SWEET & SOUR PORK RECIPE

There are three reasons to try this great recipe. First, this recipe is made in the slow cooker, so it's super easy. Secondly, this recipe is very cheap to make and thirdly, it gets rave reviews whenever I make it. What more can you ask for?

 

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You should know that I am not a big sweet and sour fan, but I love this recipe. It is extremely moist and just the right amount of sweet to sour ratio.

 Walmart sells a small vacuum packed 2 pound pork roast that is perfect for this recipe. The package says "pork loin rib eye pork roast" and even here in Alaska, it's only $4.50!!
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2-3 pound lean pork roast
1 cup granulated sugar (seems like a lot, but it mellows out)
½ cup white vinegar
4 tablespoons soy sauce
4 tablespoons ketchup
20 ounce can crushed pineapple (drained)
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Brown the pork roast on all sides and put it in your slow cooker. Mix everything else and bring it to a boil, then pour it over the meat.
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Cook on low for 4-6 hours or until very tender (spoon the sauce over the meat every once in a while).
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That's it...super easy!! At the very end of the cooking time, I thickened the sauce a little with a slurry of cornstarch and water (right in the crockpot). To serve, slice the meat and spoon a little of the sauce over it; it's great with rice.

Now this last suggestion is not for everyone, but my picky-picky hubby absolutely loves it. On day two, I pull this pork apart and mix it with a little of the sauce (make sure you include some pineapple out of the sauce). While its still cold, I roll it into a large burrito size tortilla (folding in all the ends) and then I brown the whole sandwich in a little butter until its piping hot. Hubby is extremely UNdemostrative when it comes to food, but he ooohhh'd and ahhhhhh'd about this sandwich until the last bite.

NOTE: Sorry about these photographs. This is one of those recipes that, no matter how hard to try to get a good photo, it just doesn't work. You'll just have to trust me that it is delicious.

EASY ENCHILADA CASSEROLE

This is a great comfort food classic that I turned into an easy, quick fix casserole. You can easily double or triple the ingredients for a big crowd. The flavors are great and it reheats extremely well.

MEAT FILLING
1 pound lean ground beef
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon dry onion flakes
3 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ cup water
4 oz. mild green chilies (I use Ortega brand)

Brown the ground beef and drain. Return to pan and add everything else, stir well and let this simmer for about 10 minutes, remove from heat and set aside.
 ENCHILADA SAUCE

(1) 6 ounce can tomato paste
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
2 cups water

Mix well and simmer for about 15 minutes...set aside

ASSEMBLY

In a greased 9 x 13 pan, place TWO layers of soft corn tortillas; cover with a little of the enchilada sauce. Space large spoons of the meat filling 2" apart on top of the sauce, and sprinkle with a little cheese like this:



  Top with TWO more thickness' of soft corn tortillas that have been cut into diamonds, like this:

Ladle some more sauce over the soft tortilla diamonds, then repeat with the meat and cheese. Bake in a preheated 350 oven for about 35 minutes. You can make this early in the day and then just pop it into the oven at dinner time. If you do that, add about 10 minutes to the total baking time.

NOTE: We are pretty shy when it comes to spicy, so I use 1/8 teaspoon cayenne and it is very mild. If you like "heat" add more.

GREEN BEAN-MUSHROOM-BACON & CHEESE CASSEROLE

The traditional "green bean casserole" has always intrigued me. I see it mostly during the holidays and I want to enjoy it, although I'm not too fond of the mushroom soup sauce it usually has. This year, I set out to re-invent this holiday casserole and I absolutely love the final results.
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I used fresh green beans, sauteed sweet onions, portobello mushrooms, crisp bacon, a little cheddar cheese and my own white sauce. The resulting "green bean casserole" was delicious and we ate a ton of it. 1 pound of fresh green beans cut into 2" pieces
½ cup chopped sweet onion
½ pound of baby portobello mushrooms sliced
½ pound of bacon fried crisp (drained well & crumbled)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (loosely packed)
1 clove garlic minced finely
3 tablespoons white flour
1 teaspoon salt
scant ½ teaspoon black pepper
2½ cups milk
2 tablespoons butter

In a large frying pan, melt the butter and saute the chopped onions until they smell sweet; add the garlic and saute until it barely turns golden. Add the green beans and mushrooms (mixing well) and saute for a few minutes until they start to wilt just a little (don't cook them all the way through). Remove pan from heat and set aside.
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In a sauce pan, melt 3 tablespoons butter. When butter is hot, add (all at once) the flour, salt & pepper, stirring quickly. Cook on medium for about a minute (to remove any flour taste). Next, you are going to add the milk, a little at a time, whisking like a mad woman while you add the milk (this will eliminate lumps in the sauce). Once the milk and butter-flour mixture are mixed well, cook on medium heat (stirring every once in a while) until it gets nice and thick.

