Chinese Braised pork with Brown Rice and Asian beans

This is going to be a great one for batch parties. I placed all the ingredients in a foodsaver bag and put it in the freezer.  The night before I cooked it I pulled it out and put it in the fridge.



The entire contents of the bag were cooked in a slow cooker on low for 8 hours.

I put the fat side up so that it could be easily peeled off after it was done cooking.





The meat was incredibly moist and fell apart when I was cutting it. It really turned into a Chinese pulled pork. I served the meat over brown rice and topped with the cooking liquid. The flavor was sweet and mildly tangy - Delicious!!!!! Look for this on next month's batch party menus!!

Check out this and other recipes on Wanderfood Wednesday!



Braised Chinese Pork Loin


1 (3-pound) boneless pork loin, trimmed
1/4 cup chopped ginger
6 scallions, cut into 1-inch pieces
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup dry vermouth
2 teaspoons sugar
1 cinnamon stick
2 star anise



High: 1 hour; then low: 8 hours, or until pork registers 170°F.

Serves: 10




Pork Loin   Slow Cooker

Curried Lamb and Lentils

This dish will make your house smell so warm and inviting. As the Curried Lamb and lentils were cooking, it took a ton of restraint not to bust into the pot and gobble it up. I don't know what it is about curry, but it is one of my favorite comfort foods. 

Living in small town Texas can make it hard to find some ingredients, but the nice butcher at the local HEB was kind enough to cut a leg of lamb into steaks for me. They were only about a 1/4 inch thick so they cooked really quickly and took on all the flavors of the spices.

First the lamb steaks were browned on each side. Then carrots, celery and onions were added.

After the onions start to become clear and the carrots get soft, the spices were added.



Then the broth and lentils were added. Cook until the lentils start to become soft.
 

Serve over rice! Doesn't it look good.

Not only did this dish smell wonderful, but it tasted amazing. I chose to cool and freeze this meal for a later dinner and it reheated very well.  This is definitely going to be a feature on some future premade special  menus.

Check out this recipe and others like it on http://foodtripfriday.net/

Curried Lamb and Lentils

Serves 6

10 lean boneless lamb leg steaks about 1 3/4lbs
1 medium onion chopped
3 medium carrots, diced
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 tbsp hot curry powder
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 cups broth
1 cup green lentils
Salt and pepper
Boiled rice

In a large nonstick pan, cook the lamb steaks without fat until browned, turning once.
Add vegetables and cook for 2 minutes, then stir in the curry paste, tomato paste, broth and lentils.
Bring to a boil, cover and simmer gently for 20 minutes. Cool completely then bag and freeze.
Thaw and heat in skillet with a bit more broth for 15 minutes.

Serve over rice.

Lamb

Pork Roast stuffed with Plaintain and Ajili-Mojili Sauce

Last week I was looking for a pork roast recipe with a Caribbean flare and came across one for Pork roast stuffed with plantain. After looking it over I realized that I have basically made this recipe a thousand times just without the plantain in the center.

First I took a large pork loin roast and butterflied it.

Then I rubbed the inside and out with ground chipotle pepper, cumin, garlic salt, onion powder and coriander.




I peeled the whole plantain, folded over the roast and tied it up.




The roast was put in the oven for about 45 minutes at 350 degrees, tented with foil. Then the foil was removed and it finished for another 15 minutes. the cooked roast was allowed to rest for about 20 minutes before I sliced it.



Now this is where it got a little crazy. The Ajili- Mojili might as well have been named HOLY MOLY sauce.  It consisted of 4 scotch bonnet peppers, 6 cloves of garlic, whole peppercorns with a little salt vinegar lime and olive oil.  That was some seriously potent stuff. As I was driving to deliver this meal to some clients I noticed that my hand were starting to burn. I couldn't for the life of me figure out what had happened. I remembered to wear gloves while making the sauce, but neglected to wear them when I washed the dishes. BAD move. It took a lot of lotion to calm my skin down so that made me afraid of using it. I had taken a tiny (minuscule) taste of the sauce, but I couldn't imagine slathering it on my 4 year olds dinner. So, I did what every kind hearted friend would do. I took it to my friends that had just had a baby. Hey now, I did warn them, plus I figured it might help keep them up for those sleepless nights. It worked. :) The bright red flaming sauce of death added some heat to the meal for them and apparently it was liked by all that tasted it.

