Pork Stir Fry with lo mein noodles

• I was really in the mood for a stir fry.  It was my day off so thought time to give this recipe a try.  It's realy worth taking the time to make.  Has a lot of ingredients but goes together fairly quickly.  My Middle grandson wanted to take the entire pot upstairs.  :) so I would say it's a hit and something to make again.

• Kosher salt
• 1 pound (450g) fresh lo mein noodles
• 1 pound (450g) country-style boneless pork ribs or boneless pork loin chops
• 1 teaspoon (3g) baking soda
• 3 tablespoons (40g) sugar
• 3 tablespoons (45ml) soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons (45ml) oyster sauce
• 2 tablespoons (30ml) Chinese black or balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon (15ml) toasted sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons (30ml) Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry
• 1 tablespoon (15ml) Asian fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon (15g) cornstarch
• 3 tablespoons (45ml) neutral oil, such as grapeseed, peanut, or canola, divided
• 1 (3-inch) knob fresh ginger, peeled and minced (about 2 tablespoons; 12g)
• 3 medium garlic cloves, minced
• 4 scallions, white parts cut in 1-inch pieces, light green parts very thinly sliced; divided
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cored purple cabbage (5 ounces; 150g)
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Chinese broccoli or cored Napa cabbage (5 ounces; 150g)
• 1 cup julienned carrots (2 1/2 ounces; 75g)
• Toasted sesame seeds, for garnish (optional)
• Sambal oelek (chili paste), for serving (optional)

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook noodles according to package directions, stirring regularly with tongs or long chopsticks, until al dente and separated.   Drain noodles and set aside.Trim pork of excess fat and cut into thin strips, about 1/4 inch wide by 2 inches long. In a bowl, stir together baking soda and 1/2 cup cold water. Add pork, stir until thoroughly coated, then let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes.   Then, in a med whisk together sugar, soy sauce, oyster sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, wine, fish sauce, and cornstarch until sugar is dissolved. Set sauce aside Drain pork well, rinse with cold water, then pat dry with paper towels. Add pork back to rinsed and dried bowl. Stir in 2 tablespoons (15ml) of the sauce and mix well.  

  

In a wok or large cast iron skillet, heat 1 tablespoon (15ml) neutral oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add ginger, garlic, and white scallion pieces and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Increase heat to high and add purple cabbage, Chinese broccoli (or Napa cabbage), and carrots. Cook, stirring and tossing, until vegetables are charred in spots and just softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate.  Add 1 tablespoon (15ml) neutral oil to wok or skillet and heat over high heat until smoking. Add pork, spreading it out in a single layer, and let cook on one side until crisp and brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Continue to cook, stirring and tossing, until just cooked through, about 1 minute longer. Transfer to plate with vegetables.  

Wipe out wok or skillet, then add remaining 1 tablespoon (15ml) neutral oil and heat over high heat until smoking. Add noodles and cook, tossing and stirring, until hot. 

 Add remaining sauce, vegetables, and pork to noodles and toss well over heat to combine. Transfer lo mein to a platter and sprinkle sliced green scallions all over, along with sesame seeds, if using. Serve right away, passing sambal oelek at the table if desired.

Thanks for taking time to stop by,  have a great week and Always Remember to Find the time to do ALL the things You L♥ve,
Donna

Boneless Pork Roast with potatoes and carrots

Made this for dinner one Sunday night.  I have so much food in the freezer I could eat for a year and never go to the store.  I believe I got this habit from my MOM, she did the same thing and I can remember as a kids I would always ask her ..."gee Mom why do you have so much food??  Her reply was always the same, ya never know when you won't be able to go food shopping and what if company dropped in, you'd always have food to make".  I would say now, pure logic.

This meal goes together quickly and not much fuss.  Make the marinate.
put meat (that has salt and pepper both sides) in a plastic bag, pour the marinate over pork and refrigerate about an hour or you could do over night if you have the time and have planned ahead.  Cook your potatoes and carrots for about 12 minutes, drain and set aside.

Marinate
put dry spices, garlic, lemon juice , zest, olive oil s & P in a blender or magic bullet and blend til you get a nice smooth texture.

3 lbs boness pork loin
5-6 russet potatoes
4 large carrots
6-7 cloves garlic
zest of 1 lemon
juice from lemon
2 heaping TBL oregano
1/4 tsp thyme
1/3 cup olive oil
salt and pepper.