Remove from heat and stir in the cheese & crisp bacon. Add this mixture to the vegetables and stir well (but gently). Place in an lightly greased casserole dish and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until very hot.
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It was really tasty and the leftovers made a mouth watering lunch the next day.

TOASTED ORZO with PARMESAN & BASIL

This simple (and versatile) little side dish is just delightful. The orzo is toasted in butter before boiling, which adds an extra flavor, then it is tossed with Parmesan and fresh basil. Whether you use it as a side dish or a main dish, it is a very nice change.2 tablespoons butter

1 cup uncooked orzo pasta

2 + 1/4 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

pinch of red pepper flakes

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Melt the butter in a heavy bottomed pan that has a tight fitting lid. Add the UNCOOKED orzo pasta and stir until completely coated with the butter. Cook on medium-high until the pasta turns golden to lightly brown (watch it because once it starts to turn, it turns quickly).

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Stir in the chicken broth, red pepper lakes, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer until the orzo is tender and liquid is (almost) all absorbed. This will take 15 to 20 minutes depending on how fast your simmer is.

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When orzo is tender, remove from heat and stir in Parmesan cheese and fresh basil. Serve hot.

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NOTE: Just about anything can be added to this recipe, next time I think I'll include a little crisp bacon some mushrooms!!!

CHICKEN TETRAZZINI WITH HOME MADE PASTA

One of my favorite dinners is Chicken Tetrazzini with home made pasta.

It is simple and inexpensive to make and (in my opinion) pure comfort food.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 cups of good chicken broth
1 medium onion chopped
3 stalks of celery chopped
2 carrots cut into chunks
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
.Put the above items in a crock pot, on low, for 6-8 hours (you want extremely tender chicken). Remove the chicken and break into pieces. (see note).
In medium saucepan, with heavy bottom, melt 3 tablespoons of butter; add 3 tablespoons flour + ½ teaspoon black pepper + 2 teaspoons chicken bullion granules. Let this simmer (stirring) for a couple of minutes, then add 2½ cups of milk (whisk like crazy as you slowly add the milk so you do not get lumps). This entire mixture will thicken as it comes to a boil.
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When the mixture boils and thickens, turn heat to LOW and add broken up chicken breast pieces, 1 cup frozen peas, 1 cup sauteed mushrooms, 2 tablespoons chopped parsley, a pinch of dry red pepper flakes and 1 cup shredded Monterrey Jack cheese. Let this cook on low (to warm everything through) but watch it because it can scorch if the heat is too high. Serve over fettuccini noodles.
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If you are going to make your own pasta, here is an easy recipe:
Put 2 cups of all purpose flour in a heavy duty stand mixer. Make a “well” in the flour and put in five whole eggs:

Mixing with your paddle attachment, mix until the eggs are well incorporated into the flour. It shouldn’t be sticky; if it is, add a little more flour. Remove the paddle attachment and add the dough hook. Knead with the dough hook for about 5 minutes. Dough should be very smooth. Cover with plastic and let it rest for about 30 minutes before you cut it.
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Keep majority of dough covered with plastic wrap and work with a small ball of dough at a time. A small ball like this:

will roll out to a flat ribbon like this!

Fold the flat ribbon over onto itself a couple of times and run it through the roller four or five times. Roll the dough out one last time and dust it lightly with flour. Now you are ready to run it through the cutter. Two small balls of pasta dough (like the one in my hand above) made this much cut pasta!!

Bring a big pot of salted water to a full boil. Fresh (un-dried) pasta cooks in about 3 minutes. If you have let your pasta air dry, it takes about 8 to 10 minutes to boil (depending on its thickness).
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NOTE: I’ve noticed when boiling fresh pasta, it tries to “boil over” more easily than commercial pasta. If you add just a few drops of oil to the water, it will stop that.

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NOTE: A (bristle type) pastry brush is great for brushing off excess flour from your pasta dough.

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NOTE: If you do not have a pasta roller/cutter, you can still make home made pasta by rolling it out super thin and cutting it with a pizza cutter.

NOTE: Cool and save the liquid from the crock pot for another recipe, it is excellent broth.

