Lately I’ve been so busy trying to keep up with all my work and other obligations that I struggle to find the time to cook. That’s when it’s easiest to make a large roast and use portions toward several quick meals later in the week. I bought a huge pork roast. It must have been 6-7 pounds.

The evening before I planned to cook it, I rubbed it down with spices, wrapped it up and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight. The recipe for the rub follows. It makes more than you’ll need for one application and is also good with chicken and beef. Store unused rub in an air-tight container.

Spicy Sweet Rub
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. Montreal steak seasoning
1 Tbsp. Kosher salt
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. cayenne pepper

Mix all ingredients together.

The next morning, I pulled the roast from the refrigerator and let it sit for about 30 minutes. Then I seared all six sides in a shallow pan until they were golden brown. I placed it in my largest crock pot without adding any liquid. Cooking on high heat for the first two hours brought it up to heat quickly. Then I turned the heat to low and cooked for 4 more hours.

When done, I let the roast rest for about 30 minutes before pulling off a portion to shred for pulled pork sandwiches. The roast made lots of juice. I mixed some with a thick barbecue sauce and dressed the shredded pork with it. Save the remaining juice for later use. Break the remaining cooled roast down into a couple of containers and refrigerate.

We had pork sandwiches and street tacos for several meals. Street tacos are so easy to pull together once the meat is cooked. Just reheat the meat, chop vegetables and shred cheese. Roll it all up in a tortilla.

With the last portion of the roast, about 2 pounds, I made posole, a traditional New Mexico stew using hominy. My version is a little spicy and I serve it with cheddar cheese and jalapeño cornbread.

Posole
1 large onion, diced
2 green peppers, diced
1/2 jalapeño, minced
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 bay leaves
3 cloves garlic minced
2 cans Rotel tomatoes
2 cans hominy
2 tsp. oregano
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. chili powder
8 c. beef stock (or combine beef stock with leftover pork juice to equal 8 cups)
2 lbs. cooked pork roast, shredded
Salt and pepper to taste

Sauté onion and peppers in olive oil with a pinch of salt and pepper. Add bay leaves and garlic and cook for about 2 minutes. Add tomatoes, hominy and remaining spices. Cook while stirring until the ingredients are incorporated and fragrant. Add stock and shredded pork and bring to a boil. Taste and adjust seasonings. Then turn down the heat and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour.

Garnish the stew with sliced radishes, jalepeños, chopped cilantro and crumbled queso fresco. I also served with cornbread and our favorite is to add minced jalapeños and cheddar cheese. One can easily make the cornbread batter from scratch but if in a hurry, a mix purchased at the store speeds things up. I followed the directions on the back of two packages of mix and added 2-1/2 minced jalapeños along with a cup of shredded cheddar cheese.

Be sure to place about a Tbsp. of vegetable oil in a cast iron skillet and preheat at 400 degrees for about 7-8 minutes. Remove the screamin’ hot pan from the oven and pour in the batter. It’s perfect when the batter begins to fry as you pour. Return the skillet to the oven and cook as directed on the package or 20-25 minutes until the top is golden brown.

For a less spicy version of posole, skip the jalapeños and substitute tomato bits for the Rotel.

On Sunday, I was finally able to work in the garden. I certainly said a prayer over each pathetic root-bound seedling I transplanted. Hopefully they will grow strong enough to survive the heat – and the rabbits.

One of my neighbors read about my gardening woes this year and brought me zucchini and spaghetti squash. One of the easiest ways to cook spaghetti squash is in the microwave.

Place the whole squash in the microwave and heat on high for 1-2 minutes. This will soften it and it will be easier to cut in half. Remove the seeds and place the halves cut-side down on a dish. Add a little water and cover with plastic wrap. Microwave each half for 6 minutes or until the squash yields to the pressure of a finger. Cool until it can be handled and remove the flesh with a fork, separating the strands.

Once cooked, many just add marinara or another type of sauce. That is certainly good, but one can be more creative. Spaghetti squash is a very versatile vegetable.