Remove meat from bag, put in roasting pan and bake at 350°  for about an hour.  Add the potatoes and carrots after that hour and cook for another 45 minutes or so, until veggies are tender and meat is 145° internal temp.  Use a meat thermometer to always make sure you meats are cook properly.  I use the one with the probe and little counter thing that goes off when the meat is ready.  Let it rest at least 20 minutes, carve and serve.  You could make a pan gravy if you wanted from the drippings.  I put the information for that below.

**Pan gravy**  Use the dripping from roast and add a little water, stir then add some chicken stock or more water .  Make a slurry of corn starch or flour using water and dry mix.  Add to pan dripping and cook until it thickens.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Serve over meat is desire.

Thanks for stopping by, have a great week and Always Remember to Find the Time to Do ALL the Things You L♥ve.
Donna


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Marinated Roast Pork and Potatoes

This was a delicious meal.  I had a bonless roast pork in the freezer that needed to be cook soon and this turned out to be a very moist delicious way to cook it.

I used the meat thermometer to make sure it was done.  They have changed the temperature for pork from years ago.  They say now the internal temperature should be about 160° for roasts, of course you know you should take it out about 10°before it reaches that temperature so the meat and rest and the juices form in the meat.
Here are the potatoes

Marinade:
4-4.5 lb bones pork roast
4 TBL mustard
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 cloves garlic (minced)
salt and pepper

potatoes:
5-6 med to large potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks, salt and pepper and then toss them and a small sliced onion in oil.

Place roast in large plastic bag, add ingredients and let marinate at least 2-3 hours...best if you do overnight.
Preheat oven to 425° place roast in pan and cook on high heat for 15  minutes, turn oven down to 375° and continue to cook until the internal temperature in 150-155°.  Remove from oven and let rest for about 15-20 minutes.  For the potatoes you can par boil them is you like, I didn't do that I just peeled them and cut into chunks and when the meat was at about 125° I added them, and when I removed the meat I left them in the pan to finish cooking.

This was an awesome meal, I served this with sauerkraut and cooked carrots.  The only thing that was missing was some great biscuits.  Maybe next time.

Thanks for stopping by, have a wonderful week and Always Remember to Find the Time to Do ALL the things YOU L♥ve.
Donna

Sopapillas Stuffed with Pork or Chicken

I made these recently because of another craving for a certain food.  The combination of cravings were for Mexican Food and Sopapillas.  Living in New Mexico for many years these were one of the things I really enjoyed.  I had never had Mexican food of any kind until I moved there, not even a Taco.  Amazing huh??  Now I made all sorts of Mexican Influence dishes.  There is a restaurant that we go to when I visit my son, Pete's.  Their food is delicious but can be very hot and spicy (for me), but they make the best Sopapillas and Flour Tortillas.  I have learned to get simple things because most is way to hot for me.  The dishes I made this night were Pork Roast and Chicken.  I made the chicken milder than the pork.  They both had great flavor but the pork had a definite kick to it, which the kids love, especially Alan and AJ.  Here it is before I stuffed it.  YUM

Sopapilla

3 cups all-purpose flour  
2 teaspoons  baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
4 to 6 tablespoons lard or vegetable shortening
1 1/4 cups warm milk (approximate)
Vegetable Oil (for frying)
I use my food processor for this.  Add the flour, salt and baking powder and pulse a couple of times.  Add the vegetable shortening and pulse til you get a look of crumbs.  Add the milk and pulse until it all comes together.  Let it rest for about 10 - 20 minutes.  Then pull balls off and roll out, not to thick not to thin.  When frying these be sure you oil is hot enough, drop them in 1 at a time and pop them under the oil and they will puff up.  Cook until golden, then drain on paper towel.
 

 

Pork:
2 1/2 - 3 lb pork roast boneless
1  7 oz. can of green chilli's chopped
1  large Anaheim pepper (roasted, peeled and chopped)
1  large Pablano pepper (roasted, peeled and chopped)
1 medium onion diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 small sweet red pepper, diced
1/3 cup red wine
1 cup chicken broth
 fresh Cilantro chopped, added at end
Here's one more shot of one of the large ones.  Had this one with honey drizzled on top.  Another YUM!

In a dutch oven heat olive oil and saute some onion and 1 whole garlic clove, til translucent.  Remove from pan salt and pepper pork then add to the hot pan.  Sear on all sides then add in the onions you cook and the rest of the onion and garlic, cook for a minute or so, add the red wine and cook for about another minute.  Add the green chilli, peppers and chicken broth.  Bring to a boil and simmer for about 10 minutes.  Place in 350° for about 3 hrs until pork is tender and falls apart.