ROASTED BEEF & ZITI (serious comfort food)

This is comfort food at its best!!! It is FULL of flavor, rings all of the right rich flavor bells and it reheats excellently. I make it with big pieces of trimmed chuck roast that become "fall apart" tender because its all cooked at a very low temperature in the oven for 2½ hours.

2 pounds trimmed chuck roast
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
(1) 6 ounce can of tomato paste
4 cups beef broth (not bullion cubes)
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 teaspoons dry basil
1 teaspoon dry oregano
½ teaspoon fennel seed (do not leave out)
pinch of dry red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon of white sugar (do not leave out)
3 cups uncooked ziti
2 cups sliced mushrooms
Trim as much fat from the chuck steak as you can and brown it well in 1 tablespoon vegetable oil. Place the browned meat in a large oven proof pan that has a lid (or you can use foil). Saute the onions in the same frying pan until transparent. Add the tomato paste, beef broth and seasonings to the onions and heat it a little so the tomato paste completely mixes with the broth. Pour over the meat.

Put a tight fitting lid on the pan or seal it TIGHTLY with foil, and bake at 300 degrees for 2 hours. After 2 hours, remove the lid, and stir in 3 cups of UNcooked pasta and the mushrooms. Make sure the pasta and mushrooms are covered with sauce.

Put the lid back on (or cover tightly with foil) and turn the oven up to 350; bake for 30 more minutes.

NOTE:You can use any short, tube shaped noodle, but ziti works the best. NOTE: You can use ground beef, but brown it then drain it very well before baking.

NOTE: When baking the chuck roast, the low oven temperature of 300 degrees is important in order to get very tender beef.
NOTE: If you want to add cheese to this dish, I suggest Mozzarella or Jack cheese and add it AFTER everything is fully cooked, just mix in and put back in the oven for a few minutes, uncovered.

BACON & CHEESE DEVILED EGGS FOR EASTER BRUNCH

If you are looking for a deviled egg recipe that is just a little different, this is a good one. The filling has crisp bacon and cheddar cheese in it and it is a great change. The filling is done in the food processor which produces a very creamy texture. I forgot to take a better photo of these before they went on the party table, but I quick snapped this one to give you an idea of how I decorated them.
12 hard boiled eggs
½ cup favorite salad dressing (I use mayonnaise)
4 strips of crisp fried bacon
¼ cup shredded cheddar cheese (I used medium)
1 level tablespoon prepared yellow mustard
2 tablespoons pickle juice (favorite flavor)
extra bacon for decoration (optional)
Cut the boiled eggs in half and put the yolks, salad dressing, bacon, cheese and mustard into a food processor. Process until it starts to get smooth, then...while running, pour in the pickle juice and process for another 20 seconds. This extra processing time will chop the bacon and cheese small enough AND it gives the filling a wonderful feel on the tongue.
Fill the egg white halves and top with a small piece of crisp bacon.

TACO SEASONING

Make your own taco seasoning!! It is simple, quick, cheap and useful for almost anything. I use it on steak fajitas, tacos, Spanish rice, chicken and much more. It is so much more convenient (and tasty) than the commercial packets.

 In a bowl, mix together:
12 teaspoons chili powder
8 teaspoons paprika (not the spicy kind)
8 teaspoons ground cumin
6 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder (not salt)
¼ teaspoon cayenne powder
2 teaspoons oregano
1 tablespoon beef bullion granules

Mix well and store in a tightly covered jar. Can be used as a dry rub or if you are making taco's, brown the meat and drain well. Add 7 teaspoons of this mix and ½ cup water to a pound of ground beef. Stir well and simmer until liquid evaporates.


NOTE: This is not super spicy, but it is very full flavored. If you like more heat, you can always add more cayenne. Approximately 7 teaspoons of this mixture will season a pound of ground beef.
NOTE: If you don't want to make a whole jar of seasoning...just divide this recipe by 4.

BEEF POT ROAST (OVEN BRAISED)

I will be posting some old classic recipes, from time to time, for the younger cooks that visit my recipe blog. These recipes are classics for a reason (they are really good) and todays post is a real winner.
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Not only is this an easy family style meal, but it creates some of the best leftovers. Start by browning large chunks of chuck roast, then slow roasting them (in beef broth) in a low temperature oven, the end result is super moist, super tender and super beefy.



