Caramel Apples

These caramel apples tasted exactly as a caramel apple should.  I was very pleased with the simplicity of the caramel and the richness of the flavor.  It definitely beats buying caramel apple kits!

Adapted from Taste of Home

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter
2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
dash of salt
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
10-12 popsicle sticks
10-12 medium tart apples

Notes / Directions
Melt butter in a sauce pan.  Add brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt.  Over medium heat, bring to a boil, stirring constantly with a wooden spatula.  Slowly add sweetened condensed milk and insert a candy thermometer, always stirring.  Bring to a boil and continue to stir and cook, carefully scraping all surfaces of the bottom of the pan, until temperature reads 248° (firm-ball stage).  Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

Push popsicle sticks into the tops of the apples and prepare a greased cookie sheet.  Take apples and dip and twirl in the caramel till completely covered.  Let excess caramel drip off and then place on the cookie sheet.  Let caramel cool and then serve.

Cafe Rio Sweet Pork Burrito

Adapted from Topsy Turvy

For the Pork:
pork loin roast
1 liter Dr. Pepper
1 can chipotle chilies in Adobo sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
 
Slow cook with Dr. Pepper chipotle chilies (for less spicy meat use diced green chiles), brown sugar, and molasses in oven at 250 degrees or in crockpot for 7-8 hours, should shred beautifully. The trick is sealing the meat. So use some tin foil and put it over the top of whatever you are cooking the meat in then put your lid on. Don’t check it again until your time is up.
 
For the Sauce: 
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 green peppers, cut into slices
1 jalapeno, seeded
3/4 lbs (about 7) tomatillos, husked and halved
1/2 bunch cilantro, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp cumin
2 C chicken broth
1 Tbsp sugar

In a large sauce pan saute onions in the olive oil until translucent.  While cooking the onions, put green pepper, jalapeno, tomatillos, cilantro, and chicken broth in a blender.  Blend till smooth.  It will become a little frothy but that's ok.  Blend it for about a minute.  Once onions are ready, add garlic and saute another minute.  Pour contents in blender into the sauce pan.  Add seasonings and bring to a simmer.  Simmer at least 15 minutes.  If you want it thicker, simmer for up to an hour. 

For the Rice:
1/4 cup onion, diced 
2 cups water
1 chicken bullion cube
1 tablespoon sugar
1 lime 
1 cup rice  
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
 
Sauté onions in 2 Tbls oil.  Add water and chicken bullion cube and bring to a boil.  Add sugar, rice, and the juice of 1 lime.  Cover and cook on low for 20 minutes.  When done cooking, add cilantro and stir it in.

For the Beans:
2 cans Black Beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 Tbsp olive oil
2/3 cup diced onion
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon chicken bullion
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 lime
 
Saute onions in the olive oil until they are caramelized.  Add garlic and saute for another minutes.  Add remaining ingredients, reserving the lime, and bring to a boil.  Turn to a low simmer and cook for another 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Towards the end, gently press down on beans with a spatula.  Just enough that they barely erupt.  When done cooking squeeze lime juice on top of beans.
  
Serving:
Layer rice, beans, pork, and cheese on a tortilla.  Fold up and then smother with sauce.

What you need to buy:
Just to make things a little easier, this is a list of everything you're going to need to buy.  Minus rice, sugars, bullion, oil, cumin, oregano, and salt and pepper.
  
pork loin roast
1 liter Dr. Pepper
1 can chipotle chilies in Adobo sauce or 1 can diced green chilies
2 cans Black Beans
molasses  
3 small onions
2 limes
1 bunch cilantro 
6 cloves garlic
1 green pepper
1 jalapeno
3/4 lbs (about 7) tomatillos
3 cups chicken broth (or 3 cups water and 3 chicken bullion cubes)
tortillas
cheese

Green Enchilada Sauce

Adapted from Topsy Turvy

Ingredients
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 green peppers, cut into slices
1 jalapeno, seeded
3/4 lbs (about 7) tomatillos, husked and halved
1/2 bunch cilantro, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp cumin
2 C chicken broth
1 Tbsp sugar

Notes / Directions
In a large sauce pan saute onions in the olive oil until translucent.  While cooking the onions, put green pepper, jalapeno, tomatillos, cilantro, and chicken broth in a blender.  Blend till smooth.  It will become a little frothy but that's ok.  Blend it for about a minute.  Once onions are ready, addd garlic and saute another minute.  Pour contents in blender into the sauce pan.  Add seasonings and bring to a simmer.  Simmer at least 15 minutes.  If you want it thicker, simmer for up to an hour.