This post is for my mom, but it showcases one of my absolute favorite, everyday recipes.  One I make often and everybody loves.  See, my mom and I were at the grocery store together and she was pretty disappointed that the store was out of the low-sodium version of Rice-a-Roni.  I suggested she make it herself so she could control the sodium completely.  I love Rice-A-Roni but it is much tastier, healthier, and cheaper when you make it yourself.  So I thought I would bring this post to the front, and explain how easy it is.

For the recipe, visit the original post here. 

It is just as easy as making the stuff in the box except you do have to measure two things: 3/4 cup long grain rice and 1/2 cup of pasta.  You can use fideo or spaghetti, just break it up into little pieces and measure out a 1/2 cup.  Then you simply proceed the same way as the box stuff.  Melt a little butter and saute the rice and pasta til golden.  Add water or chicken stock, spices (garlic, salt, pepper, and a little dried parsley if desired), and a teaspoon of chicken base.  Bring to a boil, cover and turn the heat down to low, then simmer for about 15 minutes.  Done.  Perfectly fluffy, flavorful rice pilaf that really does taste just like Rice-A-Roni but not as salty.  There you go Mom.  Love you.

Oh and Mom, while you’re here, you should click this link and nominate my blog for an award before September 30th.  Cause I’m your favorite daughter.

We love a good taco or fajita but skirt steak can be expensive and even ground beef is too when you’re feeding a crowd.  Since you can get three pounds of boneless pork shoulder meat for only $5, I decided to try making carnitas for our last get together.  They turned out great and everyone really liked the change.

Carnitas

• 3 pounds pork shoulder (butt) roast
• 1 cup orange juice
• 6 cloves garlic
• 1 tbsp kosher salt
• water to cover

1. Cut pork shoulder in pieces and arrange in a large cast iron pan or skillet.  You want a pan you can cover at least partially and is large enough at the base so the meat is in a single layer (or close to).
2. Add the garlic, salt, orange juice, and enough water to just cover the meat.
3. Bring the mixture to a boil and cover loosely.
4. Allow meat to simmer until tender and liquid is evaporated.  If liquid evaporates and the pork in not yet fork tender, add more liquid and continue to simmer.
5. Once the liquid evaporates and the pork is tender, there should be rendered fat in the pan.  Break the meat up into small chunks with a fork.
6. Turn heat to medium and fry the meat until brown and crispy.
7. Alternately, you can transfer the meat and fat to a sheet pan and roast briefly in a 400°F oven for about 30 min, stirring after 15 minutes.

A shout out to mrChaos:  many of the photos on chaos in the kitchen are so amazing because mrChaos takes the time to shoot and/or process them.  Between the cooking, serving, eating, feeding kids, cleaning up, bath time, food styling, food photography, and photo processing, we work as a team to get it all done.  He’s your typical modest guy and has contributed anonymously, but I think he has become a pretty fantastic photographer and deserves some cred.   He is a humble guy, however, and would tell me that I don’t know what I am talking about.  So how about we show him some love in the comments?  You can see some of his work here, here, here, here, here, and here.

Pumpkin spice lattes, honeycrisp apples, and Halloween costumes in every store all point to the return of my favorite season: fall.  The kids are back in school by now and baking season is nipping at our heels, so it’s a good time to post my favorite lunch box oatmeal cookies.  I was once told that people like my blog because it’s so unsophisticated, so hopefully I haven’t scared you off with all of the raw fish. 

Oatmeal raisin cookies are a great, cheap afternoon project that fills the house with cookie smell and children begging to lick the bowl.  I like to add something sweet to the lunch boxes and this recipe makes a nice large batch to stash away in the freezer.

These are my favorite oatmeal raisin cookies.  They are chewy and hearty and sweet and salty.  I used the same techniques as these chocolate chip cookies-bread flour, unsalted butter, and kosher salt-and they have a very similar texture and saltiness.  They are great for a pick me up snack.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

• 2 cups all-purpose flour* or bread flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 3 cups old fashioned oats
• 1 1/2 cups raisins

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
3. In a mixing bowl cream together butter and sugars.  Add eggs and vanilla and beat until fluffy and lighter in color.
4. Stir in the flour mixture until fully combined.
5. Stir in oats and raisins.
6. Using a small cookie scoop (2 tbsps), place dough about 2 inches apart on baking sheet.
7. Bake about 11 minutes or until cookies are no longer glossy on top.
8. Cool cookies on sheet for about two minutes, then remove to a cooling rack.

These cookies don’t get a lot color on them so be careful not to over bake them!  I like to under bake my cookies a bit, I pull them when the top is set but the nooks and crannies are still a bit glossy.  They firm up as they cool but remain moist and chewy.  Also, I always freeze my cookies in freezer bags or containers once they are cool.  It keeps them out of sight and out of mind (which keeps us from polishing off 3 dozen in a night-which we can easily do and have done) and keeps them fresh.

Cookies freeze wonderfully, by the way.  They retain all of their texture and moisture and thaw in only a few minutes at room temperature.  A great way to get a jump on your Christmas baking is to tuck away a few dozen cookies here and there whenever you bake.

* Here’s a little kitchen tip: I use ultragrain all purpose flour.  It is an unbleached whole wheat white flour blend and you will never notice any difference in your recipes yet it provides as much fiber and protein as whole grain wheat flour.  The best part: it isn’t nearly as expensive as the specialty flours labeled “Unbleached White Whole Wheat Flour.” Score.  For these cookies I used one cup ultragrain and one cup bread flour but feel free to use all bread flour or all all-purpose flour as desired.

One of my favorite restaurants in Hawaii was Roy’s Hawaiian Fusion Cuisine.  Although there are Roy’s restaurants all over the world, their fresh pineapple infused martini will always embody Hawaii in my mind.  Roy’s signature drink can be seen infusing in huge glass jars all around their outdoor bar and a fresh batch is made every couple of days in the summer.  A mixture of vanilla vodka and coconut rum infused with fresh pineapple slices, and served with a slice of marinated pineapple, this drink is smooth and creamy with a thick layer of sweet foam on top.  Start a batch of these today and enjoy them with friends next weekend for an end of summer luau!

Hawaiian Martinis

• 1500 ml (2 750 ml bottles) vodka
• 500 ml vanilla vodka
• 500 ml coconut rum (like Malibu)
• 2 fresh pineapples, cut into 1 inch wedges

1. In a large (6 quart) container with a spigot-such as a lemonade, ice tea, or a punch dispenser-layer pineapple.
2. Pour alcohol over pineapple making sure to completely cover the pineapple.
3. Allow to infuse at least a week, will stay good much longer as long as the pineapple slices remain submerged.
4. To serve (makes 2 drinks), measure out 4-6 oz liquid.  Add along with ice to a martini shaker and shake vigorously.
5. Strain into two martini glasses, garnish with a wedge of marinated pineapple.

This recipe is different from other recipes on the web but is straight from the bartenders at the original Roy’s in Hawaii.  Their mix is huge though: 2 bottles of vanilla vodka, 2 bottles of coconut rum, and 6 bottles of regular vodka.  Feel free to do the math if you want to make an even smaller batch.