4 pound beef chuck roast (about 2" thick)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 can (14 ounce) beef broth
potatoes
carrots
salt and pepper

Don't let the simplicity of the ingredients fool you, this is more about the cooking method than the ingredients. The final flavor is huge and it comes from browning the beef well before you put it into the oven (at least 4 minutes per side). Cut up the chuck roast into large pieces by removing any large white (fat) pieces that run through the meat. Some of you have commented that meat grosses you out. I hope you are courageous enough to try this cooking method, because your family will love you for it. After you cut the large pieces, salt and pepper them, generously, on all sides and brown them in a hot (preferably not a Teflon pan (see note). After the meat has nice crusty brown edges, remove it from the pan and set aside. In the same pan, saute a medium (diced) onion (about a cup). If you used a non-Teflon pan, there should (hopefully) be bits of browned beef stuck to the bottom of the pan. The moisture of the onions, will help de-glaze these little crusty treasures (where a lot of the flavor comes from). Keep cooking the onions until they turn soft. They should look like this (brown from the meat).
When the onions are soft, add the beef broth and stir to loosen everything in the pan.
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Place the meat in a large roasting pan and arrange potatoes and carrots around the meet. Pour the onion-broth mixture over everything (make sure everything gets coated) like this:

Seal the pan tightly with foil and put into a pre-heated 300F oven for three hours. The meat will be extremely tender and moist and there will be enough broth to make a gravy (or we like the broth just spooned over the meat and potatoes); just make sure you have lots of crusty bread to dip in the broth.
NOTE: If you use a teflon pan, your meat will not leave those wonderful browned bits in the bottom of the pan, thats why I like to use a non-teflon pan to brown.
.NOTE: Leftovers make delicious cold sandwiches, beef & cheese burritos, barbecue beef sandwiches, etc.

NOTE: This recipe can be done in the crock pot, but it is just never quite as moist as it is when cooked in a 300F oven for 3 hours.

NOTE: We are purists when it comes to beef pot roast. I've tried adding herbs and other flavorings, but Hubby likes this simple recipe the best. If you want to liven up the taste with herbs, garlic, etc, go for it.

CRUSHED PINEAPPLE JAM

There are a thousand uses for a good pineapple jam: toast, muffins, ham glaze, roast chicken glaze, pork roast glaze, cookie fillings and many more. My first attempt at making fresh pineapple jam was not totally successful since it never really "set" and I ended up using it as ice cream topping. I think the acidity or sugar level in any given pineapple varies greatly, so it was hard to get the right pectin ratio, but that's just a guess.
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Now I use this excellent, super quick and super tasty recipe for pineapple jam that calls for canned crushed pineapple. I'd like to say that I, normally, would never consider making jam from a canned fruit (I make jam from berries that grow around the house); but, pineapple jam is the exception and this one gets five stars from Hubby.

(1) 20 ounce can of crushed pineapple (sweetened)
unsweetened pineapple juice (see note)
3 cups white sugar
(1) 1.75 ounce box Sure Jell pectin powder
(or the equivalent of liquid pectin)

GET READY
1. Wash your jam jars and rinse well (dishwasher works well) keep jars hot.
2. Place your 2 piece jar lids in boiling water, then turn the heat to low and let
them sit in the hot water till you need them.
3. Measure 3 cups of sugar and set it aside.
4. Add enough pineapple juice to the crushed pineapple, to equal 3¼ cups. One 20 ounce can of un-drained crushed pineapple and one six ounce can of unsweetened pineapple juice equals 3¼ cups.
TIME TO MAKE JAM
Place the fruit + juice + pectin in a six quart, heavy bottomed saucepan and bring the mixture to a rolling boil over high heat. Add the sugar, all at once, and bring back to a full rolling boil (one that can not be stirred down) stirring constantly. Boil for one minute. Remove from heat and skim off (and discard) any foam that is on the surface of the hot jam. Ladle hot jam into jars, filling to within ¼" of the top.
With a clean, warm, damp cloth, quickly wipe off the rims of the full jars and put the two piece lids on. Process the jars in a hot water bath for 10 minutes. Remove and cool on the counter.
NOTE: If you have concerns about the hot water bath step, check out the simple step-by-step instructions at: PICKYOUROWN.ORG
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NOTE: Recipe makes five cups of jam.
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NOTE: I keep individual (6 ounce) cans of unsweetened pineapple juice in the pantry for cooking, rather than a big jug that spoils before it gets used up.
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NOTE: We don't care for jam that has big (unspreadable) chunks of fruit in it, so I pulsed the pineapple in the food processor a few times before I started cooking the jam. The final product still had a pineapple texture, but no hard chunks. I think next time I make this, I will put in a few chopped maraschino cherries for fun & color.

