Basic Fruit Cobbler Dutch Oven

To be honest, there are so many variations on what fruit to add, the combinations are endless here. Have fun and experiment.

1. Fruit (Choose your favorite):

• 2- 20oz Cans of pie filling
• 4-5 Cups Frozen/Fresh Fruit

• Peaches and/or Nectarines
• Berries- combination or single variety
• Cherries
• Pineapple (Think pineapple upside-down cake)
• Apricot
• Apples

     2.   Cake Mix- Usually Yellow or white but can use carrot or spice with apples.
     3.   1/4-1/2 C butter
     4.   1 can Lemon Lime Pop


Preparation:

1. Line dutch oven with aluminum foil.
2. Pour fruit on bottom. 
3. Combine cake mix and 1 can of pop. Pour on top of fruit.
4. Dollop butter on top (makes the top crispy)
5. Place 5-6 Coals on bottom and 12-14 coals on top. Cook for 1 Hour.

Variation:

• Instead of mixing in pop, you can substitute the 1/2 cup of butter into the mix. I like the pop/butter combo best.

Old Fashion Apple Crisp

5 Cup Apples, Peeled and Sliced (about 5-6 apples)
2/3-3/4 Cups Packed Brown Sugar
2 Tsp. Lemon Juice
1/3 Cup Butter (softened, not melted)
1/4 tsp. Salt
1 Cup Rolled Oats
1/2 Cup Flour
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Nutmeg (optional)
1/2 tsp. Allspice (optional)

Apples:

1. Combine Apples, and lemon juice in bottom of greased 9/13 pan.
2.  Dust with cinnamon and 1/4 Cups brown sugar

Crisp:

1.  Combine flour, the rest of the brown sugar, spices, salt and rolled oats until well mixed. 
2. Add Butter and mix until crumbly
3. Sprinkle over apples 

Baking:

1. Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes or until apples are tender.
2. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream 

Variations:

• To make a berry crisp, use 4 cups mixed frozen berries. No lemon juice needed. Decrease cinnamon to 1/2 tsp.
• For Dutch Oven Cooking: Line dutch oven with aluminum foil. Prepare crisp in the same way. For apples, use one can of sprite instead of lemon juice so the apples don't dry out when cooking. Use 5-6 coals on bottom and 12-14 coals on top of 12" dutch oven. Bake for 1 hour or until apples are cooked. 

Lemon Pesto Pasta

Here is a quick easy pasta to make for a light lunch or dinner. Please realize I normally only cook this for myself so I'm trying to think how much it would be for more than one person.

1 lbs Pasta of your choice (angel hair or linguini is best)
2 tbls Pesto
1/4 C lemon juice
1/4 C butter OR 1 tbls olive oil (I use either/or depending on my mood)
1/2 C Parmesan cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste

1.) Cook pasta to just before al dente. Drain pasta.
2.) Add butter/oil. If using butter, stir until melted. Add lemon juice, pesto and cheese until pasta is well coated.The pasta will soak in the lemon while it finishes cooking.
3.) Salt and Pepper to taste

Variation: Add Lemon pesto chicken chunks for a heartier meal.

Pesto Chicken

Here is a quick easy meal my mom likes to make. Serve with angel hair pasta and Alfredo sauce for a yummy meal people think you slaved over.

4 thawed chicken breasts or 8 chicken tenderloins.
4 slices provolone cheese
4 oz pesto (half a jar of classico Pesto)

1.) Preheat oven to 350°F.
2.) Arrange chicken on non-stick cooking pan.
3.) Place 2-3 tsp of pesto on each chicken breast. Cover with cheese.
4.) Cook for 20-25 min or until juices run clear. Reduce cooking time if using tenderloins.

Cafe Rio Sweet Pork

Has it really been that long since I last posted? Oops! Life has definitely brought some changes. After almost 10 years of wanting this recipe, I finally asked my cousin Pam for her Cafe Rio Sweet Pork. It is one of my favorites! Enjoy!

3.5 lbs Pork Roast 
1 bottle taco sauce (8 oz) 
1 Tbls cumin 
1 Cup brown sugar 
1 can Coke (not diet) 

1.)Place pork in crock pot and cover half of roast with water. Cook on high for 3 hours. 
2.)Add rest of ingredients to the pot and cook on low for 3 hours. The pork will cook for a total of 6 hours.

Great meat for burritos or taco salads.