Pork Chile Verde

Is Pork Chile Verde a bit redundant? Because it does go without saying that there is pork in Chile Verde, right? I couldn't find a recipe that worked for me, so I made it up myself. I bought a 7 pounds pork shoulder and wanted to roast it and save half for another use. Basically, I just rubbed the roast with garlic, squeezed a grapefruit and an orange over it, drizzled some olive oil, and sprinkled it with a teaspoon each of onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder, paprika, & oregano. Cover the roast with foil and cook on 350 for about 4 hours. Set half of it aside for another use (tamales, carnitas, Cuban sandwiches, etc), and shred the rest for the Chile Verde.

Now for the sauce.

Ingredients:
1 large sweet yellow onion, diced
1 each: red, yellow, & orange bell pepper, diced
1 teaspoon each: ground cumin & cumin seed
salt & pepper to taste
32 ounces chicken stock
10 tomatillos, hulled, and quartered
2 bunches cilantro, plus a handful chopped for garnish
3 1/2 to 4 pounds of cooked pork, shredded or in chunks. (see above)

Directions:
Using a large Dutch Oven or sauce pan, saute the onions & bell peppers in oil (I used corn cuz I am low on olive oil) until soft, about 10 minutes. Add the cumin, cumin seed, salt, & pepper and give it stir. Add the chicken stock and the tomatillos and bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer for 30 minutes. Add the cilantro and very carefully blend the ingredients with an emulsion blender, being careful not to splash yourself with the hot liquid. If you don't have an emulsion blender, run out right now and get one or order on Amazon asap! In the meantime, you could use your regular blender and then return the sauce to the pan. Simmer for another 30 minutes. Add the shredded pork and simmer for at least 15 minutes, but longer is ok. If it gets too thick, you can thin it down with more chicken stock or water. Check for salt & pepper before serving.

Serve with corn tortillas and these suggested garnishes: sour cream, cilantro, diced onions, avocado, pickled jalapenos & pinto beans. You can eat it as a stew or in tacos. Enjoy!!

Garlicy Chicken & Roasted Cauliflower

1) Put boneless skinless chicken breasts in a Ziplock bag. Pour evoo over chicken, add tons of minced garlic, and some salt & pepper. Marinate for an hour or two. Broil for 10 minutes per side.

2) In a casserole dish, add cauliflower, diced... shallots, salt, pepper, and a generous drizzle of evoo. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until done.

Enjoy!

Meatballs

I love meatballs! I had some ground beef and some sausage that I needed to use before going away this weekend. We're moving my daughter into the dorms in So. Cal. tomorrow! I'm going to miss my baby so much!! I'm trying to keep it together until after I say goodbye....then I know I'm going to start bawling! :(

Anyway, these meatballs are a little too brown, but they turned out soooooo good.

Ingredients:
1 pound lean ground beef
1 pound Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage (in the tube)
2 t. sea salt
1 t. black pepper
4 basil leaves, finely chopped
1 shallot, diced
4 scallions, sliced (not the green tops)
1/4 cup bread crumbs
4 slices of white bread, crusts trimmed off, cubed
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 egg, slightly beaten
Canola or vegetable oil
Olive Oil

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Using your hands (yuk, I know...and don't forget to de-bling!), mix very well. Form about 14-16 golf ball sized meatballs. Heat equal amounts canola & olive oil in a frying pan, about 1/4 inch deep. Cook the meatballs in two batches on medium, about 5 minutes per side, or until done in the middle. Drain on paper towels. Enjoy!

I served mine with tortellini & red sauce, but if I had rolls, I'd have made meatball sandwiches! Yum!

CrockPot Chicken Enchilada Chili

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 large can of red enchilada sauce
• 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
• 1 T cilantro, chopped
• 1 chipotle chile in adobo
• 2 cans of pinto beans, rinsed
• 8 oz Velveeta

Directions:

Place the first 5 ingredients in the crockpot and cook for 7-9 hours on low for defrosted chicken, or 4-6 hours on high for frozen, until the chicken can be shredded with a fork. Add the beans and Velveeta, cook on low for one more hour. Serve over rice, if desired, and garnish with tortilla chips & cilantro.