OVEN BARBECUE STEAK

I had big plans to barbecue outside today, and then Mother Nature decided to rain on us all day, I went for plan B (the oven). The outcome was not as good as grilling outdoors, but an excellent alternative, for sure. Cooking "low and slow" in the oven, gives you a steak more tender than you could ever get on a grill.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
3/4 cup beef broth (or water)
1 cup favorite barbecue sauce
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon DRY mustard
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3 pound chuck steak (1" thick)

Cut the chuck steak apart, into serving size pieces (cutting out some of the obvious fat lines). Brown the meat in the olive oil until it gets a nice crusty brown surface, then put it in a 9x13 baking pan.

In the same pan you browned the meat in, saute the veggies until they wilt. Add the rest of the ingredients (not the meat) and simmer for a couple of minutes.

Pour sauce over meat and cover the baking pan with foil (tightly). bake at 300 degrees for 2 to 2½ hours or until "fall apart" tender. Thicken sauce if necessary.

NOTE:  It is VERY IMPORTANT to bake at 300° to get the MOST TENDER steak........anything higher than that, will not work.

NOTE: It is also VERY IMPORTANT to brown the meat well before you bake it to get the maximum flavor.

FAMILY STYLE ITALIAN PENNE BAKE

When my children were little, I tried to “invent” recipes but I was not very good at it. One recipe that is embarrassing to admit was a combination of plain tomato sauce, ground beef and Italian seasonings (cooked for about 20 minutes) and then mixed into elbow macaroni; that was it…not even any cheese! It was horrid by today’s standards, but the kids always ate a lot of it and I did not know any better. Hey…that was 30+ years ago! I have learned a few cooking tricks since then.

Today’s family style penne bake is one of our favorites these days. It is rich, filling, very satisfying and leftovers reheat extremely well on day two. Served with a veggie, salad and dinner rolls, it is good enough for company. 1 pound extra lean ground beef
1 cup onion chopped
1 cup celery chopped
1 cup chopped carrot
1 to 2 cloves garlic minced
1 15 ounce can tomato sauce
1 12 ounce can tomato paste
4 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon dry oregano
2 teaspoons dry sweet basil
½ teaspoon fennel seed
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 pound Barilla mini-penne pasta
1 pound Monterey Jack cheese (grated)
1 tablespoon butter

In large pan, sauté ground beef until no longer pink (drain well). Return meat to pan and add onion, celery, carrot and garlic; sauté until veggies start to wilt. Add tomato sauce and tomato paste, 4 cups of water, salt and pepper, oregano, basil, fennel seed and sugar. Mix well and SIMMER two hours (stirring occasionally). What you want is for the sauce to reduce to a nice thick consistency (do not add any extra water).
After sauce has cooked down, boil the mini-penne (using directions on penne box) and drain. Stir in a tablespoon of butter to coat pasta, then stir in sauce and half of the (grated) cheese into a greased 9 x 13 baking dish. Top with other half of cheese and bake at 350° for about 30 minutes or until bubbly and cheese has browned a little, like this:NOTE: Once you get this sauce to the simmering stage, you can put it in the crock pot and let it cook in there all day. If you do that…just prop the lid open just a little, so the sauce can reduce and thicken.

VEGGIE RICE

When my carnivorous husband grills, I usually make this for myself instead . It is filling, healthy, spicy and delicious. Topped with cold avocado, sweet cherry tomatoes, a little cheddar, light sour cream and a piece of whole wheat garlic bread, it is my guiltless pleasure!

CLICK ON PHOTO TO ENLARGE

1 cup of chopped onion
1 clove of garlic minced
½ cup celery chopped
1/2 cup carrot chopped
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 cup raw rice
3 teaspoons chili powder
½ teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 (15 oz) black beans
1 cup fresh corn
1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes
1½ tomato cans of water
(1) 4 ounce Ortega mild green chilies

Sauté onion, garlic, celery, bell pepper in 1-tablespoon canola oil until onion is transparent. Stir in raw rice and let it sauté with veggies until it become opaque. Add the diced tomatoes, water, black beans, corn, carrot and flavorings. Cover the pan and lower the heat to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes (do not raise the lid). After 20 minutes, rice should be cooked and veggies tender. Stir in mild green chilies. Mix well and serve with cold avocado, cherry tomatoes, cheddar cheese and light sour cream.

NOTE: This reheats very well and is even tastier on day two.
NOTE: I also like to eat this rolled up in a warmed tortilla.