My family ate our portion of the meal without the sauce. The pork was flavorful enough without it and I am a card carrying wussy so it worked out. Next time I think I will prepare the roast and then freeze it before cooking. I am betting it will do well and if so it will make its way onto a batch party menu or two. not sure about the sauce though...

Check out more posts like this at Wanderfood Wednesday and  World Food Thursdays

Meatless Mondays - Israeli Moroccan Couscous

I have been  trying for ages to have a meatless meal one day a week. The health and financial perks have always been intriguing, but lately I have been inspired by the  Meatless Monday movement. Really everyone should check it out.  Honestly, I will may cheat and have fish occasionally, but a true vegetarian meal every now and then might sneak past the family.

One of my client families loves meatless meals every couple weeks, so this is one that I made for them. All I can say it that it is AMAZING. It does not taste at all like what I was expecting when I tried the recipe I found on allrecipes.com . After some tweaking I think the recipe is just the way I want it. The flavors are intense intense in this hearty stew. It was so easy to sneak a large variety of vegetable into my unsuspecting kids.

Check out the tray of veggies!

The onions and garlic were sauteed in a tiny bit of oil, then vegetable broth was added.

Afterwards I added in all the vegetables.

Then the seasonings were added.

Doesn't it look delicious????

After I made this big batch up, I let it cool and froze it in a Food saver bag. The couscous is a bit thicker and less soup like.

I have to say that it is REALLY good. The sauce is surprisingly sweet and the veggies are so tender that they kind of melt in your mouth. This recipe is wonderful and will most likely make a frequent appearance on our Meatless Mondays.



Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic
4 cups vegetable broth
2 carrots, peeled and cubed
2 turnips, peeled and 1 sweet potato, cubed
1 zucchini, cubed
1 red bell pepper, cubed
1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 pinch saffron
1 pinch curry powder
2 cups uncooked Israeli couscous
Directions
1.Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat; saute onion and garlic until golden. Pour in vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Stir in all the vegetables and simmer for 30 minutes
2.Stir in garbanzo beans, tomato sauce, cinnamon, turmeric, saffron and curry powder. Simmer until heated through.
3.Meanwhile, bring 2 1/2 cups water to a boil. Stir in couscous, cover and remove from heat. Let stand 5 to 7 minutes. Fluff with a fork and mix into the vegetables. Simmer uncovered for another 15 minutes.

Israeli Couscous

The TexMex Craving Continues- Taco Stuffed Pasta Shell

I am not sure if it's the fact that a Chuy's just opened up this week in my town or the random cold snap is making me want some spice to heat things up, but I have been craving Tex Mex all week. Hrm or maybe it was the article about the Taco Bell lack of meat in the meat? Anyway,  it started with the Chicken Enchiladas and has taken me to this next recipe- Taco Stuffed Pasta Shells. What can be better than yummy taco meat in a delicate pasta shell?

First, I browned some lean ground beef in a large skillet.

Then, I added finely diced onions

The meat and onions were seasoned with taco seasoning.

 and Mexican Oregano

Once the meat was nicely browned I added the best ingredient EVER

Taco Bell Mild Sauce! That's right, all the flavor AND the meat! Woo-hoo

Next, I mixed refried beans with shredded cheddar cheese.

Then the seasoned meat was added in.

A heaping spoonful was stuffed into a cooked pasta shell

It was placed on a layer of salsa.

I used 8 for a very healthy 2 person meal (probably with some left for lunch the next day).

 The rest of the salsa was spooned over the top,



and then sprinkled with cheese.



The shells were flavorful and delicious. They definitely helped satisfy my need for Tex Mex. Well, at least until the next day......