Warm Squash Salad
1 large spaghetti squash, prepared
1 Tbsp. butter, melted
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 large tomato, diced
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper, to taste

Toss all ingredients together and serve warm.

Spaghetti Squash Frittata
1/2 bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 c. spaghetti squash, prepared
2 tsp. fresh basil, chopped
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 tomato, sliced
4 eggs
1 tsp. dried oregano or basil
Parmesan cheese

Toss pepper and onion slices with squash and seasonings. Spread on the bottom of an 8″ greased pie pan. Lay tomato slices on top. Whisk the eggs and pour over the vegetables. Push the vegetables down to ensure most are covered by the eggs. Sprinkle dried herbs over the top. Bake at 350 degrees until set. Sprinkle the top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and serve.

Another idea is to pile the squash with cheese, minced garlic, crumbled bacon pieces, salt and pepper on large portabella mushrooms. Bake until the mushrooms are soft.

And just one more, toss hot squash with wilted spinach, caramelized onion, garlic and bacon. Dress with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

I believe it is officially grilling season, although I am willing to grill all year long. I perfected this week’s recipe when I lived in the mountains of Evergreen, Colorado. I think it was in 2003 during Winter Break with guests in the house when 10 feet of snow fell and the power was off for over four days.

I could light the gas burners with a match and that worked for most dinners, but I wanted to cook individual pizzas and the oven was electric. I had planned a pizza party one of those nights and I had heard of cooking pizzas on the grill, so I decided to give it a try.

Pizza Dough
1-1/2 c. warm water
2 tsp. yeast
2 tsp. sugar
4-1/2 c. flour
2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. olive oil

Dissolve yeast and sugar in water. Add half the flour and start to mix with a wooden spoon or by hand. Then combine the salt with the remaining flour and add to the mixture. Drizzle in the olive oil. Keep trying to mix by spoon or hand but when it gets too difficult, plop it on to a floured counter top and knead for about 5 minutes until the dough is smooth. Wrap it in plastic and refrigerate for about 30 minutes. That recipe makes 4 10-inch pizzas. I just rolled it out with a rolling pin.

Quick Pizza Sauce
1 large can crushed tomatoes
2 tsp. Italian seasoning
2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 tsp. dried basil

Heat the crushed tomatoes in a small pot. Add Italian seasoning, sugar, pepper and tomato paste. Cook on medium heat for at least 10 minutes. The sauce will reduce a little during that time. I tasted it and decided to add the dried basil.

I worked at Pizza Hut in high school and was an assistant manager during two years of college. At that time, there was a rank one could achieve of Pizza Hut Professional, and I still consider myself to be one. I’m kidding around, but it is important to know what you’re doing because using the right amount of sauce keeps the pizza from being too dry; too many wet toppings make the dough soggy; proper layering of ingredients and the use of cheese help provide the glue to hold it all together.

So to grill pizzas, dust a pizza peel with cornmeal, roll out one pizza shell and lay it on the peel. Outside on a medium-heated grill, slide the shell off the peel. While it cooks, roll out the next one and slide it onto the grill as well. Watch closely. When grill marks start to show and the shell is easily flipped over, do so. Grill the other side. If a bubble starts to show, pierce it gently with a metal spatula. Cook the rest of the shells and bring inside for guests to top.

Start with the sauce and spread evenly up to 1/2-inch from the edge. Sprinkle a handful of cheese over the sauce. Layer on flat meats like pepperoni, sliced ham and/or Canadian bacon. Then sprinkle on the vegetables keeping in mind that too many can make the pizza soggy. Crumbled meats like cooked ground meat and pork go on top of the vegetables. Then to hold it all in place, sprinkle on another handful of cheese. Back in the day, we sprinkled on something called Fairy Dust, but just in case that’s still a secret, I won’t describe exactly how it was made. However, doesn’t a little grated Parmesan and a pinch of dried oregano sound like a good finishing touch?

Scoop the topped pizza shell onto the peel and slide on the grill again. This time, close the lid to hold in the heat. Check often and since everything is already cooked, it’s done when the cheese has melted and the crust is golden. Just keep a close eye on the bottom of the shell so it doesn’t burn. Adjust the heat as necessary.

