Balsamic Pork

Mmmmmm ....we made this with the Parmesan rolls, garlic and Parmesan mashed potatoes and a green salad for a recent church event. This pork is really delicious!!

Ingredients:

• 2 T. McCormick Grill Mates Montreal Steak Seasoning
• 1/2 c. balsamic vinaigrette 
• 1/2 c. olive oil
• (1) 3 lb. boneless pork roast

Place the pork roast in a slow cooker.  Add the rest of the ingredients and cook on low all day, 8-10 hours. Shred and serve. 

Parmesan Rolls

For a recent church activity, we made these rolls with Balsamic Pork, Parmesan mashed potatoes, and a green salad. It was DELICIOUS!

Ingredients:

• 1 package Rhodes Rolls
• 1-2 stick of butter, melted
• 1 1/2 - 2 c. Parmesan Cheese

Roll a frozen Rhodes Roll in melted butter until its all covered and slightly soft (thawed on the outside). Then roll in the Parmesan cheese, rolling the soft part firmly so that cheese gets embedded in the dough completely covering the roll generously. Then rise and cook according to the Rhodes Rolls package.

DIY Oatmeal Packets

We love eating oatmeal for breakfast, but I don't like buying the individual packets. Way too expensive for such a small amount. I also don't love making it homemade every morning. Too much work on busy school days. But I've discovered the secret to making your own individual packets that everyone can make on their own: you have to blend some of the oatmeal into powder. That's it! That's the creamy difference between the kind you buy in packets and the kind you spend 10 minutes cooking on the stove.

I've been making these DIY Oatmeal Packets at home. My family likes them, they only take adding water and cooking 2 minutes in the microwave, and they are fast and easy to assemble.  And they cost about 1/4 the price of buying them in the store. It's a win-win for us all!

INGREDIENTS

• 10 cups quick oats 
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar (Katelee likes to add a bit more brown sugar to hers after she has warmed it up.)
• 1 cup powdered milk 
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon 
• 21-24 snack-size zip bags 
• Other toppings if you desire (dried fruit, nuts, etc.)

INSTRUCTIONS

Put 6 cups of the oats into a large bowl. Place the remaining 4 cups of oats into a blender. Blend until almost powdery, then pour into the large bowl.

Add the salt, brown sugar, powdered milk, and cinnamon into the large bowl. Mix well until everything is combined.

Measure 1/2 cup of the oatmeal mixture into each snack-size plastic baggie and seal.

TO USE DIY INSTANT OATMEAL PACKETS: Pour the packet into a bowl, and add 1 c. water. Heat for 1-2 minutes in the microwave. Stir and serve.

NOTES: Because the plastic bag doesn’t get wet or dirty, you can reuse it.

Apple Pie Caramel Apples

Melissa says, "Another recipe for the blog. I don’t know how this isn’t already on there! These are the only caramel apples we make! They are the best. You will feel like you’re in Disneyland. I also use this caramel recipe to make my caramel chocolate pretzel rods."

Click HERE for recipe!

Holiday Cheese Ball

Melissa's favorite cheese ball! Jenn loves this recipe, too.

Ingredients:

• 2, 8oz blocks of cream cheese
• 3 tsp. Bon Appetite* see notes 
• 1/2 tsp. dill weed 
• 1/4 tsp. dried mustard 
• 3 green onions chopped 
• Chopped pecans 
• Chopped parsley 

Directions:

Once cream cheese is softened mix *Bon Appetite, dill weed, dried mustard and green onions all together. Then roll into a ball and roll it in the pecans and parsley.

*Notes: they no longer make Bon Appetite seasoning. So I found the spices that is in it and mix those together to get Bon Appetite. I have never figured out the exact measurements to get the 3 tsp you need so it’s always more then I need and I just keep it in a baggie in my seasonings for next time.

To make Bon Appetite

• 1 TBL celery salt 
• 1 TBL sugar 
• 1 tsp. onion powder. 

Mix it all together and then use 3 tsp. for the cheeseball.