Chicken:
I used 2 chicken breast skinless and boneless.
Heat skillet with oil and add  some onion,  1 clove garlic and 1/2 sweet red pepper diced.  Cook chicken until it gets browned on both sides about 10 minutes, it will not be cook through.  Add red wine, then 1/2 (2 oz of a 4 oz. can)  can of green chilli
1/4 of Anaheim pepper and 1/4 of pablano pepper, and 1 cup of chicken stock.  Bring to boil and then reduce heat and cook for about 10 minutes.  Transfer to an oven proof pot with lid and cook along with the pork.  This will only take about 1 hr. to cook.
Sure hope you give these a try.  They look like they are a lot of work but really no more than a normal dinner.  Thanks for taking time to stop by.  Have a wonderful day and Remember to Find the Time to Do All the Things YOU Love.
Donna

Slow Cooked Pork Roast with Cranberry and Orange sauce

This is a recipe from Cooks Country.  Their recipes are really so delicious.
This recipe is sooooooooooooo easy and no work at all.  The slow cookers does all the work.  So if you're a working person please give this a try you'll have a great meal when you get home, the kids will love it too.
gravy

4-5 lb pork roast (I used bone in but they used boneless)
1 can of whole cranberry
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup orange juice
1/8 tsp cinnamon
3 slices of orange peel (try not to get much pith)
2 TBL veg oil
salt and pepper

Salt and pepper the roast generously.  In a large skillet heat the oil and then brown the roast on all sides starting with fat side down first.  In the slow cooker mix all the other ingredients.  Stir, place browned meat on top and cook for 5-6 hours on low.  Internal temperature should register 140-145.  Remove and let rest for 20 minutes.  After about 5 minutes tent with aluminum  foil.  Take dripping from the slow cooker and in a small sauce pan reduce cooking for about 10 minutes at simmer.  Serve over sliced meat.  ENJOY!  YUM!!!!

Sure hope you try this simple dish.  I served this with red cabbage with apples and pear, found here. (I used that recipe and just added an additional chopped bartlett pear)  Also had mashed potatoes with the gravy from the meat.  Another YUM.  We had the raspberry swirl sweet rolls for dessert.

Thanks for stopping by and taking time from you busy day.  Have a wonderful week and Remember to Find the Time to DO all the things YOU love.
Donna

Homemade Cannelloni

This is what we had at the family dinner.  YUM!  They are filled with meat and cheese.  One is braised beef (above) the other had braised pork.  The meat cooked this way just falls apart.  I have never made them this way,  I always just made them filled with cheese.  The pasta is homemade also, I used my normal recipe which I have listed below.
Printable

Pasta Dough:
2 cups AP flour
2 eggs
1/4 cup of vegetable oil
3 TBL water

In a food processor pulse the flour a couple of times to put air into it.  Put the eggs, water in a measuring glass and whisk until incorporated, with processor running, slowly add this mixture through the feed tube, run until dough forms a ball and comes away from the sides.  Remove, knead a couple of times then wrap in plastic and let rest for 1 hour.

Cheese/Meat Filling:
12 oz. ricotta cheese
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
1 egg
2-3 TBL fresh parsley chopped
1-2 TBL fresh basil, chopped
2 cups shredded meat (either pork or beef)
5-6 slices provolone cheese
salt and pepper to taste
Mix all ingredients and set aside

Roll you pasta out or put through pasta making machine and make lasagna sheets then cut them into 6 inch pieces. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil,  Cook for about 4 minutes, until they float to the top.  Fresh pasta does not take as long a boxed pasta so be careful not to over cook.  Drain and put in an ice cube and water bath to stop the cooking.

In a 9x13 pan put a small amount of sauce on the bottom.  Fill your cut, cooked pasta pieces with cheese meat mixture, placing the mixture at one end and then roll up and place seam side down.  Cover with sauce and put some mozzarella and provolone cheese on top.  Bake for about 25 minutes until, hot and bubbly and cheese has melted.  Just as you serve grate some fresh Parmesan cheese on top. This is a hearty dish and all you need to serve with it is some nice home made Italian bread and a salad.
Thanks for stopping by, have a wonderful day and Remember to Find the Time to do All the things You Love.
Donna

Pork Chops with Ginger Plum sauce

This dish was adapted from here,   I made two sauces to go with these pork chops.  I think they would both be great on chicken also.  Especially the second one.  When I try it on chicken of course I will share.
printable
Pork Chops with ginger plum sauce
Changes in red
Ingredients               

