jo burgess hannon

fit for today, fit for life

  • HOME
  • POSTS
    • questions
    • life lessons
    • What I am loving
    • recipes
  • ABOUT ME

cooking, eating, doing

October 18, 2019 by Jo Leave a Comment

cooking:

Now that the weather has turned to cooler days my trusty Le Creuset is back in regular cooking rotation and soup is on the menu most weeks. Last week our bunco hostess served a delicious minestrone soup using quinoa instead of pasta. I could not get it out of my head and asked her a couple of times for the recipe. However, she had a busy conference weekend and was delayed in passing it on. Good old Google: I figured it was probably a pretty basic recipe and a quick search brought up many recipe options.

photo from BF website

I have several Barefoot Contessa cookbooks and the recipes are reliably good. So I went with Ina’s “Winter Minestrone“ from her Fool Proof book. Not to brag or anything, but it was fantastic. I substituted 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa for the pasta and added a couple extra cups of stock. This recipe got 2 thumbs up from everyone and is going to be in rotation at my house. I think you could easily make this a vegetarian option by omitting the bacon and using vegetable stock.

Side note: I have a trusty butternut squash soup recipe that has been a delicious dinner choice. However, I have made it so many times over the last few winters I miiight be a little burned out on it. I was excited to try this Barefoot Contessa recipe as it too has butternut squash in it.

eating:

Have you ever tried the garlic mozzarella bread with brown sugar from Rock Pizza? It sounds weird but was recommended by a waitress many years ago and we have never looked back. Honey and I order it almost every time we go. And since most Friday’s are pizza Friday, we eat at The Rock often.

doing:

Did you catch the full moon a few nights ago? As I looked at the moon lighting up my nieghborhood this week I felt so connected to all my people. I have a close girlfriend who recently relocated out of state and I imaged she might be checking out the sky from her new backyard, too. Her and I share the moon even if we no longer share a zip code.

part of the bunco crew walking home after a fun night

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • More
  • Print
  • Tumblr
  • LinkedIn

An easy recipe idea

October 12, 2016 by Jo Leave a Comment

I am dreaming of sunny days, warm weather and spending time outdoors so I thought I would share a versatile pulled pork recipe I made a few weeks ago. We spent the afternoon at a winery and watched a couple of precious people sky dive. You can read more about that here.

I know that picnic weather might be behind us until next spring.   However, this recipe is easy and can be made ahead and used for sandwiches, in stir fried rice (recipe here), or as a layer in a burrito bowl or taco. You might even have your own favorite recipe so maybe this post will spark a make ahead dinner you can use for a few different meals.

Enjoy!

pork-with-plate-recipecard-1

2 pounds boneless pork shoulder

(I generally use a couple of Costco pork sirloin roasts as they are lean and a smaller portion for my family)

Salt and Pepper

5 Sprigs Thyme

3 Sprigs Oregano

1 small onion, pealed and quartered

2 large cloves of garlic

1 1/2 cups water

Season pork with salt and pepper.  Brown in dutch oven with a tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat.   Add remaining items.  Bring to boil.  Reduce heat and simmer on very low heat, covered, until meat is tender, about 2 1/2 hours. Uncover, boil until liquid has evaporated.  Remove meat and shred or cut into small chunks. From the remaining liquid, remove stems from the ‘gravy’ and using an immersion blender or regular blender, blend until smooth.  Use the ‘gravy’ to season shredded meat.

PS-check google for oven roasting temperature/time  or for crock pot temperature and times. Or leave a note or link in the comments below

Serve with buns and barbecue sauce and coleslaw.

Serve with warm tortillas, salsa, guacamole and condiments.

Use leftovers in fried rice, burrito bowls, tacos.

pulled-pork-sandwich-skydivewenatcheesept201645-copy

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • More
  • Print
  • Tumblr
  • LinkedIn

Pork, its what’s for dinner…

May 16, 2016 by Jo Leave a Comment

…well yes, but this time almost served as a side dish to two other salads.

I recently hosted my neighborhood bunco group for our once a month gathering. Have you ever played bunco? It’s a fun reason to get together with a great group of women. The hostess is in charge of serving dinner, drinks and dessert. Yeah, it is a lot of work. On the flip side, it is great when you get to show up and do nothing but throw $10 in the prize bowl.