Taco Stuffed Pasta Shells

 1 box jumbo pasta shells
1 lb extra lean ground beef
1 finely diced onion
2 tbls taco seasoning mix
2 tsp Mexican oregano
1/2 cup water
1/2 bottle Taco Bell Mild Sauce ( you can go for the medium or hot if you like the spicy stuff)
1 can (16 oz) refried beans
1 cup shredded  cheddar cheese, divided
1 jar (16 oz) salsa, divided

Cook beef and onion in a large skillet until brown; drain. Add seasoning mix,oregano, water and Taco Bell sauce; cook over low heat for 5 minutes or until thickened. Add beans and 3/4 c cheese; mix well. Spread 1/4 c salsa over bottom of each of the 2 8" baking dishes.

Fill pasta shells with beef mixture; place half of the shells in each baking dish, filled side up. Spoon remaining salsa over shells.

To Freeze: Freeze in freezer to oven safe container.

To Reheat: Heat oven to 375. Cover with foil and bake for 45 - 50 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle with green onions and cheese and serve with sour cream if desired.

Yet Another Freezer Meal: Asian Style Pork Chops!

Finishing off our week of planned meals was Asian Style Pork Chops. This is a family and batch party favorite.  This meal had been in my freezer since the last big sale on pork about a month ago. It is mildly sweet and full of flavor. One of daughters friends joined us for dinner. She is rather finicky about her food and she cleaned her plate. Her mother was quite impressed. I would definitely suggest trying it. Oh and don't forget to check out the Giveaway!!

I pulled it out of the freezer two days ago and let it defrost in the freezer.

I set it on the counter and let it warm a bit while I heated the pan. The chops were seared on each side.

and then they were put in the oven for 20 minutes.

Asian Style Pork Chops


6 center cut Pork loin chops
2/3 cup soy sauce
2 tbls sugar
1/3 cup rice vinegar
2 tbls sesame oils
1 tbls ground ginger
1 tbls minced garlic
¼ tsp cayenne pepper

Place the chops in a large freezer bag. Combine other ingredients in bag with the pork.

Seal and Freeze.

Thaw. Grill until center of chop reaches 160.

Another one for the Freezer:Pepper Lime Chicken

Wednesday was a weird night for dinner for us. At about 5 o'clock, my kids decided that they wanted to make green eggs and ham.  We head read the book the night before and I guess it just struck them that we needed to try it out. Plus its hard to resist innocent faces standing there asking if they can make green eggs and ham, so they did.

Aren't they cute on the Cars and Princess plates?

Well after my 2 youngest had their green eggs, I had to feed the rest of us. We went with the Pepper Lime Chicken. This is another recipe like the Apple "Dump" Chicken that I am testing out for batch parties and it really was a great freezer recipe. I took it out of the freezer thawed it and decided to pan sear and then bake for 25 minutes at 350. It was so tender and the flavor was great. It really wasn't as peppery as I had expected and the taste was great. This is is a really easy dish that I am betting will be a hit!

Pepper-lime "DUMP" Chicken

1/2 Teaspoon Lime Peel

2 Cloves Garlic -- minced

1/4 cup Lime Juice

1 Teaspoon Pepper

1 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil

1 Teaspoon Basil

1/4 Teaspoon Salt

1 1/2 Pounds Chicken Pieces

For immediate cooking: Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Place all ingredients into a

large baking dish, turn chicken to coat. Bake until chicken juices run

clear (45-60 minutes for chicken pieces, or 20-30 minutes for chicken

breasts).

For freezing: Place all ingredients into a 1 Gallon freezer bag. Lay flat

in freezer.

To thaw and cook: Take the bag out of the freezer the night before, make

sure the baggie is completely closed. Place the Bag on a shelf furthest

from the freezer (It works best if the bag is laying flat, although this

may not be the best option with a side-by-side fridge/freezer). Preheat the

oven to 350 F. Empty the contents of the bag into a large baking dish and

bake until the juices run clear (45-60 minutes for chicken pieces, or 20-30

minutes for chicken breasts).