    1 cup dry red wine
    2 teaspoons grated peeled ginger
    1/4 cup instant flour (such as Wondra) or cornstarch
    Kosher salt
    4 1/2-inch-thick boneless pork loin chops, trimmed I used bone in chops
    1 orange
    1/4 cup rice vinegar
    1/3 cup honey
    8 large sprigs fresh mint
   * 2 large plums, cut into 1/2-inch pieces didn't have
   2-3 TBL red plum preserves instead
    2 tablespoons unsalted butter (optional)used
    Canola  oil, for frying
Sauce from above recipe

Directions

Whisk 1 tablespoon wine, the ginger and 2 tablespoons ice water in a large bowl. Whisk in the flour and 1 teaspoon salt. Add the pork, turning to coat; refrigerate while you prepare the sauce.

Remove the zest from the orange in wide strips using a vegetable peeler. Put the zest in a skillet and squeeze in the juice. Whisk in the vinegar, honey and the remaining 3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons wine. Add the mint and cook over medium-high heat until syrupy, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the plums and cook until slightly soft, about 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and discard the mint. Swirl in the butter, if desired, and season with salt.

Heat 1/4 inch peanut oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the pork until golden and crisp, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a paper towellined plate to drain. Season with salt and serve with the plum sauce.

2nd Sauce:
Plum Sauce: see changes in red

    2  tablespoon butter
    3/4  cup  chopped onions
    1  cup plum preserves   
    2/3  cup water
    1/2  cup packed brown sugar
    1/3  cup chili sauce
    1/4  cup soy sauce
    2  tablespoons prepared mustard
    3  drops Tabasco sauce *omitted*
    *couple shakes of red pepper flakes*
    2  tablespoons fresh lemon juice
     Garlic salt to taste
This dish is really tasty and I will make it again.  Both sauces are VERY good and after tasting them I will make some chicken.  The sauce have distinct different flavors.  The one that is make from the pork chop recipe is sweeter.
Hope you try these.  Thanks for taking time from your busy day to stop by.  Have a wonderful day and Remember to Find the Time to Do ALL the Things You Love.
Donna

Garlic Basil Pork

 

This is a great light summer dinner.  It's been so hot here it's almost to hot  to eat.  I used Good Seasons Italian Dressing on this.  When I make that dressing I always add either 1 1/2 TBL brown sugar or 1 1/2 TBL honey.  Sure makes it tasty.  The greens can be whatever you like.  Mine is very simple, romaine lettuce, celery, radishes, tomato, cucumber, some chopped almonds and red cabbage.

This is a quick marinate that you can use on pork, fish, or chicken.   It's a very quick, easy with lots of flavor, and you can marinate your protein for just 20 minutes and still have great flavors.  Of course the longer you marinate the better it could taste.  Just remember if you put it in the refrigerator to take it out and let it come to room temperature before you cook it, and pat off any excess.  The recipe below is for a small marinate so if you wanted to do like chops or larger portions just increase all the ingredients.  I took a chunk of pork off a boneless roast and cut it into strips and put on my salad.
printable
2 cloves garlic
3 TBL basil
2 TBL lemon basil
1 tsp thyme (dried)
1 TBL dried minced onion
4-5 TBL olive oil or vegetable oil
salt and pepper
Mix all ingredients in small food processor and toss your protein in mixture.  Refrigerate for 20 minutes or longer.
Cook pork in a hot skillet about 3-5 minutes on each side.  Can be cooked on an indoor grille pan or outside on the bbq grille.

Thanks for stopping by, have a wonderful day and Remember to Find the Time to Do all the Things You Love.
Donna

Kung Pao Pork

This is the other dish I made for our weekly Catan Game. My friends said it was really good. I didn't even taste this one because I don't like things that are too spicy and maybe hot. I know as a cook you're always suppose to taste your food, but I would hate to ruin my taste bubs, so I just let my friends taste it and tell if me I need to add anything.

Kung Pao Pork (but you can also do chicken , which is the recipe done most)

Adapted from here
my changes in red

Printable
Ingredients

3 - 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into chunks
3 - 4 bonless pieces of pork
2 tablespoons white wine
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil, divided ( 1 TBL )
2 tablespoons cornstarch, dissolved in 2 tablespoons water (about 1/2 cup used later when you are cooking the sauce)
1 ounce hot chile paste
1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
2 teaspoons brown sugar
4 green onions, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped garlic