I made grilled pizza Sunday night for dinner. I sautéed mushrooms, onions and green peppers for the topping and cooked Italian sausage. When cooking on the grill, it doesn’t stay in the heat as long as an oven, so pre-cooking those toppings is best. After I removed the pizzas from the grill, I topped mine with freshly chopped basil.

Obviously pizza shells and sauce can be purchased at most grocery stores, so if you don’t have time to make it from scratch, don’t let that stop you from making your own pizzas at home, using the ingredients you like best. Kids like to make their own and do-it-yourself pizza is fun at a party. Just prepare shells ahead of time, lay out toppings and let the guests create their own. Then someone just needs to man the grill and finish cooking them.

Both of my parents grew up on Texas farms. My dad’s family had a farm in the Abbott area. In fact, he went to school with Willie Nelson. Although Wilson is a few years older, my dad remembers him and his sister performing in school talent shows. He has other fond memories of the farm where he and his five brothers and sisters grew up.

One of the most surprising things to me is how he talks about having creamed turnips for dinner. He just loved them. What he leaves out is that at times, it was probably all they had. Yet he always smiles when he remembers how good they were. I like turnips, but I prefer them roasted with olive oil, garlic, herbs, salt and pepper.

My mother grew up on a small farm in Westphalia, south of Waco. Her daddy died when she was 14, leaving her mother and four children to work the farm. Since my mom was the oldest and the youngest were very small, she remembers it as hard work in a harsh environment.

Meat on their table was a rarity. Vegetables from the garden, eggs and perhaps some milk from the cow were the common fare. In fact, during winter months, a scrambled egg was breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Growing up, I was taught to appreciate whatever my mother made for dinner. She is a terrific cook and I don’t remember refusing to eat anything she made. Although I never really liked it when she cooked liver, you can bet I ate it without a word of complaint.

Currently, children seem to gripe about what they are served and I have trouble understanding it. Sometimes I think they don’t know what it means to be hungry. Anyway, the next two recipes are tasty main dishes commonly found on a farm table. Since modern-day dinners usually include meat, they also make great side dishes.

Egg and Onion Casserole
1 large sweet onion, coarsely chopped
3 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
5 slices of leftover bread, 1” thick
1 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated cheese, Swiss or white cheddar
3 Tbsp. flour
1 Tbsp. butter
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
6 hard boiled eggs, sliced

Sauté the onion in a Tbsp. of olive oil until soft and beginning to turn brown. Remove from the skillet. Make a white sauce by heating 2 Tbsp. of olive oil butter, flour, broth and milk. Stir until thickened and add salt and pepper. Set aside.

Fit bread slices into a 9×9″ baking dish. Brush with a little more olive oil. Spoon about 1/3 of the white sauce over the bread. Arrange the onions over the bread and then layer the eggs. Pour on the remaining sauce and spread evenly.

Mix the cheese with the bread crumbs and scatter over the top. Bake in a 350-degree oven until bubbly and the topping browns. Let sit for about 20 minutes before serving. It also reheats well.

Eggplant Casserole
1 eggplant, cubed
1/2 cup bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 rib celery, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cups crumbled cornbread
14.5-oz. can diced tomatoes
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 tsp. each thyme and oregano
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
8 oz. cheese, grated and divided
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup broth or water

Prepare a 2-1/2 quart casserole with cooking spray. Bring two quarts salted water to a boil. Add eggplant and simmer until soft. (Squash could be substituted for eggplant.) Drain well.

Sauté the next four ingredients in the olive oil until soft. Scatter the herbs over the crumbled cornbread. Toss in the sautéed vegetables. Add salt and pepper. Stir in eggplant, tomatoes and half the cheese. Stir eggs into the broth or water and pour over the mixture. Stir to combine. The casserole should be moist, but not soggy.

Place into the prepared dish and bake for 40 minutes in a 375-degree oven. Remove from the oven and scatter the remaining cheese on top. Return to the oven and heat until the cheese melts and is slightly brown.