

[Caramel Peanut Butter Cup Soft Pretzel Ice Cream Sammies spotted on Half Baked Harvest]

A Winning Mapo Tofu Recipe

In an effort to cut back on my meat consumption, I have been trying to make more things using tofu. My friend Susan sent me this recipe from Rasa Malaysia and I tried it out last night. It was a big hit with everyone in the house and I will definitely be making it again. Once you have all the sauces, this dish becomes something that would probably cost less than $10 to feed a family of 6. It's also very fast to throw together and you can play with the ingredients to make it more or less spicy.

[This is where a photo would normally be inserted but we ate everything before I could take a photo. I'll update this post when I make mapo tofu again!]

Recipe adapted from Rasa Malaysia

Ma Po Tofu

Ingredients:
1 block organic tofu (14 oz box)
1/2 lb ground pork
3 tablespoons Lee Kum Kee Sichuan spicy bean paste
2 tablespoons Lee Kum Kee Mapo sauce
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons cooking oil
3 tablespoons chili oil
1 tablespoon Sichuan peppercorns (roasted and ground to powder)
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
2 stalks scallions (chopped into 1 or 2-inch length)
2 gloves garlic (chopped)
1/2 cup water
Salt to taste

Directions:
1. Cut the tofu into small pieces, drain the water from the tofu and set aside.
2. Heat up a wok and pour in the cooking oil and chili oil. Add the chopped garlic, ground pork, spicy bean paste and stir-fry until the pork is half-done.
3. Add in chili powder, soy sauce and stir-fry until aromatic.
4. Add in the tofu and water; stir gently to blend the tofu (don’t break them) well with the sauce.
5. Lower the heat and simmer for about 3-5 mins or until the sauce thickens. Add in the roasted Sichuan peppercorn powder and chopped scallions. Gently stir and blend well.

Dish out and serve hot.

Special notes:
1. All of these ingredients can be (not) easily found at Ranch 99. I'm pretty sure it took me longer to locate all the sauces on the shelf than it did to actually make this meal.
2. Don't be afraid of the amount of chillies that is required for this recipe. It actually wasn't even that spicy.
3. I served this with rice and a side of garlic baby bok choy. You can find the recipe for that here. It helped cut the spiciness of the mapo.

Good luck!