4 ounces chopped peanuts
Added red peppers, mushrooms and onions

Directions

To Make Marinade: Combine 1 tablespoon wine, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon cornstarch/water mixture and mix together. Place chicken pieces in a glass dish or bowl and add marinade. Toss to coat. Cover dish and place in refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
To Make Sauce: In a small bowl combine 1 tablespoon wine, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon oil, 1 tablespoon cornstarch/water mixture, chili paste, vinegar and sugar. Mix together. In a medium skillet, heat sauce slowly until aromatic.
Meanwhile, add about 3 - 4 TBL flour to the pork and mix, this will help give the meat a crunch. Fry meat in some oil in a large skillet until meat is white and juices run clear. When sauce is aromatic, this is when you may need to add the additional water if it gets to thick. After frying the meat drain fry pan of oil and leave just enough to saute the onion, mushrooms and red pepper. When they are aldente add the peanuts and quickly stir pour over pork and then pour the sauce over that. Add additional peanuts. Stir on platter. Serve
Thanks for taking the time from you busy day to stop by. Have a wonderful day and Remember to Find the Time to do All the Things You Love.
Donna

BBQ Ribs with Asian Flavor

I made these when I made the tomato macaroni and cheese and the Maple Walnut cake. I usually make my own BBQ sauce and this time instead of adding the Hunts Chilli sauce I added the Asian Sweet Chilli Sauce. WOW what a great flavor it gave the ribs. This is such an easy recipe and I would think would be wonderful on chicken too.
Doesn't the picture make your mouth water. Oh these were so YUMMY, even if I must compliment myself. :)

Ingredients:
1/2 to 3/4 cup catchup
1 - 2 TBL Worcestershire sauce
2 - 3 TBL Asian Sweet Chilli sauce
1 TBL lemon juice (fresh)
1 TBL dark molasses
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/2 - 1 tsp. dried minced onion
*the reason I put a varied amount is because you may want to add a little of certain spices or go with the minimum, all your choice.
Mix all ingredients and then baste the meat every 10 minutes or so. They won't take very long, maybe 25-30 minutes because they are more than half way cooked.
Thanks for taking the time from you busy day to stop by. Have a wonderful day and Remember to Find the Time to Do all the Things YOU love.
Donna

Orange Glazed Baked Ham

This is a wonderful recipe to make for any occasion.  Not very difficult but very tasty.  I found this recipe at the food network here, and it's from the Barefoot Contessa...she has some wonderful recipes.

Ingredients

nocoupons

• 1 (14 to 16-pound) fully cooked, spiral-cut smoked ham on the bone *I didn't use the spiral*
• 6 garlic cloves
• 8 1/2 ounces orange marmalade
• 1/2 cup Dijon mustard
• 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1 orange, zested
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice *or from a carton*

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the ham in a heavy roasting pan.
Mince the garlic in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add the marmalade, mustard, brown sugar, orange zest, and orange juice and process until smooth. Pour the glaze over the ham and bake for 1 hour or per instructions for the size and type of ham you are cooking., until the ham is fully heated and the glaze is well browned. Serve hot or at room temperature.I also basted mine during the cooking because I used a Bone In Butt, I did but some slits on the top so the glaze would get into the meat.    

The ham is just delicious on a sandwich especially if you put it on the Deli-Rye bread, but them would be good on any of the homemade breads.  Think I'm not totally spoiled, won't be eating any store bread anytime soon.  Try this ham for a nice Sunday dinner, then you'll have leftovers for those great sandwiches and oh yes you can make a nice casserole  of potatoes, cheese and ham.  Will try to post that one soon.  I will have to make this again so I can take pictures of the casserole dish.
Have a wonderful day and Find the Time to do the Things you Love.
Donna

Country Spare Ribs

Here's another easy but yet very tasty dish.  I first par boiled the ribs with some onion *about 20 mintues*.  I cooked theses on the bbq but ran out of propane so I had to finish them in the oven.  I set the oven on Broil and it only took about 10 minutes.  I basted these with the bbq sauce every 2 - minutes.  I don't like KC BBQ, it's just sauce poured over cooked meat....ick!  Guess it's all what you're used to.  On the east coast they cook it like above.

BBQ Sauce (this is my sister- in-law Winnie's Recipe)
1/2 cup ketchup
1 lemon (squeezed) *I only used 1/2*
2 Tsp. chili sauce (Hunt's)
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
t tsp. molasses (dark)
salt and pepper
dash garlic powder or salt
Printable recipe

I forgot to put the dressing on the salad before I took the top picture so here's a picture of it just before the plate was devoured.  :-)  The bread that is on the plate is the deli-rye another YUM!
Have a wonderful day and Remember to Find the Time for the Things You Love.
Donna