Moo Shu Pork

Did you know that I love Chinese food? I was ordering Moo Shu Pork before I can even remember. We used to live in a little town in the bay area called Pleasanton, CA. I remember ordering it at a yummy Chinese restaurant not to far from our home. So when I found this recipe I thought I would give it a try, I was so sure my husband would cringe and probably give it a 3 out of our 1-10 scale (1 means NEVER AGAIN, and 10 means make it tomorrow) He gave it a 9, YES a 9! I almost wanted to slather my portion in sour cream, but I was pretty sure that was not on my diet. It was easy, way easy and yummy!




Ingredients:

1 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water
2 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
2 tsp minced fresh ginger (I used my microplane)
5 boneless pork loin chops (4 oz each), cut into thin strips
1 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp sesame oil
1/4 cup hoisin sauce (found in the Asian section of the grocery store)
3 cups coleslaw mix with carrots
8 flour tortillas, warmed

In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch, water, sour sauce and ginger until blended; set aside. In a large skillet, saute pork and garlic in oil for 3-5 minutes or until meat is no longer pink.

Stir in cornstarch mixture and add to the skillet. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in hoisin sauce. Add coleslaw mix; stir to coat. Spoon about 1/;2 cup pork mixture into the center of each tortilla.

I garnished with Cilantro, green onion, bean sprouts and lettuce.

Recipe from Taste of home magazine

Pork empanadas with thyme

Ingredients:

1/2 medium Yukon gold potato peeled and diced small
1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 small yellow onion, diced small
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 pound ground pork
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves, plus two small sprigs for topping
1 1/2 tsp chopped sage
2 tsp all purpose flour, plus more for working
2 Tbsp golden raisins (optional)
2 Tbsp toasted pine nuts (Optional)
1 Tbsp sherry vinegar (I just used regular)
course salt and ground pepper
Empanada dough (see below)
1 large egg

1. set a steamer basked in a pot with 2 inches boiling water. Add potato, cover, and cook until tender, 10-15 minutes. In a large skillet, hear oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until onion softens, 5 to 7 minutes. Raise heat to high and add pork, thyme, and sage; cook, breaking up meat with a spoon, until pork is no longer pink, about 4 minutes. Add flour; cook, stirring until blended, about 30 seconds. Add raisins, if using and 2 Tbsp water, cook until thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in potato, pine nuts (optional) and vinegar. Season filling with salt and pepper and let cool.

2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. On a floured surface, divide dough in half and roll each piece to an 1/8-inch thickness. Using a 6 inch cookie cutter or plate as a guide (I used the lid of my shortening can) cut out 8 circles. Place 1/4 cup filling on half of each circle, leaving a 1/2 inch border. Brush edge with water; fold top half over filling. Press edges to seal, then crimp firmly with a fork.

3. Transfer empanadas to two baking sheets lined with parchment. In a bowl, beat egg with 1 Tbsp water. Brish emanadas with egg wash and top with thyme sprigs. Bake until golden about 30-40 minutes, rotating sheets 1/2 way through.


Empanada Dough:

in a food processor, pulse 4 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled). 2 Teaspoons baking powder, and 1 Tbsp coarse salt. Add 2 Tbsp each minced sage and thyme; pulse until combined. Add 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces; pulse until mixture is the texture of coarse meal, witha few pea-sized pieces butter remaining. Add 1 cup ice water; pulse until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed (add up to 1/4 cup more water, 1 Tbsp at a time, if needed) Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead just until dough comes together 4 or times.


Recipe from EVERYDAY food by Martha Stewart

The Mamwhich... oh, it's a sandwich alright!

O remember eating this when I was young, and ever since I have been on my own I have made it, when I got married I hooked my husband on it, and when the kids came along, they came to LOVE it. It's Keagan's favorite meal. And the best part.... it's SUPER easy!



Ingredients:

1 package of bacon, browned until crispy
2 tomatoes
1 package of Alfalfa sprouts
1 loaf of french bread
1 mayonnaise recipe (below)

Cut bread lengthwise in half. spread with mayonnaise, then bacon on the bottom, tomatoes on the top and sprouts on top of that. YUM, and EASY!

Mayonnaise:

3/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup may
3 Tbsp of Dijon mustard *add more if you want the taste stronger)

Recipe is from my Mom.

and P.S. my kids LOVE this sandwich... sprouts and all!