Grilled Rib Eye Steaks with a Pomegranate Glaze, served over a Bed of Arugula, & Roasted Golden Beets & Garlic

Ingredients:

• 4 Rib Eye steaks (mine were on the thin side, maybe 1.5 inches "thick")
• Olive Oil
• Salt & Pepper
• Pomegrante Glaze* (Optional. I found mine at the Farmers Market, or you can order it from: http://www.skylakeranch.net/H-Pomegranate-Balsamic-Grill-Sauce-SRGLZ12.htm
• 1 Bunch of small golden beets, washed, trimmed, and cut in quarters
• 8 cloves of garlic
• Arugula
• red wine vinegar

Directions:

Put the beets & garlic cloves in a small baking dish. Season with salt & pepper, drizzle generously with olive oil. Cover it with foil. Bake at 400 for about 45 minutes, or until you can spear it with a fork. You want them firm, not squishy.

Meanwhile, rinse the steaks, pat dry, and season with salt and pepper, set aside. Heat up your grill (I used one of those indoor teflon ones with the grill ridges) on Med-High. Spray with cooking spray. Put the steaks on, drizzle with olive oil, and cook for 5 minutes. Turn over, brush with Pomegranate glaze* (if using), and grill for 5 minutes. Wrap in foil to rest for about 5 or 10 minutes.

Toss the arugula with some olive oil, a little bit of the Pomegranate glaze* (if using), and a slash of red wine vinegar. Serve the steak over a bed of dressed arugula, sprinkle some of the roasted beets over the steak, and enjoy. I like to think of it as a steak salad. :)

*You can substitute the Pomagranate glaze for almost any other type of marinade or glaze of your choice....I bet it would be good with Soy Vay's Veri Teriyaki glaze!! Be creative!

Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato....

Happy Friday! I'm ready for a 3 day weekend.

I was supposed to bring some tea sandwiches to our tennis match this morning, but it was rained out. I spent hours yesterday baking bacon (yes, baking! Bacon! I'll never fry bacon again!)* and boiling eggs for mini BLTs and egg salad sandwiches. So I had all this bacon and HB eggs and decided to get a little creative for breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner tonight! I can't let perfectly good bacon and egg salad go bad, now can I? ;)

I had all this bacon, so I thought: why don't I put some bacon bits and a little bit of scallion into the egg salad? Is it wrong to have egg salad sandwiches for breakfast? Not if it has bacon! ;)

I made these cute BLTomato cups as a snack.

For lunch, I made BLT "pizzas" on whole wheat pita bread. Each mini "pizza" has 240 calories and they are super delicious. Here is the "recipe":

Ingredients:
whole wheat pita bread
basil leaves
shredded lettuce
cherry tomatoes, sliced
3 slices of cooked bacon, chopped into bits* ( http://busycooks.about.com/od/quicktips/qt/bakingbacon.htm )
1 TBSP ranch dressing

Directions:
Toast the pita bread on both sides. Toss the lettuce & bacon bits with the ranch dressing. Arrange the basil on top of the toasted pita bread. Put the lettuce mixture over the basil, then top with the tomatoes. Use a pizza cutter to slice the pita into 4 wedges. Enjoy!

This was so tasty, I wanted another one!

PS I wish I knew how to post this to my Facebook fan page and not MY personal FB wall.....and I also wish I knew how to make the pictures bigger. I'm a work in progress! :) And I love comments! xo

Chicken Curry in the Crock Pot

Ingredients:

• can of coconut milk
• 4-6 frozen skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 1 8 oz can tomato paste
• 4 T curry powder
• 1 t ground coriander
• 1 t ground cumin
• 1 t peeled and grated ginger
• few dashes of Tobasco
• 1 yellow onion. chopped
• 6 cloves of whole, peeled garlic
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 3 large russets, sliced thick, skins left on
• 4 carrots, chopped roughly
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 2 cups low sodium chicken stock

Directions

Mix together in a small bowl: spices, coconut milk, Tobasco sauce, and tomato paste. Pour into the bottom of a crock pot. Add the chicken, tossing a few times to coat it nicely. Layer the remaining ingredients on top of the chicken. Pour chicken stock over the veggies, add a little salt and pepper.

Cover and cook on low for 7-9 hours, or on high for 4-6. About halfway through, toss everything to coat the veggies, etc, and gently toss again before serving. Season with salt and pepper. Serve over brown rice.