Anyway, my experience with the group is to plan what I call ‘chick food’: lots of vegetables, light on the meat. A few Fridays ago the menu was a yummy peanut noodle salad loaded with fresh veggies, a tossed green salad and slices of pork tenderloin I marinated  3 days ahead and threw in the oven a ½ hour before everyone arrived. I’ll share the pork recipe another time. It is a LONGTIME keeper recipe my family loves. Like almost to the point of disappointment if I serve pork tenderloin any other way.

This pasta salad is a great make ahead recipe. The dressing can be made a couple of days early, the rest you can make day of, before the crowd arrives. It is great serve if you are headed to a potluck and sits well at room temperature. Like with all of my recipes, tweak the recipe to fit your taste.  Serve with the veggies you like.  Add some hot sesame oil or chile paste to the dressing. Snow peas, zucchini ‘noodles’, or whatever else you have on hand would taste great, too. If you don’t like cilantro use parsley.

Here’s what I did:

I made the dressing the day before.  Double the recipe so you can serve extra on the side.

 

peanut salad

I prepped the veggies and noodles in the morning and refrigerated.

I 'zoodled" the noodles with this spiralizer.

I ‘zoodled’ the English cucumber with this spiralizer.  I wouldn’t actually recommend this if you were tossing ahead of time.  The cuke kind of melted and ended up super thin.  Next time if I was tossing ahead of time I would cut the cucumber into chunks.

I used this peeler to cut the carrots. I think it would have worked for the cucumber, too.

I used a grater peeler that I picked up at the Chelsea market the last time I was in New York. Here is a similar  here version or here. I think it would have worked for the cucumber, too.

IMG_3162

The salad was tossed right before everyone arrived and served about an hour later.  You could toss and serve at room temperature immediately if you weren’t making it ahead.

Peanut Noodle Salad

½ pound linguine

¼ cup rice wine vinegar

1/3 cup soy sauce

2-3 tablespoons dark sesame oil (I used combo of dark and hot sesame oil)

1 tablespoon honey

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

½ cup smooth peanut butter (crunchy works too if that is all you have)

2 red, yellow or orange bell peppers, cored, seeded, and thinly sliced

1 English cucumber, sliced in thin strips or chunks

2-3 Carrots, slice thin

4 scallions (white and green parts), sliced diagonally (these were always called green onions when I was a kid)

3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or cilantro

 

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the linguine and cook according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

For the dressing, whisk together the rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, honey, garlic, ginger and peanut butter in a medium bowl.

Combine the linguine, cucumber, carrot, peppers and scallions in a large bowl. Pour the dressing over the spaghetti mixture. Add the parsley/cilantro and toss together.

My inspiration came from Ina Garten’s Crunchy Noodle Salad.

SaveSave

SaveSave

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • More
  • Print
  • Tumblr
  • LinkedIn

Ah, Spring

April 4, 2016 by Jo Leave a Comment

grilled romaine salad
grilled romaine salad

 

We have had a glorious run of sunny warm, well warm for Seattle, days.  Dinner seems easier when I can use the outdoor grill.  It opens up a whole new run of recipes we haven’t had since last fall when I scrubbed up the gas barbecue and covered it for the winter.  And joy of joys: when I opened the lid the grills weren’t covered in nastiness not fit to describe here. Nothing kills a good spring buzz more that a moldy barbecue that requires complete sanitizing before it can be used.

So If you are enjoying some outdoor grill time too, I thought I would share this simple recipe for a salad.

Grilled Romaine Salad

Dressing:
2 teaspoons mayonnaise
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Whisk it all together and add Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

Salad:

Trim romaine and cut in half length wise. Drizzle a little olive oil over the halved heads of lettuce. Lightly grill these on a hot grill 15 to 20 seconds on each side, until they are lightly golden, then remove to the cool side of the grill. Using a pastry brush or a small spoon, paint the dressing over the lettuce, making sure to get dressing between the leaves. Sprinkle the lettuce with Parmesan and cover the grill for 1 or 2 minutes to allow the cheese to melt and the lettuce to soften further. Remove lettuce to a platter and serve.

It is tastier than it looks!
It is tastier than it looks!

I adapted this recipe from this one I found online.

Share a link to your spring recipes below.  I am always looking for something yummy to add to the meal rotation.

 

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • More
  • Print
  • Tumblr
  • LinkedIn
Next Page »

Welcome!

Daughter of a truck driver who married a doctor's kid. Life, stories and attempting to age with grace.

recent posts

  • MLK had a LOT of wisdom
  • My dad was a truck driver
  • Life is perspective
  • How can I be of service?
  • Grief and a little joy

Copyright © 2023 · Beautiful Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in