Dijon Pork Chops

I think Pork in general has a bad rap for being dry... extrememly dry. But this is NOT the case for this recipe. Each piece was juicy and tender with amazing flavor. The picture DOES NOT do it justice, promise! Try it, I promise you will not be disappointed, well... if your not a very good cook then I can't guarantee anything :)


{shown with fresh green beans with seasoning and Grey Poupon potatoes (that recipe is on the web site too)}
Dijon Pork Chops

4 1/2 inch thick butterfly pork chops
6-7 T. flour
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp seasoning salt
1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
1/4 c. butter
2 T. finely chopped green onion
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 c. cold water
2/3 c. dry white wine (I used chicken broth, or water with bouillon)
fresh chives to garnish


Pound pork chops with a meat mallet to 1/4-inch thickness. Combine 5 T. flour with pepper, seasoning salt, and poultry seasoning in shallow dish. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Dredge chops in flour mixture and then brown in melted butter on both sides. Remove chops from skillet and set aside. Add green onion to skillet and cook until tender, about 1 minute. Stir together wine (or broth) and mustard. Add to skillet and stir to combine with meat juices. Return chops to skillet. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer about 8-10 minutes or until tender. (I wrote in my recipe, "Check at 5 minutes" because it cooked faster than I had anticipated.) Remove chops to warm platter. Combine water and 1 T. flour in a small bowl and mix well. Add to skillet and cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly until thickened, about 1 minute. Pour sauce over chops and garnish with chives before serving.

Recipe from Sisters Cafe

Bacon and Vegetable Pasta

Ingredients:

yellow bell pepper, chopped
red bell pepper, chopped
small container of sweet tomatoes
olive oli
salt and pepper
package of bacon
angel hair pasta

chop both peppers and spread on baking sheet, add tomatoes and drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper. Roast in 400 F oven for 5-30 minutes. Meanwhile chop bacon into bite size pieces and cook. Cook angel hair pasta according to package. Toss with roasted vegetables and bacon. Add salt and pepper to taste.

My Mom actually made this recipe while she was at my house, so i guess this could be cheating, so shhh. don't tell. :)

Pork Tenderloin

This recipe ended up being kind of dry.. so when you try it (cause I know you will) just cook it for a little less time. But the recipe is very yummy.



{Served with Butter horn rolls and mashed potatoes}


Pork Tenderloin Marinade

1/4 cup brown sugar
2 Tbls. Dijon mustard
4 Tbls. balsamic vinegar
3/4 cup orange juice
4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 Tbls. crushed dried sage --OR--
10 whole sage leaves
3-5 pounds pork tenderloin

Marinate 1 hour or overnight. When roasting, 375° for 1 1/2 hours, or until internal temperature is 150°. Baste with marinade.

--OR--

Broil. Approximately 20 minutes per side. Usually takes a little longer. Keep turning it as it cooks. Done when thermometer says so.

Recipe from Barbara B. Sessions (my Grandma)

Pineapple Pork Tacos

Keagan by far in our house is the pickiest eater, and let me just say... she had TWO. Yes folks, that's right... TWO!




Pineapple Pork Tacos
Estimated Cost: $5.00 for four servings
1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, juice reserved
1/2 cup sour cream (If you use light, stir in 1 tablespoon olive oil)
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
juice of one fat lime
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 lb. pork chops, about 3/4 inch thick
1 (6 ounce) bag coleslaw mix
1/3 cup sliced radishes
12 corn tortillas
1 tablespoon butter
Preheat grill for medium hot cooking. In a medium bowl, combine the JUICE of the pineapple, sour cream, chili powder, cumin, lime juice, and cilantro. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove 1/4 cup of mixture and rub all over pork chops. Let stand for five minutes. Grill pork chops, about 4-5 minutes per side until only slightly pink in center. Let rest for five minutes, and slice into strips. Meanwhile, combine crushed pineapple with slaw and radishes and reserved sour cream mixture. (Grill tortillas about 1 minute per side and brush with butter and wrap tightly in tinfoil.) Assemble tacos with tortillas, slaw, and pork chops.

yes, this is Barb's version of grilling... too whimpy to light the outside BBQ



Grilling the tortillas. Yum.

This recipe came from Prudence Pennywise. Bless her heart!